“Their magic is dulled. You need new and better. Let me take care of it.”
“Still taking care of me?” I hated to admit I liked it. “I thought we weren’t bonded.”
He opened his mouth, then closed it. Finally, he said, “I insist.”
“Okay.” I nodded, not wanting to fight.
“I’ll meet you when you’re done getting ready.” He didn’t wait for a response. Just turned on his heel and left.
Mac turned to me. “I don’t know about this whole bond breaking thing, mate.”
“What?” I frowned at her.
“There’s still something between you.”
I swallowed hard. “Yeah, well. I care for him.”
“How much?”
“I honestly don’t know.”
Mac hovered her hand over my arm. “May I?”
“You want to read my future?”
“As much as I can.” She gestured between me and the space where Grey had once stood. “Because I know you broke the mate bond, but things aren’t over yet.”
My heart began to thunder. If Mac had answers, I wanted them. I thrust my arm out toward her. She rested her fingertips on my bicep and closed her eyes. Her magic swelled, and I waited.
Finally, she opened her eyes. “I wasn’t able to see much, but this thing between you . . . this breaking the bond . . .it doesn’t mean it’s over between you and Grey. Even this feels fated. Like it was meant to happen.”
“Is fate really that powerful?”
“You have no idea.” She shook her head. “You were trying to divert the course of fate by going to Cyrenthia and breaking the mate bond. But fate can’t be tricked.”
“Shit.”
“Cyrenthia is right, though,” Mac said. “If you want any chance at keeping the mate bond broken and saving Grey’s life, you should try to stay away from each other.”
Carrow
Hours later, after an amazing—though brief—visit to the Fae dress shop—Grey and I arrived in Monaco using a transportation charm. Monte Carlo, specifically. It was warm here, the scent of the Mediterranean wafting on an ocean breeze. The sound of waves crashing in the distance was audible over the low hum of traffic.
After getting kitted up in a generic bartender’s uniform created by the Fae shop, Mac had taken a transport charm right to the casino, where she was currently sneaking in for her “shift.”
Grey and I had appeared farther away since we needed to make a specific type of entrance. I turned to study the city. An infinite number of lights glittered all around, the gorgeous city lit up for the evening. Nestled on the coast between France and Italy, it was a dream destination for the likes of me.
Considering the fact that I was with Grey, it could have been a dream—broken bonds or not.
He looked like a million bucks, of course, wearing a tuxedo that had clearly been made especially for him. He was here to play a devilish game, all lethal strength and elegance, impossibly beautiful despite the cruel cast that had shadowed his face as soon as we arrived.
“You look different,” I said. “Something about your face. Your expression.”
His gaze flicked to mine, the coldness briefly replaced with warmth. “You can show nothing, here. Anton feeds on expressions like a shark.”
I nodded, recognizing the same iciness he’d shown me when we’d first met. I’d thought he’d looked like the most beautiful statue I’d ever seen, so cold and hard and impenetrable that it made me want to crack him open even more.
“You look lovely,” he said, his eyes warm.
Pleasure flushed through me, then I scowled. “No compliments. I’m a sucker for compliments, and I can’t fall for you.”
“Of course. You look like a hag.”
I laughed, unable to help myself, and turned toward the street. My dress twirled around me, a glittery gold confection that made me feel like a princess. In addition to being gorgeous, it repelled blades and magic. It also enhanced my own powers, making my gift the slightest bit stronger, which I would need for what was to come.
The stilettos on my heels once again felt like trainers, and I knew I could sprint a mile in them. Hell, I could probably leap over a building in a single bound. The gem at my neck was actually a vial of truth serum, though no one would recognize it. Eve and the Fae dress shop owner had worked together to create it, though I might not have to use it. They’d done the same for Mac’s uniform, and it would allow her to blend in with the rest of the staff.
As the sound of ocean waves crashed in the distance, Grey and I stood on a bustling city street, not far from Anton’s club. An enormous Rolls Royce pulled up to the curb, gleaming brilliantly. It looked like something from the past, all elegance and beauty. The driver leapt out and opened the door for us, and I looked up at Grey. “For us?”
He nodded. “We need to blend in when we arrive.”
He helped me into the car, his touch a brand. I barely resisted a shiver, and he withdrew his hands quickly.
