The Grimm Files Collection Boxed Set

by Selene Charles

  I frowned, not sure what he was upset about. “Maddox?”

  “I saw what became of those within the mountain.” He blinked, looking haunted and lost in his visions still. His blue eye burned like a flame. “The fae stronghold,” he said thickly, voice scratchy and low, “the one you told me the queen wished you to visit. You went, didn’t you?”

  I should never be surprised by the accuracy of his visions, yet somehow, I always was. Clearing my throat, I gently extricated myself from his grip.

  As though realizing what he’d done, he brushed his hands down his hospital-gown-clothed chest and shook his head. “My apologies, Elle. I worried that I would need to call Bo when I saw it. I saw you there, and a guardian. I thought maybe…”

  His eyebrows dipped, and again that feeling that he was stuck in a dark vision seemed to grip him.

  I placed a gentle hand on his bicep and squeezed. “I’m fine, Maddox. Just fine. But if you had a vision of what happened, please tell me that you knew more than the guardian could tell me.”

  Scrubbing at his square jaw, he asked, “Such as?”

  “The guardian believes the Slashers were successful. It claims to have seen the glint of crystal sparkling in the sun as a crow flew off. Does that mean anything to you?”

  He walked back to his bed and took a seat on it, looking weary and tired. His eyes were pinched and his skin slightly gray. He’d not been sleeping well. Hospitals were never easy to relax in, but lack of a soul could also slowly leech the life from you.

  Taking a seat beside him, I leaned into his side, as though a lover whispering of sweet nothings.

  “When will they discharge you?” I asked softly.

  As he glanced at me from the corner of his eye, I could sense his confusion. I wasn’t normally so demonstrative, and especially never in public. But I doubted anyone of any significance was looking at us and trying to determine whether they should report us to IA. It wasn’t as though we’d crossed any lines.

  “Tomorrow morning,” he said.

  I nodded. “Good. Then come to me first. At my place.”

  He turned to me full on, his body completely open to mine. I could read the tension in his shoulders and the question in his eyes. He opened his mouth to no doubt ask me why I was inviting him to my home, but I placed a finger upon his lips and shook my head.

  “As you wish, Elle.” He said the words softly, and I could have sworn there was a note of heady seduction there too. Did he think I’d invited him over to sex him?

  And why was my pulse beating so furiously at the thought?

  I felt the thrill of his nearness, the heat of his body moving against mine, breaking me out in a wash of longing and goose bumps. We couldn’t do it. Yet…

  SHIVERING from the heat of him, I pulled away, placing some much-needed space between us. I really did have to get back to headquarters, and the sooner, the better.

  “How did your meeting with the dragon go?”

  I shook my head. “As well as could be expected. He claims ignorance of his crime, but there is undeniable proof of it, which definitely complicates things.”

  Hatter frowned. “Ignorance how? Does he claim an enchantment of some sort?”

  I nodded. “Yes. Made mention of golden sands and then nothing more until he awoke hours later, the deed already done.”

  “Golden sands. Why golden? The sands are usually dun colored that we find at the scene.”

  I held up my finger, feeling much as Ichabod had as he’d explained the significance to me. “I went to Ich’s place after speaking with Whiskers. As you know, he’s the one gathering the sands from each scene to analyze.”

  “Aye.”

  “And you’re right—the sands are typically dun colored. But that’s only because the enchantment woven through them has been used up. What makes Whiskers’s assertions significant is that we also spotted golden sands at Midas’s gala, if you’ll recall.”

  Narrowing his eyes, he looked over my shoulder before slowly nodding. “Aye, I had noticed them. Miniscule granules of it, but yes, it was definitely there. Not that it meant much to me at the time because Midas can turn anything to gold.”

  I pursed my lips. That part was still bothering me.

  Leaning back on my arms, I thought about the strangeness of Midas’s request for me specifically to attend the gala. I’d thought our shared history had played a role in it, but what if it was more?

  It had been many years since I’d seen Midas last. Was it coincidence that I’d been pulled to play babysitter for a king who was notorious for having the best bodyguards money could buy already on payroll?

