by Deanna Chase
A few minutes later, footsteps sounded in the hall and the door swung open with a squeak. David was back, though I wasn’t ready to face him or anyone. The fact that Talisen wasn’t there, that he’d left, hurt me more than anything David had ever done. Even his breakup text. I needed Tal. If I hadn’t been in my enemy’s house, I would’ve curled into a ball and stayed there.
Instead, I reluctantly rolled over to face David. But then I froze and my heart started to race.
“Agent Rhoswen,” the faery said.
I gulped. “Director.”
Chapter 27
“I’m glad to see you’re awake.” Director Halston smiled, but her tone was far from friendly. “The healer will be up in a moment. After she’s finished, please join us down on the main floor.” She swept back out of the room, leaving me alone once more.
Oh shit. Join us. Who was us? And who had called her? Not Phoebe, surely. How much did she know? A weight of foreboding settled over my chest. Was the Void a part of all this? Had I been their target again? My mind jumbled. Nothing made any sense.
The door squeaked again and this time a tall slender blonde poked her head into the room. “Willow? Is it okay if I come in?”
My gaze flicked to the canvas backpack slung over her shoulder. “Only if you have painkillers in that bag.”
She chuckled. “Not exactly, but I think I have something better.”
Even in my battered state, I couldn’t help but notice her inner light, both peaceful and magnetizing.
She stopped at the edge of the bed and dropped her bag to the floor. “Do you mind if I sit?”
I shook my head, swallowing the lump lodged in my throat. Talisen should’ve been the one sitting next to me, the one to place his sure and gentle hands on my body. Not this stranger from the Arcane. How could he just leave?
“I understand you used some unusual magic this evening,” Blondie said.
“You could say that,” I mumbled and stared at the door, willing Talisen to appear. It wasn’t that being healed by someone else would be unpleasant, it was that Tal had always been there for me before. I knew he was hurt himself, but he’d been clear he was staying away as a consequence of my choices, not because he couldn’t heal us both. I knew him. If he hadn’t been so upset with me, he would’ve never let someone else take his place.
It was the rejection that left me empty and alone, my heart torn in two.
“I’m Sierra. If you don’t mind, I’m going to run my hands over your torso and limbs to get an idea of the damage.”
I nodded my agreement and stared at the wall.
The second her hands made contact, my back bowed and I nearly flinched right off the mattress. “Ouch! Stop. I can’t take it.”
She broke the connection. I lay panting, my insides more raw than ever.
“That’s never happened before,” I choked out between breaths.
Her brows knit together. “It’s like you’ve been charred from the inside out.”
That was exactly what it felt like.
“How did this happen?” she asked.
I met her curious hazel eyes. She was a healer, not my superior, and I was under no obligation to divulge any details. “Classified,” I said.
Disappointment registered in her slight frown, but she didn’t press the issue. Instead, she rummaged through her canvas bag until she found a silver tin and a bottle of water. She flipped the lid and took a pinch of dried herbs, which she held over my mouth. “Swallow these.”
I choked the bitter seeds down with the help of the water, gagging in the process. My tongue darted out and I had to fight to keep from scraping it clean of the foul substance. “Ugh, what the hell is that shit?”
She tossed the tin back in her pack and regarded me with a critical stare. “That shit is going to stabilize you so I can put you back together without you coding from shock.”
The herb hit my bloodstream, instantly numbing the aches and pains. “Oh my Goddess,” I said in a barely audible whisper.
“Amazing isn’t it? Hibiscus seeds cured with a healing balm. Tastes like shit, but it works every time.” She moved her hands over my body, but I barely felt a thing other than the sweet relief of her magic cooling my charred insides.
Her healing gift was very different from Tal’s and for that I was grateful. Any magic that was similar to Tal’s would’ve likely made me break down in tears. That was the last thing I wanted to do in front of the Arcane healer. She trailed her hands over each bruised section, lingering on the worst wounds, and poured her cool magic into me until I was almost buzzing. It was so different than Tal’s magic. With her, she was filling me up with magical energy and using her coolness to numb parts of my body.
With Tal, his magic seemed much more natural. Effortless. As if all he had to do was touch me and my wounds were healed. I shut my eyes and tried not to think about him. He wasn’t here. Sierra was. After she pulled her hands away, I smiled up at her. “Thank you.”
She picked her bag up and slung it over her shoulder. “You’re welcome.” With a nod, she headed toward the door.
“Wait,” I called, sitting up too quickly. My head swam from the sudden movement. She’d cured my aches, but my energy level wasn’t even close to normal. Not quite the treatment I would’ve gotten from Talisen, but at least my insides didn’t feel like they’d been filleted with a razor.
She paused at the door with her eyebrows raised. “Did you need something else?”
“Those seeds. If you’re interested, I can probably turn them into something that doesn’t make you want to cut your tongue out.”
“I doubt it,” she said.
I shrugged and stood on wobbly feet. “Doesn’t hurt to try.”
She studied me, a puzzled expression on her flawless porcelain face. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why do you care what it tastes like as long as it works?”
