A Matter of Forever (5 page)

Will leans forward in the chair he’s in, elbows laying across his thighs. “Actually, that’s not a bad idea.”

“Um,” I say, but he hushes me easily, as my words are ten miles behind his. But yeah, no. I’m not building us a fortress in an already cramped Annar. The city-state has gone through many expansions lately due to the recent Métis influx; besides, any additions to the plane must be Council directed. Annar is a highly regulated city-state. Even here, even with Jonah, Astrid, and myself present, we do not have the authority to enact a single new building by ourselves outside of an extreme emergency.

Will is saying, “Kellan has a large flat, right?”

I already don’t like where this is heading.

Callie answers for him. “Do you mean apartment? Then yes. It’s nearly 3,000 square feet. You’re not suggesting she should move in there, are you?”

Bless that girl for heading him off at the pass, even if done scornfully.

The look he gives her is priceless. “I don’t need to know the square footage. I was simply pointing out his flat is roomy.” He turns toward Jonah. “You own the one directly above it, correct?” Jonah confirms this, so Will continues, “Chloe, have you tried to use your craft at all since waking up?”

“Seriously, Will,” Callie says. “Cut the girl some slack. She’s been awake less than twenty-four hours.”

Maybe I am wrong about what he was thinking? “No,” I say to him. “Why?”

“Do you think you can?”

Callie hits him on the arm. “Am I speaking to myself here? Time and place, Will!”

I hold a hand out, less weak today than yesterday; a hockey puck appears in it that I toss over to him. As he rolls the black hardened rubber between his fingers, he asks, “Think you can build a staircase?”

If that’s not a random question, then I don’t know what is. “Um?”

“Because, if you want a fortress that will hold a bunch of people, I’m thinking all you have to do is build a staircase between the two flats.” Will offers the twins a smirk. “And since I know your flats are so roomy, I’m sure you all can find room for me and Dad.”

Hold on here—he wants me to connect Kellan’s apartment with Jonah’s and mine? Is he
mad?
How could he even think I could do that to Kellan? Having Jonah and me live with him? It’d be like rubbing salt into his wounds. I won’t do it.

Surely, the look I offer Will right now could wither plants. And yet, he simply beams at me, like he’s just given us the best solution ever.

He and I will be having words shortly. Strong words.

“Now, this is doable.”

I think Jonah’s just as flabbergasted as I am when Kellan says this, because his eyebrows shoot up for the tiniest of moments.

“If she’s up to it, Chloe could fortify the walls,” Kellan continues smoothly, “and the building is already a pretty secure location, especially after this last winter. Nobody gets in past the doorman without prior approval. We can even add somebody from the Guard to stand watch in the lobby.”

Is he referring to the Sophie fiasco? I hate even thinking about it like that—hell, hate thinking about it at all—but it seems ... the gentlest way to dub it. I mean, his ex-girlfriend who just so happens to be obsessed with him got into his apartment more than once without anyone knowing about it. Was found naked in Jonah’s bed—

A light bulb pops nearby. Everyone jumps and then immediately looks to me.

I pretend not to notice. For crying out loud, I wish these things would stop happening to me. I can’t risk ruining yet another hospital room.

Callie rubs her forehead. “This is an awful idea. Mom,
tell them
. This is the worst idea ever.”

I have to agree with her. It
is
pretty much the worst idea ever. Poor Astrid simply opens and closes her mouth a few times. Yep, she thinks it’s awful, too.

But then Jonah asks me, “Do you think you are up to it?”

Again, my answer is, “Um?”

To everyone else, he asks, “Can we have a moment here?”

The room clears in less than a minute, including Kellan. Once we’re alone, Jonah sits down next to me on my bed. “I know this isn’t ideal. But, I’m going to be honest with you. If there is anyone else in these worlds I can trust to protect you, to ensure your safety, it’s my brother.” A small, side smile slides across his lips. “You know as well as I that, outside of you, Emotionals control the Elders best.”

