Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 112089 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 374(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112089 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 374(@300wpm)
Austin looked out the window, his thumb still stroking my skin.
Sebastian started to laugh. “She wouldn’t be blacklisted if she could do something with all that power. But…” He held up a fourth finger.
“She doesn’t know a damn thing about magic,” Nessa said immediately. It was clear they’d been working together for a long time. They’d long passed the completing-each-other’s-sentences stage of their friendship. “She can’t even hide her past Jane status with an impressive array of magic. Which is great, of course, because she can easily be killed. There’s really no point in keeping her alive, honestly.”
“Yeah. Let’s round her up, get some information out of her, and kill her.” He wiped invisible dirt off his shoulder. “It’s the cleanest way to deal with the situation.”
“Agreed.” She nodded exaggeratedly.
“Of course…one thing doesn’t really fit.” Sebastian looked over at Nessa. “It’s the one thing that suggests she might not be what she seems.”
He held up the fifth finger.
“Well, she was claimed by the great Elliot Graves, of course,” she supplied.
Austin’s thumb stopped its ministrations. His head turned slowly, and the pressure in the car changed dramatically.
“No, no—” Sebastian said, his hand up in a stop gesture.
“Wow, I physically felt that,” Nessa exclaimed with a wide smile. Her eyes flicked into the rearview at Austin. “Sure, yeah, your eyes are terrifying, but wow. I actually felt the change in your demeanor. It’s making me want to cower in fear.”
“Take a hint, Nessa,” Sebastian said as he did just that. “She didn’t mean ‘claim’ as in…like…‘claim.’ Just that I…”
“Reserved her,” Nessa supplied.
“No!” He held up his first finger again. “No, not reserved. I called dibs. But in a very unromantic way.”
“A professional way,” she said.
He pointed at her. “Yes! A professional way. I professionally showed interest in her.”
“Not even in a permanent way,” she replied.
“Not even in a permanent way,” he repeated. “It’s just an act of professional interest. In this case, given my…renewed reputation, it’ll make most people give you a wide berth. The Guild knows I’d kill—and have—if anyone encroaches on my territory.”
“Kinsella, anyone?” Nessa said, turning off the highway. “We made it very clear that Kinsella was killed because he came here and acted like an aggressor. Then we invited Jessie to the caves to show off her power.”
"Which probably would’ve worked better if we hadn’t killed everyone or forced them to go into hiding,” he said drolly.
“Hindsight,” she said. “Anyway, we tried to send a clear message. Mess with what is ours—”
“Not ours!” he yelled out.
“Mess with the lady we’re professionally interested in—man, Sabby, this is exhausting.”
“It’s fine.” Austin resumed stroking my skin. “I know what you mean.”
“Except now they’re sending a low-level collector,” Sebastian said, rubbing his chin.
“Well, you went off into hiding, leaving everyone out to dry.” Nessa slowed, turning right before making a left. We were clearly getting close.
“True,” he said quietly. “So maybe number five is off the table.”
“On the table or off,” she said, parking. She yanked the brake and beamed back at me. “We’re about to rocket into the next phase of this thing. It’s about time for some new stories to be spread about you. You’ll be the infamous Jessie Ironheart before you ever sit down to a mage dinner.”
ELEVEN
Niamh waited as everyone filed out of the shifter vehicles. As expected, Austin’s pack immediately cleared away to the sides in orderly lines or rows. Also as expected, the Ivy House crew gathered in clumps or spread out, a few people here, another couple spaced there, and that eejit Earl unpacking his disguises because he hadn’t a clue left in his balding gray head. Compared to Austin’s pack, they looked absolutely ridiculous.
It was perfect.
Niamh hadn’t worn this stupid getup to fit in, as she’d told Jessie. Nor had she worn it because it was handy for shifting. She’d worn it because she wanted them all to look like fools. There was nothing better than being underestimated.
Jessie stepped from the car with tight shoulders, clearly worried about how this would go. She didn’t like causing people harm, something she’d need to get over if she was going to dance with corrupt mages. Magic pulsed from her, strong and enticing. The gargoyle was getting everyone on the same page.
As if yanked by an invisible string, Broken Sue took a halting step forward. His body tensed, muscles bulging. There he stopped, though, a pace in front of where he was supposed to be standing.
Kace, behind him, jerked too. His eyes widened minutely, and his gaze swung to Jessie.
She caught it, and an intense moment passed between them. Niamh remembered something similar happening between Jessie and Broken Sue on the field yesterday. In a moment, Jessie nodded slightly, and acceptance rumbled through the bond.
Confusion marred Kace’s expression as he stepped forward to where Broken Sue struggled, and then kept going. He stopped nearer Jessie, as though his allegiance was shifting from one alpha to the other.