“There are three thousand people in here. One of them is bound to have an allergy.”
He cleared his throat. “Shall I… shall I interrupt the performance?”
She let the genuine desperation show on her face. She didn’t know how long Zee would have before her heart gave out. “Please hurry, before it’s too late.”
The man turned, flinging open the door and breaking into a run. As Ursula was left with her own thoughts, she could feel some of her energy returning. She could call Kester now, but she didn’t want to bring him into this until she’d already gained control of the situation. She didn’t need to call him just to tell him she’d become entangled in another disaster.
She reached down, feeling Zee’s pulse again. Still there, but growing fainter. Panic twisted through Ursula. She couldn’t let Zee die. Maybe this was the time to call Kester. She turned, reaching for her purse that lay on the tiles, when Silver-Hair slammed the door open, a green tube in his hands.
“I’ve got it!” he said, beaming. He rushed across the tiles and handed it to Ursula.
“Thank you so much. You’ve saved her life.” She popped off the blue cap, sliding the EpiPen out of its tube and scanning the directions.
“We should call an ambulance,” said the man.
“Let me concentrate.” It came out harsher than she’d meant it. “Please.”
She pulled off the blue safety, reared back her arm, and jammed the pen into Zee’s leg. She counted to ten, watching as Zee’s eyelids fluttered.
“See, she’s getting better.” She couldn’t believe this had worked. “You saved her. You’re an amazing, beautiful man.” Too much, Ursula. Rein it in.
He cleared his throat. “She’s not awake yet. I really think we should call that amb—”
Ursula slapped Zee in the face as hard as she could, and when the fae’s blue eyes opened, Ursula leaned over. “Zee, you had a reaction to the salad. It was the hidden walnuts.”
Zee’s gaze met hers, registering understanding.
Ursula leaned in close and whispered: “You need to tell this man you’re OK.” I really hope she can still glamour them.
“I—I’m OK.” Zee’s voice wavered, but Silver-Hair nodded.
Silver-Hair stepped closer, leaning over her. “Let me help you up.”
Zee shot up, grabbing the man by his collar. “I’m feeling much better now. You are no longer needed. Get the fuck out, and don’t tell anyone about me.”
In a daze, he rose and tottered out the door.
“Calm down, Zee.” Ursula sat back on the tile, letting out a long breath. “I asked you to glamour him. Not assault him.”
Zee’s eyes were wild. “What did you do to revive me? I feel like I want to kill something.”
“Epinephrine.”
Zee shook her head. “What is epinephrine?”
I really have no clue. “I think it’s some kind of life-giving hormone. Anyway, it fixed you. Let’s get out of here.”
Scowling, Zee lifted a hand to her cheek. “Did you slap me?”
Ursula shook her head. “Nope. Just an effect of the epinephrine, I think.”
Zee narrowed her eyes before glancing down at her dress. “Whose blood is on my Valentino?”
“Abe. I think he was a shadow demon. He tried to kill us. Look, we need to get out of here. Can you walk?”
Zee slowly stood, smoothing her hair. “I can’t believe that prick ruined my dress.”
Clutching her wyrm-skin purse, Ursula rose, unsteady on her feet. Zee shot her a sharp look before slipping her arm around Ursula’s waist. They staggered into the corridor, and Ursula kept her gaze on the floor, hoping to remain unnoticed. Nothing to see here, folks. Just two chicks in opera gowns, drenched in demon blood.
Chapter 25
Stepping out of the cold winter air, Ursula folded herself into the soft seat of the Bentley like a bird settling onto its nest, and Zee followed, shutting the car door.
Zee clutched her chest, shrinking into the corner. “I don’t feel so good.”
Ursula rubbed her arms, trying to warm herself. “Holy fuck. That was a close call.”
“My heart is racing,” said Zee.
“Are you okay?”
The fae took a deep breath, staring out the window. “I’ll be fine. Where are we going?”
Ursula glanced at the driver. “Take us to my place, please. The Plaza Hotel.” Just as she was letting out a sigh of relief, she realized she wasn’t out of trouble yet. Her target’s soul had been claimed by a shadow demon, and that meant Emerazel would murder her slowly. Dread raced up her spine.
