Erou rubbed his jaw. “A private place…”
“But what about the library, Lord Erou? Didn’t you tell me earlier about visiting the library?” Zari ventured.
Alexandru asked, “You went to one?”
Erou nodded. “But I didn’t think it was worth mentioning because a library didn’t seem a likely place for the murders to take place.”
“But what if the killer had access to the library at night?” Zari suggested. “Like an employee, something like that?”
“The lady may be on to something, milord,” one of Alexandru’s men piped in.
The compliment was unexpected, and Zari would have blushed if not for her Master suddenly flicking her forehead. She yelped in pain instead. “What was that for?”
Not wanting to tell her he didn’t like her looking cute in front of so many men, Alexandru lied gruffly, “There was an, err, insect about to bite you.”
Behind Alexandru, his men groaned in unison through the blood bond they shared with their leader.
Alexandru grimaced. Shut up.
THE LIBRARY WAS A THREE-story concrete building, with guards at every entrance. Located at one of the smaller streets in town, she saw how it could serve as a place of murder. Her skin chilled as she continued to study its dark shadow, and she knew it was an ominous sign of things to come.
She closed her eyes and when she opened it, everything was red again.
She gasped, and the red veil covering the world disappeared.
Beside her, Alexandru asked sharply, “Another vision?”
Zari nodded. “I feel like…something’s about to happen.” She let out a frustrated sigh. “I wish I could understand how this…I wish I could understand my visions more.”
Seeing Erou about to open his mouth and spout out more useless platitudes made Alexandru say harshly, “It’s not like you could readily do anything if you did see more of the murders.” He had wanted to assure her that she was not to blame. But the moment the words left his mouth, Alexandru knew they hadn’t come out the way he intended them to.
The words had his men looking away uncomfortably, Erou glaring at him, and Zari—-
She didn’t look like she was about to cry. This time, she only looked sad.
Alexandru cursed under his breath. “Zari—-”
“I understand.” She bowed her head in apology.
His mood worsened, the fact that she had preferred to bow in apology like a supplicant instead of calling him Master not slipping his notice. The distance between him and his pet just kept growing. He should have been happy about it, but he wasn’t. Goddammit, he wasn’t.
Without a word, he stalked towards her, curved an arm around her waist, and made a leap to the third-floor balcony. He took another leap, landing on the roof of the building. Through his blood bond, he told his men to scatter and take Lord Erou with them. I’ll take care of the third floor with the soul seer. Just be certain you keep Lord Erou well away from me unless the killer’s been found.
Zari’s eyes closed the moment she realized they were up in the air, and her arms automatically went around him.
When she opened her eyes, they were on the—-
“What are we doing on the roof?” she cried out. This was her first time to find herself so high off the ground, and it was not a good feeling.
He slowly set her down on her feet, which would have been good if not for the fact that he had placed her at the very edge, with half of her feet floating in the air.
She clutched his arms tightly. Do you want me dying with fright?
I’m considering it.
She gasped. Master!
His eyes darkened. Because of that, he snarled. Do I really have to place you here just so you’d call me Master again?
Chapter Nine
When Alexandru saw his pet hovering by the doorway of his study, he put aside his books and asked with a sigh, “Come on in, pet. You know I won’t be able to concentrate if you keep looking at me like that.”
She hurried inside even as she protested, “I didn’t say anything—-”
“You don’t have to. Your eyes, your face, hell, even your nose – they all do the talking for you.”
When he patted his lap, she went to him without a murmur.
He looked at her suspiciously. “That bad?”
She looked at him innocently. “Huh?”
He sighed again. “Just spill it, pet.”
“Well, you know about the rule regarding terms of endearment and how I thought we should have Masters and pets calling each other names than, well, just ‘Master’ and ‘pet’?”
“And?” Personally, nothing made Alexandru happier than hearing his pet call him Master. He was almost certain it was the same for other Masters, but he supposed it was different for pets. Women were strange creatures, after all.
“I was thinking, maybe you could translate this for me…” She showed him her list.
Apple of my eye. Star of my sky. Love of my forsaken life. The fries in my happy meal. The Taylor in my Swift.