Page 4 of A City of Hearts and Feathers (The Order of Anubis #1)

CHAPTER FOUR

T ears were running down Zoe's cheeks, and she couldn't make them stop. The bookstore was exactly as she had remembered it, down to the most minute details. The air smelled of sandalwood incense and books. Bright red and blue carpets covered the wood floors, and the shelves were stacked with leatherbound tomes in no clear order.

Behind the polished counter and antique cash register was the door that led to her father's study. Zoe quickly looked away from it, a sob breaking free from her. She couldn't go through that door. Not yet. She shouldn't have come and ripped herself open to the past that never stayed dead.

Zoe scrubbed the tears from her cheeks. She needed to get herself together. She carried her suitcase up the stairs to the three-bedroom apartment she had grown up in. Like the bookstore, nothing had changed. A faded pink and yellow banner hanging up over the kitchen archway exclaimed, Happy 10 th Birthday!

It was like Zoe had stepped into a film of her memories, and the bizarre horror of it was overwhelming her. She opened the door to her old room, took one look at the moon and stars bedspread, and quickly shut it again.

Zoe hurried into the bathroom and splashed water on her face, smearing away what remained of the makeup she had put on.

"You're okay," she whispered, rubbing her biceps to self soothe. "You're okay. You're okay. It's going to be fine. It's only a few days."

A knock at the shop's door downstairs made her jump, and she swore. Maybe Kerem had forgotten to give her something.

Like a return ticket back to London , she thought glumly.

Zoe hurried down the stairs to answer the door and hoped she didn't look too deranged. Three people she vaguely recognized were waiting for her outside and arguing in Turkish.

"Zoe! She is here at last!" a soft, short woman said. She had gray through her hair, but she was still the same when she smiled.

"Aunt Belkis?" Zoe asked and was instantly pulled into a rose water scented embrace.

"My girl, my girl, you grew up so beautiful!" Belkis crowed and held her out at arm's length. "Oh, my, you look like Oman though. Your eyes are exactly the same as his."

"Out of the way, anne . We want to hug our cousin too," the other woman said. She was a few years younger than Zoe and was stunning in a bright red dress.

"Azize? Oh, my god," Zoe replied, hugging her. She hadn't seen or talked to her cousins since she left. Guilt suddenly clawed in her stomach.

"And me, Emre, the one that missed you the most," Emre said, putting his arms around both of them and squeezing. "It's your birthday, cousin, so we are here to take you out."

"How did you know I was even here? I've just arrived! Did Kerem tell you?" Zoe said, sandwiched between them all. It was overwhelming in the nicest way.

"We knew you were meant to inherit the shop today, so we hoped he would bring you back. Are you okay, love?" Belkis asked, holding Zoe's face in her soft hands. She studied her so intently, Zoe couldn't lie to her.

"Not really, but it's good to be back. Come in, please. I don't know if there is tea upstairs. Kerem said the place had been cleaned, but I don't know what else is up there," Zoe said.

"We have it covered. Emre, Azi, go get the bags from the car," Belkis said, waving her children out and stepping inside the store. Her dark eyes scanned the shelves. "This is spooky. I knew the place got locked up, but nothing has changed."

"I know. It's so strange. My birthday sign is still hanging up," Zoe replied, and Belkis's patted her arm.

"We can take it down if it upsets you. This is your home now. Let's see about that tea, hmm?" she said, and they headed back up the stairs.

Within minutes, Zoe found herself sitting at the kitchen counter as her estranged aunt and cousins took over. They bought in bags of groceries, made tea, and produced a semolina cake from one of the containers. A lump formed in her throat as they placed a piece down in front of her.

"It isn't a birthday without cake," Emre said, winking at her behind his glasses.

Little things she hadn't thought about in years were rushing back to her. He and Zoe had fought over which books were best as children. She had won the fights because she had been bigger, but Emre knew how to bite. The gangly boy had grown up so tall and handsome.

"Where is Uncle Zeki?" Zoe asked.

