Chapter 23
I blinked into the brightness of midday. A shadow hung over me, and it took me several blurry blinks to make out Falin’s features.
“Were you watching me sleep?”
He smiled. “A little.”
“Right.” My eyes slid down his bare chest to the swell of his hips obscured by the sheet. I swallowed hard.“I’m going to, uh, take a shower.” I rolled out of the bed, clutching the sheet to me as I rose. My legs trembled as I stood, and my hand flew to my pelvis. I hadn’t been this sore in a long time. Blood rushed to my cheeks as I had a very vivid flashback of exactly how I’d ended up this way. I glanced around for clothes to grab. Articles of clothing, both his and mine, were everywhere, and none of mine was close to the bed.
Without a glance back, I dragged the sheet off the bed and stalked out of the room. Falin said something under his breath as I left, but my ears were stinging too badly to hear.
I dropped the sheet just inside the bathroom door and turned the shower on full heat. Billows of steam rolled off the water. I turned the knob on the heat down a full rotation before testing it. Snatching my hand back, I cradled it against my chest. Still way too hot.
“I don’t like him,” a deep voice said behind me.
I whirled around. Death was leaning against the bathroom sink, staring at me.
Flexing my stinging hand, I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around myself. “What?”
He motioned outside the door. “I don’t like him.”
I shrugged, trying for nonchalant, but the girl reflected in the mirror behind him looked a little too wide around the eyes. “I don’t question your sex life.”
And he’d kissed me, then vanished, so he sure as hell didn’t have a right to judge mine.
He smiled as if I’d made a joke, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. Then his gaze dropped, traveling casually down my body. I was glad I’d opted for the towel.
The look changed, lost its teasing edge. “It’s spreading.”
His fingers alighted on my shoulder. He touched the skin just outside the edge of the scratches.
“You’re not cold.” He wasn’t exactly warm either, but just as it had that day at the hospital, his temperature matched mine.
He frowned, his hand moving up to cup the back of my neck. “You’re not blisteringly hot. Do you feel chilled?”
I shook my head. I’d woken up contentedly warm in Falin’s arms, and the loft wasn’t cold. I was pretty comfortable—mortified, but comfortable.
“A side effect of my soul fueling Coleman’s spell?” I guessed.
Death shook his head. “Your soul will never reach him. I will dispel it by force before letting him have any of you.”
I looked up. Before? Then the spell wasn’t an active transfer. It had to finish before returning to its master.
Good to know.
A knock sounded on the wooden doorframe. “Alex, you okay in there?”
I jumped. “Uh …” The girl reflected in the mirror turned pale. I scowled at her and cleared my throat.“I’m going to be in here a while. You probably need to head to the station.” I could only hope he worked today. I hugged my arms across my chest. “You should go home to get ready.”
I waited, expecting him to argue. He didn’t say anything.
I didn’t even hear him walk away. After several moments, I turned back around. Death was beside me, a small private smile on his lips. He reached out and placed both his hands on my shoulders. His thumbs moved over my bare skin, and he stared as if amazed he could touch me.
I frowned. “I need you to answer a question, and I swear if you just smile and disappear, I will never speak to you again.”
His lips curled upward. “Your question?”
I stared at his hand. He was Death. He should have been cold to the touch. The living were supposed to be warm. I met his eyes. “Do souls recover? Or, after I find Coleman, will I always have a huge hole in my soul?”
The smile slipped from his lips, and we both stood staring at each other. After a moment, he dropped his gaze, looking away. “It depends on the soul.”
And he doesn’t know if mine will or not. I nodded and forced myself to take a deep breath, let it out. Death stepped back. His hand fell from my shoulder. Without another word, he vanished, leaving me alone in the bathroom.
I remained against the counter, watching the mirror fog over with steam. The gray vapor crawled over my reflection, blocking the unsure eyes and startled lips. Finally I dropped the towel and climbed into the shower, letting it scald my skin until I turned pink.
