The Phoenix Prophecy: Nova
: Chapter 11

In the kitchen, away from the young human’s doe-eyed gaze, I rub my face with my palms and groan. My head is thumping, and the protective growls from Snow when he heard her say she had boyfriend trouble didn’t help.

“Tanner’s not the only one who’s smitten.” I reach for a glass, fill it with tap water, and gulp it down. Kole raises his eyebrows at me while flipping a pancake.

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“Snow?”

“He’s a sucker for a damsel in distress,” I reply as the big white bear inside me growls in throaty agreement.

Noticing my eyes flash amber, Kole almost smiles. “A young damsel in distress.”

“She’s at least twenty-five,” I reply, realizing how that must sound coming from my fifty-two-year-old lips.

This time, Kole laughs.

Unlike mine, Snow’s emotions run close to the surface. And something about Nova has brought out the protective papa bear side of his personality.

In an attempt to ignore him, I start collecting plates from the shelf behind Kole. He waits a few minutes, allowing the quiet to settle between us, before asking what I know he’s desperate to ask.

“What do you think?” He doesn’t take his eyes from the pan, slowly dropping in more batter and watching it bubble.

“I think we need to take this one step at a time.” I put a hand on his shoulder and squeeze gently. His muscles twitch beneath my fingers. “Kole, if being around her is too difficult, perhaps we should find her somewhere else to stay while we…”

“No.” His reply is deep and gravelly. “She stays here. Where we can watch her.” When he finally turns to look at me, there’s a vulnerability in his face that I haven’t seen since the days after we brought him back to Phoenix Falls. “I believe she’s the one, Mack.”

I take a deep, slow breath. Snow is pacing. Big, heavy steps that thud in time with my heartbeat. He’s already anxious to check on her, and the strength of his feeling unsettles me. “If she is, Luther and I will find out.”

“And then?” Kole asks, swallowing hard.

“Then… we prepare ourselves. Because if she really is The Phoenix, hell is quite literally about to try to break loose.”

Kole looks away. His grip tightens on the pan. There’s a small crack and I realize its plastic handle has snapped down the middle. It’s been seven years since Kole first accessed the Phoenix Prophecy. The places he went to for that to happen still haunt him. He’s never stopped believing, but I think we all figured we’d have more time before it finally came to pass. Time, or at the very least, some warning. A sign that times were changing. That something was brewing in the underworld, and that it would soon be time to fight back.

The smell of burned food makes Snow huff loudly at me. Kole’s pancake is smoking. I nudge him out of the way, flip it out of the pan, and turn down the heat. “I think we have enough.” I nod at the stack next to him. As I turn to grab the syrup, I meet his eyes. In a voice I haven’t used since I was his teacher, I add, “One step at a time. Whatever happens, we’re in this together. The four of us.”

For a moment, Kole’s expression doesn’t change, but then he attempts to smile. “Even Luther?”

I let out a throaty chuckle. “Especially Luther. He’s your oldest friend. You’re like a brother to him. So, he’ll come around. Trust me.”

Before Kole can reply, the doors swing open and Tanner saunters in. Behind him in the bar, Nova is watching us. Catching a glimpse of her, Snow’s twitchiness eases. See, I tell him. She’s fine. Right where we left her. 

“Food nearly ready?” Tanner opens the fridge and takes out a large carton of orange juice. “Poor thing’s starving.” He stops in front of me, and his usually carefree expression darkens a little. “Whoever this ex-boyfriend is, he’s a nasty piece of work.”

“She says she doesn’t want us involved.” Kole slides the final pancakes onto a large plate.

Ignoring him, Tanner fixes his gaze on mine. “Since when are we the kind of mages who let that shit slide?”

“We can’t hurt a human, Tanner.” As I reply, Snow huffs at me.

“Then let’s hope you’re right about him being a mage. Because if he is, and he’s responsible for the burned clothes I found…”

“If he’s a mage…” My eyes flash as Snow stands up on his hind legs and lets out a growl that rings in my ears. “And he hurt her. He’ll pay. Don’t you worry about that.”

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