I stiffened, feeling ridiculous because of my involuntary physical reaction. “I own a magical bakery. I believe all magical substances should taste good. Who wants to buy a Kiss Me chocolate if it doesn’t make your mouth happy?”
She snorted, the wrinkling of her nose messing up her perfect beauty. “My healing seeds aren’t for sale.”
“So? What does that matter? I’m just saying it might be nice if your patients didn’t gag while you were treating them.”
Her eyes narrowed. Then she shook her head and left, mumbling under her breath. I thought it sounded something like, “Fucking cupcakes.”
For some reason her response made me chuckle. Here I was in Asher’s hideout, my friends beaten to a pulp, the director of the Void waiting for me, and I was talking about cupcakes. We all had our coping mechanisms, I guess.
I half expected David or Phoebe or even Talisen to come see if I was all right, but no one appeared. In fact, the entire house was eerily quiet. I steeled myself and went in search of answers.
Once downstairs, I headed into the large living room, carefully stepping over broken glass and splintered furniture. I paused and glanced around at the destruction. Sadness overwhelmed me. All of this was for what? The quest for power? To create superhumans? To make sure no more vampires were turned into daywalkers? I didn’t even want to turn anyone else.
“Willow?” Phoebe’s voice came from behind me.
I twisted and found her clutching the doorframe. She had bruises on the left side of her face and her leg was bandaged, but she appeared to otherwise be okay. “Yeah.”
“In here.”
I followed her into the formal dining room.
“Rhoswen,” the director said from her spot at the head of the table. “Have a seat.”
I started to move to the first available chair but then stopped in my tracks and stared with incomprehension. Against the opposite wall, four people had been restrained, no doubt magically strapped to the chairs they sat in. Three of Asher’s humans took up the first three chairs. The forth one was a few feet away from the rest.
I locked my gaze on those forest-green eyes. “Tal,” I breathed in utter confusion.
He didn’t speak, but an array of emotions flashed through those eyes I knew so well: relief, frustration, anger, and maybe even grief.
I tore my gaze away from Tal and rounded on the director. “Let him go,” I demanded. “There’s no valid reason to have Talisen restrained. He was helping me. This is insane.”
“Have a seat, Rhoswen,” Director Halston said again.
My wings flared in total frustration. “What’s going on?”
She waved a hand toward my chair, her expression grim.
Dammit! No matter what I said, she wasn’t going to answer. Reluctantly, I took a seat next to Phoebe. An athletic-looking woman, about my age with dark blond hair was between Phoebe and the director, while David, Allcot, Nicola, and Harrison were seated on the other side of the table. The healer was nowhere to be found. I glanced at Tal one more time and that’s when I noticed Link, curled at his feet back in Shih Tzu form. His tail was bandaged in white gauze.
I clamped my hands together in an effort to keep control. I was moments from flying across the room and scratching the director’s eyes out. How dare she bind Talisen like that?
“As you can see, Asher has escaped.” She glanced at the unfamiliar girl first, then Phoebe. “I must say, I am rather disappointed in you both. Kilsen, I hope you are aware your incompetence has ruined two years of Meyers’s undercover work.”
My head snapped up. Two years of undercover work? Meyers. That name sounded so familiar. Elissa Meyers. Tal’s contact and Asher’s assistant. It had to be her. The house in gang territory. The money to afford college. The reason she was sitting at the table now instead of handcuffed to a chair.
Phoebe caught me staring at Elissa and whispered, “She’s a witch.”
“Yes,” Halston chimed in. “An exceptional one who has been working with the master vampire Asher for the last nine months. She’s also the one who’s been investigating your fae friend.”
“And the one who broke into your office,” Allcot said to me in a stony voice.
“Yes,” the director said. “She did that under my orders to keep her cover. The bird, however, was Asher’s doing.”
That’s why she’d shown up to do the inspection herself. But I was more worried about something else she’d said. “Investigating Tal? Why?”
These people were crazy. Tal was just a fae working for the university. Working for Asher. But he hadn’t known he’d been working for the notorious vampire. Surely they had to know that.
The director gave me an incredulous look and then waved at the humans. “He not only made the super drug that allowed Asher’s people to almost take out my two strongest witches, but he willingly gave it to Asher as well. You’re all lucky Allcot and his witch showed up. Otherwise you’d all likely be dead.”
“He didn’t give the drug to Asher. Asher had access to it because Talisen thought he was a respected researcher. Tal would never give the drug away,” I said.
“No? It looks like he gave it to someone.” She jabbed her hand toward Allcot. “Seems they had a deal.”
Anger built from deep in my chest. “He only—” I stopped, abruptly realizing I was just about to give her solid testimony that Tal was guilty. He’d only given it out to protect me. But hadn’t I warned him he’d get in trouble? Distributing unsanctioned enhancements was a crime. Tal could easily be locked up. “So that’s it then. You’re going to take him into custody?”
She glanced between the two of us and then shrugged. Up until then she’d been the no-nonsense, hard-assed Director. That one movement told me she wanted something. But from who? Me or Tal? I raised one eyebrow and waited.
She stood, placing both palms down on the table. Leaning over, she locked her piercing gaze on mine. “I know everything. If you’d come to me, you would’ve had the Void’s protection and none of this would’ve had to happen.”
