Page 124 of Death Bringer

“Don’t even joke about that, honey. The Fae live forever, remember, and often plan for things hundreds of years in advance. They’ve probably been waiting for you to turn up to neutralize Death Bringer for centuries.”

“I suppose so.” Uneasily aware of the Fae queens and their meddling, she got to her feet. “And now I need to go and type out that report.”

Liz winked at her. “Before you forget what you said.”

“Something like that.” She hesitated. “Are you free for a quick drink after work? I think I need some alcohol before I have to face Morosov again.”

* * *

Vadim gota taxi to the hospital, which gave him plenty of time to brood about the incredible story Ella had cooked up for their team. What was worse, apart from Liz, everyone seemed to have lapped it up and not questioned a thing. He still wasn’t sure why she’d gone to so much trouble to truncate the truth. Did she not want his coworkers to know how dangerous he was? Or was it simply a matter of getting away with the shortest report in SBLE history? He shifted on the patched leather seat. Being in his human body still felt strange and constricting. The sense of not beinghimselfsurprised him. Was it possible that Ella was right and he should’ve stayed in Otherworld?

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the arrival of the taxi at the hospital. He paid off the driver and headed to the administrator’s office on the fifteenth floor. At the staff desk, he recognized Jose and headed straight for him.

“Hey, Morosov, isn’t it? How’s my favorite girl?”

“She’s fine. Unfortunately she had to type up a report at the office, so she couldn’t accompany me.”

“Damn. What can I do for you, man?”

“I wanted to see Delia. Is she still on this floor?”

“She is. Let me show you to her room. She’s stable, but that’s not saying much. We’re just hoping her body will come out of this by itself at some point.”

Vadim followed Jose down the hallway right to the end, where a tall SBLE security guard sat outside the door on duty.

“Thanks, Jose.”

“You’re welcome. Let me know if you need anything,”

Vadim exchanged pleasantries and credentials with the guard and was allowed into Delia’s room. Apart from the regulardrip, dripof something going into her arm, the tick of machines and her faint breathing, the room was quiet. He sat on the side of her bed, took her limp hand in his and studied her face. She opened her eyes and looked right through him.

He could still sense Adam’s magic clinging to her and set about cleansing it. Having Ella’s empath abilities made the task much quicker and easier than he had anticipated. He gladly took the dark magic into himself. One of the benefits of having been blessed and cursed by both Fae courts was that almost no magic could harm or hold him for long.

As he worked, Delia’s color returned and she began to breathe more deeply and evenly. Her eyes closed in a more natural sleep, and Vadim sat back. Within a few minutes she became restless, her head turning on the pillow. The monitors around her bed started to flash and bleep with activity.

She opened her eyes, and he got to experience how a prince in a fairy tale must feel as she stared at him. But she didn’t smile. She just looked terribly confused.

“Is this a dream?”

“Not anymore.” He let go of her hand, then stood. “You’ll be fine now, I swear it.”

He could hear the sounds of activity approaching down the hallway and stepped swiftly out of the room. The security guard was on his feet, his weapon already out.

“Sir?”

“It’s fine. She’s waking up.” He nodded at the approaching cavalry. “They’ll make sure she’s going to be okay.”

To avoid any embarrassing questions about exactly what he’d been doing, he chose to leave in the opposite direction and walked unhurriedly to the stairs. The elevator doors opened, reminding him of Ella and how he’d gotten her over her claustrophobia with the magical power of mated sex. He got on and descended to the main entrance. It was raining a little, and after a quick look around to see if anyone was watching, he magicked himself a raincoat over his favorite Armani suit.

When it rained, the city wilted as if it needed sunshine to thrive, like a struggling plant. Out toward the sea, the sky was the same gray, making everything blur into a miserable mess. He turned up his collar and decided to walk back to Market. It would take a while, but he needed time to think, and he wasn’t anxious to see Ella until he had time to put his thoughts in order.

A flash of diamonds brought his attention sharply to an alleyway on his right, and he stopped walking.

“Mother?”

She smiled at him from within the gloom of the dirty passageway.

“There’s something I wanted to ask you.”

---