“Good buy,” he approved. “But why were they in your pocket, Angel?”
The explanation rushed out of me. “Some little furry critter had them in the forest. Trotted out with them when I was with Cara. I have no idea why it had them.”
“I do,” he said, and raised them to his nose. Inhaled, and his eyes lit with green fire. “You smell amazing, Angel. Even the critters know it.”
It should have grossed me out, but instead, it was so damned erotic that I lost the ability to breathe. His eyes caught and held mine, and heat flushed clear through me.
But I was peripherally aware of a big red form stomping toward us. “Give them back, Matt,” I hissed. “I’d rather no one else saw them.”
He grinned at me but handed them back, and this time I shoved them deep into my front pocket, where they were likely to stay put. We staggered around while we waited for Mari, who stomped around the lake at a steady pace.
When she finally reached us, she huffed, “Wow, what Jaster got under our instructor’s tunic? He was flying.”
Matt stared at her. “And a Jaster would be...?”
“A small stinging insect with a bad temper,” Mari clarified. She was fighting to catch her breath, but the light in her eyes indicated she enjoyed turning the tables on him. Then her gaze slid over our heads and she straightened.
Sebastian sailed into our midst and stopped. The bloody Bellati wasn’t even breathing hard.
“I will be joining Team Phoenix for our first shifted obstacle class. We will convene in the back field in fifteen.”
Then in a swirl of gray braids, he was gone, stalking up the stairs and disappearing through the front entrance.
Matt summed it up rather well, I thought, and for once I understood him perfectly.
“Ballocks,” he said.
19
Talakai
Drifting in dreams was preferable to the alternative.
That was true, but only just. Anna wasn’t part of this dream, but she didn’t have to be. Her very existence challenged me on many levels. She weakened my walls without effort, and I needed them.
Because it wasn’t just Xumi that I attempted to cage. And things were escaping through the cracks.
In my dream, I adjusted the pack along my back as I ghosted along a familiar corridor, sticking to the shadows cast by the enormous pillars that lined it. I knew every excruciating detail of this building. I’d been paid to be professional. Despite being a full-fledged operative for only six months, my training ensured I could get the job done.
The guards weren’t due down this corridor for another ten minutes. Just enough time for me to do what I needed to do, and be gone.
I hugged the pillar that formed the corner, and listened, with both my ears and my ability to sense energies.
Two. There were two. The guard outside the door. And the target within the room.
I activated the small crossbow, and it slid from its arm sheath into the palm of my hand. A short-range weapon only, but despite the formidable abilities of the guard, it was perfect for this task. I paused for a moment, breathing deep and clearing my head. I needed clarity and focus. Not distracting thoughts.
No guilt.
Just the job.
The guard was alert. The second I stepped around the corner, he spun his large, four-legged body and raised his weapon—a gun common in this realm. But I was faster, and the bolt took him straight through the eye.
With centaurs, you had to be fast. I caught him before he hit the floor, calling upon my Dragon to lower him silently to the polished stone. The door had a simple lock—it only took me a moment to pick it. The hinges swung smoothly, and I shifted to beast just enough to enable me to drag the dead guard just inside the door, before closing it behind me.
The quarters beyond offered a glimpse into the tremendous wealth of this family. Not surprising, considering who they were. But their enemies had money, too. And lots of it. Enough to pay my employers, who sent me and two others, tasked with cutting their lineage off at the knees.
According to my research, my target bedroom was the second door on the right. As with all centaur residences, the rooms were large. I stood within a living area with an enormous fireplace along one wall. A fire had burned low within it, casting eerie flickering light across the room. Along with the incendiary devices I carried, it would make the second part of my mission easier. A fire would add confusion as to just how the heir and his family died.
