touched. I clenched my jaw and reached for knives that weren’t there. Ceff and I were in agreement. If someone did this to Jinx, they were going to pay.
Jinx shrugged.
“I went to see Hans last night while you two were trying to bring the building down,” she said. “Big mistake.”
Oh crap. I’d forgotten to tell Jinx about Hans’ temper tantrum the night the clurichaun got her drunk. So much had happened since then that the call had totally slipped my mind, but that was no excuse.
“I am so sorry,” I said. “I mentioned you’d been drinking with a clurichaun. I didn’t know he was anti- fae.”
“It’s alright,” she said. “I didn’t know either. I mean, I knew he was a Hunter. But I didn’t realize he was such a racist douche. When I said I’d just helped to save thirty-three fae kids, he smacked me in the face.”
“I’ll kill him,” I said.
I broke contact with Ceff, launched myself from the barstool, and ran toward my room. This was no time for cuddling. I needed my knives. I looked down at the robe and bare legs and added clothes to the list. Ceff, moving fae fast, was pulling on jeans and grabbing his trident.
Hans was going to pay.
“No, wait,” Jinx said.
She stood in the doorway and shook her head.
“I took care of it,” she said. “Plus, if you two, a pure-blooded fae and a half-blood, go attacking Hans, he’ll have the entire Hunter’s Guild on your ass. He’s not worth it.”
I paused while strapping a throwing knife to my forearm.
“How did you take care of it?” I asked. “Did you shoot him with your crossbow?”
After what Hans had done to my friend’s face, I wouldn’t settle for anything less than painful impalement.
“Nope, stabbed him with a hair stick,” she said. Jinx grinned. “I didn’t have the crossbow with me, didn’t think I’d need it on a date with a Hunter. I’m rethinking that for the future.”
With Jinx’s taste in men, that was probably a good idea. Maybe we could find a crossbow dressed up with sequins. Jinx was all about the accessories.
“I hope you also broke up with the guy,” I said.
“Hell yeah,” she said. “I like bad boys, not batterers.”
Jinx had stabbed Hans with a hair stick. It may not have been one of my knives, but Jinx had shown the guy she wasn’t a pushover. I grinned showing teeth.
“If he comes near you again, call me,” I said.
“And me,” Ceff said.
“Like I said, Hans would only be getting his way if my two faerie friends attacked him,” she said. “I’m not getting either of you in trouble with the Hunter’s Guild.”
“Then call Jenna,” I said. “In fact, don’t wait. Call her now and tell her how Hans attacked an unarmed human.”
Jinx smiled and grabbed her phone.
“Technically, I wasn’t unarmed,” she said. “Those hair sticks did a number on his neck. Totally ruined one of his tats.”
“If you weren’t carrying a blade or bow, you were unarmed,” I said. “Hair accessories don’t count. Call Jenna. Maybe you can keep the guy from beating another girl. The Hunter’s Guild has rules and I’m pretty sure Hans just broke a few of them.”
Jinx pulled up Jenna’s number and sauntered into her room.
“Do you think she’ll be alright?” Ceff asked.
“Yes, nothing a little revenge won’t cure,” I said. “Jenna will set things straight. And if that guy ever comes sniffing around here, he’ll come face to face with my blades.”
“You’re sexy when you’re angry,” he said.
Ceff stood beside the door to my room raking my body with his gaze from head to toe. I blushed, realizing I was wearing nothing but a robe and the knives strapped to my wrists. I hadn’t gotten around to putting clothes on yet.
My breath quickened and I licked my lips. I stepped toward Ceff, wondering how bad the visions would be this time around. I looked up into Ceff’s face and his eyes flashed green. For the first time in my life, I didn’t care about the potential severity of a vision.
I kicked the door shut and let the robe drop to the floor.
Chapter 29
“Are you sure you don’t need me to come along?” I asked.
Ceff rubbed a hand over his face and sighed. He was going to visit the cemetery where Melusine had died, and now was buried. He’d been standing in the doorway to our loft, eyes distant, and I wondered if I should have dressed to go with him.
“No, this is something I have to do on my own,” he said. “I must honor the dead in the way of my people. But do not worry, I’ll be back by nightfall.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” I said.
“Until tonight,” he said.
Eyes that had looked sad a moment before, now held the promise of an evening of pleasure.
“Until tonight,” I said.
I shivered, a breeze playing across my legs as the door closed behind him. I cinched my robe and looked around the apartment. Ceff and I hadn’t left the loft in days and the place was starting to look like a boggle pit. I was behind on every one of my chores, but I couldn’t bring myself to care.
I dropped onto the couch, suddenly feeling the fatigue of the past week. I was supposed to be on a week of bed rest, but so far I’d seen lots of bed and not much rest. Having Ceff gone for a few hours would do me good. I needed my beauty sleep.
Unfortunately, my over-caffeinated roommate was bored. She was suddenly single and, since we’d closed the office while I recovered from a lamia bite, had free time. Jinx skipped out of the kitchen and perched on the arm of the loveseat across from me.
“So, you ready to go out and celebrate?” Jinx asked.
“Celebrate what?” I asked.
“What are we celebrating?” she asked. “Oh, I don’t know. How about the successful rescue of thirty-three faerie kids? We made bank on that case by the way, which is another reason to celebrate. And, dun dun dun! There’s the whole you knockin’ boots with his royal hotness. You have to fill me in on all the juicy details. Like how you got past your touch phobia in such a big way. I was starting to think you’d die a virgin.”
Jinx really needed to switch to decaf.
“Let’s just say I had motivation,” I said. I smiled and rolled my eyes. “And that is the last we speak of it. I don’t kiss and tell.”
“Suuure you don’t,” Jinx said winking. “We’ll see about that after a few drinks, and dancing.”
“No way,” I said. I shook my head. “I’m not going out clubbing. In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m injured. I’m supposed to be in bed, resting.”
“Right, you were getting so much rest in your bed,” she said. “Seriously, we need to go out and celebrate. I want to hear all about your hot kelpie stud. Like, was he a total stallion in bed? Does he have all his man parts? Inquiring minds want to know.”
Jinx waggled her eyebrows and I blushed.
“We are not having this conversation,” I said, fighting a laugh.
