by Theda Vallee
I tipped my head down, eyeing my chest. It was lit up like a Christmas tree. Fuck. We were screwed. It was an hour walk to the lake. Once we made it through the portal, it was another twenty-minute drive to my house. Even if they set Aunt Sophia loose with her massager, there was no way my family could keep a visitor occupied for that long.
“It’s probably Luc or Easton. No one else would demand to see me. What do we do? We’ll never make it back in time,” I said trying not to freak the fuck out.
“I can transport you instantly. You just have to concentrate on where you need me to take you. The Prince of Shadows isn’t just a fancy nickname,” Kazimir offered.
“How does that work?” I asked.
He chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. “Do you think you have time for questions?”
“Can you promise it won’t kill me or leave me haunted or some other crazy shit I’m too ignorant to know about?”
“The only repercussion would be that you’d owe me another favor,” Kazimir said, a wolfish grin spreading across his lips.
“Of course. Okay, what do you want? Chop, chop, Shadow Boy, we’re wasting daylight here.”
“A kiss.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Is there an issue with my request?”
I shook my head in disgust, unable to keep the disdain from showing on my face. I should be thankful. He could have asked for an ovary. A little spit was a small price to pay to save my ass. “Aside from being uncreative? It’s fine. You fae think with your dicks way too much. Come on, kiss me. Let’s get it over with.”
“Now I want to reconsider. You’ve made it seem unsavory,” he answered, crossing his arms over his chest.
Vee grabbed my arm, turning me towards her. “Etta, we do not have time for negotiations, kiss him, and go home. I’m leaving for the lake, figure this out.”
She sprinted down the path, her legs pumping unnaturally fast. I watched for a few moments before spinning back to Kazimir. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said those things. I really need to get home. Can we kiss and make up?”
Kazimir closed the gap between us before I could blink. The air shimmered with his movement. His right hand cradled my face as his index finger slowly traced my features. When he reached my mouth, he slid his thumb across, toying with my bottom lip. I met his burning gaze, liquid heat flooding my core. His left arm wrapped around me, drawing my body flush against him.
With a cocky grin, he threaded his fingers into my hair, tugging my face to him. His soft lips brushed tentatively against mine before pulling back. “Are you certain you want this?”
All I could do was nod. I needed to get home, but I wouldn’t have stopped him now, regardless. When our lips met again, there was no gentleness. His mouth was on mine, hot and greedy. This was a kiss that would consume you. A kiss that could set the world ablaze while you happily watched it burn. My eyes closed as I heard myself moan softly. He pulled my hair, nibbling on my bottom lip, demanding I open for him. When his tongue slid into my eager mouth, I yielded without hesitation.
Suddenly, the heat disappeared. A cold rush of air hit my skin, as goosebumps scattered across my arms. My eyes fluttered open to my dark, empty bedroom. The soft glow of the necklace cast a shadow on the wall.
“Until next time, my little hellcat,” his voice whispered in my ear, though he was nowhere to be seen.
Footsteps thundered on the stairs, as loud voices argued. I dove for my bed, wrapping a quilt around me. My hand fumbled for the pendant, ripping it off and shoving it under my pillow as the door slammed open.
“What the hell are you doing?” Luc demanded, snapping the lights on.
I flung the covers back, hoping he couldn’t see my throbbing pulse or hear the panicked flutter of my heart. “I’m taking a damn nap or at least I was trying to.”
“The Tarantella is killing people left and right, that asshole who attacked you is on the news calling out witches, and you’re napping? What are Brady and Vee doing?”
“I don’t know what Brady and Vee are doing. It wasn’t my turn to watch them. I’m on house arrest because my grandmother committed the horrific crime of saving lives, so I took a nap. Why are you making such a big deal out of this?”
He slammed the door on Nerina’s face. Her angry protests vibrated through the door, but I couldn’t understand what she was saying. My focus was on Luc. The look on his face terrified me. Unbridled rage crawled across his features, as he stood staring at me. His lip curled into a snarl, and his hands trembled by his side. Slowly, he stalked towards me, his gaze never wavering. I backed up until my legs bumped into the bed.
