I hadn’t realized how much I needed that, needed her. A bit of normalcy in my life right now was a much needed tranquilizer, and the tears streaming down my face were more from relief and joy at seeing her than anything else.

“Did something happen with your delicious hunter?” Tessa quirked an eyebrow.

“How about we don’t talk about him?”

Her lips parted. “Oh, Tala Bala.” She pulled me back into a hug, wrapping me in her warmth and radiance. “If you two are arguing right now, don’t give it a second thought. It’s you and me here, just like it’s supposed to be, so I’ll do my best to keep you distracted.”

When I finally stopped gripping her, she released me, then eyed the SF members standing a few yards behind us who were awkwardly avoiding our gazes since we weren’t exactly keeping our conversation discreet.

“Can you grab her bags?” Tessa asked one of them sweetly, her eyelashes fluttering.

“Of course, ma’am,” he replied, dipping his head and taking my bags from me.

Even though my sister had basically just asked him to be our bellman, he seemed relieved for the task. It probably beat watching two young women cry and fawn over each other.

Tessa flashed him a coy smile, then linked her arm through mine. “Come on. I’ll show you where I’m staying.”

“Do you have any idea where we are?” I glanced at the surrounding dry terrain again.

“Nope.” From her tone, she didn’t seem overly concerned about our geographical location as she tugged me along.

“We must be in a desert.” Anyone with eyes could see that.

“Yep, definitely in a desert, but I have no idea which one.” She gave a tinkling laugh.

“So no other notions where then?” I asked as curiosity got the better of me. “Perhaps the southwest, or Mexico, or maybe northern Africa?”

She gave me a little squeeze. “We’re not supposed to know, nosey. We’re just supposed to enjoy it.”

I rolled my eyes but laughed. My chest felt lighter, my wolf was asleep and not bothering me, and for the first time since Tessa had been abducted, I actually felt like myself.

“Gods, I needed this,” I mumbled to no one in particular.

“Oh yay, so you are going to enjoy it here!” she squealed. “I thought you might get restless or insist on talking to our employees all day, or working to craft more spells and potions for Practically Perfect, or grumbling about that hunter of yours.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me about Kaillen or the store. ’Cause I should be doing all of those things. Speaking of which, you and I will need to sit down at some point and talk about Practically Perfect’s future.”

“Oh?” She cocked her head. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that with everything that’s happened, I don’t know if things will return to how they once were. I’m worried that my true witch magic could become common knowledge,” I said under my breath so the SF members strolling behind us wouldn’t hear. “Which means the locals might start to question our business. We haven’t exactly been honest with them. There might be a backlash because of that.”

A groove appeared between Tessa’s eyes. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

I elbowed her good-naturedly. “You never do. That’s the problem.”

“Well, there’s an easy solution to that one.”

“There is?”

“Of course,” she said nonchalantly. “We get ahead of the story before it truly gets out and we weave it to our advantage. We could say something about how you hate the limelight and prefer privacy and that you were terrified at the thought of people knowing it was you behind our spells, and then I could swoop in to save the day and claim I’d done it all for you. We could spin it so that it came across as two sisters lovingly working together and supporting each other in the best way possible.”

A laugh escaped me. “That’s not that far from the truth.”

“Exactly, which means it’ll be easy to pull off.”

I laughed again, because I had to admit that she had a point. When it came to charming people and deceiving them in a way that didn’t make them feel manipulated, my sister truly had a knack for it. “Have you thought that marketing or PR could be your true calling?”

She scrunched her nose up. “Does that job involve getting up every day at eight o’clock and sitting behind a desk?”

“Not necessarily.”

She inclined her head. “Well, I don’t know then. Perhaps it is what I’m destined for. As long as it’s exciting.” She gave me a sly side-eye, then grinned. “You have to admit that our lives right now are very exciting. Life is much more interesting now than it was last month.”

“Perhaps, but I don’t know if it’s exciting in a good way.”

“But don’t you enjoy it? Just a little?”

I groaned. Even though I loved my sister to death, she was so trying at times. “I’m not really sure that all of this”—I gestured to the SF base around us—“is something to be excited about. Your choices are affecting many people’s lives. Have you thought about that?”

She shrugged. “Well, if nothing else, it gives all of them something to do. After all, this is what they’re paid for, are they not?”

“Tessa, seriously, don’t you feel guilty? At least a little bit?”

She frowned, and a contemplative look came into her eyes as she seemed to mull it over. “I do regret what it’s done to you. I am truly sorry for that.”

I squeezed her arm. It wasn’t the admission I’d hoped for, since she hadn’t taken full responsibility for her actions, but it was a start. I could live with that.

“How long do you think you’ll be here?” she asked.

“Not sure. I suppose as long as I need a break from him.” When she gave me a quizzical glance, I switched subjects. “Have you talked to Nicole lately? To ask how the store’s doing?”

“I did actually. I called her yesterday.” Tessa beamed, obviously quite impressed with herself that she’d taken the initiative.

“What did she say?”

Tessa shrugged. “She gave me the weekly financials and told me how sales have been since we’ve been gone.”

“How’s she holding up?”

“Fine, as far as I can tell. She actually seemed to be enjoying it. I think she likes being the boss.”

A breath of relief escaped me. Since I’d been so caught up in everything that’d happened in the past few days, I’d completely neglected Nicole—the employee we’d put in charge of Practically Perfect while we were gone. “I’m so relieved to hear that.”

Tessa bumped elbows with me. “You should take a break from the store while you’re here, you know. You never take any time off, and after everything you’ve been through, you deserve a little vaca.”

It was the same words Prisha had uttered to me, but while I was used to my best friend thinking of my well-being, I was less used to hearing that from my sister. Usually, Tessa thought about Tessa and nobody else.

I squeezed her hand. “Maybe you’re right.”

We’d nearly reached the end of the runway, and in the dark sky, I could make out tall shapes that rose in the distance. A backdrop of endless stars loomed over them. “Are those mountains?” I asked, pointing toward the black shapes.

“Yep, I think we’re in a valley between two mountain ranges.”

A small, well-lit hanger loomed ahead of us, but unlike the SF hanger in Chicago, this one wasn’t hidden or underground, suggesting that wherever we were was remote since the SF wasn’t worried about humans seeing us. That, or they had some serious illusion spells around this base’s entire perimeter.

About twenty small houses and a large concrete building rose behind the hanger, but I didn’t see any other buildings, which told me this base was fairly small. “Are there other families or other supernaturals needing protection who live here too?” I asked, nodding toward the other houses.

“Nope, just me,” Tessa replied. “Those other houses are where the SF members live. From what I’ve been able to figure out, the safe house I’m in is the only one used for that purpose. I think this base is mostly used for military training.” She nodded toward the hanger.