Page 31

I stayed out the rest of the day, just thinking.

About her, mostly.

That kimono. The kiss during the fight at the docks. The feel of her over my knees. The curve of her ass beneath my hand. How she hadn’t tried to pull away.

And the damn bond.

It always came back to that. I couldn’t trust anything Kara did because I didn’t understand how the bond was affecting her. How could I? How could she ?

I cursed aloud, startling a woman walking past with her kids. She gave me a disgusted look. I turned away, tugging my hood down.

I wasn’t as obtuse as Kara believed. The signs had been there for some time. If I had to say, things started to shift after we visited her parents. Only a day after we’d met. That’s why I didn’t trust it—it felt too fast, especially given how much she’d hated me at first.

She’d ignored me. Just the lecturer, the bar manager. Beneath her. Then came the bond—forced, unfair. It made sense that she hated it.

But we’d spent half a semester together. What if, all along, there’d been something there? She liked my bone structure. A backhanded way of saying she found me attractive?

Maybe it hadn’t started with the bond. Maybe whatever had been there had just … grown.

For her, anyway.

What she did this morning wasn’t subtle. It was deliberate, manipulative. She’d been pushing since day one, but this was different.

And then I realized: bond or no bond, she hadn’t needed to.

“I’m my own person. I do what I want. I can choose.”

Was that why she’d done it? To prove to me that she was still her in there?

That changed everything.

I sheltered from the cold in a café, sipping at insipid coffee and picking at a sandwich. The TV played news footage of Vera Kline outside SPAR, talking to reporters.

“Hey, can you turn that up please?”

The café owner picked up the remote, looking interested too.

“—Responding to a disturbance at the docks, which is what the drone captured. Unfortunately, the supes reacted with violence towards our patrol, resulting in several deaths.”

“Ms. Vine! Jerry Rine, Northline News. Can you comment on the images showing two SPAR troopers with identical powers? How is that possible?”

Vera frowned. “I’ll take questions at the end. As I was saying—”

“Rumors are circulating that you have a warlock on staff. Isn’t that dangerous?”

“Ms. Vine! A ripple in the aether was detected on Halloween at Bay Uni. Are the incidents related?”

“How can two supes have the same—”

Vera tapped her microphone, trying to regain control.

“Ladies and gentlemen, let’s not indulge in wild speculation.

As I was about to say, SPAR has been working with a new prototype shield that utilizes aether donated by other supes.

It’s experimental and, currently, top-secret.

While the revelation of this technology is not ideal at this time—”

The reporters stirred in discontent.

“Are you trying to claim there’s no warlock?”

“Is SPAR covering up the existence of the first warlock in eleven hundred years?”

“Is this warlock under SPAR control, Ms. Vine?”

Vera leaned forward. “I’ve already explained the situation. That will be all, for today.”

She turned to leave under a barrage of parting questions, and the coverage cut back to the studio.

“Speculation continues to mount on the shocking footage captured by a drone during SPAR’s recent operation,” the anchor said.

“While some have drawn tenuous links to the disturbance in the aether detected on the night of Halloween, others dismiss the notion as preposterous. With me in the studio is Angus Terrathin, author of ‘Supernatural or Paranormal: what’s real?’ Angus, thank you for joining us. ”

I left my table, slipping back outside into the cold.

*

It was late when I eventually returned to Kara’s apartment block, in lieu of anywhere else to go. I’d toyed with the idea of a hotel room, but she’d made it clear how much it pained her when I wasn’t near, and though my phone had remained quiet all day, it didn’t seem fair to leave her any longer.

I made my way to the concierge desk, anticipating another awkward conversation to get access.

“Hi. I’m staying with Kara Halden in—”

“Ah, Mr. Sullivan.” The concierge gave me a polite smile. “We have your card here.”

“Oh. Er … great.”

Easier than I expected. I made my way to the private elevator and badged in, riding it up to the top floor.

There were no lights on in the living room, but the blinds weren’t down; the space lit by the illumination of the city.

Kara lay asleep on the sofa opposite the one I’d been sleeping on, wearing her cream kimono, my blanket half over her, with a corner of it clutched near her face.

I paused, watching her. She looked peaceful.

Her bedroom door stood open, the bed inside untouched.

I pulled off my hoodie, kicked off my boots, and flopped down on my usual sofa, not bothering to undress. Her quiet breathing was the only sound in the silent apartment, but it still took a long time to fall asleep.

*

Sunlight and the smell of coffee woke me.

My blanket lay discarded on the other sofa, and the cushion still held the imprint of Kara’s head.