“Um—”

“I wish I could feel you right now.” His fingers trail across my collarbone. “But I don’t have to use my craft to know you think this is a terrible idea. You’re worried about hurting him, right?”

He knows me too well. I’m also worried I might legitimately break my foot, kicking Will’s ass and all once I’m back on my feet.

“It’s not like we will be sleeping in the same bedroom as him, or even on the same floor. He will be downstairs in his apartment. We will be up in ours. Will’s idea is sound; we can put a staircase to join the two apartments so Kel could get to us in a hurry if need be. It doesn’t have to be permanent—just until we know what’s going on, your safety has to be our first priority.”

He says all of this so calmly, so assuredly, but the thing is, I see his other hand unconsciously flexing in and out. This is stressing him out just as much as it is me.

“He wants me to tell you he’s okay with this.” Jonah’s attention wanders to the door, as if he can see his brother on the other side of it. “It will make him feel better, knowing you and I are nearby.”

I don’t even know what to say. Not that I can actually say much right now, but still. It certainly wouldn’t be,
Oh hey, Kellan, let me flaunt my loving relationship with your brother in your face on a daily basis in our one, big, awkward home.

“If you want, Will and Cameron can come and stay with us, too. There is plenty of space for them. It’ll be like one big happy family.”

Oh yes, such a happy, happy family. Collateral damage keeps running through my mind. I am a Creator. My strength far outmatches anyone else’s. It’s
me
who should be protecting
them
. It’s me Enlilkian wants and I’d bet everything I own he wouldn’t hesitate to ensure everyone around me is collateral damage in his efforts to get me.

Maybe he’d go after them even when I’m not around, like the Elders did with Cora back when we were in high school. And that thought terrifies me.

Well, hell.

Against my better judgment, I cave in and agree. It’s best to keep everyone close.

Jonah’s apartment—no,
our
apartment isn’t finished being remodeled. There are tarps and paint cans and soft dust steeped in the smell of fresh wood from construction everywhere. It isn’t warm and cozy like the Danes’ apartment I’ve been living in since moving back to Annar a few months back, nor even worn-in like the ones Jonah and I used to inhabit across town.

I’d been looking forward to moving in here and working with Jonah toward making it not his, not mine, but ours. Our first home together. The place we choose to spend moments large and small in our lives. The place into which we might someday welcome a child.

We’d just gotten re-engaged before the attack, but had done it right this time. We’re choosing to spend our lives together for the right reasons—because it’s what we want, not what we think we ought to want or what Fate says we should. We were going to take our time building this home. We were repairing all the damage we both inflicted on our relationship.

And now ...

Now I’m standing in a dusty, tarp filled room devoid of furniture and, once more, it feels like things are swirling around me too fast.

Will materializes from one of the long hallways as Jonah sets the small duffle bag he had at the hospital down in the living room. The man I consider to be my best friend and brother grins broadly and says to us, in an accent thick and rich from his childhood in Glasgow, “It’s about time.”

Two choices flit through my mind: the ass kicking I so richly imagined in the hospital yesterday or a tongue-lashing. But then I realize neither of these will do. I choose instead to throw my arms around him and squeeze tightly. It feels good to hug my friend. Comfortable. Familiar in the midst of upheaval, even though I’m struggling against the urge to rake him across the coals.

“I had to sign a lot of papers.” My voice is stronger today, coarse as a cat’s tongue but not so hard to get out. “They wouldn’t let me go until every last one was signed and gone over.” Not to mention, I’d gotten talked into one last night of being monitored by Shamans,
just in case.
I didn’t really know what the
just in case
was for, but my acquiescence made the twins relax a bit, so it wasn’t much of a sacrifice.

Jonah’s not relaxed right now, though. He held my hand the entire way here from the hospital, fingers tightly wrapped around mine, like he was afraid somebody was going to swoop in and snatch me away. Enlilkian would never be so obvious, though. If we have been playing a game, like he claims, he’s going to wait until exactly the right moment to find me again. A moment in which I’m not ready, because what fun is it for the cat to catch a mouse fully prepared?