———
The smell of strong coffee drew me out of the bathroom. It had been contending with the fruity scents of my hair products for nearly an hour, and I couldn’t take it any longer. Besides, if Falin hadn’t left yet, staying in the bathroom made it appear I was hiding—which I wasn’t.
Okay, well, not much.
Once again, I’d fled to the bathroom without clothes.
I wrapped a towel around myself and peeked around the corner. Falin was in front of the sink wearing only his jeans and those ridiculous rubber gloves. I needed clothes. I couldn’t face him in only a towel.
I made a beeline for my dresser and grabbed the first pair of jeans and shirt I could find. When I turned, Falin was staring at me, his face tight with emotion I couldn’t read. I clutched the clothes to my chest, ducked my head, and then dashed back to the bathroom.
Fully dressed, I felt more prepared to face the day.
And Falin. I touched the charms on my bracelet. I needed to get my shields fixed.
I slunk into the kitchen, creeping to the coffeepot.
My mug was beside the pot, filled to the brim with black coffee. Cupping it in my hands, I took a long sip.
“It’s cold by now,” Falin said without looking up.
I jumped, sloshing coffee over my fingers. It wasn’t exactly cold, but it could have been hotter. Falin stripped off the rubber gloves and dropped them on the counter before wrenching open the stove. He pulled out a plate stacked with pancakes and set them on the bar. Turning, he crossed his arms over his chest.
“I made breakfast. An hour ago it might have still been good. Not sure if it’s even edible now.”
“I told you I’d be a while,” I mumbled into my coffee mug. “I’m not hungry.”
“Well, I am.”
He pulled two plates out of the cupboard and divvied up the pancakes. I frowned at the short stack he pushed at me. Despite his claim, they smelled delicious, which made me want to eat them even less. I focused on my coffee and set the plate on the counter.
Falin cocked an eyebrow as his fork hung in the air between his mouth and his plate. “Not hungry?”
When I didn’t answer, he grimaced. “Fine, let’s get this over with.” He set his plate aside. I fought the urge to step back as he moved into my space, towering over me. “You want to talk about it? Or do you want to forget it happened? Either way, you still have a black spell spreading through you, so I doubt you’re giving up your search for Coleman. We are working together. Quit trying to brush me off.”
He leaned as he spoke, the movement making him both ominously looming and almost close enough to kiss. I clenched my fists and ducked around him.
“I have to feed PC,” I said, grabbing the bag of dry dog food off the counter.
“Alex …” he started.
I froze, my eyes sweeping the apartment. “Where’s PC?”
“What?”
My heart crashed into my stomach. “Where’s my dog?” I ran to the bed and dropped to my knees. Pulling the bedskirt aside, I looked under the box springs.
“PC?”
He wasn’t there.
Did I see him when I woke up? I couldn’t remember.
My head snapped back and forth. My eyes took in every cranny of the small apartment.
I rounded on Falin. “Have you seen him?”
He shook his head.
“Well, don’t just stand there!”
He turned, pulling open cabinets. No little gray and white dog popped out.
Dread caught in my throat, solidified. How could I lose PC? Had I been that out of it last night? Had he run out when we’d first come in? I threw open the door.
Fred the gargoyle was on the doorstep, but not PC. He knew to come home if he was outside alone. He knew.
“Have you seen PC?” I asked, tapping Fred’s stone head.
The gargoyle didn’t answer. I slammed the door, reeling back around to scan the apartment again. Falin was on his knees looking under the bed.
The solidified dread expanded, sank, filling my stomach, entering my blood. PC wasn’t here. PC wasn’t anywhere.
I sprinted the short distance through the apartment and jerked open the inner door leading down to Caleb’s house. My feet barely touched the stairs as I took them three at a time. The downstairs door clattered against the wall as I burst through it.
“Caleb!”
Metal clanged in the workroom. A tool hit the ground.
A dog barked.
Caleb didn’t own a dog.
I rounded the corner in time to see PC hurl himself through the edge of Caleb’s circle. The heavy dread filling my body retreated under a wave of relief so fast I stumbled from the sudden weightlessness. I dropped to my knees, and PC soared into my lap. His ears were perked straight up, his tongue hanging out of his mouth.
