by Tessa Cole
A hint of an ache squeezed my chest, one part missing Marcus, another part gunshot wound, and the rest Ibizual’s seal. Thankfully the seal wasn’t calling to me like the key had, not yet at least, but the pressure was starting and I knew something would happen soon. Whether I was fully healed or not, I was going to have to get ready, and that started with getting out of the hospital gown and eating something, since I couldn’t remember the last time I’d actually had a meal. Oh, and nicotine. I needed to replace my patches before I started scratching my skin off and sobbing.
My clothes weren’t in the hospital room, neither were my shoes, and most definitely not the keycard for the room upstairs. I turned off the vitals monitor, peeled away the leads taped to my chest, and carefully pulled out the IV so I could look in the attached bathroom.
No clothes there, either.
Well, shit. I didn’t particularly want to be wandering around Operations barefoot in a hospital gown, but I also wasn’t going to wait around for someone to check on me since I had no idea when the seal would start calling me. At least the gown wasn’t backless, it was the kind with three arm holes that wrap around one and a bit times.
Unfortunately, I had no idea where anyone would be. I was sure Amiah didn’t usually hang out in triage and while I’d been to her office once, I’d been doped up on painkillers and Kol’s enthrallment at the time and wasn’t sure I’d be able to find it again. As for the guys, they could also be anywhere, but I doubted, given the severity of the situation, that they’d be in their rooms waiting for something to happen. They were probably planning or scouting or researching.
Food, however, was something I could immediately fix. Perhaps once I’d had something to eat, my head would clear enough so I could think past the buzz and figure out what to do next.
Like dealing with Gideon.
How the hell was I going to convince him I wasn’t a liability to the team? Especially since I was pretty sure I was, no matter what Marcus and Jacob said. But I also had no idea how to make myself accept that I shouldn’t be part of the team, not with the certainty that I belonged growing stronger within me.
Jeez. What a mess.
I took the smaller hall away from triage to the hall that exited by the elevator and the cafeteria. I could hear the guys talking before I reached the end of the hall, and hesitated long enough to consider returning to the hospital room, then to dismiss that idea as stupid. I was going to have to face Gideon eventually and, God damn it, I was hungry.
“—can’t afford another mess like downtown,” Gideon said. “Both the mayor and the chief of police called head office to complain.”
“As if we had any control over where the key manifested,” Kol said, his voice lifting a weight from my chest that I hadn’t realized was there. He was okay. Thank God he was okay— or at least okay enough to be up and talking.
“We— I—” Gideon said. “I left a street and park full of bodies.”
“I would have loved to have seen that,” a smooth tenor said with a laugh, someone I didn’t recognize. “You—”
I reached the cafeteria stairs and all eyes turned on me. The guys sat in the middle of the otherwise empty room at their usual six-seater table, all of them strikingly handsome, each in their own way. Even Gideon with his stiff, hard, expression. That merely accentuated his sculpted cheeks and jaw.
Jacob, as always, drew me with his intensity — and the more I thought about it, the more I was certain it wasn’t just his claim. With his broad shoulders and massive arms straining his T-shirt, he dwarfed lean-muscled Kol sitting beside him even though Kol wasn’t that small. Stunningly handsome Kol always stole my breath and made my thoughts stall, just for a second. God, he was so beautiful. And thank God, he didn’t look as if anything had happened to him, not a fight with dozens of ferals or pouring his life force into me. The thought of that sent heat swelling within me and even from the cafeteria steps I could see hellfire flickering in his eyes.
Then Marcus shifted, and my attention jumped to him, my pulse picking up with need and certainty. He did look like he’d had a bad night, but it wasn’t anything to do with his physical appearance. His clothes were fresh and there wasn’t a hint of a scratch on any visible skin — he must have shifted and healed — but he looked exhausted, with his hair mussed and dark circles under his eyes. He’d said he wanted me on the team, wanted me close, but I had a feeling he was going to regret that decision and change his mind. How many times could I end up in danger just doing my job before he’d had enough?
