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Alicia shook her head. “Witches do love their dramatic arrivals and exits, don’t they?”
I must have looked very pale and shocked because she came directly to my side and put her cool hand on my arm.
“Don’t worry, Thierry will be fine,” she assured me.
“He just got poofed away,” I said, my mouth dry.
“The witches here call it transporting, but if you ask me, poofed is a better description. Now, come, sit down. Try to breathe. Have some tea. It’s actually delicious.”
She guided me to my chair and poured a cup of tea for me. I took it with trembling fingers and sipped from the cup. She was right, it was very good. Not a forbidden, gut-destroying Pumpkin Spice Latte, but still. Pretty damn good.
While I wasn’t thrilled that Thierry didn’t tell me the whole truth about this assignment, I knew his hands were tied. The Ring elders didn’t particularly like me to begin with, thinking I was a troublemaker. Which, of course, I was. I was still trying to figure out a way for Thierry to break his contract, which currently had him in the position of traveling consultant for the next fifty years.
That timeline didn’t really work for me.
I was the troublemaking, bad influence on a master vampire the Ring clearly wanted to draw back into the fold—a fold of ancient, powerful men making life or death decisions on behalf of vampires all around the world while safely perched on their fancy golden thrones.
I’d never been to the Ring headquarters (I knew it was somewhere in California but didn’t know much more than that), but I liked to imagine that there were golden thrones there. Maybe even a dragon or two. But this was probably due to my recent binge of Game of Thrones.
“Have you ever been to the Ring headquarters?” I asked aloud.
“No,” Alicia replied. “Why, have you?”
“No. It’s kind of cloaked in secrets, isn’t it?”
“And covered in secret sauce,” she agreed.
I eyed her. “That sounds like something I’d say.”
She grinned. “I know being witness to the level of hocus-pocus you just saw is a bit of a shock if you’re not used to it. It’s kind of like a Las Vegas show on acid.”
“Are you used to it?” I asked.
“Not really. But I’ve been around longer than you. After another century, just imagine all the things you’ll have experienced.”
“I try not to think that far ahead,” I admitted, and scanned the empty diner. “So. What do you do for fun in this town? It seems I have a few hours to kill.”
Alicia gave a dismissive wave. “Oh, I’m done with Assjacket now. I got exactly what I needed.”
My gaze snapped back to hers, hyper-focusing on any clues to her choice to come here in the first place. “That’s great. Congrats. So, if you’re in no hurry to go back to your husband, now what?”
She gave me a broad smile. “Let’s just say I’m a woman with big plans.”
I got the feeling that she wanted to talk, which would be incredibly helpful in finding out about her alleged, but potentially evil boyfriend. And since it seemed we shared a similar sense of humor, that might help establish a nice rapport here.
I felt a sudden and very strong urge to impress Thierry with my sleuthing abilities on this assignment. It was my birthday in a couple of weeks, and I really wanted to earn a big, sparkly birthday present.
A diamond bracelet would be lovely. But if I got to unwrap it on a Hawaiian beach during a tardy-but-welcome honeymoon, it would be even lovelier.
I mean, a girl could dream.
“Big plans, you say?” I asked casually. “Okay, you’ve piqued my curiosity. If you need a friendly ear, I actually have two of them available right now.”
Alicia regarded me for a moment in silence. “First, give me your opinion, Sarah. Do you think I should go back to my husband like he wants me to?”
I decided to answer her seriously, which probably wouldn’t be the same answer that Thierry would give. “I think you should do whatever makes you happy. It’s your life.”
