“Her methods may be harsh, but she keeps order,” Azren said. “Before her intervention, Shedim were being slaughtered every day in a futile war born of prejudice and misunderstanding, all because an ambitious king sat on the throne. One who did not wish to share his world with another race. Elora ended him and ushered in a new order. She embraced the Shedim, raised us out of the ashes and gave us a purpose, a role. We guard our world from the Everdark, we protect the royal houses, and we keep order in our territory.”
It still sounded like they’d been shafted—drafted into glorified slavery. “And do you get paid?”
He blinked at me. “We have no use for money. Whatever we need is provided to us.”
“What about freedom?”
I caught a flash of defiance in his eyes again. He blinked and extinguished it. “Sacrifices must be made in the interest of equilibrium. Everyone has a role, everything has its place.” His eyelids fluttered closed.
I patted the duvet covering his legs. “We’ll pick up this conversation later.”
His chest rose and fell evenly as he slipped into slumber.
Time to go face the dragon.
Chapter 14
Trevor accosted me in the foyer. “I wouldn’t go in if I were you. Way too much testosterone in the air.” He made a choking sound. “You won’t survive.”
“What are you talking about?” I brushed past him and headed toward the office.
Trevor followed. “Now this I have to see.”
The door to the office swung open to reveal Valance leaning up against the wall, arms crossed, tan forearms on display. A tight smile hovered on his lips as he faced off with the other occupant of the room.
Taylem stood in the center of the room, his powerful frame eating up space. His T-shirt-clad back was to me, and even though his arms were held loosely at his sides, the muscles of his back were tight with tension.
His head jerked up slightly as I entered, and he turned to face me. “You’re okay.” He pulled me into a hug, my ear to his chest. His heart beat the thunder of a thousand hooves. “There was blood outside the club. And fear. Your fear.”
There was nothing like a Taylem hug, and my arms tightened around his waist as I breathed him in deep. My eyes pricked and the final vestiges of anxiety melted away. Tay always had that effect on me. The big guy had a calming presence that soothed my nerves every time, and being in his arms right now allowed me to accept the fact that Azren and I had gotten our arses handed to us, that we could have died. Azren could have died.
Tay held me tighter. “Gilbert wouldn’t let me up to see you.” He pulled back to look into my face, and a purple bruise on his chin glared back at me.
“Taylem went all grrr,” Trev said. “Tried to bypass Gilbert.”
Ouch.
Tay rubbed his jaw. “Your ghost guardian sure packs a punch. Kinda hard to fight back when you can’t see your opponent.”
“But he told you I was all right?”
His eyes darkened. “I needed to see for myself.” He swallowed hard. “There was blood, Wila, and the aura of a fight, and when Gilbert said you were indisposed…”
“You thought I was hurt.”
He ducked his head. “Yeah.”
“You’ve been here all night?”
He shrugged a massive shoulder, and my heart contracted painfully. “Babe.” I reached up to stroke his cheek; his eyes lit up, and I checked myself just in time. He wasn’t mine, because I couldn’t give him what he wanted—commitment, my heart and my soul. The thought sent ice trickling through my veins, and it was enough to pull me back.
His expression shuttered. “Trevor filled me in, though.” Anger flashed across his handsome face. “When I get my hands on Justin ...”
“You’ll do what?” Valance asked.
Shit, I’d forgotten he was in the room, but now that he’d spoken, the crackle of power in the air was unmistakable.
Tay slowly released me and turned to the Draconi prince. “I’ll tear his spine out,” he said simply.
Valance’s lips turned down as if he was considering Tay’s assertion. “And end up in prison for murder? Is that what you want?” He pushed off the wall. “You know how it works. Opal pack has power, connections. They make sure the pockets trade. Arcana law enforcement won’t touch them. But you ... yeah, even with your influence, you’re dispensable.”
“Tay ...” I pressed a hand to his chest. “I’m okay. Honest.”