I pulled my gaze away from him and the panic those thoughts were stirring to look at the new guy. He was also shockingly handsome, almost on the same level as Kol, but where Kol exuded a sense of darkness and fire, this guy was light and cold. His skin was so pale it seemed translucent, which I knew wasn’t true because I couldn’t see his bones or veins. A hint of a glow, as cold as the glow in Gideon’s eyes but barely there, only really noticeable from the corner of my eye, radiated from all skin not covered by his clothes with a hint of icy blue. His eyes were so pale blue they were almost clear, and his hair was a mix of white and silver cut short and spiked.
But what really stole my breath about him were his pointed ears. He was faekin, half human and half fae. I’d never seen one before. Hell, I’d never seen a fae before. They’d stayed in their realm during the war, only sending a few sorcerers to help, and those sorcerers had remained hidden the entire time then returned to the fairy realm once the war was done. Some humans still didn’t believe fae existed.
“You’re the human,” he said, crossing his arms, drawing my attention to the swirl of black tattoo curling out of the V of his blue button-down, over his collarbone, and up his neck. His gaze raked over my body with a slow, sensual perusal, adding fuel to the heat within me that had come from seeing Marcus and thinking about Kol’s magic.
His lips curled up just enough for a wicked, inviting smile, which surprised the hell out of me because I was sure I looked like a hot mess in only a hospital gown. I hadn’t even thought to pull my — without a doubt wild — locks into a ponytail.
Gideon stood, his expression frigid. “You should be in bed.”
“Don’t start.” I was tired and achy and my skin was on fire with my buzz. “The seal is starting to form, and I’m having a meal before it compels me to wherever the hell it’s going to manifest.” I headed to the fridge with the pre-made sandwiches and salads. Out the back windows, the sky was starting to darken, and the one cloud I could see was pink. It was nearly dusk, and round two would be beginning any time now.
Gideon’s attention jumped to Jacob. “Can you sense it?”
Jacob shook his head. “No.”
“Shit.” Gideon sank back into the chair.
I grabbed a turkey club and a bottle of water and took the last chair at the table between Kol and the new guy.
“Sebastian Bane.” He held out his hand. I half expected cold to radiate from him, but I didn’t feel anything. Of course, that could be because of my damned distracting buzz.
“Officer Esther Shaw,” Gideon said before I could reply.
I sighed and reached to shake Sebastian’s hand, but a snap of frozen magic sliced up my arm before we even touched.
Gasping, I jerked back, and Marcus shot up from his seat and growled low in his throat.
Sebastian’s wicked smile deepened for just a second before he shoved away from me. His chair screeched against the floor, and he raised his hands palms out, but I didn’t buy his no-harm, just-innocent posture. He’d meant to do that.
“Switch seats,” Marcus said. “Now.”
“Sure,” Sebastian said with a laugh as he rose and traded seats with Marcus, who pulled his chair close to me. His hand found my knee under the table and settled there, the action neither sexual nor possessive— well, maybe a little possessive, but also comforting and protective. I’d have loved this new Marcus, if I wasn’t certain he was going to have a complete change of mind after we’d dealt with
the seal.
“So you can sense the key and seal,” Sebastian said, his gaze locking on me. “Fascinating.”
The muscles in Gideon’s jaw twitched. “And not what we were talking about.”
“No, we were talking about messes.” Sebastian continued to stare, his gaze boring into me as if he could see something, or was looking for something, hidden within me, which made my pulse pound. Please, God, don’t let it be my angelic nature.
His eyes narrowed. “Unless the seal manifests in the Supers’ Quarter, I have no doubt the mayor will be complaining about another dangerous mess.”
“So there’s no spell that will stop this?” Jacob asked. Now that I was sitting across from him, his posture was almost as rigid as Gideon’s. I couldn’t begin to imagine how difficult this whole situation was for him, needing to stop, most likely kill, his blood brother all over again.
