The Calling by Cate Tiernan Page A

different.”
    â€œThat’s one word for it,” said Sky, her voice acid-edged.
    Killian returned then, his glamor dissolved, and gave Robbie and Raven their drinks. “How long are you going to be in the city?” he asked Raven.
    Raven started to answer, only to be silenced by a warning look from Hunter. “Uh, I’m not sure,” she said.
    â€œSo, will I see you again?” he persisted.
    â€œMaybe,” she said. She slid a quick glance at Sky, as if to ask, How far will you let me push you? before she added, “Why don’t you give me your number?”
    He gave her a wide-eyed look. “Would you believe I’m staying with friends and I can’t remember their number? How about you give me your number?”
    It was a transparent lie, and I wondered why he told it, especially since he didn’t make any real effort to be convincing. I could feel Sky reaching a silent boil. Raven must have felt it, too, because she shrugged, downed her beer, and got to her feet. “Same here,” she said. “Can’t remember it. Guess I’ll see you when I see you.”
    Killian held out his hand and pulled her to him. Then he gave her a quick kiss, teetering on the edge between friendly and sexual.
    I glanced at Sky in alarm. Her face was set, her nostrils flared.
    â€œRaven, we’re leaving now,” Hunter said loudly.
    Raven looked at Killian and shrugged. “Gotta go.”
    Killian’s dark brows rose. “Must you?”
    â€œYes, we must,” Hunter said. We retrieved our coats and trailed out of the club into the frigid streets.
    We started back to the apartment. Sky and Raven walked ahead, maintaining an icy distance between themselves and us. Robbie slung an arm around Bree’s shoulders, and they walked on like that, quiet and compatible. Whatever ups and downs they’d had during the evening, they seemed to have ended it on an upward trend.
    Hunter was quiet, too, and walking slowly enough that we fell behind Robbie and Bree after a block or two. “Thinking about your job?” I guessed.
    He nodded in a distracted way.
    How could he focus so intensely on something so nebulous, so unformed? I couldn’t—especially not when I was around him. I felt the familiar rush of insecurity. Did he even love me? He’d never said he did.
    Of course he does, I told myself. He’s just not as obvious about it as Cal was.
    Feeling suddenly sad, I pulled my jacket tighter. Above us white stars blazed through a clear black night. The moon was gone, dropped somewhere behind the Manhattan skyline.
    â€œCold?” Hunter asked, pulling me against him.
    â€œI’m not so sure I want to go to that club again,” I told him. “The amount of magick flying around was almost too much.”
    â€œIt was intense, that’s true. But it’s good to be exposed to lots of magick, coming from lots of sources. Besides just increasing your general knowledge, it will help you to recognize and deal with dark magick. Which, as you know, is especially important for you.”
    I felt my chest tighten. We’d already talked about this more than once—about the fact that Selene had been part of a larger conspiracy, that her death probably didn’t mean I was safe from other members of her coven or from other factions altogether. I’m going to be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life, I thought bleakly.
    Hunter pulled me to a stop under a streetlight. It cast harsh shadows on the planes of his face, making his cheekbones look razor sharp. “Don’t worry,” he said gently. “I’m looking after you. And you can look after yourself pretty well, too, you know. Besides, if Amyranth knows about you at all, they’ll know you’re high on the council’s radar right now.”
    I thought of Killian. “Maybe I need to learn the art of magickal disguise.”
    â€œThat’s the least of