Page 36

Dukovich chuckled, bowing to Pri. “I would not dream of getting in your way.”

She scoffed, turning toward the coffee kettle sitting in the center of the table and refilling her cup.

“From what I am hearing, there has been a rise in active—” Shrieks began exploding from Pri’s lungs, her coffee flying from her mug as it crashed to the floor, shattering on contact.

The screams leaving Pri’s lips drowned out the profanities Dukovich hissed into the air as the steaming liquid from her cup connected with his eyes. His hands flew up to his face as my head whipped around frantically searching for the threat.

Another screech left Pri’s mouth as a dagger came flying by my cheek, heading for the rat scurrying across the floor.

“Pri!” I shouted, grabbing her wrist before she could fling another blade in its direction.

“You two are fucking insane,” Dukovich growled as he pumped the spigot and ran his eyes under the water.

“Where is it,” Pri snapped, her eyes wildly scanning the room.

I glanced between them, my heart racing from the complete chaos that had just broken out and laughed.

I clutched my stomach, buckling over as cackles rolled from my throat. Pri’s eyes shot to me, her brows pulling together and as I tried to speak another laugh detonated out of me.

“I’m—” Another, cackle bellowed from my lungs and I grabbed the table’s ledge to stabilize myself. I sucked in a sharp breath, blowing it out between rounded lips in an effort to calm the hysterics. “I’m sorry,” I breathed. “But, we are a bit insane.”

I grinned at Pri and a smile broke across her face as she beamed back at me. I couldn’t remember the last time I had laughed, really laughed like this. And it felt . . .good.

Dukovich’s gaze bounced between the two of us.

“You two, supposedly lethal women, who will shed blood for the fun of it, are afraid of a rat?” Dukovich said, bringing his chin up to the ceiling as he placed a wet cloth over his burned face.

“I hope that burn scars,” Pri sang, lowering herself off the chair she had sprang onto as her eyes narrowed on the edges of the floor.

“Apparently, it is not a rat,” I said as I sat into a wooden dining chair Landers had occupied. “According to Andrues, it is my familiar.”

Dukovich’s head snapped to me, the rag falling to the floor with a loud slap as he gaped at me.

“You have . . . a familiar?” he questioned, now searching the floor for any sign of it.

“That is what I have been told.” My voice was unamused as I answered, pulling a dagger from my belt and twirling it through my fingers.

“Do you have any idea how rare they are? The power that they have? They have not been seen in centuries,” he snapped.

“Again, that is what I have been told.”

“This familiar,” Pri said slowly as her eyes focused under the table, “wouldn’t happen to shape shift would it?”

“Of course it can,” Dukovich shot back, his gaze following Pri’s. “They can take on any animal form.”

The low hum of a purr sounded from beneath the table and in the next second an orange, long-haired cat bounded onto mylap. It pressed its body to my chest, rubbing against me before curling up atop my thighs. Dukovich moved forward, his hand reaching out to touch it and it hissed.

“Good kitty.” I crooned, smirking up at him and dragging my nails down its back.

“Well,” Pri started, flicking her fingers toward the shattered mug still lingering on the kitchen floor. “This has been an interesting turn of events, but we should get started.”

I nodded, standing as the cat leapt off my lap and stretched.

We followed her down the narrow hallway of her home. Tapestries and paintings hung on the bright yellow wall between large windows that gave way to natural light and I slid my fingers over them as we approached her study.

She pushed the door open, and stepped through the arched entrance. Dukovich ducked in behind us, his mouth falling open at the sheer amount of information, maps, and weapons that scattered the room. Correspondence from her sources, travel plans, and meeting briefings were stacked around the room, the parchment blowing softly against the wind of the open window. Pri strode across the room and reached her arm through the opening, pulling the glass shut. I flicked the tips of my fingers toward the fireplace as she cleared off a few chairs and the flames began to heat the cluttered space.

“Do not touch anything,” she said to Dukovich, eying him as she pointed to the armchair she had just emptied. He sat, leaning into the chair and resting his chin on a fist as I flipped through the pages laying on the desk in front of the window.