by Emma Dean
Emily couldn’t help her curiosity. She took the list from Aiden and raised an eyebrow. “So, you don’t know where they are?”
Jace gave her a little smile. “We know where two are and they happen to be in the same place.”
Emily couldn’t believe the shit that was on this list. Some of them she’d heard of, but others? “Torque of Immortality, the Pharaoh’s Ankh, a seed from the Tree of Life, Hades Plume of Darkness…do you even know which represents what?”
How the hell were they going to get even one of these items?
“Some are more obvious than others,” Aiden admitted.
Chance had his arms crossed over his chest and he was practically pouting. His aura was a bruised purple mixed with angry red. Eventually he would tell her what he was pissed about, but Emily was just glad he was keeping his smartass mouth shut for the moment.
“Knot of Eternity, Fire Crystal? Then an entire section here of gold shit.” Emily shook her head and almost laughed.
A golden phoenix egg was not going to be easy. At least they had those in their reality. But the Golden Butterfly, or the Golden Chrysalis?
“Butterflies represent life,” Ben murmured, his honey-brown eyes still glowing. He was pleased with himself too but didn’t show it off like Jace did.
“I want Helltongue,” Emily told them, setting the paper down on the arm of her chair. “I help you get this shit, and I get Helltongue in return.”
“Of course, you want the whip of hellfire,” Chance muttered. “Would you even know what to do with a cat o'nine tails?”
Emily narrowed her eyes at Chance, sick of his attitude. “Let me tie you up and show you.”
Aiden cleared his throat and got up, heading toward the tiny coffee corner. “I still think the Water from Nuva’tukya’ovi would be easiest. The mountain is in this reality as well as ours.”
“But it might not have the same magical properties here,” Chance snapped, as if they’d already had this argument more than once this morning. “The Vorpal Sword and the Crown of Madness are in the same place. We’ll get those first.”
Emily blinked. “Where are they?”
“Based on what this Dean person said, they’re in Wonderland.”
Emily stared at Chance, wondering if he was really that stupid. “And you believe some romance writer why?”
Chance smirked at her and she wanted to rip it off his fucking face. Hell, he was pissing her off. “Let me read out loud for the class.”
When he went over to the computer and pulled up whatever tab he’d left open, Emily felt her chest constrict. What the hell did this person know about her that no one else in the world knew?
“‘The night after she’d beaten his gauntlet record and gained entry into the illustrious Obsidian Academy that would solidify her future…he’d snuck into her room and hugged her. Her father had told her he was proud and that he couldn’t have hoped for a better offspring. The Morrigan had blessed him, he’d said.’”
“Stop!” Emily itched to throw another knife at him, but she was too busy trying to understand how some mundane could know her deepest darkest secret. No one knew about that except for her father.
Ben glared at Chance and Emily snuck a look at Jace. What did the alpha think of this madness?
“It’s worth a shot.” Jace shrugged one shoulder like traveling between realities was no big deal, as if it wouldn’t piss off some Big Bads. “If they’re not there…we’ll just keep looking. But if what Chance found here is true, and those items are in Wonderland, we can find as many of the things on that list as we want. She’s written about their locations. So nice of her.”
Emily debated tracking this woman down and slitting her throat right then and there, but she couldn’t deny Jace’s logic. This would be the simplest path. All it would take was opening one door.
“We get what we need, and you can have Helltongue.”
“Is Wonderland even real?” she asked, looking at Ben and Aiden to see if this was all some massive joke. “Even in our world that book is just a book.” Not to mention all the various different versions of it.
Their expressions told her this was all happening. She was about to try and find her way into Wonderland with them.
“We’ve got the codes for nearly every plane of existence known, thanks to our employers. They just told us to find a door. It’s not any different than the portal in a coven building that goes to the University of Morgana,” Aiden explained. “Technically those doors can go anywhere if you know a bit of magic hacking.”
Emily didn’t want to ask who might know how to do that.
“So…now what?”
Chance seemed surprised. “You’re coming with us?”
Looking at Jace, Emily could see how pleased he was, how he’d expected her to make this choice. She wondered if he thought she would have made it regardless of her emotions.
But did it really matter?
Emily wanted to find these items of power and deliver them to the gods who thought they were saving the world.
If she took that victory from the raccoons, would they care if they still got paid? They were thieves after all, no doubt in it for the payday and not the glory. Emily would need every bargaining chip she could get her hands on to convince the board not to have her executed for treason.
And if saving their world would also save her life? Emily would take the glory from them without hesitation.
Better than their lives.
Ben narrowed his eyes at her, and she ignored him. The depth of his perception was disturbing.
“When do we leave?” Emily tapped her fingernails on the arm of the chair, itching to get out of this room.
She needed to stretch her wings and fly for a bit. She would never really get her bearings here thanks to the lack of magic, but at least she could mark the best places to retreat to.
“Tomorrow morning at dawn,” Jace told her. “We need to read as many of these books as we can and prepare for what Wonderland might hold.”
