Page 10 of A Match Made in Coven
As she approached the wooden doors of the courtroom, she found them still ajar and froze on the threshold.
Inside, Lorcan Black sat slumped in a chair, his broad shoulders curved inward, his head bowed. Gone was the confident, arrogant demeanor he’d displayed during the hearing. In its place was a man weighed down by sorrow, looking utterly… vulnerable.
A pang of sympathy shot through her, mingling with curiosity. What was he still doing here? Hadn’t he been so eager to leave? After all the work that pompous otter lawyer of his had put into freeing him, why wasn’t he home being tucked in by a valet and having his pillow fluffed by a personal pillow-fluffer?
He’d won, so why did he look so…defeated?
She shouldn’t pry. It wasn’t any of her business. And yet…
On impulse, she reached for her magic. It surged through her like a cool breeze, shimmering around her in a pearly rainbow whirl. Her body shrank, wings unfurling from her back—iridescent, pastel, made of light—until she was no taller than a fly.
Flying as a fairy felt like slipping into a second skin, her senses sharpening, the world expanding and contracting at once. She zipped through the air, alighting on the back of a chair near Lorcan.
That’s when she noticed the tears glistening on his cheeks. Lorcan Black was crying? It hit her then. For the entire night, she’d treated him as a suspect, but now she only saw someone in mourning.
“I didn’t take you for the sneaking around kind, Detective Callidora.” He spoke without even lifting his head.
His voice was hoarse, weary, but it still made her heart jolt. Hex, he’d spotted—sensed?—her. Heat flooded her cheeks as she fluttered to the center of the courtroom, shifting back to her normal height in a shimmer of magic.
She landed gracefully, but inside, she was anything but composed.
“I—I forgot my case files,” she mumbled, averting her gaze.
Lorcan lifted his head, his blue-green eyes rimmed with red. His focus drifted to her iridescent wings, a strange expression flickering across his face. Under his scrutiny, Sarah Michelle felt exposed, as if he could see straight through her. She flapped her wings once, and they disappeared in a burst of glittering dust, but the air felt heavier without their light.
With the wings gone, Lorcan’s gaze snapped back to hers, and that was even more unnerving. “Sorry.” The apology tumbled out. “I didn’t mean to—” She cut herself off. Didn’t mean to what? Spy on him? That was exactly what she’d done, even if it hadn’t been her original intention.
Lorcan’s gaze shifted to the case files on the persecution desk. He stood, his movements slow as if each step carried his grief. He picked up the files and walked toward her, holding them out. When she reached for them, his fingers brushed against hers, sending a jolt of electricity through her.
He didn’t release the folder. “You don’t need to call my lawyer if you have more questions for me.”
“You sure your otter minion won’t drag us back to court if I dare disrespect the mighty Black heir?”
A ghost of a smile touched Lorcan’s lips, but it died just as quickly as it had appeared. “I’ll deal with Osric.” As he kept his sizzling gaze locked on her. “You focus on finding the killer.”
Despite herself, Sarah Michelle nodded. A determination that mirrored her own shone in his eyes, a shared resolve to uncover the truth.
Lorcan released the files, his fingers brushing hers once more before he left the room. Sarah Michelle watched him go, aware of his absence just as much as she’d been sensitive to his presence. She had a premonition that tonight had changed her life forever, even if she still didn’t know how. She felt as if she were teetering on the edge of a precipice, with a wind at her back threatening to push her over. And she wasn’t sure even her wings could save her.
***
Sarah Michelle squinted against the morning sun filtering through the kitchen window as she entered the room, her head throbbing like a troll had whacked it with his club.
Andromeda, her roommate, was perched at the round table, working on her laptop as usual. Andy’s official job title was independent IT consultant, both in the magical and human worlds. Sarah suspected Andy’s definition of “consulting” occasionally involved bypassing a few security measures, but she preferred not to ask too many questions.
Their familiars were in the kitchen, too. Quill, the hedgehog, sat curled up next to the computer while Nox, Sarah Michelle’s ferret, scampered around Andromeda’s flannel-clad legs.
“Morning,” Sarah Michelle grumbled, shuffling to the coffee pot and pouring herself a generous cup.
“Hey.”
Sarah Michelle turned to the refrigerator and opened it, squinting against the harsh light. What she wouldn’t give for a time-stretch pill right about now. Just one extra hour of blissful, uninterrupted slumber. Reaching for the carton of unicorn milk, she made a mental note to visit her magimedic for a refill.
“Long night?” Andromeda asked, eyes glued back to her screen. Her long blond hair cascaded over her shoulders in tousled waves, prompting a twinge of envy in Sarah Michelle at how effortlessly put-together her roommate always looked, even in pajamas.
Sarah rubbed at her eyes, stifling a yawn. “Yeah. A new case is kicking my ass. I didn’t get in until dawn.”
She poured some milk into the coffee, put the carton back in the fridge, and slid into the chair next to Andromeda. Nox abandoned his mischief-making to scurry over, nuzzling Sarah Michelle’s hand in greeting. She scratched him behind the ears.
