“Oh, that’s fun.” Well, there went my relaxing morning. Afternoon. Whatever.
“Also, more cases of people going love potion crazy are showing up.”
I frowned. “I thought the alchemists were mopping that up.”
“We’re trying, but …” I could picture Gideon’s frustration. “We’re not sure the spiked potion ingredients have anything to do with the love potions. We’re not seeing any evidence of dark magic in those potions.”
“That’s weird.” I frowned. Terezal had blamed “her.” Who was this “her?” Malda Nazari? Why would she care about love potions?
“Anyway, Al, the cops want me to come in as well and speak to that.”
I glanced toward the door. “Do you want me to meet you outside?”
“Sure.”
By this time, Josie had stepped away from the peacock and was eying me with concern.
“We’ve got to go,” I mouthed to her.
She nodded, and we headed for the exit, grabbing a little sanitizer on the way out. Just before the door, I turned to her. “Mind if I teleport you back to the shop? Fae cops are on their way. Might be a good idea to keep your head down.”
“Okay.” Josie stepped back uncertainly. “Do I have to stand anywhere in particular? I’m never sure when you do this.”
“Nope, you’re fine.”
I visualized the shop. A nice, open space for her in the front room.
One snap, and she was gone. Good. That taken care of, I walked outside the main aviary space, exited the building—and immediately came face to face with Brightlef and Linvine. The Fae court’s finest tree elf cops who posed as normal officers in the Pittsburgh police force. I’m sure they were glamoured to look like human cops, but all I saw were their scarlet uniforms that spoke of their true allegiance, along with swords and pistols that could funnel magic. Linvine’s bright green hair was spiked out around his narrow features—inhumanly beautiful, since he wasn’t human. Brightlef’s expression was cross, as if her unnaturally yellow hair was in a tighter ponytail than normal.
“Excuse me! Coming through!” Gideon scooted through the two cops in otter form, then shifted until he stood next to me.
I sighed. Even though I wanted to protect my brother, it felt good to have him at my side.
Linvine spoke first, his fluid voice rushing over his words. “Allisandra Evanenko, we’re not here to accuse you of anything. Your actions in handling the PPG Place incident are commendable, and Queen Epriana extends her personal gratitude for your selfless actions.”
“Again,” Brightlef added with a dismissive air.
“Yes, again.” Linvine shot his partner a look, then continued. “But a Jinn in custody cited you as his character reference.”
They’d found him! Allyn and Theiya’s trap had worked. Anger and relief filled me. “Aha. He did, did he? May I ask why the Jinn is in custody?”
“He’s the lead suspect in the murder of Terezal Inuyo.”
My stomach dropped. Kiran, what are you doing? But I managed to keep my posture loose and my face noncommittal. “Got it. That’s a shame. I suppose I can speak to a few things regarding the situation.”
“We also have questions for Gideon Evanenko as well, who has been investigating the love potion on behalf of the alchemists guild.”
He nodded. “Ask away.”
“Wait, are you taking our testimony here?”
Linvine shook his head. “Kiran Singh requests the right of blood binder intermediary. With Cendric Antalek … indisposed, you are the only other eligible person.”
“I see.” Oh, I’d mediate for Kiran, all right.
I’d mediate his bones and muscles apart.
Keep it together, Allis.
“And the general requests your presence for additional consultation.”
So Theiya wanted a chat that was more secure than earvines. The magical biotech was hard to hack, but it was still possible. “I’m guessing teleporting to the station is out of the question.”
Brightleft smirked. “Official police business means we are required to bring you in an official police car. Particularly in this instance. The general insisted.”
Of course she did. “Wait, does she want me and Gideon there?”
“Yes.”
My brother near Kiran? The Jinn had already harmed Cendric. I opened my mouth to protest, then caught Gideon’s fierce glance.
No arguing with that.
I groaned. “Fine.”
“Follow us.”
As Gideon and I fell into step behind them, I tapped my ear to call Melrose. Wait. He didn’t have an earvine, and he only checked his cell phone twice a day. The man was more willfully out of touch than the Amish.