  “I’d thought the last-minute request an odd thing, but then Midas is an eccentric,” I mumbled before looking back at Hatter.

  He thinned his lips. “Aye. And the hue of the enchanted sand—is that coincidence, Elle?”

  I lifted my eyebrows as impotent rage started brewing through my belly. My claims that the Charmings’ were not only responsible for the deaths at their estate but the masterminds of several more, spanning many realms had resulted in me being subjected to hells by my superiors, made me extremely unpopular for months, and put a target on my back with IA to boot. Not an experience I was keen on reliving so soon.

  I chuckled darkly. “Are we seriously doing this? Once again considering a royal as the possible mastermind of another high-profile crime? I doubt the commissioner would take kindly to me hurling these sorts of accusations twice in so short a span.”

  He shrugged. “Stranger things have happened.”

  “True. Still, I’m not entirely comfortable throwing around such damning indictments. Not without solid evidence to back me up.”

  Hatter shrugged again but not unsympathetically. He knew what I’d suffered after our first case. Added to the pressure was the fact that I’d had to harbor all those hateful sentiments alone. Not only had I been unpopular, I’d been practically reviled, and had I not been the princess of the deep—disgraced or not was immaterial—I knew I’d have been sacked long ago. Royals didn’t take too kindly to their misdeeds being bandied about as idle tittle-tattle for the rabble. It made them cranky. And when royals got cranky, they also got vindictive.

  And friendly or not, I had no doubt Midas could be just as petty as the rest of them when pushed to it.

  I blew out a heavy breath. “Are we truly seeing a link here, or are we merely trying to shove a square peg through a round hole out of frustration?”

  Exhaling heavily, he leaned back, too, his fingers spread wide, his pinky barely grazing the outer edge of my palm. His touch felt potent, like fire and magick, and like a heavy weight bearing down on me, making me aware of the smells and sights and noises all around me: the wild beating of my heart; the drunken waltz of butterflies winging by; and each inhalation and exhalation of his large chest.

  I wasn’t sure it was a good thing. In fact, I knew it was a very, very bad thing. The last thing I wanted or even needed was a romantic entanglement of any sort, and for some damned reason, I couldn’t seem to remember that when he and I were alone. For the past two nights, all I seemed to be able to do was replay in my mind what Maddox and I had done and said at the gala. Maybe if we’d not been so consumed with flirting, we’d have caught on sooner or seen the signs of what was about to take place more quickly. I didn’t know. But I had to stop forgetting that. Maddox and I weren’t a couple. We weren’t anything but partners.

  I must have been enchanted to remain calm earlier, because that spell was definitely starting to wear off. Trying not to appear too obvious about it, I stood and rolled my shoulders.

  Hatter looked up at me, blinking, his intelligent eyes clearly saying I’d not fooled him in the slightest. He sat up and took another deep breath. “I don’t know, Detective. Perhaps we are forcing this. But after so many months of nothing but half-baked theories, I’m at my wit’s end and ready to consider any eventuality, no matter how outlandish.”

  I wanted to ask him if he was saying more th
an the obvious, if maybe he was speaking of us. Was he as bothered by what was happening between us as I was? I studied him.

  He was calm, his face composed. Everything about him dripped rational concentration. The madness seemed mine alone to bear.

  I dropped my head into my hands and rubbed at my brow. What had Bo learned of her interrogation of other Hook? I felt myself divided by so many different problems all at once. There were times I wasn’t sure whether I was coming or going.

  “You look worn out, Elle.” He said it softly, almost tenderly.

  I cracked open an eye. His lips were set, one corner slightly tipped, as he looked at me as though he wasn’t sure what to make of me. The worst of it was, half the time, I wasn’t sure what to make of myself, either.

  I shrugged. “I am tired, Hatter. I do not sleep well anymore.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “You’ve shared visions with me often. Maybe you should stop.”

  I frowned. “What? Why would that— ”

  Clearing his throat, he sat up. “Alice used to suffer strange night terrors, too, soon after we’d begun cohabitating. I don’t know that this and that are linked, but…” He let the rest of the thought dangle.