What would they find there? Would it be anything like the book, or would it be like most literature and hold only a kernel of truth to the tall tales?
Emily considered her arsenal.
Her pack held bare necessities and the med kit. She had her two pistols but had lost her rifle in the forest back in their own reality. There were at least a dozen knives tucked away in various locations on her body.
The slip of paper with the weapons of power taunted her. What could she do with that kind of strength and magic?
Not that she really needed it as an assassin.
Emily sighed. “I’m going to shift and do some recon then.”
“You shouldn’t go alone,” Jace told her, waving his hand for Chance to go back to the computer. “Aiden, you go with her.”
“And how exactly is he going to keep up?” Emily asked, trying to keep a lid on her irritation.
Another side effect of the transition from no emotions to emotions was she got stir crazy. Emily had to run and run. She usually worked out or flew from one coast to another. Anything to help get rid of the itch as each feeling and thought sank into her skin and mind.
It didn’t help that she always questioned every fucking thought and decision in both directions. What would she have decided to do if she could feel the moment she’d realized Jace was her mark?
What would she have done differently?
Would she be in this mess if she’d kept her emotions off during Samhain and ignored the beautiful males before her?
It didn’t matter really. It never did. Emily couldn’t change the past, but she couldn't stop herself from obsessing.
“I was going to catch a bus,” Aiden told her.
All her irritation drained when she realized he didn’t mind if she left him in the dust. He’d still follow as quickly as he could.
“I’m sure they have a taxi service here,” Emily muttered. “Have we figured out if the money is the same?” They better have iced coffee here t
oo.
“It is,” Chance called, still studiously reading whatever shit he’d found on the internet.
Well, that was a relief.
“Come on, Aiden. Let’s go.”
Emily stood and ignored the looks Ben and Jace gave her.
Neither of them were stupid, or easily fooled. They knew she was up to something even if they didn’t know what.
If she were honest with herself, even Emily didn’t know what she was up to, she just knew she couldn’t sit here and wait anymore. She couldn’t drown in her own thoughts any longer.
Fucking Jace and his need to make her feel. If they didn’t survive this, it would be all his fault.
11
Emily
“A walk around the golf course might be nice,” Aiden suggested, eyeing her.
Clearly, he could tell she was about ready to jump out of her skin again.
Sex with Ben had helped, but Emily felt like she was going to scream at any moment.
Or kill someone.
“A walk does sound nice,” she said carefully. “It’ll be brisk with the air so cold.” It wouldn’t be as good as flying, but it was better than nothing.
“It’ll burn off some of our pent-up energy from staying in that hotel room.” Aiden smiled at her and slipped his hands in the pockets of his jacket to keep warm. One little movement with his elbow, and she knew he wanted her to lead.
Always the peacekeeper.
They walked in amiable silence for a while. Emily noted the two other auras that were outside, but other than that most everyone but the drivers were inside. It was cold for humans and it looked like it was about to snow again at any moment.
“I appreciate you always being so…patient with me,” Emily said, avoiding his gaze. She focused on the snowy landscape instead. “I know I’m weird, and crazy, and a total mess. I’m under no illusion that I’m not.”
She snuck a glance at him despite her initial avoidance. Emily couldn’t help her curiosity.
Aiden was smiling slightly. “‘There is no exquisite beauty…without some strangeness…’ You’re perfect, Emily.”
“Did you seriously just quote poetry at me?” she asked, one eyebrow raised at him. Emily couldn’t believe he’d just…Aiden thought she was beautiful even after all this madness…
Had anyone ever said her strangeness was beautiful before?
“I love poetry and romance,” Aiden admitted, nudging her playfully with his shoulder. “Finding new ways to make the people I care about feel special, recognized, and appreciated is what I live for.”
“So, you bring the others flowers and poetry?” It was a ridiculous idea, and yet also extremely endearing. Would Ben blush when Aiden brought him his favorite flower?
“I do sometimes,” Aiden admitted. “Jace doesn’t really like plants that aren’t functional, so I bring him sunflowers. Ben likes roses so red they’re black. And Chance…he likes orchids. The rarer the better, and he manages to keep them alive.”
Her insides melted and Emily found herself tucking that information away for later.
“How did you end up with those three anyway?” Emily asked, mentally tracing their path from the map she’d memorized earlier.
“Are you asking because they’re prettier than me?” Aiden asked, falling into step beside her.
Emily laughed out loud in delighted surprise. She hadn’t realized he could be funny too. “I don’t think they’re prettier than you.”
“Ah, bigger dicks then?”
Emily didn’t bother hiding her smile. “Mm, I think you’re bigger than Chance, but it’s been a while.”
They walked in silence for a few minutes while Aiden considered her question. When they crested a hill, he glanced up at the mountains and his expression grew serious. Even his eyes darkened.
Her heart dropped into her stomach and Emily almost didn’t want to know.
“There was a girl I loved once,” Aiden confessed. “She and I grew up together with a passel of other orphaned raccoon shifters. We were lost children and our pack was run by this guy who made us steal stuff for food and clothing and shelter.”
