“She’ll be making no promises to you today, Aurelio.” The witch seethes, biting off every syllable of his name with barely contained hatred.
“Guards!” Donati shouts.
It takes Jaylie a few moments to realize that he’s referring toher.
The wedding erupts into chaos, and several things happen all at once.
The witch snakes her arm around Alora’s waist and tugs her forcefully toward the portal. The arch itself begins to decay at an alarming pace, mushrooms and jagged thistles replacing the spring blooms. The druids from earlier descend on Donati, revealing thornlike blades hidden under their leafy skirts. While most of the guests add to Donati’s enraged yell with their own yelps of terror and shock, a number of darkly dressed mages join the druids and summon shadowy pools of magic between their hands. It looks remarkably like the same sinister power the witch wields.
We weren’t the only ones undercover.
“Well, fuck,” Jaylie says helpfully.
Just as Kain rips his buttoned shirt off—unnecessarily, but to Jaylie’s great amusement—and flies into a rage, Morgana lurches toward the druids with daggers gripped in her fists. Jaylie’s brows draw together in confusion as Loren launches into a bawdy tavern song, but to her surprise, the music has a magic of its own. From the bowl of his lute, tiny bolts of fire launch toward the dark sorcerers. As her party flies into action, Jaylie realizes just how skilledthey all are—and just how far away they are from what matters most.
Goddess, what amess.
Desperately, Jaylie wraps her fingers around the witch’s flexed upper arm—Ooh, she’s strong—and sends a prayer up to Marlana. A spell forms in her palm, one that would freeze the woman in her tracks. But it fizzles out almost immediately, useless. Behind Jaylie, Donati roars, and lightning crackles between his fingers—only to dissolve into a shower of sparks. The witch snorts, and Jaylie realizes just how easily the woman dispelled their magic.That’s very advanced spellcraft,Jaylie worries.
Jaylie swears the woman’s smile is almost apologetic as she pulls the bride tight to her side. “I’m terribly sorry, but we’ve got to be going.”
“I’d really appreciate it if you stayed. It would make my job a lot easier,” Jaylie says sweetly, her words high-pitched. Desperate.
The witch pretends to consider that. “I think not,” she decides, turning back to Alora. “Come, sweetling.”
And then, meanly, to Jaylie: “Good luck.”
Within three strides, Alora and her captor disappear into the portal. Immediately the glowing magic disappears with a suddenpop,and the archway returns to normal. Although the fighting continues in the gardens, Donati stills, his hands dropping uselessly to his sides. In slow motion, he swivels his head and meets Jaylie’s gaze.
“You will find me my bride,” he snarls, and it’s his wide, white-toothed smile that’s the most unnerving. “Or I will have yourheads.”
Chapter
Six
Liam picks up on the second ring. “Hello?”
“Hey!” I say cheerfully, phone tucked between my ear and shoulder as I smear peanut butter onto toast. It’s almost noon, but it’s never too late for breakfast in my book. “What’s up?”
“Just working. You know.Teaching.” It’s Tuesday. “Summer school’s not out till three.”
“I know damn well this is one of your off periods or I wouldn’t have called, friend.”
“Yeah, yeah. Still, if you’re just calling to try to get me to tell you where Alora went—”
I’m tempted to give it another shot, but even after I harassed him for answers for the last two days, he remained tight-lipped. I smile at the memory of the stunned silence that had settled over the table after Liam’s plot twist, the way Noah had knotted his fingers in his hair in shock, and the Kain-like rage that had set Jules’s eyes on fire. I’d thought she was going to flip the table.
Suffice to say, we’re totally invested now.
But I have something else on my mind. “I wanted to see if you were game for happy hour after work today.”
“Where? Chili’s?” he asks. It’s embarrassing, but Liam and I aresluts for Chili’s. It helps that there’s always one within a ten-mile radius, and I suspect that the Texas locations aren’t too different from Connecticut’s.
But that’s not where I want to go. I don’t really have the budget for happy hours at all, frankly.
But for a free drink?
“I was thinking we could try Alchemist.” I keep my tone cool, nonchalant.
