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“Much, much better,” she said, relief briefly lifting the tiredness in her voice. “The sunnier room has done wonders to stabilize his internal temperature, and though he’s not yet awake, we’re getting more gruel into him and he no longer looks so gaunt.”
Thank god, I thought, and briefly closed my eyes against the sting of tears. “Any idea when he’s likely to wake up?”
“No. His body still appears to be adjusting to the presence of the fire elemental. I doubt he’ll wake until the merging is finished.”
And until he did, we wouldn’t know what the end result of that merging was. It was a very real possibility that Tao might not even know us once he woke up. It just depended which nature was stronger—the werewolf or the elemental.
“Ring me the minute anything happens,” I said. “And in the meantime, you and Mirri be careful.”
“Oh, trust me, if we were any more cautious, we’d be dangerous.”
I laughed softly. “Give Tao a kiss for me.”
“I’ll give Mirri one for you, too,” she said, somewhat primly.
“You’ll use any excuse to kiss that girl of yours,” I said, amused. “So give her two. Might as well make it worthwhile.”
She laughed again, but the sound died a little too quickly. “You need to be careful, particularly tomorrow night.”
Unease prickled across my skin. “More omens of trouble?”
“You, or someone near you. I can’t define it more than that, so just keep an eye out, okay?”
“I will.”
“Good. Keep in contact, Ris, or I’ll be calling in the cavalry.”
Meaning Aunt Riley and Uncle Rhoan—two people I did not want involved right now. Mainly because they’d lock me up, throw away the key, and attempt to investigate this whole mess themselves—and that would only end up with them getting hurt. Because no matter how good the pair of them were, this was far beyond their experience and capabilities. Hell, it was beyond mine, but at least I could see the reapers and walk the gray fields.
I shoved the phone away and looked at the time. It was six thirty—time to get moving if I was going to make my appointment with Jak.
I studied the still silent Azriel and frowned. “Are you okay?”
He turned, his expression carefully neutral but his body language hinting at tension. “Of course. How will you get to this café without your bike?”
“I’ll catch a cab.” I tilted my head slightly, continuing to watch him through slightly narrowed eyes. “You’ve retreated.”
“I do what I am here to do. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Which no doubt was a direct result of what I’d said. Or rather, what I hadn’t said—that I wanted him. Though why he wanted it voiced when our chi connection gave him all manner of insight into my thoughts and emotions, I had no idea. But I could hardly complain about his retreat when it was a result of my own. “Then I’ll see you at Chrome.”>“I won’t stop visiting Tao. I can’t.” Ilianna might send me regular updates, but that wasn’t the same as being there.
He grimaced. “That could be dangerous, not just to you but to Ilianna and Tao.”
Fear slithered through me. “The Ania couldn’t mount an attack inside the Brindle. Her magic wouldn’t let them.”
“The Ania couldn’t, no, but the Raziq might well attempt it if these ambushes keep failing.”
And the witches had already warned us that the Brindle had no defenses against the Raziq. “That’s only if they are the ones behind them.”
“They are. I felt their touch behind the Ania this time.”
Well, fuck. I swiped angrily at the blood still dribbling down my cheek. Valdis might have healed the worst head wound when she melted the helmet shards, but there were obviously several smaller ones if the blood was anything to go by. “I guess this means I’m staying at the Langham again—”
“Not the Langham,” he cut in. “You’ve stayed there before, so it would be wise not to risk it.”
I grimaced. Being hunted by minor demons wasn’t half as annoying as missing out on staying at my favorite five-star hotel.
Azriel wrapped his hand around mine and gently pulled me to my feet. “You, Risa Jones,” he said softly, “have a strange way of looking at things.”
