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“He was attacking. I am a beheading sort of woman . . .”
“Course you are, Crowe.” Gary sighed. “Anything else?”
“Let the Con Crew know,” I said, disconnecting as Eli’s car slid to a stop.
My fiancé was out of the car and stomping toward me with an expression I’d rarely seen.
“I can explain,” I started.
Eli glanced at Ally. “Thank you for the disaster notification. It was appreciated, albeit later than acceptable.”
She curtsied. “I couldn’t stop that”—she pointed to the corpse—“but I couldn’t let it go inside after the boss.”
“Understood.” Eli turned to me. “Why was there adraugrin daylight?”
“No clue.” I shrugged, hoping he didn’t ask what was inside.
But he didn’t have to because Iggy asked, “Do you think that creature was what slaughtered the people inside?”
I winced.
“Slaughtered . . .” Eli looked from me to Iggy and back to me. If a look could sting this was it. Ice hung in his words as he prompted, “Geneviève?”
I turned to Ally. “Would you please go home? I cannot focus on what’s next while worrying over you.”
“Are you mad at me?” Ally asked, glancing at Eli before looking back at me.
“Not at all.” I smiled, hoping I sounded convincing. I wasn’t. Not really, but I was frustrated in the whole situation.
Iggy straightened his lapels again. “Well, Let us—”
“Go with Ally,” I interrupted. “I need to know she’s safe, and I cannot explainyouto the police, Iggy.”
I watched them get into her sedan and depart before turning to Eli. “So . . . hi.”
“Geneviève.” Eli’s tone was frigid. His use of my actual name always meant that we had witnesses or that he was being serious.
And we had no witnesses other than the headless corpse on the sidewalk.
Chapter Eight
“I wasn’t expecting trouble . . .”I started after a long tense moment. I didn’t take a step toward him, despite my worry that this conversation would lead to words we couldn’t erase. That fear hung in my mind larger than the moment. Words said hastily were still said, and if we quarreled, the cost could be our entire relationship. The result was that I stared mutely at him.
“Geneviève?” he prompted. “Do you care to explain why Alice called me screaming?”
“She was in danger, notme.” It was a weak excuse, but it was the best I had. I gestured toward the house. “That was just unexpected.”
“The slaughter inside?” he prompted, and I made a mental note to talk to Iggy about boundaries again.
“No one could expect what is in the house.” I walked away, figuring Eli would come with me or leave me there until that flicker of rage was quenched.
He followed me into the yard, and the entire place shifted. Seeing Eli in that overgrown yard when his temper was sparking would be enough to disprove any thoughts that he was only half-fae, which was the rumor he encouraged. Eli was far from human. Plants twisted, sprouting tendrils that reached toward him. Grasses wove themselves into a pathway, and the serpents in those tall grasses paused for his crossing.
The fae were one with nature in a way that was seamless. Witches could connect to nature through will and the occasional spell or blood. My peculiar jumble of witch anddraugrgenes made me sensitive to energy in odd ways. No one, no being, other than the fae could do as Eli just had.
Which meant his magic was unbound.
Which meant he was furious.
