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The goblin queen stared at her as if she’d announced something spectacular. “Reeve LaVay’s more than an international celebrity. She’s their heir and the most powerful sorceress in the world.”
“She wanted to help me find my family.”
Vori’s gaze softened. “I thought Josh was your family.”
“The Order kidnapped us both as children, but we didn’t come from the same home. I don’t know who orwhatI am. If I can discover where I come from, I can find my blood family. I stole origin information from the Order’s archives, but nothing in it helped.”
“You and Alexei make quite the pair. To him, family matters more than anything, and if he knows you have information on the origin of supernaturals, he’ll stop at nothing to get it.”
“Anything? Including agreeing to see me again?”
She laughed, a throaty chuckle with a snort that sounded so ordinary andnormalcompared to her beauty. “Oh, you’re going to that party tonight even if I have to play the part of your magical goblin godmother from across realms.”
Like Cinderella in the fairy tale. She smiled, thinking Vori will make a good mother to those babies she protected already with a sheltering arm draped across her stomach. Regal and perfect in a sleek, dark gown that clung to her belly, she looked as though she could stroll into any party she wanted. But Joelle? She glanced down at the fraying hem at her ankle, the stains on her shirt. “I don’t have anything to wear.”
“I abandoned racks of designer clothes. Feel free to take them. You leave the party to me. I’m mirror-messaging Alexei’s sister. She’ll help us pull this off.”
“How? I don’t even know the access codes to the penthouse’s security system.” In an emergency, she could probably leave the apartment, but getting back inside? That would be trickier.
“Give me a minute. I’ll be back. Don’t close the mirror.” Vori shook her head. “Alexei will be pissed to know they’ve locked his angel princess in yet another tower.”
Angel? Princess? Joelle hadn’t ever been either of those things. Yet a half hour later, with the goblin queen still supervising, a woman as short as Joelle opened the door and strode inside the penthouse as if she owned it. She was the other woman from the photograph in Vori’s room. Alexei’s sister. She looked nothing like him—tiny in comparison to his massive size, coffee-colored eyes rather than his light brown ones, brown hair streaked with eye-popping blue instead of his black.
“Hiya, Vori. Miss you, cuz,” she called into the mirror Joelle held. “I can take over from here.”
The goblin queen grinned. “I expect photos and a full update tomorrow. Make Joelle hot enough that whoever writes that awfulHex Reportwill be dying to find out who she is.”
“I’m on it. Clock’s ticking, and I need to get your princess there well before midnight or we’ll miss part of the concert. I want to be front row for Witch’s Bane. Later, cousin. Love ya.” The woman blew a kiss at both compacts and snapped them shut with a click, cutting off the connection.
Joelle frowned, needing to be honest before the woman got the wrong idea. “I’m no princess. Unlike Vori, I wasn’t born a royal.”
“Sounds like you don’t know your birth family. Maybe you’re an empress or the angel that Alexei seems to think you are. Either way, I’m Alys, and I’m here to give you a makeover before your big party.” She tucked one of the vivid blue streaks that ran through her dark hair behind an ear. “My lady love will meet us there. She’s finishing up a project at her magical bookshop.”
Joelle was sure she’d heard the last part wrong. “A magical bookshop? But wouldn’t that expose us to the humans?”
“Please,” Alys drawled. “It’s exclusively for our kind, warded up the ass, and the owner would sic her hellhounds on anyone there who she didn’t like. My mate works there.”
“Is she a demon hybrid like you and your brother?” Fascinating. Joelle couldn’t wait to ask more questions.
But Alys stopped her with one of her own. “You got a problem with demon hybrids? If so, speak now because I’m not helping with this little scheme if you want to go high and mighty species-hater like most of the witches.”
“What? No. How could I favor one species over another when I have no clue what I am, what my parents might be? And Alexei…” She gave in to the dreamy sigh that had lingered since the last time she’d seen him. “Your brother has the most glorious wings.”
“Okay.” The woman drawled out the word. “I hear yours does too, but I won’t go boy crazy on your dragon bro.” Alys wrinkled her nose. “Geez, you must’ve gotten smacked with the destiny stick as bad as Alexei did. Come on. Let’s see what I can find in Vori’s closet that we can make work for you. As long as you don’t talk about my brother’s wings or any other body part, I’ll get you to your ball in time to see your demon prince.”
ChapterFive
Alexei hadn’t wanted to attend a reality show’s premiere party, but two of the most powerful witch families in the world had a stake in the outcome of tonight’s event. When they’d received death threats from an operative of the Order, it’d become a supernatural situation that needed handling by the main political players of the three major species. The alpha shifter for this region nodded at him from across the crowd.
The historic hotel ballroom overlooking the Pacific Ocean that’d been booked forCelebrity Matchmaker’s wrap partybrought old-school glamour to what might’ve otherwise been a tawdry edition of a movie set for a prom scene. Huge lighting rigs looked out of place next to the multitiered crystal chandelier. With its velvet curtains, the stage that dominated one side of the ballroom could’ve been used to present actual plays. Yet the cutting-edge sound system and wires taped to the hardwood floor supported the rumors that Witch’s Bane would perform as the main event. Long windows framed in intricate art deco designs flanked the rest of the room in a large circle with a view from the cliffs above the ocean.
Along with the red carpet for guests who’d wished their arrival to be noticed—guests other than Alexei and the supernatural special invites—and the extras paid to cheer loudly as people arrived, security ringed the entire hotel. Large concrete barricades separated the party and staging area from the streets. Tents had been set up to shield certain spaces from helicopters or low-flying planes. Invitees had been notified in advance that vehicles would require off-site parking which was why most attendees, including Alexei, had been chauffeured.
The production company had paid local police agencies overtime, and officers had been stationed almost every ten feet with patrols on foot, horseback, motorcycle, and in an armored vehicle ready for anything after the riots caused by the Order. He’d fought alongside the witches against those humans who had incited terror, arson, and violence that’d killed dozens and burned entire neighborhoods. Millions of lives had been impacted which explained why former witch Senate guards now scanned the grounds closest to the hotel. Alexei wanted to rip something apart at the injustice that the Order had dealt so many.
He needed to get through tonight without any surprises. Then he, the witches, and the shifters could come to terms on how to run Los Angeles now that the Senate had fallen and the new witch leaders swore they wanted a more cooperative ruling body that accepted all species of magic-born. Yeah, right. As if there’d ever been a witch who believed in this “kinder, gentler” bullshit.
The leader of the new generation of witch power arrived in a sequined number that looked like she’d worn her magical element. Mina Donovan held her dragon mate’s arm. Oh, how Alexei wanted to pummel the man. Sure, the guy had won countless illegal prize fights and his beast form might be the size of a building. Still, in demon prince form with his magic, Alexei could take him. Not that he would test his theory tonight since they’d agreed to peace until this craziness with the Order died down.
