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“No,” Kiandra agreed. “But Ilianna does. There are many reasons she ran from us. What she witnessed when young was the excuse but not the truth.”
I rubbed my forehead wearily. Fate, it seemed, had been brewing her plans for us all for a very long time. “Look, right now, all I want to do is rescue her. Did you find her?”
“Yes. And you were right—great magic holds her.”
“Meaning we won’t get past it?”
“Meaning that neither you nor your dark defender will. It is aimed at energy beings rather than mere flesh and blood.”
“So Tao and Carwyn would get past it?”
“I suspect so.” She hesitated. “There are beings within who guard her, but I could gain no true sense of them. They may or may not be human.”
“Well, neither are Tao and Carwyn, and both are pretty pissed off right now.”
She nodded. “It may be enough. Just tell them not to go in all guns blazing, because that will have dire consequences.”
For Ilianna, I thought, not for them. I swallowed and nodded. “I’ll pass on the message.”
She nodded. “She is being held in an abandoned warehouse in Link Court, Brooklyn. The magic lies within the building, not along the perimeter.”
“Meaning they’d need to be wary of other security measures?”
“Yes.” She moved past me and led the way back through the warren of shadowed, powerful corridors. When we neared the front door, she stopped and lightly touched my shoulder. “Be careful, Risa Jones. There are more games being played than you realize.”
My smile was almost a grimace. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
“There are two people in your life who are in reality one, and their deception goes deeper than you think.”
I blinked. “What do you mean?”
She half shrugged. “What I see is not always clear. But I would suspect that a shape-shifter of some kind has entered your life.”
“There is—he stole the first key. It’s tracking the bastard that is proving the problem.”
“Then perhaps you should start looking closer to home.”
I frowned. “Are you saying it’s a friend?”
She hesitated. “Acquaintance, perhaps. As I said, these things are not always clear.”
Then I wished she hadn’t mentioned it, because now I’d be looking at everyone suspiciously and suspecting the worse. But I forced a smile and said, “Thanks. I’ll keep an eye out.”
She nodded and, with one eloquent gesture, ushered me out of the building. But I was aware of her gaze as I ran down the steps, and it made my back itch. She knew more than what she’d said; of that much I was sure.
Azriel appeared near the bottom step. “You were successful?”
“Yes. Now we just need to plot our next move.”
“Back to your apartment, then.”
“No. I need to go see Aunt Riley. She’s the expert in this sort of stuff. As much as I hate to do it, I think I need to bring her in rather than risk using only Tao and Carwyn.”
“And once again, you do something thoroughly sensible. There is hope for you yet, I think.”
I grinned. “Don’t say that too loud. Wouldn’t want the word getting around and spoiling my reputation.”
“Your secret is safe with me.” He wrapped his arms around my waist, dropped a kiss on my nose, then zapped us across to my aunt’s.