She was leaning against the island, her silk kimono a little crumpled, long legs bare, a cup in her hand. Chewing her lip as she watched me.

But she smiled when she saw I was awake.

I cleared my throat. “Why didn’t you sleep in your bed?”

“Oh …” She glanced away. “Just wanted to see if you snored.”

“And do I?”

Her lips twitched. “No.”

I sat up, swinging my feet down onto the floor. “Listen. About yesterday. I’m sorry I—”

“Nothing to be sorry for.” She pushed herself straight and walked around the island. “Coffee?”

“Er … yeah, sounds great. But I’m going to take a shower, first.” Having slept in last night’s clothes, I wanted to be clean.

“Okay.” She looked like she wanted to say more, but she just turned away.

“I’m going to get some clothes. From your bedroom. If that’s okay.”

“Of course.”

Great, still awkward.

I shouldn’t have spanked her.

The shower helped. I ran it for a while, luxuriating under the hot water, then turned it to full cold for a blast. That got the blood pumping—more to where I needed it, less to where I didn’t.

By the time I re-emerged, Kara had dressed in a gray trouser suit over a deep purple blouse, her hair plaited into a French braid. “Director Marlow has put a nine o’clock in your calendar.”

I adjusted Dacien’s cufflinks in my shirt. “I’m not surprised after seeing the news yesterday. Vera Kline did a conference. Did you catch it?”

She huffed a laugh. “Difficult not to. It was on every channel. Everyone’s talking about warlocks.” She tilted her head to one side, her gaze reflecting her concern. “How are you doing, Ma—Xan?”

“Peachy.” That summed up my life—Dacien’s blackmail, SPAR on the back foot with daily incidents across the city, and now the whole warlock business. The world was watching. Not exactly my usual modus operandi of staying off the radar.

“At least you’ve got me,” she said.

*

The crowd of protestors outside SPAR had swollen, half their placards now sporting the word ‘warlock’. The imagery was vivid; the one that depicted him on a gibbet stirred the imagination.

Him. Me. Whatever.

Kara’s jaw tensed as she saw it, her eyes narrowing like she was contemplating the opportunity to meet the holder in a dark alley. Bless her for that—it helped lighten my mood.

Natalie greeted us as soon as we passed security.

“Sir, Director Marlow asks that you go straight up to her office.”

I pulled my phone out, checking the time. “We still have twenty-five minutes before the meeting.”

She shifted her weight, looking uncomfortable. “Yes, sir. There’s a waiting area outside. I’ll … um … bring you both a coffee.”

“Uh-huh.” In other words, don’t wander off. “Can we go there ourselves, or do we need an escort?”

Natalie blushed. “I’m sorry, sir. I … it’s just …”

“Don’t worry about it. As the expression goes, it’s not you, it’s me.” I headed across the Nexus for the elevators, Kara on my heels. There were a few dozen early arrivers dotting the space, and more than one head turned my way. Some even stood up to get a better look.

So much for Reyes’ squad keeping the news to themselves. Well, I suppose that was no great surprise.

At least it was quiet on the executive floor. The door to Marlow’s office was closed, and her PA rose as we approached. “Good morning, Assistant Director.” She gestured to the sofa outside. “Please take a seat, the director will be with you shortly.”

“Busy, is she?”

The PA moved subtly, between me and the door. “She’s currently in a meeting, sir.”

“Right.” I sat down like a good schoolboy, resting one ankle on my knee, and tried not to dwell on whatever was coming. She couldn’t really fire me—I didn’t work for her. Hell, she probably could fire me, but as she wasn’t paying me, it was difficult to really care.

If it wasn’t for what Dacien would say, I’d thank her if she did.

Kara sat down next to me. “If you want me to kill anyone today, just point.”

Her voice carried well, and the PA glanced up in shock.

I chuckled. “Noted, but we’ll leave that on the back burner for now.”

Natalie arrived a few minutes later carrying coffees and looking apologetic. Whatever this was, it wasn’t her fault.

“Thank you,” I said with as much civility as I could muster. “I’ll come and find you when we’re done here.”

“Yes, sir.” She gave me a smile almost as bright as her usual ones.

“Assuming they don’t escort me out,” I muttered to Kara as Natalie left.

“If they do, we can go home and you can cook me lunch.”

I’d hardly cooked since our steak night. We’d done a lot of take out. “That actually sounds nice.”

That was twice Kara had raised my mood, and I’m sure she was doing it deliberately. Nothing in the bond to make her do that, was there?

I hated that I still couldn’t be sure.

The intercom on the PA’s desk beeped.

“Director Marlow is ready for you, sir.”