Gods, I need to be ready. I also need to tell Jonah what I’ve speculated. Yesterday ended up being too crazy with all of the new plans shifting around to find a moment for a quiet talk.

“You know,” Will is saying, “it seems to me that as Magicals are supposedly an advanced race, tedious paperwork would be nothing more than a memory. Isn’t there a craft where a bloke has perfect memory or whatnot?”

I can’t help but laugh. “If only.” A quick glance around precedes, “Where’s Cameron?”

“Downstairs in Kellan’s flat.” He points at the floor below us, tapping his foot. “We’ve been playing phone tag while going over blueprints and think we might have finally found a spot that would be ideal for both locations to insert a staircase into. Have you been giving it any further thought what you might want it to look like?”

“Uh, no.” I nudge Jonah, who is busy checking messages on his phone. “Have you?”

He glances up from the screen, confused. “Huh?” It’s stuffed back into his pocket. “Sorry. I ignored work issues over the last week and they’ve sort of begun to pile up.”

I can only imagine what my phone looks like right now. There are probably a zillion notifications filling up the screen. But I’d rather not think of that right now. I curl a hand around the back of his neck and plant a soft kiss right below his ear. Good lords, he smells so good. “I’m sorry you had to go through that because of me.”

His head shifts and dips down toward mine. My pulse stutters as he gently brushes his lips across mine, all blooming fireworks sparkling through my veins. “All that matters is that you are okay.” Then, to Will, “You were talking about staircases?”

If I’m not mistaken, Will’s a wee bit uncomfortable with his current third wheel status. The urge to giggle at this awkwardness intensifies when he tugs on his collar. “Yeah. The location kind of depends on the sort you want.” He reaches out and pokes my shoulder. “If Chloe here fancies herself a grand staircase, that pretty much blows Dad’s plans.”

“Rats.” The sigh I let loose is all exaggerated displeasure. “There goes that dream.”

He rolls his eyes and motions us down a hallway. “As this is hopefully a short term architectural alteration, we figured it would be best to be as obscure as possible. You’ve both got laundry rooms at the south ends of the flats.” An accordion door is opened up to show a sink, bare cupboards, and hookups in the walls. That reminds me—I ought to pick us out some washers and dryers, or at the very least, make us some. Will motions to the end. “There are these brilliant pantry-like rooms—maybe for storage? I’m not sure. They’re large enough, though, that we could probably fit a wee staircase through both.” He opens the door on the far wall to feature a small empty room lined with shelves. “And by we, I mean Chloe.”

Jonah says, “I feel really lame right now, because I don’t think I’ve ever looked behind this door before.” He glances around the room. “Or, to be honest, even knew it existed.”

“How have you kept your clothes clean?” I can’t help but tease.

That dimple I adore so much appears as a small flush decorates his tan cheeks. “Uh ... we sort of hired a laundry service. Or, I guess I just started using Kellan’s by default.”

I shake my head, amusement tugging the sides of my mouth up. “You two. I swear.”

Will chuckles. “This all now makes sense, as Dad reports Kellan’s laundry area and storage closet are equally barren, save a few cardboard boxes. I’m to take it this means neither of you will be too heartbroken to give the space up?”

Jonah’s eyes lose focus for a moment as he stares into the distance. “We’re both fine with the location as long as Chloe is feeling okay enough to try.”

“It’s spooky how they do that,” Will murmurs to me once Jonah’s attention fades back to whatever his brother is saying to him in his mind.

“Actually,” I mock whisper, which isn’t too hard considering I won’t be winning any screaming matches anytime soon, “it is. Annoying, too.”

Jonah’s unbothered by this. “You love us anyway.” And he’s smiling—genuinely smiling, dimple and all and not in the way he had in the past, when the corners of his mouth tilted upward but hid so much hurt and pain. This is a real smile, one that makes my heart so very contented to see.