I inhaled deeply and my heart sank when Caspian’s clean pine scent filled my nose, mixed with the powerful aroma of multiple people’s blood.
“He’s really bloody,” tropical shirt commented, stepping over my limp legs to greet the newcomer, who I couldn’t see. “What happened?”
“He killed some of the hired help. Good thing, too, because they would have gone against orders and killed him if he hadn’t.”
I had to hope that meant Caspian wasn’t injured and it was only other people’s blood on him. There were too many scents mixing for me to tell if he was hurt. His blood was present, but I couldn’t figure out if it was a little or a lot. Putting all the force I could into it, I lifted my neck and tried to turn. Before my head dropped back down to the ground, I caught a glimpse of him. It was enough to convince me he was fine and far from being on the verge of death. He looked significantly shaken up, though, his gaze faintly haunted. That was odd. He’d killed plenty of people before.
“Get one of our guys to do additional background checks on every extra hand we’ve hired for this,” Amabella said. “I had one like that here, too.”
“Ah, so that’s why it smells like a barbecue in this alley,” Clement said.
“If you want a snack, he’s on the other side of the bear,” she said dryly.
I would have curled my lips in disgust if I’d been able to move. The woman’s high heels clicked as she walked back around to my field of view. Crouching in front of me, she drew a few lines of a rune. “You should be able to shift back to human form by now. Do that. If you don’t, you’ll have another immobilization spell on you, and then you’ll suffer through much worse. Don’t forget we have the incubus. Oh, and your precious Omega witch.”
With a groan from the discomfort, I shifted back to human form, completely nude. Amabella had only healed the neck wound, so my other wounds were still present. Shifting had pushed the arrows out of my flesh, giving my body more freedom to heal. Considering how many arrows there had been, it would still be a process.
The only way I moved after I’d shifted back was to face Caspian, who was visibly shivering. Nudity didn’t bother me, even in front of this large of a crowd, but when the man I assumed was Clement handed me a robe I didn’t turn it down. I expended more effort than usual to lift myself to my feet, huddling into the fabric.
“What a shame. I could have sat with that view all day,” the tropical shirt man said.
He was eying me appreciatively, and I glared, stepping closer to Caspian. He clicked his tongue at me, and Clement stood in between the two of us. “Unfortunately, I can’t allow the two of you to get cozy together until we’re inside. It’s a grand pleasure to meet you both, especially under these circumstances. I’m Nolan Jitara.”
My back went straight and Caspian released a faint squeak of surprise. We’d assumed this was something Kylan Jitara had done, but hearing that last name from someone who was talking to us down in the trenches…
Not to mention, I didn’t recognize the first name. I’d thought between the mission years ago and my time spent in front of a computer this time around, I could recognize everyone holding the Jitara name. Nolan smirked as we processed. “We’ll discuss it inside. Play nice for me and I’ll take you right to Freya. She’ll be mad about the blood, but it’s not my fault we thought you were with a different interest.”
I wasn’t sure what he was talking about when he said a ‘different interest’. Who else would come for her other than us and possibly the Next Life Company? I didn’t ask, not wanting to give away our ignorance.
Surrounded by a procession of their guards, demon and fae and witch alike, we were kept a few metres apart from each other as we entered the building. For a second I wasn’t sure where Oswald had ended up after I’d gone down, but then I caught sight of a bright pink cat carrier swinging back and forth in the hand of one of our captors.
He wasn’t making a sound, but as soon as I noticed the carrier I felt a wave of rage coming from it. The familiar was, understandably, furious about his predicament, and couldn’t even voice his grievances without sounding like a fluffy pet en route to the vet.
The floor we ended up on was half-constructed, but enough walls were in place to obscure our destination until we turned the corner at the end of the hall. Then, it was right in front of us all of a sudden. A steel cage with runes inscribed on the bars, and Freya perched on the bed. She looked daintier than I’d ever seen her, body frail and hair untidy. Her eyes widened when she saw us and she stood abruptly, demeanour changing all at once to the tough woman I’d met. She turned to glare at Nolan.
Before she could say anything, he held up both hands. “I didn’t fetch them on purpose, darling. They walked right into my hands.”
“I’m not convinced I believe you,” she said.
“Remember how you didn’t believe me about Shan either?”
“What about Shan?” Caspian blurted, interrupting them. “Is he here?”
Freya nodded, shoving her hand through the bars and gesturing him toward her. He hesitated, but Nolan waved him on. When they touched, tension seeped from Caspian’s body. Even knowing she was imprisoned here was better than not knowing. “Tell me why you’re covered in blood,” Freya said quietly.
Most of our entourage had retreated out of the room, leaving only a few to overhear. I kept a careful eye on their interactions, both scanning for any hints Freya might give us about what was going on here, and observing her out of pure curiosity. Something about her abrasive personality and sweet vanilla and coffee scent had the two of them obsessed. I was curious about why.
Speaking of her scent, it was no longer obscured. The Omega notes made it sweeter than before, without the underlying chemical hints. I’d hardly noticed them when they were present, but now they were gone I couldn’t imagine her ever using a scent dampener again.
“Oswald led us here,” Caspian explained, and Freya scanned the room again for her familiar.
When she saw him caged she snorted a laugh and stared at him for a few seconds, long enough for me to assume they were communicating telepathically.
“And you were detected before you could even attempt to save me?”
“Yeah. I killed some guys who were trying to kill me.”
“Before you get mad,” Nolan said, coming up behind Caspian. Too close, in my opinion. My possessive growl did nothing to warn him off; he only smirked at me. “I had kill on sight orders out for everyone patrolling the outside of this building. With Kylan’s men, it’s a necessity to kill first and ask questions later. Luckily, Amabella recognized your familiar and amended the order.”