The driver turned on the engine and tried to edge into the stalled traffic.
Outside, the wind beat against the sedan’s windows. Ursula rubbed her temples. “What the hell kind of demon was that? I think I’m in huge trouble.”
Zee didn’t answer, instead staring out her window. But something was wrong with the angle of her neck—she wasn’t moving. Ursula moved closer, touching Zee’s shoulder. The fae’s head slumped to the side; her mouth hung open and her eyelids fluttered.
“Zee!” Ursula gripped Zee’s shoulders. She slapped her cheek again, but this time Zee didn’t wake up—didn’t even flinch.
Horror tightened around Ursula’s heart. “Driver! We have a situation.” She dug around in her purse until she found her mobile. With trembling fingers, she scrolled to Kester’s number. He picked up after a few rings.
“Kester?” she shouted, pulse racing.
“Is everything okay?” Apparently the cell phone had no trouble conveying the panic in her voice.
“Zee’s unconscious.” The words poured out of her. “And I think Hugo’s dead. Something called Abe kissed me and he sucked out my fire. And then he kissed Zee, but I stabbed him. I gave her an EpiPen—”
“Slow down. Hugo’s dead?”
Ursula took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. “I went to the men’s room to talk to Hugo. I didn’t think he was there at first, but then I found him in a stall in the back. He’s dead. I think. Abe was kissing him, and said he’d drunk too deeply.”
“What exactly did Abe look like?”
“Tall. Gorgeous. Golden skin. Grey eyes. His touch was like ice cubes. He made me feel—” Her stomach clenched. She wasn’t going to go into the whole arousal scenario. “Do vampires exist?”
There was a long pause. “He made you feel how?”
Ursula thought she detected a note of anger in his voice. “He made me think I wanted to kiss him.” That was both a euphemism and a secret she had no desire to share with Kester, but maybe it would help identify whatever the hell that thing was.
“Not a vampire,” he snarled. “Where are you?”
“In the Bentley. Outside the Met. Should I come back to the Plaza?”
“No. Tell Joe to take you to the Elysian. Tell him to floor it.” He hung up.
Ursula glanced at Joe. “Elysian. He said to floor it.”
Without responding, Joe stepped on the accelerator, cutting into traffic. They raced up 10th Avenue and turned onto West 66th street, weaving between taxis. She clung to Zee, trying to keep her from bouncing all over the car—there hadn’t been time to think about seatbelts. For a few moments, a city bus blocked their path, but Joe swerved around it like he was driving a Formula One race car, until—at last—he veered wildly into an empty parking lot by the Hudson River. Frantic thoughts ignited Ursula’s mind—Zee’s poisoned body, her own skin blackening in a fire.
The car skidded to a halt, and Joe popped the locks on doors.
“Where are we?” Ursula asked, shuddering at the sound of the wind howling and keening against the car windows.
Joe simply tapped his fingers against the steering wheel.
“Thanks, Joe. That’s really helpful.” She turned to scoop the diminutive fae into her arms, clumsily pulling her closer. As she grasped Zee’s waist and shoulders, someone yanked open the door behind her, and an icy wind rushed into the car.
/>
Kester stood in the dim street lights, the wind tearing at him like a wild animal. Despite the cold, he remained perfectly still, oblivious to the frigid air. He stood barefoot, wearing only a pair of boxers, his strong chest covered in menacing tattoos. Wordlessly, Kester gathered Zee into his arms, eyes blazing.
“Will she be okay?” Ursula asked, stepping out of the car into the freezing air.
“Come with me,” he said, as Joe drove away.
So he’s not going to answer my questions. She was obviously in trouble—big trouble. He’d warned her that if she screwed up, he’d have to send her to Emerazel.
She rubbed her arms, trying to burn some warmth into her skin. “Is she okay?” she repeated, clutching her purse to her chest. Please wake up, Zee.
Silently, he pressed on over the icy pavement.