“There’s nothing you can do at a distance,” Sebastian said, still not looking away from me.
Marcus’s hand on my knee tightened. “She’s taken.”
Sebastian’s gaze dipped to Gideon’s brand on my forearm. “I can see that. Can you feel the key right now, Esther?”
I opened my mouth to say no, that the ache in my chest was definitely the seal, but—
I closed my eyes and concentrated on everything churning and biting and throbbing in my body. The buzz stung and urged me to get closer to Gideon even though we only sat across the table from each other. I slid the foot of my Marcus-free leg as close to Gideon’s as I could without touching him, and the buzz softened enough for me to really feel the ache of the seal. But it also made me aware of the wildly fluctuating emotional temperatures.
Which was just something I was going to have to learn to deal with if I could convince Gideon to keep me on the team.
I shoved that thought aside and concentrated on the key, searching for any kind of pain or pressure that would tell me I could still feel it.
“Nothing.”
Sebastian pursed his lips. And God damn it, he still stared at me— No, actually his eyes were unfocused, but without a doubt all his senses were focused on me, still searching for something. I shivered at the intensity of his scrutiny. It wasn’t like the soul-capturing look I got from Jacob and pretty much every other vampire I’d encountered. My soul wasn’t being held. It was being dissected.
“She’s telling the truth,” he said.
Marcus’s eyes darkened, his wolf barely contained, and Jacob sat forward and squared his shoulders.
“She has no reason to lie,” Jacob said, his voice soft and low but edged with warning.
Sebastian shrugged and finally turned his attention away from me. Thank God! Now his unnerving gaze was on Gideon, and I dug into my sandwich to hide my relief. Somehow he’d known I wasn’t lying about the key — and none of the guys called him out on that, so he must have that magical ability — but did he know I was lying about other things? Would he reveal my secret to Gideon? I didn’t get the sense he’d care if I was a nephilim or not, more that he’d do it just to see what would happen, see if Gideon would turn on his mate. Which he would, because while I might have his brand, I wasn’t really his mate.
“The only way to stop the spell is to destroy the key,” Sebastian said. “How strong is your divine light?”
The muscles in Gideon’s jaw flexed. “How powerful does the blast need to be?”
“At the level of divine light ring or stronger.”
“That strong?” Kol asked.
“There aren’t a lot of angels who can summon a blast that strong,” Jacob said.
“You could try less, but I suspect you’ll only get one chance on this.” Sebastian leaned back in his chair. “Probably not worth the risk.”
Gideon’s gaze flickered to mine then back.
Sebastian’s eyes flashed wide, and his wicked smile returned. “And she can summon divine light, too?” he asked, his unnerving attention back on me. “Gideon, where have you been hiding her?”
Gideon’s posture tightened even more. Now the muscles down his neck and across his shoulders joined his jaw. “Her services are not for sale.”
Marcus shifted closer to me, heated emotion radiating from his body, and glared at Sebastian.
“I think that’s for the lovely Esther to decide.” Sebastian leaned toward me. “I know some witches who’d love to buy light magic from you. The salary for one year would make your head spin.”
“Yeah, but what would it cost me?” Even if I hadn’t known that the team bought information and hard-to-get items from Sebastian, I’d know he was the kind of guy who exacted a price for everything.
Mock surprise filled his expression. “Would I make an offer with a catch to it?”
“Yes,” Marcus growled.
“There’s a reason angels with light magic don’t sell their light to witches,” Jacob said.
“Because they’re all control freaks with sticks up their asses.” Sebastian’s smile deepened. “If you ever get tired of Mister Always-in-Control—” He jerked his thumb toward Gideon, his tone filled with sexual invitation.
“I’ve got better offers on the table,” I said before Marcus leaped over the table and ripped out Sebastian’s throat.
“Honey, there are no better offers than me.”
Kol huffed a soft breath and rolled his eyes.
