War and Famine: An Urban Fantasy Novel (Revelations Book 2) Read Online Free

cool.”
    “Don’t be mad because you just decided you were my girlfriend.” Ian shut his eyes for a long while and when he opened them again, his entire demeanor had changed, going from protective hostility to a weird mix of embarrassment and empathy. He pushed the fries across the table toward her. “Have some fries. Then we need to go see Sabastin. He helped us before. Maybe he can help us again.”
    Amy didn’t have any fries. But she did die from shame. Had they really become boyfriend and girlfriend just like that? It wasn’t supposed to be like that, was it? They weren’t supposed to just look up and realize they were together. No, there were supposed to be awkward dates, and well, other things presumably. She wasn’t sure exactly what, but this didn’t seem like how it was supposed to be. Especially not with someone who’d stabbed her last boyfriend to death.
    Ian watched her as she cleared her throat and looked away, trying to hide her flushed cheeks as guilt swam over her skin. “We can go see Sabastin now,” she said after the silence between them grew into a living thing. Why did this feel so awkward? Guilt, sure, but there was definitely something more at play, something she couldn’t quite quantify. She’d come to terms with the fact that she was a horrible person already, so that definitely wasn’t it.
    Ian stood up and held his hand out toward her. “I don’t really like touching, but I’d like to hold your hand.”
    “Okay,” she replied, offering him her hand and letting him help her up. They walked like that to her car. This also was awkward, but less so.
    Still, as Amy popped open her glovebox and pulled out the small golden bracelet Sabastin had given her, she couldn’t keep the flush of embarrassment off her cheeks. Had Ian really become her boyfriend just like that? If he had, how did she feel about that? To be perfectly frank, she wasn’t sure.
    Why? Because while she liked him, almost pathetically so, there was a little voice whispering in her ear, trying to convince her that the only reason she had feelings for him was because of their mantles. As much as she tried to deny it, there was no way for her to know for certain if it was the force of their mantles pushing them together or if her feelings were real?
    After all, hadn’t that been what had happened between Kim and Malcom? Both were clearly terrible for one another, bringing each other nothing but pain, and despite this, their mantles, Conquest and Death, had thrust them back together over and over again.
    It was something she couldn’t risk. No matter how much she liked him. Besides, they had an ancient Nordic god named Vidar to deal with. If he was anything like Vali had been, he’d be harder to kill than a water bear and those things could survive the vacuum of space for ten days. This was not the time to be daydreaming about a boy, especially the boy who had gutted her boyfriend a few weeks ago. God, she must be crazy to even consider it.
    No. They would not be together. It was impossible. But his hand did feel nice. Way too nice.
    Amy pushed that thought out of her mind as she clipped the golden bracelet on her wrist. She gripped Ian’s hand tighter and pressed the green button on the side. Emerald light spilled from the bracelet’s faceplate as symbols in a language she didn’t understand danced across the metal. Sabastin had given her this bracelet when she’d left his super-secret base in the clouds, and while she’d used it to teleport back there on occasion, the experience still weirded her out. Teleportation wasn’t exactly pleasant feeling.
    Her stomach nearly revolted, twisting into a knot inside her as light streamed over their bodies. Ian squeezed her hand, and the feeling passed under a wash of cool air. Amy turned toward him and found him looking at her, a sly smile on his lips.
    “I always hate this part,” he said before the scenery around them faded away, and their disassembled particles shot