Page 47 of Bitten By Desire

We showered, changed, then sat in a circle on the carpeted floor of Lorraine’s massive master bedroom. Zoe and Hazel had been working on healing Binx while keeping him away from the sun. But it could only last so long before Zoe’s energy ran out, especially when we kept needing her to portal us all over the place as well.

Sam and Lydia confirmed that Daphne was bound to her basement to recover after some serious burns and injuries. Thankfully, the demon woman, Sirena, had left after we’d disappeared, and Daphne had been able to crawl into the elevator and back to where her connection to the land was strongest, apparently half burying herself in the dirt before passing out. And now Lydia and Sam would stay put, awaiting instructions about the meeting that was set to lure the rest of the board back to the base while staying close to the general in case of any surprises.

Tabitha had remained at the hotel and began researching what she could to figure out what happened at MorningStar and any other info she could gather on the demons or fae. So we’d decided Lorraine’s was as good a place as anywhere to plan our next move. She had saved my life after all, making it harder to doubt her story about being affected by Binx’s magic. But I still kept watch on her and wasn’t about to release my commands not to hurt us.

I sat myself to the side of the bed between Julian and Lorraine, still towel drying my hair. I’d requested some tea, and she’d set up a tray for us while I cleaned up. Lorraine set a cup in front of me and poured the hot liquid inside. I silently grasped it, soaking in the warmth.

“You should drink yours, too, Julian,” Lorraine said, indicating the cup that had sat before him for who knew how long, getting cold.

He glanced at me as I drank from mine and lifted the cup to his lips with a forced smile. His dark curls were still wet and clung to his face like a frame.

“So, we know where the fae and the demons will be tomorrow night,” I said, setting down my drink and deciding to get the discussion started.

“Can’t we just tip off the board so they can lay a trap for the killers?” Lorraine asked.

I startled then remembered her late husband was on the board and one of the demons.

“Not everyone on the board is, shall we say, a good guy,” Julian said, taking a second sip of tea.

“Oh. Of course,” Lorraine said, scooting slightly closer to him.

I cleared my throat. “The first thing I think we need to figure out before we make a plan for tomorrow is who the changeling the fairy said was still among us is.”

When the fairy had told me that my mother’s murderer was posing as someone in my own circle, my mind had gone wild, sifting through everyone—even Julian, testing their hypothetical loyalty. It was like fighting a psycho, shapeshifting kitsune all over again like I had when Julian was attached to the fae device.

In that case, she impersonated people and their powers. Could changelings do that too? Were there any tells? I thought back to one who’d crumpled to ash and then to Binx’s story. They had one power and one directive according to what he’d said.

“How do we know someone’s a changeling?” Lorraine voiced the very question I’d been pondering.

“We need to ask a fairy,” Julian suggested. “Preferably an unseelie, as they’re the ones with the ability to create them.”

“Who do we know that’s unseelie?” I asked. I recalled the goblin that had sold the machine to the general. But after I’d scared the crap out of him, he’d left the island, according to Daphne.

There was Daphne, but she was not only injured, but seelie.

Julian and I looked at each other at the same time. “Tittwell,” we said together.

“Lorraine,” Julian stood and offered her his hand up. “Would you kindly call on the imp and ask him to come alone? Pretend you are in need of his help but do not trust the shifter.”

She smiled brilliantly up at my vampire, tugging at the low collar of her dress. “Absolutely.”

While we awaited Tittwell’s arrival, Lorraine asked Julian to help her take the tray and china back down to the kitchen. Despite the way she kept whetting her lips with the tip of her tongue when she looked at him, he assured me silently that he would keep an eye on her. So I acquiesced, needing to do some thinking. I called the magic up within me and studied the tingling sensation in my fingers, the buzzing in my body. It did feel different…stronger than normal. I’d always hidden my abilities instead of playing with them and working them, first because my parents had instructed me to, and then because of fear I’d set off alarms and everyone after psychics would come running to get me.

Well, they were already after me. And if they were trying to use me for my power, then maybe it was time I used it for myself.

By the time the doorbell rang, I imagined I was glowing with magic. I slipped down the steps as Lorraine led the imp into the sitting room. Julian waited at the bottom, watching the pair ahead of him like a vulture ready to swoop in. I marched into the room just as he was sitting.

“Don’t move. Don’t do anything but answer my questions truthfully,” I told him as I walked right up to the piano bench in front of him and sat.

The imp’s saucer-like eyes followed my movements as I leaned in toward him.

“Let’s talk about changelings,” I said, and those orbs widened just a bit. He hadn’t been expecting that. “How can we tell if someone is a changeling?”

“Tittwell’s never seen one.”

Useless imp. There had to be something he could tell us that would help. I repositioned and tried again. “What else do you know about them?”

“They are given three things from what Tittwell remembers. Something belonging to the person they are becoming, a single directive, and a power that will help them complete that directive.”

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