Page 24 of Blood & Ice

“I...”

“Now,” I snapped, a burst of winter escaping with the command.

Frost coated the floor and crept up the legs of her chair, coating her Converse sneakers in a layer of rime. She stareddown at them, alarmed, before returning her apprehensive gaze to my face. Whatever she saw there seemed to frighten her because she closed the folder carefully before extending it in a shaking hand.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I could tell something was up. I felt Mav’s rage before you guys, uh...”

Oh, God. I’d forgotten in my haste to get Maverick out of the police station that we were entering a home where half a dozen skilled women could read auras. If Astrid had been paying close attention to us, had she felt...

Nope. I was not going down that line of thought. It could only end badly.

Astrid continued babbling justifications as I fought back the urge to blush. “And you got your winter on recently. Reading other nobles’ auras has been Fox’s recent homework for me. I knew something was wrong with you too... Then you both started asking about faerie weapons that can kill us, and I thought maybe there was something I needed to know. If Haven Hollow or my family is in danger I want to know. I can help.”

If it were any other case, I might have let her. The sentiment was sweet but badly timed. Astrid was smarter than most people realized. She was quieter than some of her witchy compatriots, with a keen sense of observation, and a strong sense of justice. Maybe, if she’d grown old enough, she could have become a good detective. Now she’d look utterly out of place in most stakeouts.

The urge to flash freeze the entire kitchen flickered like a tiny ember in my chest and died a quiet death. I was the adult in the room, and I thought I knew what was going on here.

“It’s not the knife meant for Fox,” I said quietly, pulling out a chair so I could sit next to her at the table. “You’re safe, Astrid. I’m not trying to keep something from you that could get you killed.”

Because that was exactly what Aurea had done to Astrid.Swept vital information under the rug because of the political optics, just the way she was doing with me. Vivian’s death had more political impact than the disappearance of a minor fae in the grand scheme of things, but it wasn’t an excuse. If Blood Rose hadn’t been allowed to become a festering pot of resentment and barely repressed bloodlust, Astrid would still be a witch. If the establishment had done its job, hell if it had evenwarnedpeople, maybe she would still have a pulse. No wonder she’d gone looking for evidence. Everything she’d been through thus far told her she had to work on her own if she wanted to see any justice in the world.

Astrid relaxed into her chair... for a second. Then her mind supplied the obvious conclusion to my thought and her gray eyes went round.

“It’s the blade meant for you.”

“Yes,” I answered.

Astrid waved her hand over the bulging folder, dusting it with autumn leaves as her emotions rose once more. I grimaced. I hated cleaning that stuff up. Fox always blew debris everywhere, leaving a room messier than when he arrived.

“Was this Janara’s doing? Was this one of her prisoners? It looks like a cell.”

It was an easy lie. Something I could tell her to get her off my back. Janara wanted me dead, and she’d never shied away from killing extraneous personnel. But lying to Astrid was wrong. She’d been through enough. And if something happened to me, people deserved to know the truth.

“No, it’s not Janara’s blade.”

Astrid frowned. “Then?”

“The knife is currently in Aurea Grimsbane’s possession. She stole it from Janara.”

A snarl ripped through the air just behind me and I turned in time to see Rook stalk into the room. He would have cut amore impressive figure if he’d been taller and covered in muscle. He was still damn scary as he was, dark eyes practically flaming with hatred at the mention of Aurea’s name. Astrid wasn’t the only one who had beef with the headmistress. The years of abuse Rook had suffered at the establishment’s hands made Astrid’s conflict look like a minor tiff.

“She didwhat?”

I winced. I hadn’t meant to drag either of them into this. And it was now rapidly getting out of hand. This situation had to be handled now before it spiraled out of control.

“Aurea Grimsbane approached me to solve a murder at Blood Rose,” I said in as calm a tone as I could manage. It was difficult with all the ears in the house. Maybe the witches wouldn’t catch what I’d just said, but the vampires would. And the more people in on the secret, the greater the chance someone would leak the news. Then there’d be no stopping the frenzy.

“Blackmailed, you mean,” Rook spat. “I know how that witch operates. She took the knife to force your hand. This is punishment for interfering at her school, isn’t it? Of all the selfish, egotistical...”

He trailed off into muttered obscenities. A petty part of me wanted to wave pom poms and cheer the slander. Aurea Grimsbane deserved that and more. But if I let him build up a head of steam, he might do something stupid, like call his father. That would spell disaster for my family.

“I’m not happy with her, but I understand why she did it,” I began, but Rook didn’t let me finish.

“If she didn’t give a damn about the faeries, she shouldn’t start pretending to give a shit now. Let me guess. It’s a witch who was killed? That’s why she cares. Only the precious witches merit any time or attention,” he sneered.

“It is a witch,” I confirmed. “And she was killed by a vampire. I think you know what that means.”

That succeeded in shutting him up. He swayed a little and had to be steadied by Astrid’s arm around his waist. Rook had been a hostage for years, roped in to keep the families from tearing each other apart. If witch blood was ever spilled, Rook’s life was forfeit, even if he had nothing to do with the killing. He’d been released from that obligation recently, but the fear still had to be there.

---