“The incubus’s company excluded, of course,” Sebastian said, “but I’d bet that year’s wage of light magic his offer isn’t on your table.”
A hint of a blush crept across my cheeks at the thought of Kol’s magic—
Yep, not going there.
“So we think Gideon’s magic might not be enough to destroy the key?” I forced out.
Delight flared in Sebastian’s eyes at my obvious change of topic.
“And we won’t know where the key is until the seal manifests and Logan arrives to break it.” I opened my bottle of water and took a long sip, struggling to keep my hand steady with my buzz making me twitch.
“So other than we need to find enough light magic to end this, this is a repeat of the key,” Kol said.
Marcus’s grip on my knee relaxed a bit — thank God, because it was starting to get painful. “Hopefully not a repeat.”
Hellfire danced in Kol’s eyes. “Well, yes.”
“Any other information our money purchased?” Gideon asked.
Sebastian huffed. “You have no idea how hard it was to find that, let alone anything else on short notice.”
“Then thank you for your time,” Jacob said, standing and gesturing to the stairs for Sebastian to leave.
Sebastian stood. “You really should make an effort to stop this. Ibizual is the prince of death.”
“We already know that,” Gideon said.
“So imagine the kind of terror he’d wreak in this realm if he got loose.” A shudder swept over Sebastian and cold rushed around me, revealing a deeper fear than his nonchalant posture and tone implied. “I don’t know about you, but there are corpses out there I’d rather stayed in the ground.”
Gideon and Jacob shared at glance that then moved to Kol. The incubus’s eyes had gone hard, and I could only imagine who they were thinking of. A lot of people, humans and supers, had been killed during the war, but I doubted, considering the nauseating sense of evil that had come from Ibizual, that he would raise any of the good ones from the dead.
Sebastian strode around the table toward me. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Officer Esther Shaw.” And be mindful. Whatever you’re hiding under those contact lenses, it’s burning up the spell a lot faster than it should. You’ve got a week left, at best.
I frowned, fighting to hide my surprise, both at his voice in my head and his warning.
He flashed his wicked smile. “It’s been… intriguing.”
“It’s—” A blast of agony exploded through my chest, then snapped into a crushing pressure that stole my breath and set my buzz screaming under my skin. The mostly full water bottle t
umbled from my hand and hit the floor, spraying water up mine, Marcus’s, and Sebastian’s legs.
Gideon, Jacob, and Kol jerked to their feet.
Marcus grabbed my shoulders and met my gaze, panic in his eyes. “Bane?” he growled. “What did you do?”
Sebastian’s eyes were wide with surprise. “Not me.”
Find me. Free me. Kin.
“The seal,” I gasped.
Deny me and die.
Chapter 23
Ibizual’s voice roared in my head with a force stronger than when the key had manifested. It came with a pressure that threatened to tear me apart from the inside out and stole my breath. His inky darkness swelled within me, too much like the archnephilim’s darkness, and my pulse raced, my panic a biting thread slicing into the pressure.
I will be free.
I will stop you, I thought back at him, shoving all of my will and determination into my words.
He laughed at me, a dark grating sound that billowed the pressure in my body. With what power?
The force of his magic crashed into me, drowning me, more powerful than the archnephilim’s. I gasped, my terror making me shake and my buzz searing through my skin in defiance.
“Essie.” Marcus’s grip on my shoulders tightened, his gaze filled with concern.
Beside him, Sebastian stared at me, the fear deepening in his gaze and — along with everyone else’s fear — dropping the room temperature.
“The payment will be in your account,” Gideon said then turned to Marcus, clearly dismissing Sebastian. “Clothes and gear for Officer Shaw.”
“What about the light blast?” Jacob asked.
Gideon’s expression hardened and frustration swept through me. “Officer Shaw has already demonstrated our powers together can be as strong as a blast from a divine light ring. We don’t have time to call in anyone from another JP team or get a loaded ring.”
“Absolutely fascinating,” Sebastian said to me, his tone edged with awe that only added to my terror.