“Just… magic,” she said softly.
“And you’re all right? The demons—”
“They were just trying to scare me. You heard them—they were trying to lure you out.”
“So they didn’t—”
“I’m fine. Just tired.” She found a clean spot on her sleeve and used it to wipe the blood from her face.
Relief rushed from him in a deep sigh he quickly couched as irritation. “Why did you leave Obsidian in the first place? You were expressly forbidden—”
“I had something important to take care of.”
He glanced up at the building behind her—the only place open at this hour.
The hospital.
All that relief evaporated. “Are you ill?”
Could witches even get sick? And if so, couldn’t they just whip up a miracle cure? She was a self-proclaimed herbalist, for fuck’s sake. Now she was sneaking out to go to the hospital?
Gabriel clenched his jaw, sucking in a breath of cool air, waiting for an explanation that never came.
“Tell me what’s going on, Jacinda.”
“It’s not a big deal. I told Maritza I needed to run out—it’s not like I wasn’t planning on skipping town.”
His hands shook with rage. He wanted to shout at her. Wanted to remind her about the consequences of disobeying him, of pushing him. But every time he opened his mouth to try, an image flashed before his eyes—that sodding demon, his arm wrapped around her neck. The fear in her eyes.
Jacinda swayed on her feet again, damn near breaking an ankle with those spiked heels.
Gabriel bent down and scooped her into his arms, lifting her against his chest. He expected her to put up a fight, but she merely sighed, her body going limp with exhaustion.
Inexplicably, he drew her closer, pressing his nose to her temple and taking a deep breath.
Lavender and damp earth. Flowers and secrets. Magic and darkness.
A shiver rolled through his body.
“Despite my brother’s alliances,” he said softly, doing his best to hide her effect on him, “House Redthorne still has many enemies. You are now a target of those enemies. I can’t protect you if I don’t know where you are.”
“Protect me?” She glanced up at him, her blue eyes full of confusion. Full of vulnerability. Full of gratitude he hadn’t earned and didnotwant to accept.
A wall of ice slammed down around his heart, cutting him off.
“I told you,” he said coolly. “I always look after my investments.”
He had no idea what flashed through her eyes next. He refused to look. He kept his focus on the street, walking in the direction toward home, trusting Aiden and Cole to meet up with Enzo’s guys and take care of the demon mess.
But Jacinda’s body stiffened, heating in his arms. If she had any strength left, Gabriel knew she’d be clawing his eyes out to get away.
“Fear not, Prince,” she snapped. “Yourinvestmentis safe and sound. So instead of protecting me from your enemies, why don’t you take all that Ragey McRagerson bullshit and channel it into something productive. Knitting, perhaps? Interpretive dance? Yoga for Dickheads? I hear it’s all the rage. Pun intended.”
Gabriel sighed. When it came to the vampire and his witch, why did it always feel like one step forward, thirty-seven steps back?
Because you’re a monstrous asshole who should’ve been put out of his misery centuries ago…
He dismissed the voice of reason. Reason had no place in this city. No place with this witch.
