Page 24 of The Demon's Discovery
“Yes. I’ve already told Magnus, and they’re increasing patrols. No others have been found. But I had just put them down when the carriage passed by. Our carriage. She looked out the window…” I pressed my lips together, her horrified gaze haunting my memories. It had been all I could manage to dispose of the bodies and fly back quickly so I could clean up before she arrived.
“She won’t dwell,” Rylan said, breaking me out of my thoughts.
“How can you be sure?”
“Because she won’t be able to reconcile what she saw. It won’t make any sense.”
“That feels overly simplistic.”
“Is she acting strangely?”
I considered. A flinch here, a suspicious glance there. “At times, I suppose, but we hardly know one another. There’s no telling what she endures at the manor, either.”
Rylan grunted, looking off to the side. The change in his face indicating his wife had returned. I wondered if all mate situations created such an outwardly visible bond.
“Here it is,” Calla said as her hand and the jewelry came into view.
“Thank you.” I leaned as close to the mirror as I could without touching it, committing the details of the metal setting to memory. It was a very unique style and matched the sketch Henrik had given me almost exactly. The only difference was the stone. Calla’s was a moonstone, where the Belettes sought one made with a white opal. “At which jeweler did you find the matching ring?”
“Callihan’s. It’s the one over by the Straw Horse. Why?”
“I’m going to visit them again. They didn’t have any memory of a necklace like this the first time I went by, but I think I may have asked the wrong questions.”
“Alright.” The suspicion was clear in my brother’s tone.
“Everything is fine.”
“As you say.” Rylan sat back in his chair, watching me carefully, the same as he would have if I were occupying the room as him.
“And Calla? How is your magic coming along?” I asked.
Her smiling face appeared behind Rylan. “Nicely, thank you. Would you like to see?”
Rylan’s pride in her was the only thing that kept him from getting cross with me for changing the subject, I was sure. “Of course I would.” I’d never had a little sister, so I indulged her where I could. Besides, I really was interested in her progress; her earth-based magic was fascinating.
She turned and picked up a vase from a nearby table, one positively bursting with dark-purple calla lilies. “I’m getting much better with my control,” she muttered as she began to focus, her hands wrapped around the bottom of the glass. Theflowers all began to shrivel and droop, aging days in mere seconds. Then they reversed to their original vibrant states, full of life and dewy like they’d just been picked.
“I’m impressed. I’m glad you’re making such excellent progress.” I smiled at her, and Rylan’s eyes flashed in warning. A fated mate’s possessiveness was nothing to be trifled with, but I did love to poke at my brother at every opportunity.
“There’s more tincture in my apartment,” he said. “The small case on the table near the bookshelf.”
I nodded, planning to double up on doses until my emotional state started to settle. “I’ll be in touch. Enjoy your time away.”
I waved my hand, severing the connection before Rylan could do more than open his mouth. Getting the last word was something I always strived to accomplish, no matter which of my brothers I was speaking to. It might have been petty, but it was a mission I rarely failed at.
I smiled as I tucked the sketch back into my vest and prepared to visit some merchants.
Chapter 11
Greta
Icouldn’t stop myself from accepting Vassago’s invitations to return. I felt powerless to refuse him, especially when he gave me that lopsided grin that made me feel like he could see straight through me. Like he knew exactly how desperate I was to continue coming. Besides, I didn’twantto say no. I wanted to spend as much time at d’Arcan, and with him, as I could.
I left the Belette house with a heady mixture of excitement washed in fear again and again, visiting d’Arcan several more times over the next couple of weeks. Each time I walked through the front doors was more and more like coming home. With Grace and her helpers’ enthusiastic welcomes, and Vassago’s gentle smiles and increasingly common soft touches, my anxiety faded and comfort grew. The raven also always found a way to say hello when I was there. He was an odd fellow, but I found myself looking forward to his croaks and the dark streak of his figure following me in the sky when I left again.
Half the time when I got to the carriage, Grace was inside waiting for me. She’d gossip at me during the trip, and inevitably find an opportunity to feed me or have me try out her newest “energizing” tea blend. It never did help much, aside from beingas delicious as everything else she prepared, but she seemed unaffected by my disappointing reports.
I never again saw anything disturbing out the rear window on the side of the road and I started to doubt that I’d seen quite what I thought I’d had in the first place.