Tay tucked in his chin, composing himself and pushing down the rage. “And Azren?”
“Probably still in the bed they shared last night,” Valance said snidely.
I shot him a what-the-heck look. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was deliberately trying to antagonize the troll.
Valance merely shrugged.
Taylem’s nostrils flared, and he closed his eyes briefly. He was reining in his anger. My big, beautiful beast of a friend was in total control. I’d heard tales of his exploits from Mack, a time when Tay had lived on a knife’s edge, where the merest slight had sent him into a rage. It had taken years of meditation and determination to bring that temper under control.
I stroked his rock-hard bicep. “Tay? Gilbert explained things, right?”
He opened his eyes and they were shrouded with sadness. “Yeah. You did what you needed to save Azren’s life.” He smiled but it was merely a quirk of the mouth. “That’s what makes you, you.”
“Well, as touching as this little scene is,” Valance said, “I think I’ve had about enough of the Miss Bastion fan club for the day. Can we please get down to business? Your troll friend here may have been briefed, but I’m still awaiting a rundown of the events of last night.”
Taylem glared at Valance, his jaw ticking dangerously. My troll friend didn’t have the greatest of patience when it came to sarcasm.
Once again, my hand found his bicep, stroking soothingly. The muscle beneath my fingers shifted and eased, and Tay tore his gaze away from the dragon prince.
“I best get back to the bar.” He pressed his lips to my forehead for a long beat. “Unless you need me to stay?”
“Oh, Miss Bastion is completely safe with me,” Valance said amiably. “If I wanted her dead, I wouldn’t have saved her life at the Keep.”
Tay ignored him, his attention fixed on my face. I gave him my cockiest grin. “When have I ever needed a man to fight my battles?”
Tay snorted. “Never. Look, we’re headed into Slumber tomorrow so I’ll be out of touch for forty-eight hours, but if you need anything call me and leave a message, and if things get bad you call the bar and speak to Fergus, you tell him to pull me out.”
Oh, shit. Was it that time of the month already? Slumber was an essential meditative state that the twins practiced once a month. It helped balance out their aggressive tendencies. It’s what helped them function so well in society. Pulling him out would disrupt the delicate balance he’d managed to cultivate between his troll and his humanity.
“I’ll be fine. I do this for a living, remember?”
He finally cracked a smile. “Yeah, I remember, but everyone needs a little help sometimes.” He strode out of the room without giving Valance another look.
“So, Miss Bastion, do you have any other admirers waiting in the wings to kiss your boo-boos?” Valance stuck out his bottom lip.
God, he was infuriating. “Tay is a friend, not an admirer.”
“Do you usually fuck your friends?”
My cheeks heated. “What?”
He walked across the room toward me. “Pheromones, Miss Bastion. You both reek of complementary pheromones. And upstairs in your not-bedroom with my mother’s pet, the aroma was decidedly telling.”
“Maybe you need to get your nose checked. In fact, maybe you should just keep your nose out of other people’s business.”
He held up his hands. “Simply making an observation and wondering if Mother chose the best candidate for the job. How is the investigation going?”
; “Aside from the getting-attacked-by-Lupin part? Just dandy.”
He perched his arse on the edge of my desk. “What have you discovered?”
“In short, nothing. We hoped to get some intel off Lex Hunter, but he has a hatred for Shedim and he knew what Azren was. He kicked us out of the club.”
Valance pursed his lips in thought. “Lex Hunter ... there isn’t much information on the neph, but he seems to have connections to the bigshots in the city. Why did you think he’d know anything about the rogue Shedim?”
“I have it on good authority that Lex is a collector of information.”
“Information he didn’t share with you.”
“No, but I doubt he’d shield the Shedim if he knew where they were. He really doesn’t like them.”
Something dark and cunning flitted across Valance’s face. “Maybe he just didn’t like Azren.”
“I get the impression that neither do you.”
“I have no time for blind faith.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He sighed. “Nothing. Was there anything else?”
