Tai turned from the kitchen island with a plate of pancakes. “Oh, Frankie, did you see my sister down there? There are pancakes.” He sat down at the table with his food and reached for the syrup that Warner was holding out to him.

Did I ever. My face warmed. “Oh, uh, yeah. She’s not hungry right now.”

Tai scowled. “What’s with the face? Wait, she’s not hungry? She’s always hungry. What’s she doing?”

“Oh . . . um . . .” I strolled over to the couch in front of me and leaned my hands on the back of it. “She’s feeding Malik.”

Tai’s face paled. “What?”

“Oh, shit.” Tenn swallowed his bite, then licked his lips. He used his fork to gesture across the room to where Braison and Shi-Shi sat on the couch across from me. “Do y’all need to . . . feed? is that what you call it?”

“That’s typically how reference it.”

I spun at the sound of my soulmate’s voice and found him walking through the front door. The fact that he didn’t use his shadows to travel here made my stomach tighten into knots. “You okay? You used a lot of magic⁠—”

“I am⁠—”

“Don’t you dare lie to me⁠—”

“Tired.” He smirked and stopped in front of me. He tapped under my chin with his finger, then leaned down and pressed his lips to mine before pulling back much too soon. “I am tired.”

“Sit down,” I said quickly and gestured to the couch in front of me. “Want me to get you some food?”

“I am not yet ready for food. But thank you.” He squeezed my elbow before moving around the edge of the couch and throwing himself down in front of me. “But to answer your question, Tennessee, yes. They need to feed.”

Tai pointed to me standing behind Everest. “She says Malik is feeding from my sister right now.”

“Have you had a change of heart on your opinion of Malik since he sprouted fangs?”

Tai frowned. He stared at his pancakes for a moment, then sighed. “No. He’s a good guy.”

Everest nodded. “Then trust your sister is safe. She is merely providing him with the sustenance he now requires.”

I slid my hands onto his shoulders and gently massaged them.

The back door opened and Saber walked in. Her eyes were glassy and a little red, her lips a little puffy. She’d been crying. My stomach tightened into knots. I prayed I hadn’t given her bad advice. I scanned her face, searching for a clue, yet found nothing else to read from.