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Sitting at the vanity, she traced her fingertips over the smooth marble, the soft silk scarves, and the engraved edges of a jewelry box. Everything had been lined up in neat, angular rows except a compact that had been tossed in the center of the arranged face creams, spa products, and spelled charms.
The compact seemed out of place. As slim as an antique case for business cards, the jewels on its cover looked real enough for her dragon brother to have horded them. She swung the small silver case open on its hinges to find a cracked mirror inside.Huh. Someone had gone to a lot of trouble for a fancy case to keep a broken piece of glass. She glanced at her reflection, ignoring the splintered section running through the middle. The mirror swirled and faded into a view of another room with gold décor.
“Alexei?” a woman’s voice called. “Hold on, cousin.” A familiar face came into closeup view, the same face that’d graced the magazine covers on the wall along the hallway—straight dark hair, perfect skin, violet eyes. “You’re not Alexei.” Her tone had gone teasing, yet the humor made it no less intimidating. “How’d you get this mirror?”
Joelle’s mouth went dry.Busted.“Vori.” The supermodel’s name had filled entire sections ofThe Hex Report.
“You’re in my room which means you know Josh, right?”
“I’m his sister.”
Vori grinned. “The one Alexei and Diego saved from the Order? Wait. Let me sit down. Pregnancy and political problems kicked my ass today.” The woman moved farther back until her full body was visible including the crown on her head and a rounded belly that hadn’t made any of the magazine spreads, advertisements, or paparazzi photos.
“You’re expecting a baby?” Joy edged out Joelle’s fear and guilt. “What wonderful news.”
“Twins. The future of goblin royalty right here incubating and kicking my bladder like a soccer ball at the World Cup finals.”
“Sorry to have been in your room. I swear I didn’t go through your things.”Lame. She sounded so pitiful.
“What do I care?” The goblin royal shook her head. “I’m the queen of a realm closed to yours so unless you know someone who can jump dimensions—”
“No. Other than the voodoo priestesses of New Orleans, some immortals, and now witch royals, I haven’t met many magic-born.”
“Don’t forget a demon prince.” The queen rubbed a hand over her belly. “Alexei couldn’t shut up about you.”
“Really?” Finally, she’d met someone she could say her rescuer’s name in front of and not get told to hush and—wait,wait, WAIT,he had talked about her? Joelle’s heart gave a hard thump and her stomach filled with a happy flutter of excitement. What if he had thought about her as much as she’d obsessed over him? But no, he would’ve called or asked or done something to let her know since he’d been in the city working with her brother and new eager-to-adopt-her family.
“How is my cousin anyway?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t heard from Alexei since he flew off to take on whatever demon princess—” She wouldn’t sound jealous. Shewouldn’t. “Since the helicopter arrived.”
Vori frowned, narrowing her eyes. “He hasn’t called you? Hasn’t it been months?”
“Yeah.” Not that she needed the reminder of the hours, days, weeks that he hadn’t reached out when he’d been the star of her every daydream and stray thought since she’d left him. “Perhaps he’s been busy.” She refused to go with the explanation she’d seen in one of the movies she’d binge-watched since her escape, becausehe’s not into youseemed a cruel taunt.
“Busy?” Vori cut the word in an accent that made it seem to have spiky edges. “Your world has faced a Senate massacre and riots led by the Order in that time. Hell, I’ve taken over an entire realm, become the reincarnation of a blood queen, and gotten knocked up with the future rulers of a dimension since he came home talking about you. No one can be thatbusy.” Her voice dripped with disgust on the last.
Joelle didn’t know what to say. How could she answer when she had no idea what he’d been doing in the time since she’d seen him because he certainly hadn’t shared? She’d figured she had inflated the importance of his every word, every touch, every look because she’d been so captivated by him.
The goblin queen leaned back in a golden throne and stared off in the distance as if she didn’t need an answer because she already possessed them all. “He must have left the mirror the last time he came to the penthouse for a meeting. It would explain why he hasn’t bugged me about my pregnancy. He’s overprotective, you know?”
ThisJoelle felt safe to answer. The way he’d insisted she be carried so as not to cut her feet, how he’d shielded her, the threats he’d made against Diego to keep her safe. “Oh, I know.”
“Which means he’ll be searching everywhere for that mirror, as only two exist in your world that allow contact with my realm. He’ll be at a premiere party for the witch power players tonight.”
“The one Josh went to.” It had to be.
“Your brother didn’t take you with him?”
“It’s invitation only, and I wasn’t invited.”
The queen waved a jeweled hand. “Parties are made for crashing.”
“I wouldn’t know how. I’ve never been to a party except one the New Orleans priestesses put on forRéveillon, and they hosted the feast at their home where I stayed.” They had introduced her to their friends, connections, valuable sources of information, anyone who might know more about her family. The tables had sagged under the heavy weight of gumbo, oysters, lobster,grilladesand grits, and acroquembouchethat towered above the platters and plates. But after the guests had apologized for having no knowledge of her parentage, Joelle had been excused back to her locked room to be guarded like a treasure.
“Why did voodoo priestesses allow you into their home?”
“Because one brought me with her to New Orleans as her guest. Reeve’s a friend of Mina’s.”