“Yeah. We tangled with a couple of Shedim outside the club, and Azren managed to bind one to the dagger.”
His head whipped up. “You really are awful at briefings. Don’t you think you should have led with that?”
“Be grateful you’re even getting a briefing.”
I filled him in on how the dagger had glowed in the club, leading to Azren’s suspicions and us getting kicked out, then how we’d chased the Shedim and managed to bag one.
“Where’s the dagger?” Valance asked.
“Upstairs with Azren. Why?”
He pressed his lips together. “You need to keep it safe.”
“Actually, I was thinking of handing it over to the first passerby.”
He didn’t even crack a smile. “I’m sure Mother will be pleased to know the dagger works. It’s a shame you weren’t able to track the one that got away.”
“Kinda difficult when they just poof into thin air.”
He nodded. “Mother will question the one you have captured when you return the dagger to her at the full moon, but I doubt he’ll crack. They never do.”
“Wait, you’ve caught others?”
His lips curved sardonically. “This won’t be the first one caught by Mother’s pets. There have been several others found in our territory; that’s why it’s essential you find their base and allow Azren to capture as many as he can.”
The heat had bled out of his tone, and he sounded almost as if he was reciting a prepared speech.
“What does this resistance want, exactly? I mean, according to Azren everything in Draconi territory is as it should be, and Elora is a goddess who saved you all.”
He smiled, but it didn’t reach the mesmerizing electric blue of his eyes. Shit, look away.
A low chuckle. “Relax, you’re safe.”
“Yeah. I know. Not to your taste.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.”
Okay, fear, get your hand off my throat. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“Because there is no one answer. Do they want to take over ruling the territory? Do they want war? A return to the way things used to be—Draconi fighting Shedim. Or maybe they want to eliminate the Draconi altogether. Whatever it is, they’re kidnapping loyal Shedim to do it and doing goodness knows what to them.” He averted his gaze. “Maybe all they want is equality.” The words were softly uttered but rang a bell in my mind.
“And why can’t Elora just give it to them? Why not make the Shedim equal?”
“The Shedim and Draconi are satisfied with the arrangement. They have a purpose that suits them, and they owe Elora their lives. She liberated them from a futile war.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard. In fact, I’ve heard those exact words. But it doesn’t answer my question. What do you guys do? Hand out propaganda leaflets to your citizens?”
Valance’s mouth twisted. “Find a lead. Find the Shedim’s base. One Shedim in the dagger won’t appease Elora. Trust me, you don’t want to be at the receiving end of her disappointment.”
“We do have one lead.”
He arched a brow.
“The Underground.”
“The boarded-up railway network?” He looked skeptical. “From what I understand, the Arcana Institute bricked up all the entrances.”
“Yeah, I thought so too, but I think there may be a way in. Azren and I were going to investigate when we were attacked.”
He pushed off the desk. “Sounds like a plan. Do it and then report to me.”
It was my turn to arch a brow.
He smiled, flashing dazzling white teeth. “Or should I say, I’d love to be kept informed. We could chat about it while we take that walk you promised me.”
“I didn’t promise ... Never mind.”
He retrieved something from his trouser pocket. It glinted in the light, gold and red. “Put this on.” He held out the object. A ring.
“Um, no thanks. I don’t think we’re there yet.”
He smirked. “Smart mouth. Just take it. It’s a link to me.”
I crossed my arms. “No way am I being linked to you, so you can put your jewelry GPS away.”
He exhaled through his nose. “I can’t track you with it, not unless you summon me, and you can do that by twisting the ring all the way round.” He held it up. “Think of it as another weapon in your arsenal.”
When he put it that way. “Fine, but if I find out you’re spying on me, then there’ll be hell to pay.” I plucked the ring from his fingers and slipped it onto my pinky; it morphed to fit perfectly.
Satisfied, he walked toward the exit and paused in the doorway. “Justin and his pack are vicious killers. Too many bodies have been put to sleep on the riverbed as a result of their extracurricular exploits. You were extremely lucky.”