"Still working. We didn't want to wait for him," Azize said between a mouthful of cake. Her dark eyes were lined, and her lips were as red as her dress. She, too, had grown up stunning. It made Zoe hyperaware of her smeared makeup and the dirty travel clothes she was still wearing.

"We wanted to make sure you felt welcome on your first night back," Belkis insisted, bringing her back to herself. "The children want to take you dancing and start you off celebrating."

"Oh, please no. I dance terribly," Zoe said quickly, holding her hands up.

Emre smiled brightly. "So do we! It's going to be fun!"

"It's sweet of you both, but I really should stay in," Zoe replied.

Which was true, and yet three hours later, she was standing at a bar, waiting for another round of drinks. Her cousins were an impossible force when they were in agreement with something, and Zoe had no defenses against it.

Upbeat Arabic pop was blaring overhead, and she felt too old to be around so many bright-faced young people. Her cousins had been persuasive, and she really didn't want to be alone.

Azize had gone through her suitcase and put together an outfit before doing her hair and makeup. All the while Emre and Belkis chatted happily to her about everything and nothing that had been going on with the family and Emre's university.

The cousins had then taken her out to clubs one district over, and Zoe was on her way to being gloriously drunk. It had been a long time, and it was good to let go for once. Something silver flashed in the corner of Zoe's eye, and she looked up at the man on the other side of the bar.

His golden eyes held her gaze and then looked away, as if he hadn't been watching her. Zoe was drunk enough to smile back awkwardly. He was gorgeous with curling brown hair that tumbled down his broad shoulders to the center of his chest. He had a clipped beard and nicely shaped lips that she found herself staring at.

Wow, they don't make them like that in England, she thought dreamily.

Tattoos crept down both of his arms, but when he lifted his hand to have another drink, Zoe's world tilted on its axis. Inked on the back of one of his hands was an anatomical heart and on the other was a feather. For a split second she saw them covered in blood, her father's body in his arms.

Zoe swayed and shut her eyes. It's your mind playing tricks on you. It's because it's your birthday and you're back in this city of all your nightmares.

Emre touched her shoulder, making her startle. "Hey, easy girl. You okay?"

"Yes. No. I'm actually going to call it a night," Zoe said, and she dared look to the end of the bar. No man with tattoos the same as her father's killer. She really needed to stop drinking.

"I can get Azi and—" Emre began, but Zoe stopped him.

"No, please. Stay and have a good night. I'll just go back to the shop. It's a short walk," she said and then hugged him tight. "Thank you for this. I really needed it. Don't be strangers, okay?"

"We are family. We don't know how to be strangers. Message us tomorrow?" he said and kissed her cheek.

"I will. Say goodbye to Azi for me. Don't let her go home with anyone seedy," Zoe replied, letting him go.

"Don't worry. She's not interested in a hook-up. Her heart lies elsewhere, but she will tell no one who it's with." Emre laughed and rolled his eyes. "Oh, if you get lost, head for Galata, and you'll find your feet again."

"Will do. Thanks, Emre." Zoe did a quick scan of the people around her. No tattooed stranger. She hurried through the crowd towards the doors and into the night air. She took some steady breaths and let the warm humidity comfort her as she walked. She had missed the heat so much.

Zoe took out her phone and made sure she was going in the right direction. Emre might trust using Galata Tower as a reference point, but she would rely on technology first.

The streets were well lit with restaurants, bars, and hotels. The footpaths were dangerously narrow, but she managed to stay on them and not fall down any stairs that led to basement establishments.

Alcohol was singing through her, easing the tension her birthday always caused. She wasn't usually an anxious person. She prided herself on how level-headed she had turned out, considering who her mother was.

The day had been weird but also good. So she had inherited a bookstore and hallucinated her father's murderer was drinking at a bar? It wasn't the worst birthday she'd ever had.

Zoe thought of her cousins and smiled. Did she dare hope that she had some living family that cared about her? Sweet cousins who didn't want her to be alone and had brought her cake. It was such a small thing, but it meant so much to her. She couldn't remember the last time she had cake for her birthday.