Ursula’s heels clacked over the asphalt as she followed him, and her body burned with fatigue. From the river, the wind whipped off the tops of the waves, blowing a freezing spray that coated everything in a thin layer of ice. Ursula hugged herself, shivering in her flimsy dress.
He led her toward a dock that jutted into the water. Despite his bare feet and state of undress, he navigated the slick planking with ease. Swirls of steam rose from the ground as his fiery body melted the icy ground. Ursula trailed behind, clutching a frozen rail.
At the end of the dock, a paint-chipped tugboat floated in the water, tied to a post. Its stern had been painted with gold lettering: ELYSIAN. Not exactly what she’d expected of a place with such a poetic name. It looked like a large, shabby version of a child’s bathtub toy. Is this where he lives?
Kester slipped over a narrow gangplank, disappearing inside. Teeth chattering, she followed, treading carefully to avoid falling into the churning water.
The boat’s warmth washed over her as she stepped inside. Although the tug’s exterior had suggested a state of total disrepair, the inside was immaculate. Books lined tall wooden shelves between a row of portholes. A wooden table nestled into an alcove, and a fire crackled in an iron stove that stood in the center of the cabin. She eyed a green velvet sofa, fighting the urge to give in to her aching body and rest. The only thing unusual about the place was the dark mark of Emerazel on the floor—another sigil.
Kester held Zee’s unconscious body, examining her face. “I won’t be able to heal her.” His eyes flicked to Ursula’s, burning with accusation. “Were you so enthralled by the incubus that you let him feast on Zee, after you failed at your task for a second time?
“Incubus?” He was clearly accusing her of something, and his words stung. “I don’t know what an incubus is, but I think you well know that whatever powers he used on me were magical and therefore hard to resist. Abe was attacking me, and Zee came in to stop it. Hugo had been sucked dry before I even got in there.”
“Abe.” He spat the word like a curse. “You said he had golden skin and grey eyes?”
“Yes. And dark brown hair. He seemed perfectly charming at first.”
“Abrax,” he choked out the word, laying Zee down on the table. “I can’t believe you succumbed to his charm. I want to flay his skin from his body.”
Holy hell. “Who is he?”
“He’s an incubus. He works for Nyxobas, the god of night.” He crossed to her, his body crackling with fiery magic. “There aren’t many incubi in the world, and this one is pure evil.”
Dread crawled up her spine. “What, exactly, is an incubus? And what makes him so evil?”
“Incubi like him have the power to drain people. They can drain energy, magic, even souls to give to Nyxobas. That’s what he did to Zee. And an incubus can inflame sexual energy and take power from that. I’m guessing that’s how he transfixed you.”
She cleared her throat, listening to the sound of the howling wind batter the side of the boat. God, she was freezing. “There’s no point rehashing what already happened. It’s over. What do we need to do now?”
“It’s amazing to me that you dismiss tonight’s events so quickly.” He stepped closer, boxing her against the wall, his face burning with fury. “You failed to reap Hugo’s soul, and you let a shadow demon claim it. You do realize what this means?”
Fear tightened her chest. He’s going to send me to Emerazel.
Chapter 26
Preternatural power flickered in his eyes.
Adrenaline flooded Ursula’s veins. I need a weapon. He’s going to kill me. She still clutched her wyrm-skin purse, but Abe had run off with her blade lodged in his gut.
She scanned the room for something sharp, her eyes landing on an old cutlass that hung above a porthole. But with Kester blocking her path, she wouldn’t be able to get to it.
He inched closer. “I should never have let you go on your own.”
“Emerazel said you had to send me alone, and I know you can’t disobey her.” Anger tightened her chest.
His eyes flashed. “That’s one of the few sensible things you’ve ever said.”
Frantically, Ursula’s eyes darted around the room. Since the cutlass was out of reach, she needed to identify an escape route if he was going to sacrifice her. “And she said you need to send me to her if I screwed up again.”
He stepped closer, bare feet padding across the deck, until he stood so close she could feel the heat rolling off him, and smell his earthy scent. His eyes trailed over her shivering body, like he was sizing up the value of his sacrificial victim, and her muscles tightened at his gaze.