I sent him a quick text. They found Kiran. Gideon and I got called in. Rain check on the check-up.
After all the recuperation, I was at ninety-five percent. That was plenty enough.
It was time for Kiran to answer for his crimes.
Chapter 14
We drove up to the precinct, police siren blaring—and drove right on past. I started, and Gideon lifted his furry head from where he was resting it on my leg.
I knocked on the wire divider separating the front of the car from the back, ignoring the sparks from the magical force field. “Where are we going?”
“To Kiran Singh,” Linvine said, glancing over his shoulder. “General Emiror laid snares in and around all his galleries and his personal studio. The studio on Eleventh Street tripped an hour ago.” He raised his eyebrows. “She used your blood as bait to tap into your Jinn magic and lure Kiran into the trap.”
“Right.” The words jarred my memory. Theiya had told me the whole plan. I’d given her the blood myself. But I’d had to take on so much other information, the details had slipped my mind. “So she’s holding him at the studio?”
Brightlef’s expression was sober. “Barely. The studio is his place, so he has magical advantage. She has him contained, but not for long.”
My stomach twisted. I could guarantee Kiran was only trapped because he wanted to be. Because he wanted to see me and try to get through to me again—and he wasn’t stupid enough to show up at my house with all the vampires around. Kiran always avoided conflict unless necessary.
Brightlef skidded around a corner. I willed the car to go faster, not caring one bit if my Jinn magic would make it a reality. No, I hoped, prayed that it would. Kiran couldn’t get bored and escape now. Not when I finally had the means to stop the snake from slithering away into the grass.
Next to me, Gideon shifted into human form, bracing himself against the side of the car, his eyes narrow with determination. Otters took their family ties seriously—and Gideon had never liked Kiran.
Another screech of tires and a radical swerve. Brightlef gunned the engine, swinging the car right into the large, glass panes of a storefront. I bit my lip to swallow a curse, and Gideon made a scrapey yelp.
The car vanished into the building like it was smoke. An illusion. Typical of Fae. I sighed and slouched back against the seat. “Couldn’t you have given us advance warning?”
Linvine looked back and shrugged. “You dated the Jinn for two years. Don’t you know his hideouts?”
“Nope. Kiran didn’t trust anyone that much. He changed the entrance to his private studio every two months.”
“Interesting.” Linvine turned around to face the ink-dark tunnel we were driving through. It was paneled with wavy lines of gray and black, shifting ominously with what looked like jagged teeth snapping out and biting at the car.
I swallowed. I’d never actually had to go through Kiran’s booby-traps in order to get to his studio before. I’d always been able to teleport there, thanks to Kiran doing something special to the location that let me inside. But here I was, down the rabbit hole.
Suddenly, the tunnel blinked out as if it had never existed. So did the car. We stood in a large studio space with the late afternoon sun arcing through the windows and skylights. Dusty
cement floors and scuffed white walls were lined with overstuffed shelves and canvases of various sizes. The scent of turpentine hung in the air. A bottle had been overturned in a corner and the smell lingered, mixing with coffee, week-old chai, and Kiran’s favorite gin. And in the center of it all, arms looped around a supporting column, was the devil himself, hunched over.
A throat cleared behind us, and a moment later Theiya stepped over, clad in her scarlet uniform instead of her usual plainclothes attire.
“General.” Brightlef and Linvine immediately touched the edge of their hands to their chins and turned their heads down in the typical guard salute of the Fae court.
Theiya returned it with a glint in her blue-gray eyes that suggested she didn’t quite trust them. “You didn’t warn Allis and Gideon about the entrance, did you?”
“Our mistake,” Brightlef said.
“There’s growth in facing the unexpected,” Linvine added.
I huffed. “Sure there is. Where’s the car?”
“It will be in an appropriate space outside all of this.” Theiya made a general wave to the studio. “Brightlef, Linvine, secure the perimeter.”
