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Because it wasn’t just a waiter and one of those new hover trays standing outside my door. A grinning Lucian stood behind them.
“Ma’am?” the waiter said politely.
“Oh, yeah, just put that over on the table.” I stepped aside and waited until the tray and the waiter had moved past, then quickly raised a hand to stop Lucian. In a heated whisper I added, “How the hell did you find me?”
“I simply phoned hotels asking to speak to you until I found which one you were staying in.”
Damn, I should have thought of that. Next time I wanted to hide from the world, I’d better use a false name! “But you didn’t leave a message.”
“No. I thought you’d have a harder time ignoring me if I simply turned up.” His gaze suddenly fixated on my face and his smile faded. “You’ve been in the hands of the Raziq, haven’t you?”
I hesitated, but it was pointless denying it. And I guess if he was going to help us find the remaining keys, he had to know just how much deeper the shithole had gotten. “Yes.”
He swore softly. “How the hell did that happen? Why didn’t the reaper stop it?”
“He couldn’t—”
“It’s his job to protect you.”
His voice had sharpened significantly, and the waiter glanced over at us. I gave him what I hoped was a reassuring smile, then met Lucian’s angry gaze and added softly, “He is. But it’s not that simple.”
“It fucking is—”
“Lucian,” I cut in. “Enough. I’ll explain.”
“Then explain.” He glanced down at my hand. “But I would suggest you allow me to come in first.”
I dropped my hand and waved him inside. The waiter had finished setting out my meal, and approached with the tray in tow. “Will that be all, ma’am?”
“Yes, thank you.” I gave him the change as a tip, then closed the door behind him.
Lucian stood in the middle of the room, his arms crossed and his stance radiating displeasure. “So, explain.”
Rather than answering immediately, I walked over to the table and lifted the lid off the various plates. Azriel had ordered steak, vegetables, and pasta, as well as several cream cakes. After a few minutes of dithering, I picked up the triple-layer chocolate cake and started eating it. The steak and veggies might be the saner choice, but I needed the immediate sugar rush.
Lucian waited. Anger rolled off him, thick and heated. The little hairs on my arms stood on end, even as my pulse rate quickened. It wasn’t exactly fear, and it wasn’t a more sexual reaction, but rather sat somewhere in between. Which was kind of odd, because up until now I’d always reacted on a purely sexual level to his presence.
“Over the last couple of days,” I said eventually, as I finished the cake and licked the cream from my fingertips, “the Raziq have made several attempts to capture me using Ania. We managed to thwart most of them, but we were simply caught off guard this last time.”
“If they caught you off guard, then the reaper isn’t doing his job,” Lucian snapped. “He is sensitive to the creatures of hell—there is no known way they should have been able to sneak up on you.”
“They didn’t. They were transported in magically and were just there. There was nothing Azriel could have done to prevent it.” I picked up my knife and fork, then glanced at him pointedly. “And you wouldn’t have been able to do anything, either, so stop giving me attitude and just sit down. Having to look up at you is making my head ache.”
He grunted, but pulled out one of the chairs and sat. “What, exactly, did the Raziq do?”
“From what they said, they unmade me and attached some sort of sensor to my heart. It’ll inform them when I’m in my father’s presence.”
“Enabling them to capture him.” His voice was grim. “This is not good news for those of us wanting to keep the keys out of their hands.”
“Exactly.” Then I frowned and added, “‘Those of us’? That’s an odd way of putting it, isn’t it?”
He shrugged. “Are you sure that’s what they’ve done?”
“That’s what they said they’ve done. And they definitely pulled me apart.”
“The bruises are evidence enough of that.” He leaned forward and placed a flat hand against my chest. It wasn’t a sexual touch by any means, but my pulse still reacted to the warm press of his fingers. After a moment, he swore and sat back. “The dark energy of the tracer definitely beats within you.”
I wasn’t surprised, but my stomach still sank. I guess a tiny, foolish part of me had hoped the Raziq had been lying. Still, I couldn’t help asking, “How can you be so sure?”
