Page 22 of God Touched

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Imogen saw no sign of anyone when she left her room twenty minutes later. She probably should've worn something other than flannel PJ bottoms and a Loki sweatshirt, but she couldn't bring herself to get dressed in proper clothes again.

The ache in her muscles reminded her that two long bike rides in less than three days weren't always a good idea. Getting thrown about by swamp monsters straight afterward and then shoved up against a tree had made for one eventful, physically exhausting day.

Imogen knew there had to be a kitchen somewhere, and without Duncan to tell her, she began to explore. She had been in enough old houses and castles recently that she had a good hunch that it would be off a dining room. An empty dining room. Where the fuck was everyone?

If Arawan's court were all dead, did they even consume food? Did they have a chef that prepared fake food to keep an illusion that they were still alive?

Imogen found the kitchen, and like the sudden use of her phone reception, she was surprised to see that it had a fridge, oven, and white goods.

Arawan had known she was coming and had taken care of it. For a guy that hadn't lived in the human world, he had caught up on what humans needed pretty damn quickly.

Imogen pulled open the fridge and found it full of food.Waytoo much food if she was the only one eating it. In her opinion, it was better to have too much than too little. Her stomach grumbled again.

"Yeah, I hear you," she told it and got to work.

Imogen was in the middle of making a stack of sandwiches when the kitchen door opened, and one of the most stunning women she had ever seen walked through the door. She had long black hair and bright blue eyes that lit up in excitement.

"You are the sister!" she said excitedly.

"Ah…"

"Kian's sister!"

"Yeah, that's me. And you are?" Imogen asked, her hand still on the knife she had been using to cut ham.

The woman smiled. "I'm Aisling."

The name rang through Imogen, and she realized where she had heard it before. "You're the sorceress that helped the princes? You told them about their mates being able to break the curses?"

"Yes, that was me. Arawan has summoned me to help you find out who is breaking his wards," Aisling replied. She looked Imogen over. "You are not what I expected. When Arawan said you were a hunter, I imagined leather and scars."

"Don't worry, I have plenty of both. I'm just off duty." Imogen looked down at the extra sandwich she had made and offered it to her. "Can you eat food that way?" It seemed a nicer way of saying dead.

"I'm not sure," Aisling said. She had a mouthful and chewed. "It's good."

"We'll take that as a yes." Imogen smiled at her. "Arawan brought you back to help with the magic, did he? That was smart, because he can't trust anyone in his court right now and we need to find out who is behind the tampering. Is there anything else about Hafgan that you can tell me?"

Aisling thought for a while. "I'm assuming you know that he's indestructible? There was more than one prophecy about how he can't be stopped or destroyed by man or beast, so whatever Arawan has planned for him, it won't be to the death. It will be some kind of containment."

Imogen refilled her red wine. "He's probably been thinking about it for centuries too. As long as the fight stays out of the human world, I don't care."

Imogen's phone buzzed in her back pocket, and she giggled at the meme Freya had sent her. "Oh. I've just had the best idea." It was late, but she didn't care. Kian answered the video call on the first ring.

"Imogen? Are you okay? Did you get there on time?" he asked quickly. He looked like he was in his study working on something.

"I did, and I found someone you might know here," Imogen replied and pulled Aisling closer.

"Fucking hell, what are you doing there?" Kian asked, his smile instant.

"My prince, how is this possible? Is this a mirror like yours?" Aisling asked, taking the phone and turning it this way and that.

"No, it is…it is a device for communicating," Kian tried to explain. "I'm so happy to see you, dear sorceress. What are you doing there?"

Aisling explained Arawan summoning her, and Imogen smiled at them catching up while she ate.

"I am happy you are there, Aisling. You can keep an eye on Imogen and ensure she doesn't get into any trouble," Kian said.

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