“I’ve been calling you, Brady, and Vee for almost an hour. We have work to do. Where the fuck were you?”
“You found me here, sleeping. What else can I tell you? You’re scaring me. I think you need to go downstairs until you calm down.”
“Do you understand the severity of things right now?” he asked, stopping inches from me. He reached out, locking onto my upper arms, pulling me towards him. “I tolerate your insubordination every day. I put up with shit from you that I’d never allow another agent to do, because I knew you needed time to adjust. I thought you’d be smart enough to understand when to shut up and do what I said. No, not you. Do you realize one wrong move right now, and you will go to prison?”
“Luc, please,” I whimpered as his hands tightened on my arms. Stella slammed against my ribs violently, fluttering to life as fear permeated me. “Please. If you don’t stop, I won’t be able to control Stella.”
“You will manage your fucking magic, Violetta, and you will fucking listen to me! I love you. I fight for you at every turn. Why can’t you bother to try?”
He punctuated the last five words by shaking me. The door rattled as my sister screamed vague threats from the other side. I grit my teeth, not able to do anything but fight to keep my magic from pouring out. If I lost the struggle, I’d have no control over how the magic manifested. With the way Stella was feeling, it’d be bloody.
The door flew open, and Gia stood in the doorway with a butter knife. She held up her other hand, showing off a charmed stone. “Let her go, or you’ll be dealing with frost-bitten balls.”
Nerina crowded in behind her clutching a vial. “After Gia freezes you, I’ll make sure you never use your dick again.”
“And I will slice you open from stem to stern if you do not let go of my granddaughter,” Nonna said, pushing past the other two, wielding a butcher knife. “I suggest you go downstairs before you regret this evening more than you already will.”
Luc dropped my arms, shoving me as he turned to leave. “You need to be ready to leave in five minutes, or I’m coming up here. If I have to come back up, I won’t be as forgiving.”
My legs trembled as I collapsed onto the bed. What the hell just happened? Luc had been a shitty boyfriend, but he’d never been violent before today. I had no idea what to do about it.
“Dolce, look at me. Let me see,” Nonna tilted my chin up. “Does he know?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. He’s been calling me and rest of the team, but none of us answered. I don’t understand why that made him come charging in here like a psycho, but he didn’t seem to know anything.”
“It worked then?” she asked.
“Yeah, we need to stall a little longer to give Brady time to get them there, but it’s done,” I said, rubbing the tender flesh on my upper arms.
“You two tend to her. I will go down to stall him,” Nonna said, marching out of the room with purpose. If Luc were smart, he’d keep his mouth shut when she got down there.
Nerina closed the door before coming to sit next to me on the bed. She pulled me into a side hug, stroking my hair as tears streamed down my face.
“What am I going to do?” I asked numbly.
“I don’t know, honey. We’ll figure it out, though. That was a deal-breaker,” Gia said, sitting on the other side of me. “If they do it once, they
’ll do it again.”
Rubbing my eyes, I tried to collect myself. Gia wasn’t wrong. I knew the statistics. The odds were he’d become violent again now that he’d crossed that line. I knew it wasn’t okay, but I had to look at the whole picture. If he was told to get his team together and couldn’t find us, what kind of stress had that put on him? I wasn’t privy to everything happening at H.Q. right now, but I knew it wasn’t good. With everything going on it wasn’t a surprise he’d cracked under pressure.
No one in this house would accept that argument right now. Nonna never cared for Luc, and this would be the final nail in his coffin for her. We’d have to talk it through later. I was upset, but I knew he loved me. He was doing his best to protect me. It would take a lot to convince my family of that.
“Okay, this is a super weird question, but why do you smell like fire and sex? Did what happened with Luc right now make you horny?” Nerina asked. “I’m not here to kink shame, so if that gets you off, I promise we can find someone to be your Daddy in the sheets and Prince Charming in the streets. What transpired here tonight is not how it’s done, though.”
