Reacting to him won’t help me at all.
The sound of a chair being dragged across the room finally shut him up. I looked up to see Lucas’ light golden aura. It was so nice and refreshing, like standing in warm sunlight.
“Good morning.” Lucas sat down in the chair, his eyes only on me. “How are you feeling today? Altitude still getting to you?”
Suddenly the confidence was back. A smile spread across my face. God. How did two little sentences just restore everything I wanted to feel about myself? “No, the altitude isn’t so bad today. I followed your advice and had some broth last night, and I slept—really slept—and it was great. I don’t even have a headache now.”
Lucas answered my grin with one of his own. “Good. They pump extra oxygen into the rooms here. That’s why I booked it for you.”
I took him in then. His hair, perfectly mussed. He wore a long-sleeved T-shirt, with the sleeves scrunched to his elbows and a pair of black athletic pants that had white stripes down the sides.
I was staring. This was bad. I toyed with my food for a second as I looked for something to say. “You want to have some breakfast?”
He grinned big, and my heart did a double bump. “I already ate.”
“Excuse me, but we were having a conversation,” Matt cut in.
Lucas raised his eyebrows, making a face at me before turning to Matt. “Looked to me like you were harassing her. That’s no way to get her attention. Clearly.” He winked at me.
“She’s my fiancé. I’ll talk to her however I like.”
God. Had I ever found him attractive? I would’ve sworn he wasn’t like this before. Now it seemed like every time I saw him, he got meaner.
“Fiancé?” Lucas mouthed to me.
I shrugged. Explaining right now would take too long. Plus, it wasn’t like Lucas really cared if I was engaged or not.
“From the way you two were just acting, I wouldn’t bet on seeing her in a white dress any time soon.” Lucas stood, his eyes on me. “You ready?”
The half-eaten food on my plate wasn’t worth sticking around to finish. “Sure.” I brushed my hands off on a napkin and placed a tip on the table. No one else was doing it, but that didn’t mean the staff didn’t deserve at least a little tip for their hospitality. “I’m going to go see if they have some water bottles I can take. I’ll just be a second.” I started off for the front desk, but Lucas’ voice stopped me.
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll take care of you.”
I whipped around. The way he said it, so seriously, it sounded like he meant that he’d take care of more than just water. But by the time I turned, he was already walking out the door.
I sighed. Just because you have a crush on a guy, doesn’t mean he likes you too.
“You can’t go with him.” Matt pointed at Lucas. His face contorted with anger, making him look more than a little crazy. “He’s a wolf.” Disgust was thick in his voice.
Sure, I can. “Have a safe flight home, Matt,” I said as I started after Lucas.
Today I was going to find a way to save my brother. That was the only thing that mattered.
Chapter Eleven
I hopped in the van with Lucas and buckled my belt.
“So, we’re looking for the old mages?” Lucas asked as he started the car.
“Yeah. Did Muraco tell you where to start?”
“He did. I’m heading to one of the smaller villages.” He pulled into the street and started the direction we’d come from last night. “It’s closest to where the old temple was, but I’ve been all over those mountains and never seen a thing.”
Perfect.
“I know that’s not what you want to hear, but I want you to be realistic.”
“Good. Realistic is good. But this is my best shot at saving my brother, breaking the oath that’s binding me to maybe one of the worst people in the world, and finding a way to stop said person from raising demons that will destroy us all. So, no pressure.”
He muttered a string of curses. “Muraco said that it was bad, but he didn’t say it was that bad.” He gave me a long look before focusing back on the road. “Your brother?”
“Twin brother.”
“Somehow that makes it worse.”
I shrugged. “It’s bad either way. But yes, he’s my twin. And the only family I really have left. Besides my cousin, Teresa.”
“She’s Dastien’s new mate, right?”
“Yes,” I said, a little surprised that he knew about the happenings of small town Texas.