Page 155 of Fallen Court

“I’m responsible for all of this.” Ciara’s voice was barely a whisper.

“And now I only need the blood of one more creature to tear it down.” She nodded at the understanding on my face. “But first we must discuss another matter. Where is the ring?”

Fear strangled my heart, but I blinked, refusing to let it cross my face. “This ring?” I flashed my engagement ring, knowing it wasn’t the one she meant. But why would she want it? “Jealous that he gave it to me?”

“Jealous?” Her mouth pinched around the word. “I was through with Lachlan Gage a long time ago.”

“And yet, you have his fiancée trapped in a freezer.” I lifted my chin, enjoying the way her eyes flashed at the taunt. “It makes it worse, doesn’t it? Not only magic matched us. He chose me, too.”

Her hand shook. I was on dangerous ground, betting that she needed the esmeraude ring more than she wanted to kill me. Well, maybe not more, but enough to keep her from pulling the trigger.

“Cate,” Ciara whispered, “don’t.”

“I’d listen to your friend.” Baptiste sauntered to me and dragged the pistol’s muzzle across my collarbone. “I’m willing to bet I can find that ring whether or not you’re still breathing.”

“But you can’t risk it.” Whatever her agenda was, it was no coincidence that she was after the signet. She knew what it was, and if she knew what it was…

She wasn’t working alone. This was about more than bringing down the spell. The Cabal that Goemon had warned me of wasn’t just a bunch of pissed-off creatures tired of bowing to the Nether Court. They were organized. They were after something bigger. Crippling the Nether Court was just the start, and I could only think of one person cunning enough to pull it off.

And it wasn’t the bitch standing in front of me.

“I don’t have to shoot to kill,” she whispered, leaning in close enough that I saw the crimson flecks in her irises. “You would be surprised to know how much damage these things can do without killing someone.”

But I wouldn’t be surprised, because I’d seen it myself a thousand times at the hospital.

“And then I can heal you and shoot you all over again.” She kissed my cheek, pulling back to admire the lipstick she’d left behind. “So why don’t you tell me where the fucking ring is so we can move on with our lives?”

“I don’t know.” It was the truth, at least. Lach hadn’t told me what he planned to do with the signet, and I was glad that I hadn’t asked. If Baptiste wanted it, the last thing I could do was allow her to get it.

“That’s unfortunate. Now things have to be painful.” In a blink, she swiveled and shot Ciara in the calf.

Ciara crumpled, her screams echoing in the cramped space. I dropped to the floor, my training kicking in as I pressed my palm over the mangled wound. The iron slug had shattered, splintering bone and shredding through muscle. Blood seeped through my fingers, hot and slippery, as I tried to staunch it. I glared up at Baptiste. “I don’t fucking know where it is!”

She shrugged, taking a step through the freezer’s open door. “And now I know that I can believe you. If you’ll excuse me, I need to make a few calls. You two chill here.”

She laughed at her own joke as she locked us inside.

“Vampires have the lamest senses of humor,” Ciara grumbled, her eyes glassy with pain. She craned her head, her face paling at the gruesome wound.

“You have to nip us out of here.” I didn’t know how, not with whatever Baptiste had slipped into her drink.

“I can’t.” Ciara panted, her chest heaving as she tried to cope with the pain. “And even if I could, I don’t think I could nip us both out. Can you try?”

I hesitated. I’d barely had any wine, and Baptiste wouldn’t expect it. But Ciara had bound the effigy’s threads before we left the bridal shop. Still, with the spell intact, I might have a little of my own. I’d been wearing the ring when I nipped in Dublin using Titania’s stolen powers. When I’d redirected Lach and me to the library.

“Maybe I can do it.” I fumbled for the magic, but it slipped through my numb fingers. So much for option A.

I lifted my other hand to examine her wound again. A gunshot, I could handle. I had no clue how to get us out of here.

“Is it bad?” Ciara asked.

“It’s nothing.” At least it wouldn’t be if we got her help. The hospital could easily take care of it, and with her healing abilities, she would be fine. The trouble was that we were locked in a refrigerator by a vampire psychopath who I suspected was calling her other psychopath friends. But there was one way to ensure that Ciara got out of here. “You have to listen to me. When she comes back, I’m going to unbind the effigy. Do you still have it?”

“I think the pain is making me hallucinate.” Ciara blinked at me as I tore a strip of cloth from my shirt and began winding it around the wound. “You can’t seriously expect me to let you do that. She’ll find out that you’re fae.”

“Exactly.” Baptiste wanted a fae, and something told me she would much rather put a bullet in my brain than Ciara’s, even if there was no love lost between the two of them. I doubted that whatever drove Baptiste was as pathetic as sour grapes over a man, but she’d see killing Lach’s mate as a bonus.

“She’ll kill you.” Ciara shook her head, her lips beginning to quiver. “No fucking way.”