  There were a thousand questions I wanted to ask him but none that I could form into any type of coherence and especially not on the sly in that hospital room. Rubbing my hand down the column of my throat, I gave him a nod. Tomorrow. We’ll speak tomorrow.

  “I have to go talk with Bo. Hopefully, she’s made some headway with the other Hook.”

  He licked his front teeth and gave a tight, grim nod. “Indeed. I’ll see you in the morning, Elle.”

  With a flick of my fingers, I turned and swiped open a portal. None of that had been weird at all.

  And yes, that was very much sarcasm.

  BACK IN GRIMM, I walked through the doors and headed slowly back toward Bo’s office.

  Wanting some coffee, I made a quick detour. The stuff in the office sucked troll arse, but it was drinkable, even if it was cold and more often than not swimming with coffee grinds.

  I was only aware of the chatter because of the sudden lack of it. Frowning, I glanced over my shoulder. Everyone was doing busywork, doing and acting the way they should, except I was very aware that I was being watched like a hawk. But the glances were furtive, mostly drive-bys.

  Janey, noting my look, dipped her chin. “Detective,” she said slowly.

  I narrowed my eyes, looking at the others. But none seemed quite as brave as the Valkyrie to meet my gaze.

  “Hey, what the hells is going on?” I asked, pretty sure that whatever it was was definitely about me.

  Janey, who was still the only one willing to talk with me, got up from her desk and came to stand next to me. Her normally clear eyes were a deep blue today, and her features looked more razor sharp and defined.

  I peeked at her back. She wasn’t wearing her wings, but she was clearly agitated about something.

  Leaning in close to me, she whispered in my ear, “Might want to get to Bo’s ASAP.”

  Frowning, I took a sip of my crappy poop water and frowned. “Is this about the case? Slashers do something else while I was gone?”

  She clapped her hand on my shoulder. “Just go, Elle.”

  Realizing how odd it was for her to call me by my first name, I felt an instant burn of goose bumps ride my flesh. “What is it, Janey?”

  She looked confused for half a second, and I knew I’d garbled her name to hells, but she shook her head and rolled her wrists, looking as though she wanted to be anywhere else but here. “It’s… it’s Hook, Elle.”

  I shrugged, still not understanding why anyone should think I’d care about a mirage. “Yeah? And? The enchantment been stripped yet? What did we catch?”

  She blew out a heavy breath. “I really, really shouldn’t be the one telling you this, Detective.”

  My stomach bottomed out, and ice flowed heavily through my veins. Every once in a while in life, you suddenly knew when you’re about to hear news that’s going to upend everything you ever thought you knew. This was one of those times. My heart raced. My pulse blasted through my eardrums.

  “What’s going on, Valkyrie?” My voice was a too-tight growl. My flesh felt charged, electrified, the charge begging me for release.

  She blinked, glanced to the side, and stared at a monitor. A black wave swept over me. Because when a Valkyrie of her pedigree looked scared, I knew it was bad.

  “What the fec— ”

  “It’s him, Elle. It’s really him. It’s your Hook. He’s back.”

  I wasn’t sure when I dropped into a chair, but I was suddenly sitting in one and breathing in and out like a bellows. “Hook? Hook… but—but… no. It… it can’t be.”

  “It is, Detective.” Bo’s voice cut like a blade through my mutterings, and I looked up at her, feeling as if I were walking through a haze, confused about what was real and what wasn’t because they were telling me Hook was alive, but I knew he couldn’t be.

  I knew he wasn’t.

  “He’s alive, Elle. And you need to start talking.”

  CHAPTER 30

  DETECTIVE ELLE

  BO GAVE me several minutes to compose myself. But even so, when I followed her down the mazelike hall toward her office, I didn’t feel as if I was actually walking. Yet somehow, I was moving. Or floating. I didn’t know what. My fingers were numb, and my head was starting to ache.

  Sighing, Bo stopped and turned to look back at me. But my gaze was fixed on the frosted panel of her office door. Was he back there?