Emily pressed her shoulder against his as they walked, not knowing how to comfort him other than offering the warmth of her body.
Her childhood hadn’t been as bleak, but she knew what it was like to grow up without love, to suffer.
“She and I had grand plans,” Aiden said, giving Emily a conspiratorial grin. “We were going to grow up and hoard enough trinkets we could get away, start our own lives thieving. It wasn’t a glamorous plan, but we were going to see the world eventually.”
Snow clung to everything and the sky was grey, promising more snow and ice and cold. Emily’s boots were silent against the snow, but so were Aiden’s. The pair of them didn’t make any noise at all as they walked.
Emily didn’t ask the obvious question. Clearly something had gone wrong or he wouldn’t be here, with her.
“She wasn’t my mate,” Aiden admitted, studying the golf course they were carefully circling. “But that didn’t matter to us. When we were about fifteen, we decided to make a run for it.”
There was a sick feeling in her stomach and she just knew – she could feel it in the way he withdrew into himself.
“I managed to get out, but she didn’t.”
Emily took his hand in hers. “What happened?”
“Our mentor sent our brothers and sisters after us. She died trying to get away. I barely made it without her. Jace found me in New York, pickpocketing on the streets a few years later. He made me an offer I couldn’t refuse, and I’ve been with him ever since.”
She almost asked what the offer was, but Emily figured it had something to do with sticky fingers.
Inspecting Aiden from the corner of her eye, Emily judged his color and weight, the lack of circles under his eyes. He was fit and muscular even if he was rather short. Aiden had that gymnast’s body that was simply corded with muscle.
He looked healthy, but more importantly he looked happy.
Despite his past, Aiden was doing better.
“Do you ever miss it?” she asked, angling her body so another pedestrian didn’t accidentally touch her. “Do you ever miss those you left behind?”
Aiden gave her the courtesy of pretending like there was no other reason for her questions than simply getting to know him. “I do. I miss my brothers and sisters every day, especially Sara. I have a new family though and we…mesh better together than I did with them.”
Emily frowned. “How did you mesh better? I don’t understand what that would mean.”
“My brothers and sisters and I…we were always desperate to survive, desperate to be the top dog. If I brought in the best loot, I got more food. I would get presents from our caretaker. New coats and gloves – we were always one step away from killing each other if we weren’t killing for each other.”
His response rang through her and Emily wasn’t sure how to feel about her reaction, but his words resonated within her. Competing with the other ravens her age growing up had been a lot like that, but with different prizes.
Crows cried overhead and Emily looked up, watching them with a strange sense of melancholy. There was no chance of them being shifters, not here.
She wanted to stretch her wings and fly, but Jace insisted going anywhere alone was too dangerous. And Emily was too tired to argue with him.
Smart bastard knew she wouldn’t leave Aiden alone, not when he was still healing.
“I’ll never forget what you did for me,” Aiden told her, breaking the silence as they walked around the snowy golf course. “You put yourself in harm’s way to save me. You literally took a bullet for me.”
Emily rubbed the spot on her abdomen that was still sore, even if she would never admit it.
“You weren’t mine to kill.”
Aiden gave her a sly smile and pulled her off the sidewalk. No one else was around at the moment, not in this weather with all the snow covering ever
ything. It was freezing for humans, but Emily didn’t even feel cold thanks to the fleece-lined leather jacket Aiden had gotten for her.
This place was a winter wonderland. Christmas lights were glittering back at the resort and Emily could smell the crisp mountain air, so clean and fresh.
All of it was perfect.
But despite the gorgeous landscape and the sharp scent of pine, the air was dead and lifeless.
Emily felt that itch again and she rolled her shoulders back. This walk wasn’t helping. She needed more extraneous activity. How was she going to get through another twenty-four hours without going insane?
“If you want to fly, I won’t tell Jace, just stay where you can see me,” Aiden told her.
She looked at him, not sure if he really meant it, but his indulgent smile was more than enough of an invitation.
“And for what it’s worth, I don’t think you would have killed me even if I had been your mark,” Aiden said, stepping back to give her room to shift.
Emily barely hid her smile in time before she folded in on herself. Her triumphant cry made the wild mundane crows scatter. She climbed high into the sky, one eye on Aiden.
She didn’t think she would have killed Aiden either, even without a drop of emotion.
But he didn’t need to know that.
12
Emily
Emily and Aiden were laughing as they walked back into the hotel room, bags of food in their arms. There was even iced coffee despite the look the barista had given her when she’d ordered.
She hadn’t felt this relaxed in a long time and a lot of that was thanks to Aiden giving her the hours she needed to fly and burn off the energy that was boiling under the surface of her skin.
It kept her from lashing out.
But she wasn’t naive. It was still there, waiting for her to become complacent.
Sometimes she got lucky and was able to burn off the itch before it made her do something stupid, but other times she wasn’t so lucky. It was directly dependent on what had upset her the last time she could feel.