“Yeah, about that. You’re a big, strong vampire. How is it that the little tramp cornered you? Or is it that you
He jerked to his feet. “That must have been it,” he sneered. “Seeing Disa brought back so many fond memories that I could not wait to be shed of you. At least now I can acquaint myself with someone who considers the consequences before she acts.” His voice was hard and sharp as the sword he always carried. Which I didn’t see right now, but that hardly mattered. I could still feel myself bleeding inside.
I yanked Cirilai off my hand, ignoring the wrenching pain that nearly doubled me over when I lost the connection it gave me to Vayl. “Here!” I slammed it down onto the seat of the nearest chair. I looked into his eyes, still the warm brown typical of his most relaxed state, and wanted to slug him. He’d drawn his lips past his fangs. I’d never seen the expression on his face, so I didn’t recognize the emotions behind it. But I really didn’t give a shit. It was like the rage had rolled me up in an icy ball and we were tearing down some snowcapped peak, gathering speed and momentum, trampling everything in our path.
I said, “I felt so bad about what I did, I was going to quit my job. Can you believe that? I was actually going to throw away the career that saved my freaking sanity! But now I see the real problem is you and me, Vampire. I’ll finish this mission, because I’m a pro. But as soon as we hit Ohio, you can find yourself somebody who doesn’t care that all you really want is a puppet to jerk around at the end of that ring!”
I was about to make my grand exit, spin on my heel, stomp to the bedroom, slam the door so hard that the nightmare picture fell right off the wall, when we heard the shriek of a smoke alarm. Moments later Sibley burst through the hallway door. “Everybody out!” she ordered. “The villa is on fire!”
We’d returned to our suite within thirty minutes. Apparently part drama queen, Sibley had evacuated us without real cause, since the three fires that had erupted on different parts of the property never truly threatened us. The mystery was what had started them in the first place. One had begun in the garage, another in the dining room, and the third in the wagon house. All three had been caught by detectors in the ceilings and walls and quickly extinguished.
Dave was fascinated by the possibilities. He paced the length of the sitting room, throwing out ideas, while Vayl occupied the edge of the table. I stood by the bedroom door, wishing I had anything better to do. What I felt was the distance between Vayl and me, a universe squeezed into twenty feet of air space. Cirilai now hung from the chain around his neck, where he’d worn it for centuries before giving it to me. I ignored the ache that thought caused and forced myself to focus on my twin.
“Maybe it’s the werebear’s people, taking their revenge on the Trust for what they did to him.”
“I don’t think so,” I said. “He promised me he wouldn’t do anything until after we wrapped up our mission.”
“And you think he’s going to keep his word?” Dave asked, raising a cynical brow.
“Yeah, I . . .” I glanced at Vayl. “You know what, maybe not. It turns out I’m not the best judge of character.”
Vayl rose to his feet, his brows banging together like thunderheads. “You are so—”
“What?” I demanded.
He stopped. Took a breath. “Never mind.” I couldn’t read the look he gave me. Decided I didn’t want to. Facts are facts, folks. He was connected to Disa supernaturally. Every moment I was with him now, knowing that, it felt like she was in the room too. And it made me want to kick something.
Dave looked from him to me and back again. He patted down his pockets, found them empty, and dropped his hands. “Maybe I’ll go check out the rooms where the fires started,” he said. “See what they have in common.” Under his breath I heard him add, “Like being away from you two,” as he exited the room, leaving Vayl and me to share a long, cold silence.
After a few tense moments Vayl fixed his eyes on mine and said, “If your bolt had flown, you would have destroyed me tonight.” He brushed some dust off the knee of his slacks, giving me time to compute. Nope, it just wouldn’t key in. I had to hear it again.
“What?”
“The bonds that tie Maker and mate stretch beyond contractual obligation. For the next fifty years, if one of us dies, so will the other.”
I realized I was shaking my head. Denial. The story of my life. I dropped my gaze to the floor. “Vayl, I never wanted—” I stopped, because suddenly he stood in front of me, close as a shadow. When I looked into his eyes I realized they’d finally changed—to the dark purple of a new bruise.
“Tell me, Jasmine,” he demanded, his voice as hoarse as Rastus’s had been after having been pierced by a blade. “Why is it that after sticking Grief in Disa’s gut and pulling the trigger, you are no longer willing to fight for us?”
The wall behind my back felt like it was rippling, but I knew it was my own dizzy desire to throw myself into Vayl’s arms. Which made no sense. Wasn’t I still pissed at him? “Niall made the situation sound hopeless,” I told him. “So did you, for that matter.”
His hand came to my face, brushed my cheek and down to my neck. I fought the urge to reach out, sink my fingers into his flesh. He said, “Yes. It seemed that way at first. And then I looked into your eyes and remembered that you and I have never failed anything we set out to accomplish together.”
“
He cocked his head thoughtfully. “Indeed.”
I dropped my gaze to his lips. Too tempting. Down to the V of his open shirt. Nope, too sexy. I closed my eyes. “I can’t think straight, dammit. There was something I wanted to tell you before. About this house. In fact, the entire Trust. The masks. The masks were throbbing.”
I opened my eyes when his hands dropped to his sides. “Some sort of spell,” he muttered.
“What?”
