The laughter continues as though everyone has forgotten about the woman who helped keep me in bars for a large piece of my childhood. It’s actually a little hurtful, but I’m trying my best to go on as though I’m just as okay with all of this as they are.
Gage tugs my hand in his as we walk out, and he turns to talk to Dice about moving locations to one of his bigger houses close by. I go to stand by Karma just as Chaz walks up behind her.
“So they tell me you can see an immortal’s power if you look for it,” he says.
“As long as I’ve come into contact with the power before and know what it is,” she says as she turns around, but then her mouth falls open, and she turns a little pale as she studies him.
That’s confusing. Chaz is blonde, muscled, and tall, but he’s not like the deadlier beauties out here.
“You… You’re… You’re a—”
“Duster,” he interjects, his eyes narrowing as a small smile curves one side of his lips. “Just a lowly duster. My magic even leaves a glittery after effect. You run into any of my kind before?”
She swallows hard before weakly answering, “Just one.”
“Don’t call him a fairy,” Dice warns. “He really doesn’t appreciate that.”
I laugh, but Karma still seems stunned. Chaz smirks and winks at Karma before walking away, but his grin is a little… odd. Different. As though he’s enjoying the fact Karma seems at a loss for words.
“You okay?” I ask her quietly.
She startles, and then she turns to face me, warily casting a glance at Chaz’s back.
“How well do you know him?” she asks in a whisper.
That’s… weird. “Since I came into the family. He grew up with Alyssa, and they’ve been close since always. Why?”
She once again looks at his back, and she gradually starts breathing easier.
“So you trust him? And his family?” she asks cryptically.
“His mom is Calypso’s best friend. She adopted him when he was younger. Why the twenty questions about Chaz? He’s the least threatening of the guys here.”
“No reason,” she says while shaking her head.
She looks over one last time, and Chaz’s eyes meet hers before he winks once again. She backs up closer to Dice, and she leans against him when he drapes his arm around her shoulders. Weirdest day ever.
I walk down to Chaz, curious as to why Karma is acting so weird. He tosses his arm over my shoulders without even looking, and he kisses my hair.
“Karma freaked out a little.”
“Oh?” he muses. “Why’s that?”
“Not sure. She just seems… off. Something you can explain?”
He shrugs. “Sometimes things aren’t always as they seem. And sometimes things are exactly as they seem.”
He grins at me when I scowl at him.
“That makes no sense.”
He laughs as I look back over my shoulder, and I see Gage leaning against a post of the porch, talking quietly with Zee. Chaz looks over to follow my gaze.
“I couldn’t have picked anyone any better for you. He’s strong enough to handle you, and he’s good enough to keep you safe.”
“Everyone seems to think I need to be kept safe.”
He snickers softly. “That’s because we love you. There’s no one I wouldn’t go through to keep you safe. Gage is the loyal type. He’ll die before he lets someone he cares about get hurt.”