In a matter of seconds my cheeks had a thorough tongue bath.
Caleb appeared at the edge of the circle. “Al?” His hand passed though the circle, dispelling it, and in two large strides, he was in front of me. Hauling me up, he enclosed me in a long bear hug. “Holly is almost out of her mind with worry, and PC, well …” He gestured to the dog, who was panting in my arms. “Where the hell have you been, girl?”
I frowned at him. Caleb never cursed. What had happened yesterday—?
I’d missed the dinner with Tamara.
No wonder Holly was worried.“I’ll apologize to her,” I promised. I didn’t apologize to Caleb. He was fae; you didn’t do that. “Why is PC down here?”
Caleb’s eyebrow quirked upward. “Girl, what were you—” he started, but cut off. His head shot up, his gaze moving over my shoulder as his brows creased.
I turned, staring at the empty doorway. What does he … ?
Falin stepped out of the hall, still shirtless, the button on his jeans undone to show a maximum amount of flat abs. His gaze scanned the room and landed on Caleb and me. His lips tugged down as his eyes strayed over Caleb’s hands on my shoulders, but he didn’t comment.
Instead he nodded at PC. “You found him, I see.”
I clutched the small dog tighter to my chest. “Yeah, he was with Caleb.”
PC’s tail wagged in greeting to Falin, but I turned away from him. I was hoping that if I didn’t offer to introduce anyone, Falin would go back upstairs and Caleb would forget about him. I should have known better.
Caleb stared at Falin, a frown etching itself deep in his face. His lips stretched farther than humanly possible and then curled back, revealing green teeth.
His glamour is failing. Or he was dropping it intentionally.
“Caleb?”
He pushed me behind him, his fingers bending strangely with an extra joint, his complexion turning vegetative.
“Get in my workroom, Al. Activate my circle.”
“Caleb, what—?”
“Just do it,” he snapped, his teeth gnashing.
I stumbled back from him, and PC whined at the rising tension in the room. I clutched the small dog tightly and glanced between Falin and Caleb. Falin stood with his hands in his back pockets; his posture was relaxed, but his gaze was as hard as ice. Caleb took a step forward, his lips twisted in a snarl. I rushed between them.
“It’s okay, Caleb. He’s with me.”
Caleb only shook his head. “Do you know what is standing in my house?”
I looked over my shoulder at Falin. His eyes met mine, and the question was repeated in their icy depths.
Something inside him seemed to cry out, “Do you know me?” and wherever that small voice hid in him was a place filled with pain. It hurt to see. I knew voices like that. I had a voice like that. And I knew that whatever I said would be heard by that voice and would echo in that sad place.
But do I know who Falin is? I knew he was court fae, most likely winter court. I knew he had secrets. I also knew he’d saved my life more than once. That he was intense but could also be tender.
I backed up until my shoulders and back brushed his chest. He tensed behind me.
“I trust him,” I whispered and felt a startled breath jerk through him.
Then Falin’s hand moved to my waist, his touch tentative, unsure. I did my best not to flinch, both for his sake and for Caleb’s. I wasn’t sure of all the dynamics flowing through the room, but I knew Caleb was on the defensive. He was an independent fae with alliances to no court, no season. This was his territory, and Holly and I were his friends, his witches. I needed to prove to him that Falin meant no harm.
Caleb shook his head, his dark eyes hard. “Move away from him, Al. He’s bewitched you.”
“He hasn’t, Caleb. I promise.”
“No bit of tail ever comes between you and Prince Charming. He must have entranced you.”
“Prince Charming?” Falin asked, the question barely a whisper.
“What did you think PC stood for? Politically Correct?”
I answered without glancing back. To Caleb I asked, “What are you talking about? How did Falin come between me and PC? Why is he even down here?”
I realized something else was off. “And what happened to his cast?”
“The vet removed it. And he’s down here because someone had to take care of him while you were gone.”
“He was alone for only ten hours, Caleb.”
“Al, you disappeared on Saturday. It’s Wednesday.”