Damien’s arms came around me, pulling me closer against him as he pressed his face into my neck, inhaling deeply. My eyes caught sight of a nearby mirror. His dark hair fell over my blonde, my silver eyes near glowing in the dimly lit room as the flickering candlelight reflected in them.
The sound of the front door opening echoed through the house, and I stiffened, turning my attention from the easel to the open doorway of my library.
“Cas? Damien?” Barrett called, and I set my charcoal down before rising.
“Barrett?” I responded, wiping my hands on a damp rag to clean the smudges of charcoal coating my fingertips. He entered the living room, Thalia behind him, and I frowned at the two large boxes in his arms.
“Hey, spitfire!”
I blinked and looked back at the hallway behind him. “I could’ve sworn the front door was locked.”
“Yeah, about that,” he said with a shit-eating grin. “I knew he wouldn’t find the time to decorate—he never does. Figured we’d get to work, with it only being ten days away.”
Shit.I hadn’t been able to get something for Damien yet. I wondered if Kat had finished midterms so we could go shopping.
Ethel appeared in the hallway. “Barrett, we already have décor fer the house.”
“I thought I’d contribute,” he said, setting his boxes down on the couch before looking around and frowning. “You guys haven’t picked out a tree yet?”
I cocked an eyebrow. “We’ve sort of been busy.”
“Where the hell is Damien?” he asked, looking around.
“Meeting with Selene. I’m not sure when he’ll be back,” I said, walking over to see what he brought.
“Did he talk to you about Solstice yet?”
“No,” I said, eyeing him.
He let out a groan before flopping on the couch. “Gods, he’s slacking.”
“Give him a break. He’s got a lot he’s overseeing.”
“And a lot he’s cleanin’ up with ye getting’ intae trouble,” Ethel grumbled, propping a hand on her hip.
Barrett gave her a guilty grin. “I wouldn’t be getting into so much trouble if I wasn’t taking care of stuff outside The Order, as he asked me to.”
I tilted my head, brows furrowing.
“I guess we could start decorating the living room,” he said before I could pry, and he began pulling strings of garland from the box. The scent of yew hit me hard, and I stepped closer, ready to help if I could.
“What’s going on here?” Damien asked as Barrett and I started running the garland over the mantel.
I jumped, turning around to find him leaning against the cased opening to the hallway, arms crossed over his chest with a smug smile on his lips, one dark brow cocked.
“Figured we’d pick up the slack,” Barrett said, not sparring him a glance. “Can’t have a Solstice celebration without decorations, and this house is still entirely too depressing for the season.”
Damien’s eyes narrowed. “It’s not depressing in here.”
Thalia snickered from where she and Ethel hung garland along the bay window.
“It is for this time of year,” Barrett argued.
Damien shook his head, and opened his mouth, but Barrett cut him off. “Spitfire, Damien wanted to know if you’d join us for Solstice this year.”
My gaze snapped to Barrett before turning back to Damien, who let out a sigh but turned his nervous gaze to me.
I hesitated. “I...”
