“Okay,” Jaci whispered. “I think I can manage that.”
“Good.” Isabelle released her hand and reached for her case, retrieving a battered grimoire and three occult textbooks so old the spines had split, held together now with nothing more than string and a prayer. “Shall we begin?”
Chapter Eleven
“I have a dear friend at NYU—professor of occult studies,” Isabelle explained. “She’s a witch, and the smartest woman I know when it comes to demonic lore. These texts are on loan from her private collection.”
“This is amazing.” Jaci flipped through one of them, the pages as thin as onion skin, each one crowded with illustrations and theories, symbols, rituals for summoning and banishing, stories older than time. “I was born and raised in hell, andIdidn’t even know half this stuff.”
“Demons are ancient beings,” Isabelle said. “You were in hell for a blink by comparison—it’s not surprising that much of this would be unfamiliar to you. A lot of it is conjecture, mind you, but there’s a grain of truth in everything. My hope is that if we put our heads together—and our magical know-how—we can find the grain of truth that will help us bind Viansa’s powersandhelp your father.”
The mention of her father sent a pang through Jaci’s heart. “Gabriel told you about that too?”
“He did.” Isabelle sighed. “My father has Alzheimer’s. Sometimes it feels like I’m watching him disappear before my very eyes. I understand what it’s like to lose a beloved parent, and if there’s even a chance I can spare someone else that pain…”
A knot of emotion tightened Jaci’s throat. “Thank you, Isabelle.”
Jaci had just put the kettle on for another cup of tea when the vampire prince returned, entering the apartment as he always did—uninvited, unannounced, wrapped in the evergreens-in-winter scent that drove her wild and sucked all the air out of the room.
“I’ve been thinking,” he proclaimed suddenly, confidently, as if the women should both bow at his feet.
“Have you, now?” Jaci pressed her hand to her chest, her eyes wide with mock concern. “Are you all right, Prince? Maybe you’d better sit down. Shall I fetch a cold compress?”
Isabelle snickered. “And on that note, I think I’ll leave you two to catch up.”
“No!” Jaci practically shouted. “I mean… You haven’t had your second cup yet. And the lore books were just getting good.”
“I’ll leave them for you. And I’ll take a raincheck on the tea.” With a covert wink, Isabelle grabbed her coat and the rest of her things, leaving only the books behind. “I’ll be back tomorrow morning, Jacinda. Remember what I said.”
Jaci nodded and thanked the woman, but the idea of being alone with Gabriel again left her completely off-kilter.
Growth is rarely a straight line, especially where love is concerned…
One of those vampires is also very worried about you…
Of all the things Isabelle had said tonight, the parts about Gabriel clamored loudest in her mind.
“Looks like you two got on well,” Gabriel said, a hint of smugness in his tone.
“Isabelle’s a formidable woman,” she replied. “And kind. I actually like her, if you can believe that.”
“She has that effect. Wears you down with all that wisdom and authenticity.”
Jaci smiled. “I can see why you trust her. And maybe…”
“And maybe what?” Gabriel closed the distance between them, crowding her against the kitchen countertop, peering down at her with those devilish eyes.
“Maybe Icoulduse the help,” she admitted. “A little bit.”
“Hmm.” Gabriel leaned closer, resting his hands on the countertop behind her, caging her inside his arms. “Is this the part where you admit I was right about something?”
“You madeonehelpful suggestion, Prince,” she teased. “Don’t go getting a big head over it.”
“Still. I was right. That’s something.”
The air crackled between them, their mouths hovering in dangerously-close-enough-to-kiss territory, the heat of his body radiating against her as she struggled to maintain control.
“Admit it,” he said, a dare flashing in his eyes, a smirk twisting his sexy mouth, “and I’ll set you free.”
