Page 49 of Delphine's Dilemma

What was worse, the whole thing reeked of divine magic.

Tal flipped it in his hand, caught it by the blade, and offered it to me hilt first. “Keep it safe. Don’t let any bastard get ahold of this again.”

I raised a brow. “Why are you giving it to me? You shouldn’t trust me in the least.”

“I have a feeling this came from the very bastard that you’re trying to kill, and I wouldn’t mind him getting a taste of his own medicine.” A cruel grin quirked the corner of Tal’s mouth.

I took the offered dagger. “Do I dare ask?”

Tal’s lips twisted as he considered my question. Then he shook his head. “It’s a long and boring story. Just stab Balefire with it and watch what happens.”

I never expected Tal to give me a gift, but I recalled the crates with Beryl’s name on them in Locke’s warehouse. This dagger must have been one of her orders from Locke’s accursed collection. I shuddered to think what it might do and how it’d pissed off Tal so much that he gave it tomeof all people.

Locke saw nothing coming. He didn’t hear the soundless footsteps approaching behind him. He didn’t see my arm circling his throat until it was too late. I jerked him back into the tip of the blade. It slid into his lower spine without much resistance.

Magic blossomed on the air. It smelled of metal and ash, a divine presence that I knew to be the Greek goddess Athena. Locke screamed, but the sound turned strangled. His form shrank under my grasp.

I let go and stepped back to watch as Locke’s form crumpled and became completely inhuman. Arven stepped around to stand beside me. His arm grazed mine as if he couldn’t help but touch me to reassure himself that I was safe.

Locke’s form sat motionless on the floor for a moment. He was much smaller than he’d been previously—when I say much, I mean miniscule. Arven had to dig his phone from his pocket and shine a light on the small shape on the floor.

“He’s a spider!” I had no need for silence anymore, so I shouted my shocked discovery.

Arven grabbed my wrist and gently lifted my hand so he could peer at the dagger in my grip. “Where did you get this?”

“A friend wanted a bit of revenge, too. I didn’t expect…this to happen.” I gesture to the spider on the floor. “It suits him, though. He’s kind of cute like that.”

With a shake of his head, Arven stepped forward and crushed the spider under his boot. I wanted to protest, but this is what we came for. Locke was dead, nothing more than a pile of bug dust now. He would never invade another court, no other homes would know the devastation that mine endured because of him.

I should have felt relief, but there was still so much to do.

“I have a Seelie queen to call. Can I borrow your phone?” I held out my hand.

“Did you not bring one? They’re incredibly important when venturing into dire situations such as this.” Despite Arven’s monstrous form, his brows still arched into a look of concern as he handed me his phone.

I couldn’t help but smile at this man who loved me so much. There was no time to explain to him that a cell phone could give me away in the middle of a mission, or, even worse, get left behind and leak all of my contacts.

Phone to my ear, I waited until Rhoan picked up. “I could use your woman’s help.”

He groaned. I could almost hear him pinching his nose. “Do you know what time it is right now? I’ve already been up with the baby all night. Can it wait until morning?”

“Nope. If you’ve been up, that means Cerri has been sleeping. It’s time for her to wake up because I have some idiots who need healing.”

I glanced back at the dead kelpie with two unconscious elves and a leather jacket stuck to it.

“What the hell happened to them?” Arven asked.

It wasn’t really a long story. In fact, it seemed self-explanatory. I quickly laid it out for him before heading back to Lakesedge to fetch Cerri. Arven stayed behind.

As the one who killed Locke, Arven inherited Locke’s horrible domain. Already, it was changing around him. I was curious to get back and see what the domain turned into because I wanted a peek into my—what was he to me?

Wait.

Were we lovers? Partners? Engaged still?

Oh no.

Arven

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