Free Undying Hope by Emma Weylin Page B

flying around, and Haven resigned herself to the fact she’d need to learn all of them. Quinn shook his head. “I need to speak with Wolf before there is a formal announcement. If one of the other Cadfaels show, I’d have to announce that I am bonding. I want to be the one to tell Wolf before giving the Cadfaels an official statement.”
    “Very well, my lord.” Memphis bowed his head before opening the closet door.
    Both men walked inside. Quinn stopped and winked at her. “I will be back as soon as I can.”
    The door closed. The apartment rattled as if a violent wind gust kicked up outside. A second later, Memphis exited the closet.
    Haven connected the dots. Memphis opened the portals and not Quinn. She had another question. “Why do you open the portal in there?”
    Memphis chuckled. “A strong wind can do a lot of damage to inanimate objects.”
    “Right,” she said. Why hadn’t she thought of that? “And he didn’t take you with him?”
    “Kyros,” Memphis said as if the name answered everything.
    Maybe it did. “I didn’t hear either of you talking about anything.” The elevator door opened. When the wolves came in with wet fur from playing in the snow, she understood how Quinn and Memphis had exchanged information. “Never mind. How long have you known Quinn?”
    “If you don’t mind,” Nikon said as he padded up to her and rubbed against the side of her leg. “ Can you get our breakfast? Look on the bottom shelf in the cold box.”
    “I’ll get it,” Memphis said as he went to the refrigerator. “Roughly two thousand years.”
    “Oh.” She needed something to do. “They eat their food raw?”
    “It’s better for them,” Memphis said as he pulled out two packages of wrapped meat. “What do you know about us?”
    “Nothing,” she admitted after a moment. “Do you want me to help?”
    “Do you need to help?” Memphis asked with an edge of humor in his tone.
    “I do,” she said and moved to the counter space he was using to unwrap the wolves’ breakfast. It appeared to be beef chopped up into large, bite-sized chunks. “You wouldn’t happen to know where their dishes are, would you?”
    Memphis stilled from getting tomorrow’s wolf meal out of the freezer and stared at her.
    “Just get some plates,” Medea said. “ Eating off ceramic won’t hurt us.”
    “Oh,” Haven said. She still felt silly talking to a wolf and knowing she would get an answer. “Would you prefer just having the paper?”
    “Cadeyrn is very efficient and doesn’t like to wash dishes.” Medea rubbed the side of her head against Haven’s thigh. “ Eating from a dish would be wonderful.”
    Memphis reached over her head, pulled down two plain black plates, and set them on the counter. Haven served the wolves the meat on the floor.
    She waited until they started eating before she went back to talking with Memphis. “Why is everything at giant height in this kitchen?”
    Memphis chuckled. “Because a giant lives here alone?”
    “Good answer,” she said. “All right. This is making me nuts. Start pulling things down. I have got to get this kitchen functioning for standard-sized people if I am the only one the wolves are going to let cook.”
    To her utter surprise, Memphis did exactly as she asked. There weren’t many things that needed reorganized, and that had her hunting down a notepad and pen to start making a list. They had enough food to last Bastian one, maybe two meals. She was just putting the last cup into the cabinet next to the sink when the apartment rattled. A moment later, Quinn stepped out. His shirt was torn and the look on his face was heartrending.
    Memphis paused.
    Haven rushed over to Quinn. Her hand dipped into the hole in his shirt and came out red. “You’re bleeding. Memphis call—”
    Quinn grabbed her wrist as he handed his sword off to Memphis. “I’ll heal.”
    She studied his face. Part of her knew what he’d done. “He was…”
    “Aye,” Quinn said. His