Her heart thrummed. There was no way she could take on someone with his strength, not when she’d been drained by the incubus. And yet, she had no other choice. An image flashed in her mind—swords shining in the moonlight as someone trained her. Fight, Ursula.
Just as he took another step closer, she dropped her purse, throwing a hard punch to his jaw. He flinched, but didn’t move. With a racing pulse, she threw another, but her aim was off. He caught her fist in his hand, his grip iron-clad.
Spinning her around, he pulled her arm up behind her back, pushing her up against the wall. The splintered wood pierced her silk dress, and she fought to catch her breath.
“I told you,” he purred in her ear, his breath hot on her neck. “You can’t fight me. Let me—”
Like hell I can’t. She elbowed him hard in the stomach, and he stumbled. She tried to race for the door, but he caught her by the hair, yanking her head back. He slipped his other arm around her body, holding her tight, and growled. “What is wrong with you?”
“I don’t want to die. Or burn. I don’t want to suffer for something F.U. has done, and I don’t want Zee to suffer because of her either. If I could murder anyone, it would be F.U., but that would create a paradox…” She let her thought trail off. She was babbling like a nutter now.
His strong body pressed into her back. “I wasn’t going to kill you.”
With one of his hands tightly fisted into her hair, and the other grabbing her shoulder, she wasn’t going anywhere. His arm heated her skin through her dress, warming her breasts.
“Are you talking about yourself in the third person again? It’s really strange.”
Relief flooded her. “You said there was no point fighting Emerazel. Just like there’s no point in me fighting you.”
He loosened his grip on her. “I should kill you. I won’t pretend it didn’t cross my mind.”
She stepped out of his grasp, hugging herself. Away from his warm body, the air chilled her skin. “But you’re not going to?”
Golden lantern light bathed his chiseled body. “I should, but no.”
“Why?”
He shrugged, confusion and anger warring across his features. “I don’t want to kill you.”
“I thought you did whatever Emerazel told you to.”
“Mostly, yes.” He looked away, his face suddenly sad. “But I loathe her.”
Ursula shook her head. “I don’t understand. I thought you were her Headsman. Why would you do whatever she wanted if you loathe her?”
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br /> Flames glinted in his eyes. “I hate that name. And the rest of it isn’t for you to worry about now.” He clearly wasn’t ready to bare his soul.
Shivering, Ursula hugged herself, eyeing the inviting sofa that called to her aching body. “Fine. But what is the point of all of this? Why is she so obsessed with claiming souls anyway?”
“Rest for a minute,” he said, nodding at the chair. “Maybe it’s time for you to learn something about your world before we hunt down Abrax.”
She collapsed into the chair with a sigh, letting the soft cushions embrace her. Her muscles sang with relief.
Kester ran a hand through his hair. “The souls of men are what give gods their power. Emerazel’s fire is fueled by the souls of her supplicants. Nyxobas’s magic works the same way. The gods are constantly warring over this human currency, and long ago they formed factions of shadow and light to fight against each other. When Abrax drained Hugo, he stopped us from acquiring the soul. He also steals any magic that Emerazel had invested in Hugo.” He eyed her with concern. “Like how he drained your fire before Zee stopped him. Honestly, it’s a miracle he didn’t take your soul.”
“It was odd. We became repulsed by each other as soon as his lips touched mine.”
He stared at her, surprise flickering across his features. “Really?”
She nodded. “But that means he stole Zee’s soul?”
“Half of it, at least.”
“Shit.” Ursula took a deep breath, trying to push that horrific thought out of her mind. “If incubi work for Nyxobas, what god do the fae work for? Is there a god we can appeal to for help?”
“No. Unlike every other magical creature on earth, they’re unaligned. They’re descendants of angels who chose to come to earth long ago.”
“Why would they want to live on earth instead of in the heavens?” She ached with exhaustion, but this was the first time someone was actually telling her something, and she needed to get as much out of it as she could.
“The fae are simply hedonists. They enjoy earthly pleasures.”
Ursula glanced at Zee, whose arm dangled limply over the side of the table. “We can save her if we find Abe.”
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