Zoe roamed the streets, a half-smile on her face. For the first time, she wanted to remember her childhood. There had to be good things that had happened to her, like playing with Emre and Azi, that she had pushed out with the bad.

Maybe it was the alcohol, but now that Zoe had stopped freaking out about it, she thought Istanbul was going to be good for her. She needed a refresh, and she liked the warmer spring.

Zoe checked her phone again and turned onto the street of the bookstore.

"Hey, pretty lady! Pretty lady!" a man called to her.

"No, thanks. I'm okay," she said, thinking he was trying to sell her something or get her into the restaurant. She looked up and realized that he was following her.

"Please, I must speak with you," he said, and she picked up her pace.

"Flattered, but no."

"Zoe Kartal, you will stop walking and listen to me," he replied, his voice shifting to something commanding. His eyes glowed red in the shadows of the dimly lit street.

"Look, mister, I don't know how you know my name, but I don't want to talk to you, so fuck off, yeah?" she snapped, her Londoner coming out.

"You have come for the book, and so have we. My master has an offer for you," the stranger said. He smiled, his teeth and nails sharpening into points. It wasn't a he ; it was an it .

The creature reached out a hand towards her, and she stumbled back from him. "Don't run or I will have to chase you. My master wants you undamaged, but you smell so good..."

Zoe bolted, every part of her monkey brain telling her to run as fast as she could. She ducked around parked cars, heading towards the bookstore. A heavy body slammed into her and pinned her face first against the wall of a building.

"I told you not to run, girl. Now, I want to taste. Must taste. Just a little drop," the creature growled, his breath hot and fetid against her neck. Zoe struggled and then stumbled as she was dropped. A huge man had her attacker on the ground, his fists pounding into the creature's face with his silver rings. An unearthly hiss came out of the creature's throat, and he swiped out with his clawed fingers.

"Fucking war dog, get off me," the creature screeched.

The man hit the creature again. A curved blade appeared in his other hand, and he pressed it to the bloody creature's throat. "You laid hands on someone that is under my protection, alukah . You know I have every right to pull your fangs out one at a time and feed them to you."

"I wasn't going to hurt her!" the creature cried pitifully.

"Liar. You tell your master to back the fuck off if he doesn't want a visit from the Order," the man said and climbed off him.

Zoe pressed herself up against the wall as her attacker scrambled upright. His face was a bleeding mess of fangs and red eyes.

What the fuck had been in her last drink? She edged to the door of her bookstore and fumbled for the keys.

"This is not over, pretty one," the creature called before disappearing into the night.

"The fuck it's not," the other man said. He turned around, and the keys fell from Zoe's fingers. "Hey, are you okay? He didn't bite you, did he?" He stretched out his hand to pick up the keys off the footpath. It was tattooed with an anatomical heart and was once again covered in blood. He passed her the keys, and she shrank back from him.

"Y-You killed my father," Zoe stammered, pressing up against the door as her brain broke. The man reared back like she had slapped him. She opened the door and stepped inside.

"No, I didn't, Zoe. I swear it," he said. He reached out for her, but he hit an invisible wall. He yanked his hand back with a sharp hiss of pain. "Fucking Oman and his damn wards. Please, Zoe. You have to believe me. I didn't kill him."

Zoe didn't know what to believe. She had just been jumped by some monster and saved by another.

"I saw you over his body. I recognize your tattoos. I remember you, so don't you dare lie to me!" she shouted at him.

The man's eyes flashed gold in the dim light. "I didn't kill him, Zoe. If you want to know what really happened to your father, I'll tell you everything. The rooftop of this building has a garden that would better suit this conversation. Up there, you can stand in the doorway, still under the wards if you feel unsafe."

"What are wards? What are you talking about?"

"This is a ward." He put his hand in the doorway and was immediately repelled again. "That's protection magic. I can't get in there unless you invite me in."

Zoe sucked in a breath. "Magic isn't real."

"You know better than that. I'll be on the roof if you want to stop acting like a frightened little mouse and talk to me," he said, his voice dropping to a growl.

Zoe shut the door in his face and bolted it. She couldn't have been sure, but she thought she heard him laughing on the other side.