Brightlef tapped her bright pink nails, natural for her type of tree elf, against her leg. “You mean stand by—”
“The nonexistent door leading to the tunnel of gaping, sharp-toothed mouths. Yes.”
Theiya’s stern look allowed for no further argument. The two Fae cops moved to stand next to a particular wall, hands at their swords and pistols, and their expressions equally disgruntled. Theiya turned to me, and her voice lowered. “I’d apologize, but it wouldn’t help anything. They were assigned to my detail as a form of revenge by someone I upset in the court.”
“And who’s that?”
“Oh, there are many people.” She gave a slight, sardonic smile. Then her expression sobered. “We’ve leaked the story that Kiran is a suspect in the murder of Terezal Inuyo. The truth is, Terezal likely died from a love potion overdose. Gideon, I’ve heard from the alchemists guild that others are perishing in that way?”
He nodded. “The guild is still investigating, but it looks that way. The potion kicks a person’s adrenaline, aka their epinephrine, into high gear. An extended fight or flight response leads to a heart attack or other organ failure. It takes longer in magicals, but it happens.”
“Wonderful,” she said dryly. “I’ll show you the updated reports and blood samples to confirm. These are confidential. Also, considering Kiran’s exceptionally erratic behavior and his own peculiar blood work, he is also confirmed to be dosed on the love potion.” Theiya gave me a stern look. “Take care how much you excite him.”
I shrugged. “I can’t help that I’m too sexy for my blue jeans.”
“Yes, you can.”
I glared at her. “I didn’t come here to sweet talk him after he cursed my husband!”
“You know better than that. If Kiran dies, it will be even harder to break the curse on Cendric. And we would have lost a lead in the investigation. Control yourself, Allis.” Theiya sighed. “I have him trapped within … a sort of bottle.”
I turned to where Kiran knelt, bound. “Doesn’t look much like he’s trapped.”
“Observe.” Theiya waved her hand, and a faint bubble shimmered around him. “A force field of light, the strongest I can create. But his Jinn magic is already passively attacking it.” She pressed her lips together. “I can feel it.”
“Theiya, the only reason he’s there is that he wants to be, for whatever reason.”
“Yes, because Allyn and I lured him.”
“Sure you did.”
Her mouth quirked. “Allow me my vanity. Now, you’ve been trained by the vampire in more secure trappings?”
“Yeah.” Enough. As much as Melrose could. A lot of it was theory, since he had only used it for a little while in the 400s BC.
And I wasn’t using dark magic like he had—at least, I hoped it wasn’t dark. Destiny had chosen me. It had to be for a good reason. Which meant things could work out differently. The methods I’d learned could all work differently. Melrose even said not to bring a bottle. Jinn magic worked too much on situational intuition for that.
Augh. I liked my intuition a lot, but I also liked knowing something would work.
I turned to Gideon and gave him a hug, finding reassurance in our sibling bond.
“You got this, sis,” he whispered. “Kick his ass for you—and for Cid.”
“Got it.”
I reached deep within myself for the rope that still connected me to Cendric. Even if he wasn’t able to talk with me, even if he was trapped, we were still bound together. No matter how annoying that was becoming at times, right now it was a comfort.
And it was time to deal with this jerk of a Jinn once and for all.
I squared my shoulders.
“So, Kiran.” His head snapped up. Was he faking surprise, or was he just responding to me? From the way his eyes glowed with desire and aggression, it was probably just my irresistible charm. I sauntered closer to him, tilting my head. “I heard you have a habit of offing ex-girlfriends. Should I be worried?”
He flashed me a grin. “Never. Especially since I didn’t kill the stupid woman. She died from a potion overdose.”
“Is that so?”
I sat down in front of him cross-legged, keeping my posture loose and my tone playful. Kiran and I had traded sarcastic remarks back and forth for years before we’d tried the dating thing. Maybe if I reached back to that, it would make him think beyond the Allis obsession. And make me chill enough not to throttle him.
He gave me a long, slow onceover, his desires all too easy to read. “You’re gorgeous. You know that?”