  I heard a sound, like that of a wounded animal, and knew somewhere deep inside of me that I’d made it. But even that, I couldn’t remember doing.

  She took one of my hands into one of hers and gestured over her shoulder with her thumb. “Behind those doors is a man that I swore was dead. A man you vowed to me was dead. So I’m going to touch you with my staff, and you’re going to answer my one question. Do you understand me?”

  I stared into her warm brown eyes, feeling so damned confused and waiting for the punch line, waiting for someone to scream and laugh that they were just pulling the wool over my eyes. I was almost hoping they would. But apart from a constant buzzing in my ears, it was so bloody quiet.

  “Elle, do you understand me?”

  “Ye-yes, I… I understand… you.”

  Worry pinched the corners of her eyes. Then she released my hand, reached inside of her shirt and slipped out the silver staff necklace she was never without.

  Bo wasn’t a witch. But what she was was a magick all its own. She was like a shepherd and we her flock, obeying her in all things and not because we were commanded to, but because we wanted to. She had a higher-than-average level of charisma. I didn’t know where she’d gained it from or whether she was something other than human. So much of her life was veiled in shadows. All I knew was she was trustworthy in a way so few others were.

  “Are you ready?” she asked me softly, and I nodded.

  Slipping the charm into my palm, she spoke. “Princess Arielle of the Deep, did you see Hook die?”

  Immediately, the powers of her staff flared, and the heat of it wrapped around me, my mouth moved of its own accord, and the truth, for that was all I could mutter, poured out of me.

  “He died, Captain. In my arms. Turned to sea foam by my own powers. He died.”

  Taking the pendant out of my hand, she briefly closed her eyes and sighed heavily. “Then I do not understand how this can be, but I’ve been assured by Matilda that it is so. Behind those doors is the man whose loss very nearly destroyed you.”

  She held up a finger. “You don’t have to go in there, Elle. Understand me. But once Matilda broke through the enchantment over him, the only thing he’s asking for is you.”

  I shuddered. So cold. All over. “But… but this can’t be. He died, Captain. He died in my arms. I witnessed his last breath. I felt the soul leave him. He was human.”

  She shook her he
ad. “I don’t know what to tell you, Elle, that can make any of this better or even make much sense, because it makes none to me. Only that we were all wrong.”

  “How?” My voice cracked, and I glowered down at my feet. “How in the hells did he wind up at Midas’s gala? What in the hells is this, Bo? We were yanked off my case because Midas requested me personally to guard him. And not only is there an attack, but suddenly Ho—” I couldn’t even say his name. I felt as if I couldn’t even breathe anymore, as if my dress, which should have given me air, was the very thing stripping it from me. The floor suddenly shot up beneath me, rising swiftly to meet the roof, and I got abruptly dizzy. I grabbed hold of the wall, digging my fingers in so hard my knuckles blanched.

  She pounded on my back. “Breathe, Detective. You must breathe. If you can’t do this, then I will tell him so.”

  I wanted to flee. I wanted to tuck tail and run away like a coward. My feet burned so badly to do it. I needed to shed this skin, this body. Needed to find my waters and swim far and fast away from this. From all of this.

  But I had a case. My life wasn’t just about me, not anymore. There were people, actual blood-and-flesh people dying every day due to the avarice of a gang grown so violent that none were safe from their wrath.

  At all costs, I had to stop the Slashers, or at the very least, do my part to bring them down.

  I shook my head, rubbing at my brow as the dizziness finally began to slowly pass. “It’s a shock.”

  “Do you need— ”

  I took a deep breath, then another, and finally one more before I felt centered enough to open my eyes again. Bo was no longer swimming in and out of focus, and my feet felt rooted once more to the ground beneath me.

  “No. No. I didn’t expect this outcome, in truth.” Because yes, though Maddox’s visions had shown that Hook had lived, I’d very nearly had myself convinced that it was only an enchantment of some sort and that the actual person beneath the mask would be just another crow shifter. Because death was final. It was absolute. Even in a world full of magick, there were very few instances in which it was not, and it usually involved spells of the darkest, most vile kind. Magick that had been wholly eradicated ages ago.