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“Thank you,” I said softly. “But you haven’t actually explained why you can recharge with me, when I’m not a full energy being.”
“No.”
I waited for him to continue, but when it became obvious he wouldn’t, I turned and walked out of the room.
It was the hardest thing I’d ever had to do, given that all I really wanted to do was to wrap myself in Azriel’s arms and let the rest of the world go to hell.
Which was still a very real possibility if we didn’t get to the remaining keys first.
* * *
I was half an hour late by the time I got to Lucian’s. Even though we’d been going against most of the traffic to get into the city, it was still peak hour, and that generally meant madness no matter which side of the road you were on.
I climbed out of the taxi and stared up at the old Victorian building. There were still workmen on-site, despite the fact it was nearing five thirty. Maybe they were making use of daylight savings and trying to get ahead of schedule. My gaze swept the top floor, but I wasn’t sure what I was searching for. The windows were covered by heavy plastic, so even if Lucian had been standing at one of them, I wouldn’t have been able to see him.
I took a deep breath, then released it slowly, but it didn’t do much to ease the tension slithering through me. And standing here wasn’t doing a whole lot for it, either. I waited for a tram to pass, then crossed the road and made my way through the scaffolding into his building.
The old lift rattled upward and came to a bouncing halt at the top floor. The doors groaned open, but it took me several seconds before I could force myself out.
And I wasn’t entirely sure whether the reluctance stemmed from not wanting to meet with the dark sorceress or not wanting to have my suspicions about Lucian confirmed.
Damn it, I liked sex. I especially liked having sex with Lucian. I didn’t want a return to the nun-like state I’d been in before this madness had all begun.
Of course, confirmation that he’d placed a compulsion spell on me wasn’t exactly a deal breaker, but it would worry me. If he was being dishonest about that, then what the hell else was he being dishonest about?
I walked through the clouds of dust that filled the room, my footsteps echoing softly in the vast emptiness. There were no workmen on this floor, just the sound of their jackhammers and whatnot echoing up from the floors below. Lucian’s lemongrass and suede scent filled the sub-layers within the dusty air, but it was entwined with an energy that was uneasy and shadowed. His dark sorceress was here.>“A fancy-dress night sounds a little too tame for your tastes.”
“If you think that, then we obviously need to go. And it will be my extreme pleasure to teach you otherwise.”
“One step at a time,” I said, trying not to smile. “Let’s meet with Lauren, and see how that goes first.”
“So you can get here by five?”
I glanced at the clock. It was close to five now, but it wouldn’t take me that long to get there by taxi. I could travel by Aedh form, but even though I felt a whole lot stronger after eating and sleeping, I wasn’t about to waste energy uselessly. Lucian and his dark sorceress would just have to wait if I was late.
“Depends on the traffic,” I said. “But probably.”
“Good. See you soon.”
I hung up, then tossed the phone in my purse and walked to the bed to retrieve Amaya from under the pillow. Happy, not, she said, as I slung her over my back. Should not leave alone.
It wasn’t my choice to get snatched without you, I replied, then wondered why in the hell I was justifying myself to my own damn sword. Maybe I was going crazy—which would not be surprising given the mess my life was in at the moment.
I made the bed, then slung my purse over my shoulder and headed for the door.
“Risa, don’t go,” Azriel said softly.
Fuck it, Azriel, don’t do this. I stopped. “Why not?”
“Because I do not want you to go.”
I flexed my fingers, and found myself reeling between the desire to do what he asked and the knowledge that what he was asking was wrong. “You were the one who said this quest was more important than anything else. If talking to this dark sorcereress gets us closer to the keys, then we have to do it.”
“I am not talking about the keys. I am talking about you and Lucian.”
“Lucian has his place in this search, whether you like it or not.”
“It is not so much his place in this search that I object to.”
