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When he spoke, his voice came out tight and a tiny bit terrifying. “The same woman who tortured you and burned the witch—she had a hand in Alys’s kidnapping?”
“Yes.” She didn’t know whether to babble on about the discussion she’d had with Alys about the conspiracy. The tension in his jaw and the way he curled his fingers into fists at her side made her nervous. “Noxx is a horrible human being, and we haven’t figured out why she let the witches have Alys instead of killing her outright.” Not the thing to tell the woman’s brother, she realized when a tic in his cheek jumped.
“But you have a theory?” He ground out the question that seemed more a command than a request.
“I think my jailer had hoped to…”Don’t say interrogate. “Ask Alys about her research since Noxx studies supernaturals like she thinks she can pick apart what makes us different from humans.” She reached for his hand, taking a chance on the buzz of her magic when she touched him. If the connection soothed her, perhaps it could do the same for him. “Hey, your sister’s okay—more than okay. She kicked my butt daily with her lessons. With her ambition and drive, the woman could lead the takeover of a small country and people would still love her.”
“Yeah, that’s Alys.” He relaxed his grip and caught her fingers in his, giving a quick squeeze before letting go. “Want to make your notes here or in the kitchen while I cook for you?”
She noticed he hadn’t given her a choice about dinner, remembered what Eddie had said about Alexei cooking to work through stress, and decided not to argue. Funny, she wouldn’t have considered fighting about something so trivial before meeting him, but he made her want to push boundaries. He’d been away for days, and she didn’t want to sit in the library by herself when she could spend time with him. No need punishing him when doing so would hurt her. She switched off her music, and the silence around them made the lingering tension so thick it almost choked her. “I’ll work in there.” She pushed the words through a dry throat.
“What do you need?”
“My notebooks.” The ones his sister had decorated with stickers of a cartoon unicorn drinking wine. “And the pen case.”
Glancing toward the bag with the black and pink skull, he looked as though he tried to hide a smile, the corners of his mouth tugging up. “Did Alys add the bow and horns to the skull?”
“She did.” The woman found something humorous in everything.
“My sister doesn’t trust anyone outside our father’s kingdom, but she has adopted you.”
Joelle felt lighter at the sweetness of the sentiment. “She’s my first friend.” Guilt hit her, the same as it had again and again since she’d learned Alys had been yet another of Noxx’s supernatural targets. “I’m sorry for what the Order did to her.”
“Not your fault. You didn’t have anything to do with it. But what I want to know is why you assume I wasn’t already invested in wiping out the Order?”
Her brother’s words ran on a repeat loop in her head.He doesn’t have that kind of personal stake in keeping you safe. You aren’thisto protect.The truth had stung. Alexei wouldn’t claim her, wouldn’t have a true reason to protect her, yet perhaps he could be persuaded to help her stop Noxx if he believed he did so for Alys.
She wanted to avoid Alexei’s question, to apologize and move on, but the searching look he gave her suggested he wouldn’t let her do either of those things. “Someone hinted that, like any good businessman or leader, you might be more willing to follow through with a promise if you had a personal interest.”There. She’d threaded as much diplomacy into the explanation as she could.
His stare took on a cold edge, and she wanted to rewind and redo this entire conversation. Only a few minutes with the man and she’d managed to make him angry again. She’d spent her life reading the emotions of others, anticipating their reactions, and acting with logical detachment to defend herself. So why had she lost those honed abilities in less than a half an hour with Alexei?
“I told you I keep my promises.” He leaned closer. “Who says I didn’t already have a personal vendetta against the Order?” His voice came out softer, the effect menacing.
It would’ve terrified her if she didn’t know him. Deep down, the man had an unshakeable code of honor. He might leave her, but he wouldn’t physically hurt her. Refusing to back away, she met his question with one of her own. “What motive for revenge would you have had other than to defend your people or your family?”
“Other than the fact the Order came to my city and destroyed so much that I can still smell smoke in the air every time I go outside?You. I promised when we first met that I would avenge you.” He sounded so solemn. As if she’d hurt him by doubting him. “I hold myself to that vow.” Each word reeled her in.
“Why?” she asked. “Why would you put yourself and your people in such danger for me?”
“Because I would tear apart anyone who caused you pain.”
She wanted to believe him so badly, but the last time she had dared, he’d left. “Want to start with the guy who ghosted me after my first kiss?” She shot him a knowing look.You, you big, wonderful dummy.
He swore so low and fast in Russian that she couldn’t catch half the words. “I’ll make it up to you.” His expression shut down, and she knew she should leave it, yet she couldn’t.
“But you won’t explain why you took off? What was so awful that you had to leave without a goodbye?”
“I did it to protect you.”
“From what?” She gestured to the silence around them. “I’m staying in your warded house, in your warehouse, or with my brother’s witch girlfriend and her security—all with Eddie and sometimes with Alys. No one can get to me. While I’m super grateful, there’s no threat.”
“Me.” Alexei damn near snarled, his gaze going hot with something more than anger.Agony. “I needed to save you from me.” The ache in his confession tugged at her heart.
“I don’t need saving.” She wouldn’t let him pull away. Reaching up, she traced a light touch over his jaw, not flinching when he tensed as if she might hit him. Magic flared at her fingertips. “Certainly not from you.”
Ferocity flickered in his expression that she couldn’t read. Sadness? Regret? Leaving her alone for a few days couldn’t have caused such an extreme reaction. No, she must have missed an important piece of this complicated, ever-evolving puzzle ofthem. But what? He looked away before she could sort through the possibilities, grabbing her notebooks and pen bag as if the rest of their conversation hadn’t happened. He stopped at his desk, his shoulders bunching with sudden tension as though whatever unspoken heaviness he carried came crashing down.
She wanted to heal his hurt, but how could she soothe something she couldn’t see?
