“You didn’t ruin anything,” I said, feeling a little more mushy than usual.
“So you agree it was perfect?” he asked, smiling as bright as the midday sun.
“Well,” I drawled, reaching down to caress him. His body responded immediately, tensing and hardening in all the right places. I licked my lips, the thought of tasting him rekindling my own desires. “I can think of one thing that would make it even more perfect.”
“What’s that?” he practically growled.
“A repeat performance,” I said, tracing his lips with the tip of my finger.
Wrapping his arms around my waist, he spun, settling me on top of him. I moaned as his fingers and mouth searched and teased. If it were possible, he was better the second time around.
Tyler never disappoints.
I woke before sunrise. Tyler lay next to me, snoring softly. I didn’t want to wake him, so I dissolved into the welcoming darkness. I drifted, enjoying the feeling of being free of my corporeal form, and within moments stood on the roof of my building. I remained a shadow. I didn’t think the world needed to see a naked woman on top of a building, and, besides, it protected me from the late-winter breeze drifting across the city.
Somewhere, Azriel was raising an army of Lyhtan warriors.
Somewhere, the Enphigmalé made their secret plans.
In the midst of it all, the Shaede Nation, a society in and of itself, waited for attack from all sides.
And then there was me, sitting in the eye of the storm.
A voice whispered on the wind, and I strained to hear the words that ran together like a sigh. “Why don’t you show yourself, cousin?” it asked.
“You first,” I said.
The breeze increased in force to stormy wind and finally to gale. The gale transformed into a funnel cloud—not large; a few feet or more—and as it died away to again become a gentle breeze, the Sylph appeared.
“Your turn,” the girl said.
“Not to be rude, cousin,” I said, “but I’d rather not. I’m a little on the naked side. So are we actually related, or are you just being nice?”
The Sylph giggled. “Our kind can be traced to the beginning of your lineage. Our ancestor and yours coupled and created the Shaede from that union.”
Lyhtans. Sylphs. Talk about your strange relations. I wondered what that family reunion might look like.
The Sylph shrugged and smiled—I supposed at my thoughts, as if to say she hadn’t thought about that. “You killed my sister,” she said.
Not the best conversation starter. She didn’t mince words, though, so I owed her a likewise frank response. “Yes.”
“It was the only way,” she said in a high and trilling voice that reminded me of wind chimes. “We hold no grudge.”
I remained silent. What was I supposed to say? Wow, that’s a load off my mind?
“If the Enphigmalé get you, the world as we know it will end.”
“What makes you think I’m the one they’re looking for?”
“You are marked,” she said.
“You know that for a fact?” This all seemed too orchestrated. “Oracles are supposed to be the future seers, not Sylphs.”
She laughed, and a breeze kicked up around me. “We are not the future seers, but sometimes prophecy is whispered on the wind. And you have been chosen.”
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Sybil,” she said in her wind-chime voice.
“Well, Sybil . . . I checked every square inch of my body and there’s not one mark. No tattoos, no moles, scars, birthmarks. I don’t even have a pimple. So maybe you guys have your facts wrong.”
“Not wrong,” she said. “You’re the one. The Enphigmalé are dark and dangerous, and you will free them from centuries of imprisonment.”
Hmm. Cheery. “How do you know I’m what they’re looking for?”
Sybil laughed and the wind gusted, increasing in force with her laughter to once again become the swirling funnel cloud. It broke apart and Sybil was gone, dissipating in the air.
Shit.
Chapter 23
“Where are you going?” Tyler asked sleepily, leaning up on an elbow.
“I need to talk to Raif,” I said, strapping the katana to my back.
I didn’t ask him if he was disappointed, or even if he cared. His opinion was not a requirement. He knew the rules and he knew my mind.
“I’ll come with you,” he offered, scooting to the edge of the bed.
“Nope. No way. No how.” I couldn’t risk the resulting friction if I showed up with him following behind. Especially if what he said about Xander was true. I cared about Ty, and I refused to bring him onto the king’s home turf. He’d be outnumbered, and we couldn’t afford another fight. My romantic life—if I had one—had to take a backseat for now. “Ty, stay here for a while. Sleep. You’ve been up with Delilah and you’ve got to be exhausted. I just need to talk to Raif and I won’t be in any danger. Okay?”
“It’s almost dawn,” Tyler argued. “What about the Lyhtans?”
“Well, that’s what this is for,” I said, brandishing the bottle of Raif’s shadow-sludge I’d finally had the good sense to arm myself with.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Lyhtan mace,” I said, beaming. I hustled toward the lift, out of earshot, before Tyler could get a word in edgewise. “I’ll call if anything comes up. Otherwise, I’ll be back soon.”
“Darian.” My name on his lips implored me to stay.
“I wish Tyler would stay in my apartment through the rest of the day,” I whispered.
Whether or not he tried to protest, I don’t know. Because I passed into shadow and left.
Though I wanted to relay the events of the prior night to Raif, I took a few detours on the way. I became corporeal before the sun rose in a glorious blue sky, casting shadows on the sidewalk where weeds pushed and strained through the cracks. Traffic zoomed by in the morning rush, and I suddenly envied the humans I’d studied like lab rats over the years. Why couldn’t I be so blissfully unaware? Then again, I might’ve been if I hadn’t spent the better part of a century dealing out death for a buck. Not exactly lying low. As I retraced my steps to The Pit, I thought again about Azriel’s visit. He’d always been one for dramatics. And his appearance was a carrot dangled in front of my nose. Meeting resistance when I pulled at the door, I looked up to find a sign that read: CLOSED FOR REPAIRS. “If by repairs, they mean ‘blood cleanup,’” I muttered. I’d been looking for Levi and a little more information, but that angle had officially become a dead end.
I whiled away the morning, dissecting the dead Sylph’s riddle and her sister’s warnings. But I didn’t know enough about myself, let alone the rest of the preternatural world, to make any headway. What the hell made me so special? Marked how? And chosen for what? As morning gave way to afternoon, I made the trek to Xander’s house, a sense of unease growing with each impatient step.
“It’s about time.” Raif met me at the door as if he’d been waiting for me all night. “Where have you been? I was just about to go out looking for you.”
Oh, hell, I thought. He had been waiting for me all night. All day too. In all the excitement, I’d overlooked the fact that I’d been AWOL for the past twenty-four hours. I’d have to work on not becoming so easily sidetracked.