Rooming with the Wicked

33 | déjà vu

"What is he doing here?" I asked Syn, ignoring the chuckling demon off to the side. The moon was bright enough tonight that I didn't need to look closely to see his smug expression.

"That's no way to greet your favorite roomie," Haze said. The hurt in his voice was almost as fake as the house plants in the penthouse. If I turned to face him right now, he would one-hundred percent be grinning in that stupidly infuriating fashion of his.

"Favorite roomie?" It took every ounce of self-control for me not to glare at him.

"Naturally."

"I always knew you were delusional, but what on earth would bring you to that conclusion?"

"Didn't see you bury your face in Jay or Ken's shoulders as they carried you through a cozy little cave."

My cheeks burned.

This... This jerk.

I cleared my throat. "I—"

"Haze is the one who got me the twin crystals for Vespyrea," Syn said quietly.

That shut me up.

Haze groaned. "Way to spill the beans, Whiskers."

"What?" Syn grumbled, approaching the portal without looking at either of us. "You knew why you came." He squatted next to the shimmering circle of crystals and frowned. His fingertips trailed across some of the glittering stones, and he added, "'Sides, she's been helping me."

I could feel that familiar burning gaze right between my shoulder blades.

"Helping you...how?" Haze asked.

Syn got to his feet and rubbed the back of his neck. "I got that list of names thanks to her."

When the silence dragged on, I risked a glance at Haze. With his arms crossed in front of his chest and brows furrowed, he paced at the edge of the clearing in a very un-Haze-like fashion. Iridescent specs of color danced across his dark form, only adding to that nervous energy that seemed to buzz around him.

"What?" I asked. "Is that so hard to believe?"

"Huh?" Haze stopped in his tracks. When his eyes landed on me, they narrowed. Another teasing smile appeared on his face. "Took you for a straight shooter is all. Guess that perfect ambassador daughter image is completely shattered now."

Right, because that's totally what I'd been before.

I mirrored his pose. "You got a problem with that?"

His grin widened. "Nope. More fun this way."

"Is everything a joke to you?"

"Quite the opposite."

"Seriously, guys?" Syn sighed. "We don't have all night."

Right. There was a reason for our little get-together.

I shook my head and turned away from Haze. "Did you get anywhere with the list?" I asked Syn.

He nodded. "Not all of those shifters are dead."

"What?" My arms fell to my sides. "That's huge! Did you find any of them?"

"No... Unfortunately, it's not that simple. Officially, they're all still considered missing, but I found out that three are currently held in Pyrarcis and—"

"Unofficially, of course," Haze cut in.

Of course.

"Get this though," Syn continued, lowering his voice even more. "One of those imprisoned shifters is a giant cursorial owl."