Page 25 of Blood & Ice

“A blood war,” he said quietly. “It will kick off another blood war.”

Astrid worried her lip with her fangs, wincing when she wasn’t careful enough. Her tongue swept out to catch a few ruby droplets before the cut sealed itself.

“I’m not rooting for a war but...” She glanced between us. “Why hasn’t one kicked off? Isn’t this the sort of thing that would do it?”

I’d been wondering that myself. Why hadn’t Aurea Grimsbane gone on the warpath when she had every right under the law to do so? Someone had struck a blow not only to her heart but to her power as well by destroying her heir.

“Because I think she knows something we don’t,” I answered. “Perhaps with the faerie courts already in turmoil, she can’t count on allies that could help her win the war. Or perhaps it looks like a less defensible position now that she knows faeries can be turned. Magic alone wouldn’t be enough to gain the upper hand anymore.”

Or maybe she’s too tired and defeated and doesn’t want the fight,a small voice in my head supplied.What would you do if it were Sean and Charlie?

That thought was so hideous that I refused to even entertain it. Anyone who eventhoughtabout hurting my kids would find themselves buried under an avalanche. And that was only if I was feeling merciful that day. There were a few creative uses of icicles I could find if I was really feeling vengeful.

“You might as well tell us the whole truth,” Rook continued. “You know we’ll investigate regardless.”

I bit back a groan. They would, too. Their merry little foursome hadn’t been able to keep their noses in their textbooks where they belonged. When presented with a dangerous mystery, they’d eschew all reason and charge in with all the confidence of youth. Or the arrogance of age, in Rook’s case. The point was that they’d get themselves hurt or killed. And I couldn’t put Astrid in that kind of danger again.

“The victim was Vivian,” I said with a sigh.

“Oh, shit,” Astrid said.

I nodded. “Vivian is Jane Doe. She appears to have been drugged and drained of blood. The tests for sexual assault were negative, thankfully, but she was beaten before she died. The bite radius suggests a male perpetrator, but that’s not a guarantee. Aurea wants this dealt with quickly and quietly. If I don’t play her game, she’s going to use the knife and damn the consequences. I don’t think she’s operating on all cylinders at the moment.”

Rook took a step back, face going blank for a moment. I didn’t think that the statement computed for him. Vivian Grimsbane of the unstoppable sharp tongue was gone, killed by one of his kind. Not one of his classmates, thank God, but still a vampire.

“I don’t want you running to your dad,” I said, aiming the warning at him this time. “That’s exactly the sort of thing Aurea wanted to avoid when she brought the case to me.”

“He deserves to know,” Rook argued.

“He does,” I answered with a nod. “But my kids are on the line, so don’t test me on this. I will freeze you in a block of ice and shove you into Roy’s industrial freezer if that’s what I have to do to keep them safe. You don’t have to breathe, so I doubt it would kill you, but I’m not gonna cry over any frostbite you get.”

It was an empty threat. I wouldn’t turn him into an ice cube. Though I might seal them into a house together with a layer of impenetrable ice and wards to keep Astrid from escaping. Let them be snowed in together for a weekend and see what happened.

Rook’s jaw worked a few times. I doubted anyone but Astrid ordered him around. A hostage he might have been, but he was still the son of one of the most powerful vampires in Europe. He cast a surreptitious glance at Astrid. She looked pale, probably realizing that my death would also drag Maverick down with me. That seemed to clinch it for him.

“I’ll stay quiet,” he said. “But only as long as you’re on the case, Taliyah. If something happens to you, I’m looking into it.”

I took a deep breath, desperately wishing it would settle my stomach. Fear had knotted my guts like balloon animals, and I was afraid one wrong move would break me.

“If something happens to me, I’d want you to look into it.”

Chapter Thirteen

Taliyah

The variety of conflicting scents inside the plant nursery was giving me a headache.

Yes, I understood the theory behind the move from the Half Moon, but I still didn’t like it. The nursery was open to the public, and would be easily breached by a hapless mundane who made the mistake of breaking and entering during a Council meeting. The Hollow had been lucky thus far, with most mundanes who’d been let in on the secret happily keeping their mouths shut. Our luck couldn’t hold out forever, though. Someday, if we weren’t careful, a bad egg would learn the secret and all hell would break loose. The dryads who ran the business could hide in plain sight, giving us ample warning if a mundane approached. Even a minute’s notice would allow us to get our stories straight.

The smell was just so...strongin here. I probably wouldn’t have noticed it only a year ago. I was becoming more fae by the day, and that scared the hell out of me. I could smell the flowers that bloomed in autumn and winter most strongly. Crocus. Winter’s Heath. Witch Hazel. Snowdrops. It felt like someone had pried my mouth open and poured floral perfumes down my throat one after the other. The pounding beat in my temples echoed like a war drum in my ears. Could faerie queens develop migraines? I hoped not. It was one of the perks of my new, less human body. I had a lot less to fear from human maladies.

“Tally?”

Maverick’s voice jerked me from my irritable haze, and I glanced up at him guiltily. He wasn’t giving me a reproachful glare back, the way Jonathan had. He’d always hurt me when I let my guard down, even for a second. A comment here. A sigh or snort there. It was impossible to make him happy. I’d thoughtit was some failing of mine that made him stray. He’dmademe believe as much, using sex like a weapon to make his point. I couldn’t get his voice out of my head. I was convinced there was still a demonic whisper hiding somewhere in my brain, carved into my skull from sheer repetition. It had been impossible to think of it as abuse when I couldn’t even fully articulate the thoughts, let alone toss them back at my incubus ex. The mental screw Jonathan gave me was a hell of a lot harder to deal with than the physical acts he’d coaxed me into.

Maverick raised a hand hesitantly, offering his cupped palm. I leaned my face into his hand immediately, eyes fluttering closed. My stomach settled and I could breathe a little easier.

“Thanks,” I whispered.

---