“Yeah, I do.” Easiest way to shut down a compliment. Especially since it was totally out of character for Kiran to talk like that when others were present. The potion must really be doing a number on his brain. “You’ve looked better.”
He laughed shortly. “Yeah, but you’re still here, wanting me.”
I raised my eyebrows. “The potion must be warping your perceptions as well.”
“Amplifying, maybe. Not warping.” He gave me another look. “We’ve had good times, Sandy. Where I know you had all you wanted.”
“As did you.” I shrugged. Okay, so Kiran was still hot. I still wanted to kill him. I didn’t love him. But he was still hot. “All in the past.”
His face darkened. “It doesn’t have to be. You can break the bond snaring you any time you wish.”
“I don’t wish.”
“You should wish. It’s a violation of our nature.”
“Our nature?” I huffed. “I’m part human, Kiran. Don’t act like I’m the same as you. You never did before.”
Kiran’s eyes flashed. “You may be part human, but you are not shifter at all. He shouldn’t be holding your magic, Sandy. That means he owns you, that he’s your master. Haven’t you felt it really difficult to resist him?”
I clamped my lips together. Trying to ignore all the times Cendric’s words had seemed too beguiling, too demanding, even though he hadn’t meant for them to. “I can resist him, though.”
“You shouldn’t have to. You’re the relationship expert. You tell me that having the automatic urge to obey your husband’s will is a healthy power dynamic.”
I glared at him. “Lady Malda didn’t—”
“My mother is a devious psychopath. We know this already. And you can’t tell me your precious vampire hasn’t been acting off-kilter with your magic bleeding together. I’m surprised a raven-souled deathmonger has been able to tolerate chaotic Jinn magic this long.”
Unbidden, memories surfaced in my mind. Cendric’s hyper-reactiveness my fears and desires, his genial defiance about guarding himself. So different from how he’d been when we’d first met, again and again. Yes, he’d been a bit defensive about his dark and moody and evil past deeds, but not to this extent. And he’d been a lot more open about having to walk the fine line be
tween good and evil. Now, he shielded me from so much more.
Was my magic rattling him? Hurting him? Or was this just Kiran getting inside my head?
It could be both.
“Why do you care so much? You want to win me back. You want me to break the bond—you even cursed him! Really smart move there, Kir.”
Sweat bled down his forehead. “He won’t die. Any curse can be broken. If your mate really loved you, he’d do it himself.” He shrugged. “Guess he doesn’t.”
My fingers flared with sapphire flames and rage shuddered through me. He dies, we lose our lead. He dies, we lose our ability to break the curse. He dies, I lose Cendric.
Keep it cool, Allis. No ripping his clothes off and going for blood.
That could be taken so many wrong ways.
I shook my head to clear it.
“Well, at least you proved your point about the love potions.”
“Yes, I did.” Kiran smirked. “Now all I have to do is convince you that the only way to stop the culprit is to join with me.”
I rolled my eyes. “We can work together without sex. You know that, right?”
“Perhaps, but why waste time with someone who isn’t meant for you?”
“Five years of running in to each other tells a different story. Besides,” I fixed him with a glare, “that’s not yours to decide. That’s for Cid and me to figure out. Besides, love has to be mutual, and I’m not feeling anything romantic for you anymore.”
“You will.”
My mouth dropped open. “Way too controlling. Since when did you want to control anyone?”
“Since I realized it was the only way to keep from being controlled.” He sneered. “You want me to tell you who’s behind the potions? I can’t, Allis, because I’m frigging cursed too. And it’s too powerful for me. Yes, I admit it!” He lunged at me, his arms suddenly free from the restraints. I leaped to my feet, assuming a combat position as flames blazed on my skin. “I need you. I can’t break this alone. I can’t stop her alone. We have to work together. And yes, it sucks that you’ll have to end your fling with the vampire, but you’ll get over it. I have to strip this homeland from her, and you’re the only way I can do it!”
Wish You Weren't Here Page 13