Delilah said something. Well, she said a lot of somethings actually, mostly incoherent ramblings, but I know she had her shit together when she told me Raif’s daughter is alive.”
“Did she tell you how she knew?”
I bit my bottom lip. “No. Raif thinks she’s lost her mind.”
“He tried to find her,” Tyler insisted. “He couldn’t.”
“But he didn’t have a genie.”
“Do it,” he said abruptly. His tone became serious, almost a dare. “Make the wish.”
I stared into his eyes, momentarily absorbed by the brownish star that surrounded Ty’s pupil. Something shimmered there, looking like an oil slick on water. My breath hitched. A wish was what I wanted, after all. He’d offered. Thrown it right in my face, actually. I tried to avoid making wishes; it felt too much like exercising control. But it wouldn’t be an order, just a simple desire spoken aloud.
Swallowing down the bitterness that coated my mouth, I found it hard to speak the words. The last time I made a wish, I’d been a sacrificial lamb, my blood dripping into nine bowls to awaken nine dormant gargoyles. I’d needed Ty’s help, and so I’d wished again and again for it. I needed his help now. “Tyler, I wish Raif’s daughter were standing here right now.”
Ty closed his eyes, thank God, and I could finally look away. A shudder passed along his body, and he inhaled sharply, every muscle in his body going rigid. I held my breath in anticipation as much as worry. I’d never seen the physical effect of the wish. Did it hurt him somehow?
Still silence consumed the apartment, but within me, time marched its steady cadence. Though the suspense was killing me, I waited while Tyler did his thing-whatever that was. His eyes flew wide open, and I felt the stirring of air as an invisible force ghosted past me. Startled, I pushed the foot resting in his lap against him, and my chair teetered on its back legs before coming down again on all fours. He exhaled an unsteady breath, his eyes watering.
“Nothing,” he said. “If she’s alive, she’s protected far beyond my scope of power. I’m sorry.”
He looked a bit shaky, and I cursed my selfishness. Had this happened every time I’d made a wish? Even the times before I’d known he was forced to obey my simple commands? “I’m sorry,” I said, the shame welling up like bile. “I won’t do that again.”
Ty reached over and squeezed my hand. The reassuring gesture did little for my blossoming guilt complex. “It’s part of the bond, love. No apologies. It’s about damned time you started making wishes anyway.”
Wrestling my hand free, I stood, the chair screeching against the floor as I pushed it back. Things had been a lot goddamned simpler when I was alone. For starters, I didn’t have to worry about hurting the man I loved. “Delilah’s got something up her sleeve,” I said, crossing to the kitchen. “I don’t know what, but I’m sure I’ll find out soon enough. In the meantime, I want you to be more careful. Maybe you should keep a low profile until I’m sure it’s safe.”
A low snort of disgust answered me. Typical. Ever the knight in shining armor, Ty would never go down without a fight. “Keep a low profile,” he replied in a caustic tone. “Yeah, right.”
It was worth a try anyway. But I had ways of slipping through his fingers, and I refused to put him in danger again. I’d almost lost him forever when the Enphigmale attacked him. And his only sin had been protecting me.
“Whatever.” The smart-ass remark I’d prepared evaporated into the one word. I didn’t want to fight with him. Not right now. I had other things on my mind. “I smell like a locker room. I’m taking a shower.” I walked toward the bathroom with a slow, languid gait, my hips screaming an invitation. A satisfied smile curved my lips as I heard Tyler’s chair slide back.
I peeled the tight white T-shirt up the length of my body and over my head, tossing it behind me. I didn’t hear it hit the floor, but I heard Tyler’s breath catch. I paused, kicking off my boots, toeing both of my socks down and over my feet. Cool fingers traced a path up my spine, causing delicious shivers to race along my flesh. He worked the clasp on my bra with ease, pulling the straps down over my shoulders. His breath tickled against my ear.
“I’ll help you wash,” he whispered.
As I led the way to the shower, I heard items of his clothing drop to the floor.
I’d keep him out of trouble, all right. And if that meant using my body and all of my feminine wiles to do it-then so be it.
Chapter 4
Ty lay softly snoring in my bed. He was one tuckered-out genie. I admit, keeping him sedate with sex wasn’t the best plan in the world, but I didn’t have much else in my arsenal at the moment. I couldn’t stop thinking about this mysterious Man. Azriel and Delilah could have been in on the secret, sure. But that didn’t explain my dream. Had my subconscious conjured the Shaede girl and her warning? Who was this Man? Why did he want me? And what the hell did he plan on doing with me once he found me? I wasn’t willing to draw Tyler into any of it. Wishing him out of danger was out of the question, even if it was for his own good. I didn’t own him, regardless of what the bond said to the contrary.
I wriggled my feet into my familiar black boots, feeling a little more like myself. The sun had been past the horizon for an hour, and no matter the advantages my evolution brought, I still felt more comfortable at night.
Shrugging into my black duster, I tossed a note on the empty pillow, where I should’ve been sleeping. Ty would follow me when he woke up, but at least I’d have a head start.
If The Pit had been open twenty-four hours a day, I’d have moved in. I felt absolutely inconspicuous there-a feeling I cherished. Though the bar’s clientele wasn’t exactly limited to those of the human persuasion, it was just normal enough for me to blend in. Most nights I sat in the darkest corner of the place and people-watched to my heart’s content.
Levi bartended two or three nights a week-mostly weekends. His college-boy looks made him stick out like a sore thumb in the decidedly rougher atmosphere of the bar, but it did wonders for his tip jar. Clean-cut and all- American, Levi had vapid frat-boy written all over him. Looks can be deceiving. Levi was a walking supernatural encyclopedia. If it wasn’t human and walked the earth, he knew something about it. But his services weren’t cheap; even information came with a price tag. Probably how Levi funded his Abercrombie wardrobe and teeth-whitening sessions.
“Don’t worry about bringing a shit storm down on this place,” Levi said, sliding a Midori sour across the bar. “This is neutral ground. You’re safe here. What’s after you this time?”
I sipped the froufrou drink, wrinkling my nose at the syrupy-sweet tang. He served me something new every time I came. First one of the night was always on him. “I wish I knew,” I said, leaning into the bar. “Looking for someone to help me shed a little light on that. Want to throw your hat in the ring?”
Levi poured three shots of vodka and passed them over to the cocktail waitress. “I’ll give it a go.”
I leaned in even closer so I wouldn’t have to shout over the music pumping overhead. The DJ was in rare form, House music being the flavor of the night. I less than loved his selection. “What do you know about a Man from The Ring?”
Levi pulled away and studied me for a second as if trying to decide whether I was joking or not. He didn’t bolster my spirits much. “Could you get any vaguer, Darian? Please tell me that’s not the only bit of information you’re working on.”
He thought it over while he mixed a few drinks. You have to be a multitasker-and-a-half in his line of work. He could probably write a dissertation and juggle at the same time. “Ring,” he finally said, shouting over the heart- stopping bass of the music. “It could mean anything. That’s the problem. It could literally be a ring, like a spirit trapped in a ring. Maybe even a crown. Or it could be something else entirely. A place, or the notion of a place. I’ll need more to go on before I can be any help.”
Disappointed didn’t even begin to describe how I felt about Levi’s lack of knowledge. I’d formed the opinion there wasn’t anything he
