Page 43 of A Token of Blood and Betrayal

Christian followed me to the door we’d entered through.Jared had left it open, but I wanted it shut, so I shouldered all my weight against it.It didn’t budge until Christian helped, and even then, it moved only one short inch at a time.When we finally forced it all the way shut, I was breathing hard.

“They don’t want it to be easy to get in or out,” Christian said.

“Yeah.Understatement.”I really needed to exercise again.Carrie and I used to go to the rec center three times a week.Without her as a roommate, I was downright pathetic.

“What’s your idea?”he asked.

“Astrid’s working on replicating the Null spell.She thinks she can do it on a small scale.The djinn token is small.What if she can tweak the spell enough to null the token?I could fulfill my bargain without betraying Garion.”

After the words were officially spoken out loud, uneasiness ran through me.It usually did when I thought about Astrid casting that spell.It was frustrating because I couldn’t say exactly why it worried me.Most likely, I was just being paranoid.

“That’s not a bad idea,” Christian said.For the first time that night, his expression looked bright, thoughtful, almost eager.

“There’s no guarantee it will work,” I said.But it might.It might save Garion.It might save Christian’s sister.“It seems too easy.”

“That’s because you’re used to everything being hard.”

“And we don’t know if it will hurt or kill Garion.”

“I don’t think it will,” he said.“The chance that it nulls the token might be small, but it’s bigger than the chance it will hurt him.The most likely outcome is that it does nothing.”

“And you’re basing that on what?”

“Astrid knows what she’s doing,” he said.His blue eyes were focused, intelligent, clear.“She’ll be careful, and if she thinks she’s putting Garion at risk, she’ll shut it down.”

I nodded, acknowledging his words more than agreeing with them.“I’ll talk to Astrid and Garion about it.Will you talk to Nora and Jared?Try to convince Jared this is worth looking into?We don’t need to go after Canyon yet.”

His mouth tightened.“That’s going to be a hard sell.”

“It shouldn’t be,” I said, bitterness sliding into my voice.

“I know.”His mouth quirked into a smile.“Your plans are getting better.”

I laughed.

“Are you keeping this from Blake?”he asked.

“I’m keeping it fromLehr.”

“Jared rules the local vampires now.Telling him without telling Lehr could be seen as biased.”

“It’s Lehr’s fault.He’s an ass.Besides, Jared will keep it to himself for now.For forever if I demand it.”Christian knew Jared had signed a one-sided contract to protect me and The Rain.Keeping the djinn token a secret would do that.Of course, he’d argue killing Canyon would do it just as well.

“So you’ll stay and talk to them?”I asked.“You don’t mind?”

He nodded.“I’ll talk to them.”

“Thank you,” I said, genuinely grateful.“I’d be absolutely lost without you.”

His expression turned neutral.

“I need to get Blake out of here.He’ll take me home, but I can come back and pick you up afterward.”

“I’ll be fine,” he said.Then he asked, “Are you safe with him?”

The question surprised me.It probably shouldn’t have.“Safe with Blake?Yeah.”

“You’re sure?”The tone of his voice made me stop and really focus on him.He was worried.He cared about me.It might be more than just protecting the daughter of the two people he felt like he’d failed.He knew me now.We had a connection.We were both humans surviving in a paranormal world.