“Well said.” Fallon grinned. “You can all stop acting like assholes now. Straight from the horse’s mouth — she will not use her ability against us. Bread roll?” she offered a basket of them to Ari and Charlie.
Ari smiled gratefully and took one. “I’m sorry.” She sighed, looking back up at the group, who were shifting around uncomfortably, traces of guilt in some (but not all) of their eyes. “I’m not usually… I’m just… I just really want to find this guy.”
“Right there with you.” Jacob nodded from the head of the table. “I phoned Michael.” Ari felt Charlie stiffen next to her at the name. “Michael is Fallon’s father and the Roe Guild leader. He’s going to look into the kidnappings for us and get back to us as soon as possible. For now, eat, get some rest, and tomorrow will be a brand new day.”
Grateful for the reassuring smile the elder gave her, Ari nodded her thanks and held her plate up to the young woman who’d asked about the stir-fry.
“Bryleigh is our best cook.” Fallon nodded at the blue-eyed woman.
“Thank you.” Ari took her now full plate back from Bryleigh and waited for everyone else to be served. As soon as everyone was seated, they all began to eat, the noise of conversation growing louder as they talked and laughed among one another. An ache of longing rippled across Ari’s chest as she watched them, a creeping hollow feeling ripping open in its wake as she thought about Derek. Neither of them had that growing up — the big family. It might have been nice. As her gaze drifted over the group, it finally got caught in Jai's. He studied her, his expression seeming to say he was sorry and that he understood. Hating his mind-reading skills and his earlier behavior, Ari frowned at him and he looked away, returning to the distracting girl next to him who Ari had discovered was called Anabeth. She was the twins’ sister. Anabeth flashed her pearly whites at Jai again and placed a hand on his forearm as she leaned in to tell him something.
Thinking unkind thoughts, Ari glanced quickly away, only to stumble inwardly over Jack Hollis. An older member of the team, Jack ate his meal quietly, not looking up to engage in conversation but happy to remain withdrawn from the rest of the group. Ari felt a tug on the back of her shirt and glanced around Charlie’s back to find Fallon leaning around him.
“Jack doesn’t talk much,” Fallon whispered. “He distanced himself since his wife was killed by a ghulah.”
Flinching, Ari remembered her own fight with a ghulah in Roswell a few weeks ago.
“That’s awful,” Ari murmured, feeling instant empathy for the man.
“Yeah,” Fallon agreed, and for once, the hint of irony she attached to every word was missing. “He’s an excellent hunter though.” She slid back in her seat and asked Charlie something in a low voice. Whatever he said made her grin, and he chuckled at her impish smile. When he reached for a glass of water, Ari caught his expression and was surprised by the look in his eyes. It was a look of appreciation for a pretty girl. It was a look of happy relaxation. Warmth flooded Ari, a strange mix of jealousy and relief taking hold of her as she imagined him moving on and being content with life. She so wanted that for him. Not this. Not a doomed relationship/fragile friendship, blood and revenge.
Sighing inwardly, Ari reached for another bread roll, her fingers colliding with one of the twins’. She didn’t have time to wonder whether it was Callum or Matt. She was too busy yelping in pain as a blast of magic flew up her arm like an electric shock. Cradling her injured arm, Ari barely registered Jai crashing to his feet, plates clattering and a few glasses spilling with the movement. Then Ari felt the crackle of power surge in the air, a glow the color of ember radiating out from Jai’s hand into a swiftly moving arc that rippled the air. Everyone but Ari and Charlie were pushed back from the enchantment, their bodies bumping against the now invisible force. Ari’s stunned eyes lifted to Jai. He trembled with fury, his gaze on her cradled arm.
“I’m fine,” she told him quietly, almost frightened by his intensity and the power he had at his fingertips. Somehow, she always seemed to forget he was a full-blooded and powerful jinn. Swallowing loudly, Ari chanced a glance at the twins, who glared at her with fear in their eyes. “I don’t think he meant it.”
“I didn’t,” the twin who’d blasted her insisted, his wary gaze moving to Jacob, who looked as furious as Jai. “She just startled me. She makes me nervous.”