I bit my tongue to keep from blurting out that she had refused to grant Void protection for my store. Or that I had zero reason to trust her.
“From now on, you’ll report all your supernatural activity, any unusual abilities, and you’ll submit to Void testing and research.”
“But—”
“No. I understand you’ve been exploited in the past. But you put the entire city in danger and the daywalker knows what you can do now. You have not helped your situation. Learn to trust me or you will be put in lockdown.”
Phoebe pushed herself to her feet. “Pardon me, Director. But you must have some idea what it’s like to have your life on the line and not know who to trust.”
Halston nodded. “Yes, one does not rise to my rank without ruffling some major feathers.” She tore her gaze from Phoebe and focused on me once more. “That’s why we’ll consider this a warning instead of taking you to task in front of the Arcane disciplinary board.”
Holy fae. The disciplinary board had the power to expel an agent from their contract. And no one walked away from such a fate. They were either sentenced to death or put into servitude for the remainder of the contract. I should have been relieved she’d only issued a warning, but I knew better. Everything came with a price.
And in this case, it meant Void testing. My freedom as I’d known it was over.
“As for Mr. Kavanagh, I would consider putting him on probation if he consents to turning over his notes and research on his new drug to the Void. All the research.” She turned to Allcot. “Including what your operation has discovered.”
I clamped my mouth shut to keep from revealing my surprise. He’d already started testing? He’d just gotten some from Tal the day before. Damn, Allcot didn’t waste any time.
Allcot narrowed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. It seemed odd that he remained sitting, letting her dominate the conversation. “Why should I help the Void?”
The director straightened and crossed her arms over her chest. “You and your son are now daywalking vampires. If word were to get out…”
My fingers curled and my nails bit into my thighs. “You can’t leak that information.” Panic slipped into my tone. “It’s too dangerous.”
The director shrugged. “For you and the vampires, sure. But not for the Void.”
David and Allcot leaped to their feet simultaneously. David’s face was contorted in rage. Allcot’s was stone-cold. Allcot held up a hand to stop David from ripping the director’s head off. Then he turned to the short faery. “What do you hope to gain by threatening us? It’s not about information on the drug. It seems you could run any number of tests to find out any information you might need.” He cocked his head, studying her. “No. You want something else. I suggest you just ask for whatever it is.”
“Or what?” The director seemed more curious than angry or annoyed.
“Or Davidson and I will walk out of here and we’ll take Ms. Rhoswen with us.”
I glanced at Tal. He was staring at Allcot with murder in his eyes. “And Talisen,” I added.
Allcot kept his gaze on the director. “If you wish, Ms. Rhoswen.”
Relief swept through me as I realized Allcot would protect me. Then a sinking feeling formed in the pit of my stomach. Allcot acted as if I was one of his people. I didn’t want to belong to him. Yet it was better than being a lab rat at the Void.
The director shook her head. “I cannot allow that. Mr. Kavanagh has broken several Arcane laws. Another vampire we’ve been investigating for over two years knows about the drug and Rhoswen’s unique ability. This is going to get out and if there aren’t any official repercussions, the entire Arcane is going to be investigating you.” She leaned in, locking eyes with Allcot. “And we both know there are certain parts of your business dealings you don’t want exposed.”
Allcot ground his teeth together, clearly enraged at her insinuation. “What exactly is it you want from Ms. Rhoswen and her friend?”
“Mr. Kavanagh will need to come in and answer our questions. We’ll also want to
test the effects of the daywalking on either Mr. Laveaux or yourself. And most importantly, we’ll want to figure out exactly how Ms. Rhoswen’s gift works.”
I held my breath, not daring to say anything. When the Arcane wanted something, they went after it full force. The last time they’d wanted me for tests, I’d been locked in the basement…and it hadn’t been sanctioned. No one but the old director and his minions had known I was there.
Allcot turned his gaze on me. “I’m also curious about this new gift.”
Omigod! The a-hole was turning on me already.
“No,” David said. “Absolutely not.”
Allcot held up a hand. “How about we make a deal?”
“No,” David repeated. “No deals.”
“May I remind you that Rhoswen is under a binding contract with the Void? If she breaks it, her life is forfeit.” The director pursed her lips. “However, contrary to what everyone here seems to think about me, I do want to come to an agreement. If there is no attempt on your part to work with us, I will do what is in the Void’s best interest, whether you take Rhoswen with you or not.”
Phoebe swore under her breath and I slumped in my chair. The Void had my signature on a magical document. If I ran, they could and would track me down. They could even force me to turn myself in by having a witch activate the desertion clause.
David glanced at me, a silent question in his eyes. I shook my head. Whatever he was planning was only a temporary solution.
Allcot seemed to understand the predicament. “I see. Well, it looks like a compromise is in order.” He stood and waved a hand toward the destroyed living room. “Director, shall we have a private consultation?”
Halston raised a skeptical eyebrow. “My witch will join us as a witness.” She pointed an elegant finger at Elissa.
“Certainly.” Allcot waved them both ahead of him. David leaned in and whispered something to Allcot. The master vampire nodded and swept out of the room.