“I’m sorry.” His voice was low. “That was unwise.”
Indeed, it was. Touching was about the dumbest thing we could do right now.
Inside the opulent car, I shifted over on the seat to make room for him. He folded himself gracefully into the vehicle, and the driver took off, whisking us through the glittering streets of Monte Carlo.
“This is a lot different than the life I trained for,” I mused, thinking of police college.
“Preferable, I hope?”
“Very.” I stole a glance at him, then looked away, unable to bear his impossible beauty.
A few moments later, the sleek car pulled to a stop outside an enormous, ornate building. Golden lights lit up the marble facade, and a fountain shot sparkling water into the air. An aura of incredible wealth and danger gleamed around the place, and my heart raced, hope flaring.
With any luck, we were going to save the kidnapping victims tonight.
5
Grey
I climbed out of the car first, scanning the ornate courtyard for Anton’s guards. Immediately, I spotted eight of them. I cataloged their weapons and species—what was visible, at least.
“Hey, let me out.” Carrow’s voice sounded from behind me, where I’d blocked her into the car on purpose.
Satisfied that it was safe, I turned and reached for her hand. She laid her palm in mine, and satisfaction surged through me.
No.
I couldn’t feel those things anymore.
I shouldn’t. The bond was broken.
My heart and body didn’t seem to care, but I tried to shove the feeling aside anyway. I helped her stand, forcing my eyes off the way the glittering golden silk clung to her curves. Her eyes gleamed with interest as she looked around.
I turned, tucking her hand into the crook of my arm, and tried to see it through her eyes.
All around, people in glittering finery strolled up the stairs, looking beautiful and bored. It was an obscene amount of wealth on display, and distaste flickered through me.
“Is this not your scene?” Carrow asked.
“Hardly.” I turned toward the massive entryway where Anton’s goons guarded the doors.
They couldn’t have looked more like a mob boss’s henchmen if they tried. Big shoulders stuffed into tight suits, slicked back hair, and their magic on full display, the way humans would wear their guns visible.
I could feel their magic from where I stood, a billboard of a threat that was meant to keep the supernaturals in line. Not everyone in the crowd was magical, however, and the humans had no idea.
Sheep.
As if she read my thoughts, Carrow leaned close and whispered, “Are there humans here?”
“Yes. So no magical fights on the casino floor. Anton has a spell blocking most powers, especially around the gambling tables, but the goons are here to keep order as well.”
“Ah, I see.”
I caught the eye of one of the bouncers and raised two fingers in a clear signal. We wouldn’t be entering through the normal way.
The man snapped to attention and turned, leading us to a side door.
“This way,” I said. “We need to go through a different type of security.”
“All of these wealthy people tolerate security?” she asked.
“To get in here, they do.” I nodded toward the crowd we’d left behind. “Humans and low-power supernaturals go that way. More powerful supernaturals go this way.”
“What is Anton looking for?”
“Any kind of threat. Magical weapons or particularly dangerous powers. If we tried to sneak through the human entrance, the sensors would catch us, and we’d be evicted.”
She shivered. “You were right about this place being heavily guarded.”
“We’ll be fine. But we won’t be able to use a transport charm until we are out of the building, so keep that in mind.”
She nodded.
We neared the hulking guard, and he turned to open an enormous golden door for us. I led Carrow into a spacious lobby. Crystal chandeliers gleamed overhead, shedding a sparkling light on the gold and velvet opulence of the interior.
It was Anton.
Like a petty king with too much money and no taste.
Two guards stood waiting for us, each at least seven feet tall. It was rare that I met someone taller than me, but it was immediately obvious that their size slowed them. Each wore a suit and held a slender black wand.
I leaned down to Carrow and whispered, “These men will check you for magical weapons, but they won’t touch. Try to suppress your power as best you can.”
She nodded, and I could feel her trying to draw it into herself. She’d become so much more proficient over the last few weeks, but her power had also grown. I could feel it inside her even now, expanding. Could she tell that it was doing that?
I had to assume so.
I did the same, making sure my magic was under lock and key. The men approached us, hovering their wands over our chests, then moving them around our bodies. I waited for the telltale vibration that indicated it had sensed something and was gratified when there was only silence. We didn’t need to draw any attention to ourselves.