Page 21 of A Token of Blood and Betrayal

My jaw clenched.

“I set up the email address,” I said, barely keeping irritation out of my voice.“It’s [email protected] you—”

“I will make it known.”

“Wait!”I yelled because I justknewhe was about to hang up.“Are you able to speak privately?”

“No.”

God, he could be so difficult sometimes!“I need to talk to you.Now.”

A short pause, then, “Is it Deagan?”

“No.Something else.Can you go somewhere private?”Vampires had excellent hearing.I couldn’t risk anyone else learning about Garion.

“I am occupied,” he stated.

“This is important.”

“As is this.”He ended the call.

He ended the freaking call!If I’d had enough money to replace a broken phone, I would have launched mine across the room.

I tugged on an edge of the pink camo tape crossing the torn seat of the chair beneath me.I wasn’t going to beg Jared to talk to me, but I needed information.Would Nora know anything about djinn and fey bargains?Most older werewolves, Lehr included, held a long-standing hatred of fey.They were blamed for outing the wolves a couple of centuries ago.Younger wolves like Nora and Blake didn’t harbor the same resentment—they were open-minded—but they might have learned things from Lehr.Plus I did owe Nora an explanation.

Closing my laptop, I left the office and headed to the basement.The entrance was located in the west wing behind a locked door markedStaff OnlyStaff Only.I used my key to get in, then headed down a flight of stairs until I reached a second door.My hand was on the doorknob, about to turn it, when a series ofthumpscame from the other side.

I frowned.What was that?If Jared had still been there, I would have made an assumption, turned around, and marched right back up the stairs.

Thethumpsstopped.I started to turn the knob…

And they started up again, quicker this time.Maybe Nora was in trouble.

I shoved open the door.

Nora stood alone in the center of the basement.I quickly scanned the room.A king-sized bed dominated the far wall, covered with a black satin duvet and half a dozen neatly arranged blood-red pillows.To my right, two comfortable chairs sat on either side of a small round table, and a few feet away from that, an open bottle of wine rested on a wooden mini-bar.

“Get out,” Nora ordered, striding toward the wall on my left.Due to the way The Rain was built, which defied nearly every architectural principle ever established, I couldn’t see around the outcropping she disappeared behind.

“I need to talk to you.”I took a few more steps into the room.That’s when I saw the throwing knives embedded into a wooden board.A paper had been pinned over the painted target in the center.It looked like it might have been someone’s silhouette, but it was so torn up and mottled with holes that I couldn’t identify the person.I figured there was a fifty-fifty chance it was me.

“You need to leave,” Nora said.She pulled the knives from the board, returned to her position in the center of the basement, then very deliberately focused on me.“I might miss.”She launched a knife without looking.It struck the paper where the neck would have been.“Badly.”

“Garion is a djinn.”Might as well yank that Band-Aid off fast.

Nora froze mid-motion, a second sharp blade poised near her ear.A few seconds passed before she threw the knife.This time, it hit halfway between the edge of the target and the bull’s-eye.

“That’s why I was downstairs.I was talking to him before Jared showed up.”

She launched a third knife.Of course she wouldn’t make this easy.

“I found his token in my mom’s jewelry box,” I said.“And I’m trusting you with his secret.”Please don’t let that trust be misplaced.“I wanted Garion’s permission before I told anyone.That’s why I didn’t say something earlier.”

She finally turned to look at me.“Your bargain with the night king.He demanded the djinn and token for the key to the envelope your parents left you.”

I nodded.

She snorted.“And now you want to save him.”