“She’s the witch who showed up at my apartment and asked Elijah and me to off Bronywyn. The one time I don’t shoot first and ask questions later— The bitch would have been better off dead. Elijah’s making me soft.”
“I very much doubt that,” Fearghas quips.
“Why does she want us dead?” I demand.
“Your inter-faction fuckings are against The Accords. Does she need a better reason?” He grins at me.
“We done with this asshole?” I ask the group.
“I think we’ve gotten about all the participation we’re going to get,” Delaney replies.
“Kill me. More are coming for you. Soon, you’ll join me in the veil.”
“You’re not going to the veil, asshole. Burn in hell.” I shove my fist into his chest and wrap my hand around his still-beating heart. It pulsates in my hand as he gasps, eyes widening. I rip it out and drop him to the ground before tossing the organ down next to it.
“That was rather bloody, wasn’t it?” Fearghas comments. “Feel better?”
“Hardly.” Taking the handkerchief offered to me by the fae, I wipe my hands. When I move to offer it back, he shakes his head.
“All yours.”
“Well, we know that Odette is pulling the strings.”
“We suspected that already,” Delaney reminded her sister.
“We know that they couldn’t sense her magic. I wonder why…” Eira trails off. “Even if she was refusing to use it, they should have been able to sense it.”
“The shadow magic was blocking her,” I tell them. “It’s why, when we showed up to save her, she wasn’t fighting back. It somehow managed to shut her down.”
“Making her helpless so she’d need it.” Rainey shakes her head. “Fucking magic.”
“Not all magic is like that,” Delaney defends.
“No, just all the kinds we seem to run into on a daily basis. Just once, I’d love to have a normal fucking day.”
“Agreed.”
Delaney offers Cole a soft smile at his interjection.
“Well, unfortunately, it seems our normal days are a way off for now.” I unroll my sleeves then retrieve my phone and tap on Brad’s contact. “Get to Eira’s club, and clean up the warlock body currently staining her rug.”
“On it.”
After ending the call, I shove my cell back into my pocket. “Still no Ridley?”
Fearghas shakes his head. “The bloody bastard is out of reach.” I know what he’s not saying…what we’re all thinking. It’s entirely possible Ridley went back to Faerie, and with the way time moves between the two worlds, there’s no telling how long he’ll be gone.
What if he doesn’t make it back in time to save her?
“We need to start looking for a plan B.”