Page 89 of Stroke of Shadows

Don’t even think about it, he glared, hoping she read his warning.

“I’ll take that as a no,” she added, lips pursed. “If you’re just taking advantage—”

Sythe let out a growl, the sound a shock as it erupted from his throat. “She’s mine. I’m not going to hurt her.”

His beast fucking beamed. The sappy bastard.

He could feel Harper’s gaze on his profile, but he was too busy glaring at the judgmental faerie.

“Seems like she’s already hurt,” Thea said.

Harper tensed. “That wasn’t him.”

“I’m protecting her.” Sythe clawed back his hostility, jaw clenched.

Thea’s smile strained. “Protecting or hunting?”

“I can speak for myself,” Harper said, her voice as strong as steel. She pushed the velvet bag across the invisible line on the table to Thea’s side.

“I recovered the chalice from some old rich guy’s mansion in Rome,” Thea said, thrumming her fingers along the table. “The extra is expenses.”

Sythe frowned. “Wait, what do you mean ‘recovered?’”

“Recovered. Stole. Who cares as long as you get what you want, and I get paid?” Thea shrugged, but her gaze was still guarded.

“How did you find it?” Harper asked. “I researched the Calicem Animarum thoroughly and came up with nothing.”

Thea reached for the money, and as soon as her fingers touched it, it disappeared with a pop. It was a trick he’d seen before, using pockets of space between the realms to create pathways to storage units or rooms. Very rare gift, even for the Fae.

“It was actually your research that helped me find where it was hiding.” Thea nibbled on her bottom lip. “It was… more difficult to recover than expected. It was supposed to be in Paris, not Rome. Honestly, I deserve more than double because of the stress alone.”

She clicked her fingers together with a snap, and the chalice appeared in her hand, wrapped in a loose piece of fabric. Even covered, it gave off a strange energy he’d never felt from an inanimate object before. Harper carefully unwrapped the fabric, her finger brushing against the golden cup before she pulled her hand back with a sharp breath.

“Oh, you have the touch?” Thea frowned, the tops of her pointed ears pinking. “I don’t think I’ve met someone with that gift until now.”

Sythe pushed the chalice away, not wanting Harper near it again. “Touch?”

“I guess you could say it’s similar to clairvoyance.” Thea brushed her fingers along the chalice without any effects. “It’s a gift usually found amongst the higher caste.”

Harper gripped the edge of the table. “Higher caste?”

“You know, like the higher caste of Fae? Elves, selkies and some other faeries with superiority issues.” Thea flicked her gaze between them with a frown. “Oh, that’s right. Human parents.”

“Wait, so only Fae can have the touch?” Sythe asked, watching Thea’s expression closely.

“How am I supposed to know? I’m not an encyclopaedia of all things Fae.” Thea shrugged. “If I were you, I’d hide that thing at the bottom of a mountain surrounded by dragons. It’s bad, like kings fighting to the death bad.”

Sythe stretched his chi over the chalice, the energy seeming to respond to his. “Why bad?”

“There’s a reason it was hard to retrieve.” Thea frowned. “That guy in Rome hired someone to guard it, a fallen angel, I think. In my experience, if someone was put there to guard something, it’s usually because that something is super expensive, or dangerous.”

“Look at that, we agree on something,” Sythe said with a smirk.

Thea ignored him entirely. “If you’re in trouble or anything, maybe I can—”

“Thank you for everything,” Harper interrupted with a practised smile. “I appreciate it.”

Thea pursed her lips, something was clearly bothering her. “Fuck’s sake,” she muttered beneath her breath. “Why do I have to care so much?”

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