It had been more than luck. It had been the enchanted effects of a leather dustkicker and the intervention of a massive hound.
“Yeah, I guess I was.”
***
The chair in the basement creaked as I leaned back in it, mobile to my ear, and fingered the soft leather of my fabulous coat. Azren was still out cold. Trevor had agreed to sit in the room with his newspaper and keep an eye on him. Gilbert, the stubborn idiot, was preparing lunch, despite the fact that he was drained from carrying Azren up four flights of stairs in the early hours of the morning and punching Tay in the face. Making tea and moving the odd object about was one thing, but that kind of exertion took extreme focus, and he needed time to reenergize, but would he listen to me and just let me order takeout? No. You need a home-cooked meal. Something filled with goodness. Meaty stew smells drifted down the stairs into the basement, making my tummy grumble.
The phone rang four times and then was answered with a brisk click.
“Yes?” Adam’s tone was curt and businesslike.
“What did you do to my coat?”
“Miss Bastion?”
“Yeah, it’s me. The coat, what did you do to it?”
“The fact you’re asking me about that means you’ve been attacked.”
“It withstood a Lupin’s talon strike.”
“A Lupin? What were you—never mind. Look, I thought with the job you do some extra protection would come in handy. I merely fortified it.”
“Thank you.”
A long beat of silence followed my words, then, “You’re very welcome.” A rustling. “If that’s all, I have a meeting to get to.”
“Wait.”
“Yes?”
“Bullets? Can it deflect bullets?”
A soft chuckle. “Yes, Miss Bastion, it can. Enjoy.” The call ended with a click. I’d been dismissed.
The coat looked up at me, batting its superpower eyelashes. “Fucking awesome.”
“This doesn’t mean you should go charging into danger,” the voice from beyond the reinforced door said.
“Of course it doesn’t.” I sucked
in my bottom lip. “But I can if I have to.”
“Just so you know, I’m rolling my eyes at you right now.”
“So, you have eyes.”
“Yes, Wila. I have eyes. Would you like to see them? All you need to do is open the door.”
“No, thanks. I’d like to keep my face on my ... face.”
“You think I’d hurt you?”
“I don’t know what you’d do. I have no idea what you are.”
“Don’t you?”
Awareness slithered up my neck and spread across the back of my scalp. “You’re a voice.”
“Yes, Wila. I am. I’m a voice that you enjoy listening to.”
“Don’t flatter yourself.”
He chuckled. “What will you do now?”
“Wait for Azren to heal up and then hit the Underground.”
“Why wait? You’ve never needed backup before. You’re Wilomena Bastion, dark avenger, righter of wrongs. Marks run at the sound of your boot falls.”
“You should think about writing promotional pamphlets.”
“You’re avoiding the question.”
“I’m not avoiding anything, aside from my lunch. I need to get back upstairs.” I made to stand.
“You’re afraid.”
I froze. “What did you say?”
“For the first time in your existence, you’re truly afraid.”
My skin prickled. “Fuck you. I do this shit for a living, and I’m damn good.”
“Yes, but you’re working for Elora now. You’re up against a foe that you can’t possibly begin to understand, being pulled into a conflict that could swallow you whole. And the Underground is dark and closed and claustrophobic. Anything could be down there.”
His words made my brain itch. “If I go without Azren then he’ll be pissed.”
“And since when do you care about pissing people off if it gets results?”
Since it meant going underground alone. Since it meant facing the razor-mawed, horrific rebel Shedim and whatever else might lurk down below. A weight settled on my chest. The voice was right, I was scared. In all my years in this line of work, I’d never come this close to death, first at the hands of Elora, then the Shedim, and finally the Lupin. It was as if taking Noir’s case had thrown me onto a path fraught with mortal danger, and no, there was no way I was heading into the Underground alone.
Chronicles of Arcana (The complete collection books 1-4) Page 15