“What the hell is wrong with you? I kissed the Prince of the Shadowlands as part of my deal. That’s what you’re smelling.”
“I’m going to need more detail than that,” Nerina said, her eyes lighting up.
“Lower your damn voice. You’ll have to wait until later. I have to get downstairs.”
She clutched her heart, feigning pain. “Fine, I’ll try to live until then. Spray yourself down with Febreze before you go. You smell like sex juice.”
We sat in the back of a black van reminiscent of every S.W.A.T. movie I’d ever watched. Low, metal bench seats lined either side, letting you stare anxiously at the person across from you. An elf woman sat knee to knee with me, sneering whenever I accidentally made eye contact. I wanted to smack her upside her pointy-eared head. If Brady wasn’t clutching my hand for dear life, I might have.
When I got downstairs, Luc had ushered me to a warehouse nestled in the industrial part of Palermo Bay. The building had induced a panic attack the moment we’d arrived. It was almost identical to the place where we’d battled a succubus not too long ago. I still had nightmares about that day. The crunch of bone and tang of blood were never far from my memory when I was awake. It took everything in me to stay calm. Luc didn’t have the headspace to deal with me having an emotional breakdown today.
The Osservatori had dispatched four squads across the city. Our mission was to round up all known members of the Ministry of Drag. I wasn’t sure how many of the queens Brady had managed to get to safety. He’d shown up during the mission rundown, and we hadn’t been able to talk. I said a silent prayer that he’d gotten most of them out.
My leg bounced rapidly as the van lurched over the road. I was working to keep my face passive. If we didn’t find any queens during the raid, I didn’t want to look relieved. The last thing I wanted to do was risk evoking Psycho Luc again.
“You have your vest on tight?” Brady asked nodding to the elven vest they’d given us to wear.
“It’s nice and tight. I have a feeling that elves don’t have big boobs. It’s crushing my tits. It’s fine, though. Better safe than sorry.”
The elf across from me snorted, shaking her head. “It has nothing to do with how big your fun bags are. We don’t have fat elves. Your stomach is causing the issue.”
“You’d better hope you don’t need me to have your back, Serinda. I might blink at an important moment,” Brady said. “My girl is delicious, unlike your stank ass. Now be gone before someone drops a house on you.”
Vee shifted closer to me, her blue eyes locked onto Serinda. Hissing like a snake, she bared her teeth at the elf, her magic pulsing around her in threat. I’d never seen Vee threaten anybody. Even when we’d arrested people in the past, she’d always remained stoic. I liked this dangerous side of her.
Despite the jangling of my nerves, my mind occasionally wandered back to Prince Kazimir. He was only the fifth person I’d ever kissed, but it had been a toe-curling, panty-drenching kiss. The man was arrogant, entitled, and had me at his mercy, but holy lip-smacking glory, could he smooch. I had no business lingering over it right now, but I’d never been kissed like that.
Luc was no slouch. Between his God-given skills and the magic that reacted between us, I’d assumed no one would ever compare. It was a welcome surprise that someone else could make me insta-wet with just a kiss.
“Two minutes to our destination, ladies and gentlemen. I’ve given you your directives. When the van stops, be prepared to hit the ground running,” barked the vampire leading our squad.
Brady pressed his mouth against my ear and whispered. “You stay by me no matter what. I know you and Stella have been tearing shit up lately, but these assholes are trigger-happy. I don’t want to give anyone an excuse to hit you with friendly fire.”
I kissed his cheek before resting my head on his shoulder. I wasn’t sure how I’d gotten lucky enough to have Brady and Vee on my side. Maybe Nonna was right, and Lady Fortune had a few tricks up her sleeve, after all.
The van stopped, sending my stomach tumbling to my feet. Streetlight filtered in as the doors creaked open. Luc and Leontyne stood outside, surrounded by a few of the other higher-ups, all of them glowering darkly. The vampire shouted, prompting everyone to move. “Let’s go. Out and into formation. Now! This is not a drill, you miscreants.”
