Page 15 of Temple of Magic and Bone

Vanth's mouth fell open, everything following and falling offline. Elektra kept walking so he could do nothing but stare at her ass and try and get his brain working.

Had she just flirted with him? Or was it a princess thing? Fuck, he didn't know, but damn, was his mind going to filthy places.

"Are you coming or what?" Andres called down the hallway.

Vanth rearranged his shirt to ensure it was covering the sudden and inconvenient bulge in his pants.

She is not for you, he told his dick and then went to join them. Maybe the coldness of the morgue would cool the sudden fire in his veins. He didn't need to be crushing on some fancy princess.

He might not know much about the fae kingdoms if they didn't have representation in Inferno, but he had heard of the Celestial Court. They were a kingdom in Faerie, and they were known for their star worshippers, astronomers, and oracles. Having a name like Elektra suddenly made sense. How had one of their precious princesses managed to get away from their duties and start worshiping Charon of all gods?

Even more fucking questions. Maybe he needed to tie Elektra to a chair until she answered everything he wanted to know. His dick approved of the idea. Yeah, he really couldn't think about tying her up either. He needed to get his game face on.Fuck.

9

By the time Vanth made it into the freezer room, Andres had pulled out both bodies. Elektra's face had become a cool mask, the mischievous light in her eyes already gone.

Vanth stood back to watch. It would be better to keep out of her way. His magic hummed under his skin, restless and hungry. Elektra unzipped the first body bag. The sigils that Vanth had seen were still showing on her skin.

"The magic from this spell has already been released," Elektra commented. She pulled on a pair of latex gloves before examining the marks.

"Thoughts?" Vanth asked, taking a step closer.

"Definitely Lazarus's work or maybe a follower. These marks are his."

Vanth nodded like he knew what she was talking about. He had never seen sacrificial magic like it before. He understood about sigil work. Every magic user utilized them at some point or another. They became highly personalized to focus the power and intent behind them. They were almost like signatures that could be used to identify the practitioner.

"Her soul is gone," Elektra said sadly, bringing Vanth out of his thoughts. "I'll look at the other body now. Thank you, Andres."

The small fae hurried to unzip it, and the heavy thrum of power radiated out of it.

"Do you feel that?" Vanth whispered, the magic almost choking him.

Elektra turned to him. "Assist me, Vanth," she said.

"Don't tell me what to do, princess," he replied but still put on a pair of gloves and joined her.

The second female's skin was pale and blank.

"Where are the marks? I can feel them just hovering under the surface," Elektra said and looked at him. "How did you get them to show last time?"

Vanth hesitated. "I can show you, but you might not like it."

"We don't have time to get squeamish about each other's methods," Elektra said and made a hurry-up gesture at him.

Vanth licked his gloved thumb and sketched his own revealing sigil on the dead female's chest. Power slithered over her dead flesh like smoke, and the dark marks became clear. Vanth's skin itched. The body was full of unspent power, just like the other one had been.

Elektra placed her hand over the female's eyes. "I can still feel her soul trapped in there," she whispered, horror lacing her words. "It's fueling the spell."

"If that's the case, why burn them? Why not use them as batteries?" Vanth asked, brows drawing together. "Sacrificial magic is fucked up and takes a lot of effort. Why go through it all and then toss the bodies away?"

"Perhaps fire added a layer to the spell," Elektra mused. She went into her bag and pulled out a small clay lamp about the size of her palm. It had scythes and other symbols carved into the sides that Vanth didn't recognize.

Vanth had seen lamps like it before, but only artifacts at the catacombs in Rome. The little lamps had been found in the thousands; their lights used to help people find the resting places of their loved ones.

Instead of oil, Elektra's lamp was filled with something else. There was sandalwood and myrrh, but everything else Vanth couldn't identify. Smoke rose in silvery lines from the lamp and covered the body.

When nothing happened, Elektra swore. Taking a sharp dagger from her bag, she cut the pad of her thumb. Elektra opened the dead woman's mouth and dripped blood over her teeth.

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