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He shook his head. "She won't hurt me. Trust me. I know Salina better than anyone. "
I wanted to point out how wrong he was. How he hadn't known what Salina was capable of when they were younger and that she'd likely only gotten crueler and more vicious over the years. But once again I held my tongue. Owen had stood by me plenty of times when I'd gone into dangerous situations, and he'd always let me do what I thought needed to be done. I had to do the same for him now. Besides, this way, I'd be there to protect him - and stop her for good.
"Okay," he finally said. "We'll go see her together. "
Owen got down on his knees in front of my chair. He reached over and grabbed my hands, his fingers warm and rough against my own. Then he turned my palms up and slowly, gently, traced over my spider rune scars with his thumbs. He kissed first one palm and then the other, and I shivered at the feel of his lips on my skin.
"Thank you for understanding," he said. "For giving me this chance. It means more to me than you know. "
Emotion clogged my throat, and I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around Owen, burying my face in his neck and breathing in his rich scent. I knew I had to let my lover speak his piece to Salina, but I also knew how things would play out - with me and Salina fighting to the death.
I only hoped I'd be the one standing in the end, and that Owen could forgive me for killing his first love.
Chapter 26
Eventually, Owen and I broke apart. I opened the door, and we went out into the kitchen.
A butcher-block table with several stools stood in the middle of the room, while appliances done in soft pastel shades ringed the walls. Fat, puffy clouds - Jo-Jo's rune and the symbol for her Air magic - covered almost everything in the kitchen, from the oven mitts piled next to the stove to a set of plates stacked in the sink to the fresco that stretched across the ceiling. Jo-Jo and Eva sat at the table drinking pineapple juice, while Finn was over at the counter, brewing himself a fresh pot of chicory coffee.
"Where are the others?" I asked.
"Bria had to get to the police station," Jo-Jo replied. "She said she'd call and check in with you later. Phillip left too. Said he had some things to do on that riverboat of his. Cooper went with him to keep him company - although he's going to call me later on today. "
I arched an eyebrow. "Do I sense a little romance in the air?"
"I just want to make sure that he's all healed up properly," Jo-Jo said, blushing again. "Besides, he's a true Southern gentleman. It's hard to find one of those these days. "
I knew that Jo-Jo wouldn't have let Cooper leave if she hadn't completely healed him already, but I didn't tease her anymore. Instead, I nodded and headed over to the cabinets. My fight with Salina and worry over Owen had taken a lot out of me, and I was in the mood for some comfort food. So I grabbed all the fixings for a classic Southern breakfast - biscuits and gravy.
Flour, fresh buttermilk, and just a pinch of sugar and salt went into my biscuit dough, while I put a cast-iron pan into the oven to heat the shortening I'd coated it with. Once the shortening was melted, I cut the biscuit dough into rounds, coated both sides with the liquefied shortening, arranged them in the pan, and then slid the whole thing into the oven to bake. I also fried up some salty country ham, using the grease and drippings that were left in the pan, along with some evaporated milk and a generous dash of black pepper, to make my gravy.
Thirty minutes later, I slid the hot biscuits onto a plate and ladled the gravy into one of Jo-Jo's cloud-shaped serving bowls. We all gathered around the table and dug into my greasy feast. Yeah, it wasn't exactly health food, but the biscuits were light and fluffy and made a perfect base for the flavorful gravy.
"So," Finn drawled when everyone had finished eating, "what did the two of you decide to do about sweet, sweet Salina?"
Owen looked at me, then at everyone else in turn. "Gin and I are going to talk to her and try to convince her to get some help. "
Eva's fork slipped from her fingers and clattered onto her plate. Her eyes snapped up to mine, and she gave me a sharp, angry look. I could see the accusation in her pretty face. She thought I'd betrayed her, that I was going back on my promise to kill Salina. She just didn't realize that I was only delaying the water elemental's death, nothing more.
My promise to Eva. Trying to understand Owen's feelings. Salina and her deadly magic. In a way, I had just as much of a noose around my neck as Kincaid had that night on the Delta Queen. A noose that was slowly tightening as a final battle with Salina became more and more inevitable - and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. If I didn't kill Salina, it was only a matter of time before she hurt someone else. And if I did take her out, it would impact my relationship with Owen - maybe even end it.
Eva, Owen, and Salina had all given me enough rope. All that remained to be seen now was when I was going to hang myself with it.
"I've got to get to class," Eva muttered, pushing her plate away. "Thanks for the juice, Jo-Jo. "
"Anytime, darling. "
Eva got to her feet and stomped out of the kitchen. A few seconds later, I heard the front door slam shut.
Owen sighed. "Sorry about that. I'll go talk to her. "
My lover hurried out of the kitchen, leaving me, Finn, and Jo-Jo sitting at the table. My foster brother glared at me with the same fierce expression Eva had.
"You can't be serious, Gin. Salina tried to kill you, and you're going to go talk to her? In case you've forgotten, you're the Spider. You don't talk to people - you kill them. I'll ask you the same thing I did Owen. Are you out of your mind?"
"No, I'm not out of my mind. Owen asked me for this," I said. "He wants to give Salina one more chance, and I'm going to respect his wishes. He would do the same for me. Hell, he did do the same for me with Donovan. "
Finn shook his head. "No, it's not the same thing. Not at all. Donovan just had a stick up his ass about you being an assassin. Salina likes to use her water magic to torture people. They are two very, very different things. "