Hopping out of the van, we stopped in front of the building. It was weird to think I’d visited here less than a day ago. It felt like a lifetime had happened since then. I stayed wedged between Brady and Vee, their large bodies shielding me. The Alpha squad was responsible for the first wave. They were to sweep the rooms and incapacitate whoever was inside. Those of us on Bravo squad were to follow once the building was secure, to help with the arrests.
The initial wave entered the building. Bright-white flashes of light flared through the windows as they moved from room to room. I stood trembling as we waited for our signal. Static crackled in my ear as a voice yelled out, “Bravo blue and bravo red move in.”
My feet felt like bricks as we ran towards the building. Thick smoke hung heavy in the air as we thudded inside. I couldn’t see more than a few inches in front of me. No one had thought to give the witch night-vision goggles, so I kept my eyes glued to Brady’s wings. They cast an eerie green gleam in the vapor.
“Bravo blue, head up to the second floor.”
Brady looked back, nodding towards the stairs. I followed closely, terrified I would fall. I was clumsy when I could see, so navigating a set of stairs with just the glow of his wings was terrifying. Step by step, we climbed to the second floor. The sound of doors slamming and agents screaming as they cleared rooms, echoed through the building.
Each room we passed was empty. My eyes strained to peer into the smoke, searching for signs that the squad had found someone. When we made it to the last room, the team streamed out, shaking their heads at us and motioning for us to turn around. The radio was buzzing with rapid check-ins as the Alpha team echoed all clear.
No one was home.
The signal rang through our headsets, letting us know to regroup out front. We poured out empty-handed. I leaned my head on Brady’s shoulder, gratitude filling me. He’d gotten everyone out, at least at this location. There were probably a few queens we didn’t have time to help, but we’d gotten a lot of them.
I watched Luc standing off to the side, his face becoming redder and redder as the squad leaders reported their findings. His hands raked through his hair before turning into fists at his side. Leontyne paced, shaking her head and muttering as the reports from other locations came back. One of the commanding agent’s pockets began to ring, causing the circle of people around him to jump. It terrified them, which meant we should probably be shitting ourselves, too. The Osservatori didn’t like to lose, and they’d just lost four times in less than an hour.
Chapter Fourteen
“How is it possible that out of forty known members, we only found ten?” Pietro slammed his fist on the table as he glared at everyone huddled in the room. None of us dared to breathe. “The only thing that makes sense is that we have a snake in our midst.”
There it was. The words I’d been expecting to hear since he’d started flinging spit across the room with every word he barked. I resisted the urge to grab Brady’s hand for comfort, afraid that any movement would draw attention to us.
Pietro looked around the room before straightening up again. You could feel his fury prick across your skin whenever his gaze hit you. “Does anyone want to confess? I promise you will regret it if we have to pull the truth out of you.”
A few dozen eyes stared back at him in silent terror. My gut churned like a whirlpool of nausea, but I stood rigid and unblinking with the rest of the group. The next step would be to pull each of us in for questioning. There was no way I’d withstand an interrogation. The minute they pulled out the first fingernail, I’d tell them everything they wanted to know. There was a reason Nonna grilled me first whenever we’d gotten into trouble as kids. I was always the first to cave.
“This is getting us nowhere,” Desideria said, waving her hand. “You’re dismissed for the evening. Mark my words, though, we will find out who betrayed us. When we do, there will be no mercy.”
Desideria was sneaky as fuck. She acted like the patient, understanding one, but she knew exactly what she was doing. Pietro tosses out the idea of a traitor in our midst, and then we’re all just sent home like nothing happened? I didn’t buy it. We were in for hell once they convened with the council.
“Will you give me a ride back to the bakery?” I asked Brady.
“No, he won’t,” Luc said, coming up behind me. “You three need to go to the beach house.”
The menace in his voice made me take a step back. I rubbed the spot on my upper arm where his fingertips had left behind small, purple ovals. The fury whirling in his eyes told me he was still in psycho mode. He needed to calm down before any of us had to deal with him.
