at her, “maybe your mother’s right. We’ve done everything we can here. Jamison asked us to find the root of the troll problem. Klea brought trolls to rescue Yuki. I think that’s proof enough that the root is her, so, mission accomplished. The rest is really up to Aaron and Shar, but if they aren’t . . . successful . . .” Tamani paused, and Laurel could almost see him imagining the worst. “Maybe you should leave.”
Laurel was already shaking her head. “With all the sentries in the woods, there’s nowhere safer than right here.” She turned to her mother. “I know you want to protect me. But I have a job to do and there are thousands of faeries in Avalon who are depending on me to keep their world safe. If Shar and Aaron can’t stop Klea – if there’s anything I can do, I have to be here to do it. I can’t run away from that. I just . . .”
Laurel’s mom was smiling at her, eyes shining with unshed tears.
Laurel shrugged helplessly. “I just want to help.”
“We’re not going to talk you out of this, are we?” her dad asked.
She shook her head, afraid her voice would quaver and inspire her dad to try just that.
“Maybe you two should go without Laurel,” Tamani suggested. “I don’t think Klea has any interest in you, but at least then Laurel would know you were safe.”
Laurel’s mom looked over at her. “If Laurel is staying, so are we.”
Tamani nodded.
Her dad stood and sighed. “I’m gonna go shower. Clear my head. Then we can make a plan.”
“I have to call David,” Laurel said, reaching for the phone as her dad tromped up the stairs.
“Why does David always have to be involved?” Tamani muttered, already starting to pace.
“Because he thinks he has a shift coming up,” Laurel said pointedly, dialling David’s number as Tamani pulled out his cell.
“He has an iPhone?” her mom whispered as the second ring sounded in Laurel’s ear.
Laurel nodded. “I was saving that little tidbit for ammunition the next time we discussed me getting a phone.”
Her mom was silent for several seconds as Laurel listened to David’s voice-mail message. “Do they get . . . service? In Avalon?” she asked.
Laurel shrugged and left a brief message for David to call her when he woke up. She considered calling his home phone, but didn’t want to wake his mom. After all, it was barely seven in the morning. She would have to wait.
Just like everyone else.
Tamani’s hand lingered in his pocket and he walked back and forth across the kitchen floor until Laurel thought she might scream.
“Would you like a cup of tea, Tamani?” her mom finally said, with a tiny edge to her voice. Pacing was not a popular habit in the Sewell household. “Or perhaps you want to . . . clean up a bit?”
“Clean . . . ?” Tamani said, looking a little dazed. He peered down at his tattered shirt and the scratches on his arms that were no longer oozing but remained shiny with sap. “That’s probably a good idea,” he said haltingly.
“Maybe something to eat, too?” Laurel suggested. “Considering this turn of events, I suspect even green stuff is back on the menu,” she added, forcing a laugh. Tamani had been avoiding his favourite foods to keep from colouring his eyes and hair roots, but Laurel assumed it wouldn’t matter anymore. She supposed, in retrospect, that it had never really mattered – Yuki had always known what he was.
Tamani nodded jerkily. “Yeah. Thanks. Broccoli, if you have it.”
“I’ll go up and find you a T-shirt,” Laurel’s mom said, turning to follow in her husband’s footsteps.
“Thank you,” Tamani whispered, though his eyes were on his phone again. Laurel could feel him willing it to ring.
Numbly Laurel grabbed a knife to chop up the stalk of broccoli she’d fished from the refrigerator.
Tamani turned his head slightly, listening to Laurel’s mom’s footsteps as she climbed the stairs and went into her bedroom. Then he seemed to melt on to the barstool, running his hands through his hair with a soft groan.
Laurel loaded several florets onto a plate and handed it to him, but he took the plate with one hand and her hand with the other, his gaze so intense it took her breath away. He slowly transferred the glass plate to the counter and pulled her close.
Laurel curled herself against his chest, grasping at what was left of his shirt. His hands were in her hair, then around her waist, his fingers pressing almost painfully against her back.
“I honestly thought that might be the end,” he whispered in her ear, his voice gravelly. When his lips fell on her neck, her cheeks, and dotted her eyelids, she didn’t pull away. Even when his mouth found hers, frantic and delving, she returned the kiss with the same fire and passion. It wasn’t until that moment – feeling the desperation fuelling his kiss – that she realised just how narrowly they’d cheated death. Not since he’d been shot by Barnes had Laurel seen Tamani lose a fight like that, and she clung to him, trembling with relief from a fear she hadn’t even known she was feeling.
Laurel’s fingers brushed the cut on Tamani’s cheek, pulling back at his soft gasp of pain against her lips. But he didn’t jerk away. If anything, he drew her closer. She wished there was more time; time to lose herself in his kisses, to forget that Shar was out there, somewhere, fighting for all their lives.
He finally lifted his mouth, his forehead pressed against hers. “Thank you,” he said softly. “I . . . I just needed you for a moment.”
Laurel twined her fingers through his. “I think I needed you, too.”
Tamani met her eyes and stroked her face with his thumb. The desperation was gone now, and he was all softness and calm. His mouth brushed hers tentatively, as his hands had so often done. Laurel leaned forward, wanting more. Wanting to show him that she wanted more. She stopped listening for her mother’s footsteps, for a sign of Chelsea coming out of her room, for anything but the soft purr of Tamani’s breath on her cheek.
Only when the jangle of the phone sounded close to her ear did the world snap back into focus. It rang again as she tried to catch her breath. “That’ll be David,” she whispered.
Tamani stroked her bottom lip with his thumb, then let his hand drop and turned to his plate of broccoli as Laurel picked up the handset.
“Laurel!” David said, his voice bleary. “You’re home. Did you oversleep? Do I need to get over there and cover for you?” She could hear him fumbling around, probably pulling on jeans and a T-shirt, ready to rush in and save the day.
“No. No, it’s worse than that,” Laurel said quietly. All rustling on David’s end came to a halt as she explained what had happened.
“I’m coming over.”
“I think there are enough stressed people in this house,” Laurel argued.
“Well, I can’t just sit around here and wait. I . . . I’ll feel better if I’m over there, just in case. Is that OK?”
Laurel suppressed a sigh. She knew exactly how he felt and, if their positions were reversed, she would want the same thing. “OK,” she said. “But just let yourself in. Don’t knock or ring or whatever. Chelsea’s still sleeping and she really needs it.”
“I won’t. And Laurel? Thanks.”
Laurel hung up and turned to face Tamani. “He’s coming over.”
Tamani nodded, swallowing a mouthful of veggies. “I figured as much.”
“Who’s coming over?” Laurel’s mom asked from halfway down the stairs.
“David.”
Laurel’s