Storm (The Storm Chronicles Book 6) by Skye Knizley

and driven his old Nash Metropolitan to the modest apartment he shared with his fiancé, Sloan Patlii. Sloan was a were-eagle, a cuāuhtli, by birth and a doctor by trade who worked the Emergency Room at Mercy. Her schedule was erratic, but he knew she would be home that evening, and he wanted to be there when she got home.
    He unlocked the door to the apartment and stepped inside at just after four in the afternoon. The sweet scent of fresh citrus wafted through the apartment and he smiled; she’d beaten him home and was making dinner. He dumped his paperwork on the side table, kicked off his shoes and hung his coat on a hook by the door before moving through the small foyer and into the living area. The apartment wasn’t big, but it was clean and close enough to the hospital that Sloan could walk. Or fly, depending on the moon cycle. The living area consisted of a television, small sofa and a recliner big enough for two. A door at the back led to the spare bedroom he used as a home office for his painting while the archway to his left would lead to the large bathroom and master bedroom he shared with Sloan. The open galley-kitchen was on the far side and Levac could see Sloan bent over her cooking. Her white-blonde hair was pulled into the bun she wore at work and she wore no makeup. She wore nothing but a robe that was as pale as she was. She must have felt Levac smiling at her because she looked up and grinned.
    “Welcome home, my love. Tangerines stir-fried with chicken and bamboo shoots sound good?” she asked.
    He smiled back and swept her into his arms. “It sounds delicious. But what’s for dinner?”
    She bit his ear then kissed him before replying, “That’s dinner. You have enough cheeseburgers when you’re at work. I don’t want you to die of a heart attack.”
    Levac rolled up his sleeves and rummaged in the refrigerator for a soda. “No fear of that. Since being partnered with Raven I’ve lost close to sixty pounds.”
    Sloan nodded and went back to her cooking. “That is because you are her familiar. You share her vampiric metabolism.”
    Levac popped the top of his soda and took a long drought. “Well, whatever it is, it’s better than exercise.”
    Sloan didn’t reply, and something in the hunch of her shoulders made him pause. He set the can aside and hugged her from behind. “What’s wrong?”
    “Nothing,” Sloan replied.
    “Something.”
    He kissed the back of her head. “Sloan, Raven is my partner, my best friend. Yeah, we had feelings for one another and probably always will, but that is over.”
    Sloan turned. “Is it?”
    Levac smiled. “It is. I have you, she has Aspen and we are far better as best friends than as anything else. Besides, my fiancé can kill me with a sword and hers can turn me into a frog, I think I’m safer not upsetting anyone.”
    Sloan smiled back. “Good. How is she? Any word?”
    Levac shrugged, a complicated gesture when holding Sloan, one that made her go up and down in his arms. “Last I heard, she was on desk duty. Aspen texted me last night that she was going on a case, but Raven had to stay home.”
    Sloan turned back to her cooking. “I am certain Raven wasn’t happy about that.”
    “Aspen didn’t say. I texted Ray this morning, but she didn’t answer.”
    Sloan glanced at him. “Is that normal?”
    “It wasn’t until a month ago, with her dad. Since then, yeah. Aspen said she isn’t talking much. Finding out her dad was alive and she had a sister, it’s been hard and Ray isn’t one to share how she feels,” Levac said.
    He pulled a pair of bamboo plates down from the cupboard and set them on the dining table with chopsticks and napkins. Sloan followed and served them both healthy plates while Levac got glasses of tea. They sat together and Sloan bowed her head in a prayer. Levac didn’t join in, not because he didn’t believe on some level, but because he still didn’t understand the ancient language Sloan was speaking. When she