Page 14 of Deadly Little Games

I sat up straighter too. “Why are you guys saying his name like that? What’s the deal? He was a little intense, but he seemed nice enough.”

“Hisnicenessis not the issue,” Mistral said tersely. “His blatant disregard for any and all consequences in his search for knowledge is the issue.”

I frowned. “What does that mean?”

Mistral pinched his brow. It seemed I was giving him a headache. “That he pursues magical discovery, and he does not care who gets hurt in the process. Even when it’s himself.”

Ringo had finally popped his head out of my bag to listen to us.

When Mistral seemed too tired to explain further, Gabriel stepped forward. “Crispin was the last elf to come from his realm. Only fifty or so years ago.”

I leaned forward in my seat. “He mentioned something about realm travel, but that’s not possible. No one has come over that recently, other than celestials.”

“He became trapped like all the rest of us,” Mistral muttered. “But he still believes he can find a way to return.”

I nodded along with his words. “Yeah, I got that, but that doesn’t explain why you both are so worried about him.”

Mistral met my eyes. “If he can use you for his own purposes, he will.”

“Yeah, but so will you.”

Neither of them seemed to have anything to say to that.

I looked at Mistral. “I’m not mad about it. I don’t know what you awakened within me, but if I can use it to find my mother, I will.”

Mistral lifted a brow. “And if Sebastian can awaken you further?”

I slumped back against my seat. I hadn’t really thought that far ahead.

“There is a way to test it,” Mistral continued, his eyes shifting to Gabriel.

I followed his gaze, but Gabriel was staring straight ahead. “You mean…” I trailed off, knowing exactly what he meant.

“A simple kiss will do,” Mistral added. “If you react in the same way you did to Sebastian, we may be able to learn more about what’s happening without his assistance.”

I had a feeling he was right. There had been magic when I touched Gabriel’s bare skin—not every time, but once wasenough. “I can’t just go around kissing people trying to get more magic.”

Gabriel didn’t react to my words, but he still wasn’t meeting my eyes. Could I just stand up and kiss him? Hells, it wasn’t like he wasn’t attractive, though it was in a rugged and rather intimidating way.

I gripped the arms of my chair, part of me wanting to do it, but something held me in place. It just felt odd, to stand up and kiss someone with no preamble, especially in front of the other person I had been more than kissing.

When the silence had stretched on for too long, Gabriel lifted his chin. “I will prepare your bed chamber.” He quickly turned away before anything could be said.

Once the door shut behind him, Mistral gave me a knowing look. “We could easily learn just how far your magical reactions will go.”

I glared at him. “I think you and Ibothknow how far they will go.”

“But we do not know if that is something simply between you and I, or if it can happen with others. You’re a fool for not testing things out before your time with Crispin.”

I turned my glare toward the fire and waved him off. “Well then I’m a fool. So what else is new?”

6

I laidin bed next to Ringo, tossing a small decorative crystal from a shelf in the guest chamber into the air. I caught it, then tossed it up again, watching the splinters of overhead light shining through it.

“It’s just that, you have towantto kiss someone, you know? It’s too weird doing it just to test magic.”

Ringo puffed up his fur around him, sinking further into his pillow. “You kissed Mistral to seal a bargain.”

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