Page 10

CHAPTER TEN

A lexei’s presence is like a glass of liquid happiness, and I just drank a whole bottle of it.

My instinctive magic begins to glow, this time not from anger or fear but because I can’t help it.

Alexei Mason is one of the most violent assassins I’ve ever encountered, preferring to kill with his bare hands or, if he’s in a hurry, a single shot to the head.

I once saw him break a target’s neck with a twist of his wrist. And yet…

he is one of the kindest, most astute men I have ever met.

He’s a spectrum of contradictions wrapped up in a broad-shouldered package that destroys my inhibitions.

But he’s human.

He can’t be here in this place of monsters.

My jaw drops in shock. “Alexei?”

One corner of his mouth hitches up as his gaze drinks me in, passing from my face to the curve of my exposed neck, returning to pause on my lips. “Blessings on your power, Tansy Gray.”

Everything else disappears from around us—the supernaturals, the music, all of it.

Being near Alexei has always been like stepping into a safe haven. All of my worries, pain—even my defenses—fall away.

Without thinking, I close the narrow gap between us to reach up and brush the hair falling across his cheek, my fingertips grazing his ear.

He allows me to rest my palm against his strong jaw.

“You grew your hair,” I say.

His answer is to place his palm over mine, dwarfing my little hand in his, a gentle touch from hands that could crack every bone in my fingertips, wrist, and arm in a single maneuver if he wished.

I’m not afraid. The only part of me he ever hurt was my heart.

“It’s been too long,” I add.

“Seven months, two weeks, and five days,” he says, his gaze capturing mine.

Months trying to find a way to lift Alexei’s curse, only to discover that the revival spell was my only hope.

“Too long without you, Solnyshka,” he says.

Little sun. That was what he used to call me. I never asked him why. I think it has something to do with the golden color of my hair, but I was never sure.

His fingers fold over mine, his thumb brushing over my palm in a way that makes me shiver. A boldness takes over that I’ve never had before. “Why do you call me that?”

“Because without you, my day is dark.”

I consider his expression, searching for what I’ll never find—emotion behind his statement. Without emotion clouding his judgement, everything about him is logical, considered. If he’s complimenting me, then it’s for a purpose.

I am nothing more than a chess piece…

At least… I think so…

Confusion floods me as he returns my gaze with a heat I wasn’t expecting. My stomach flutters as the brush of his thumb across my sensitive palm intensifies.

I swallow hard. “How… are you here?”

“I was looking for my mother,” he answers in his truthful way. “An endless search.”

He’s always blunt, telling the truth even when it hurts—even when the person it hurts is himself.

“My search revealed that the only way to find her was to come to the Ball. Since I have no magical power, I gave up looking for her until…” He clears his throat with a shrug of his broad shoulders.

“I landed outside this warehouse on a beam of light.”

“You were taken by surprise.” A smile hijacks my lips. That would explain why he’s dressed so casually. “You aren’t often surprised.”

His fingertips trail from my hand, along my outstretched arm and curl around my bare shoulder, drawing me forward. His thumb brushes the flower resting against the curve between my shoulder and my chest. “You arrived prepared.”

I try to breathe. “Did you find her? Is your mother here?”

He shakes his head. “I’ve searched every inch of this warehouse, but the truth is, I don’t know whom I’m looking for. I have no pictures, no clues.” He sighs. “I think it might be time to let go of the past.”

If only I could.

I sway into him, indulging in the pull of his gaze and the nearness of his body to mine, the rise and fall of his chest and the way his breath hitches as I curve my hand at the side of his waist.

“I’m glad you’re here,” he says, surprising me. “You saved my life, and then you walked out of it. Seeing you once more at the assassin’s maze was a gift for me, even if it was a time of near tragedy for others. I’ve missed you.”

I clear my throat, wanting to believe there’s emotion behind his statements.

I remember my panic, my fear the time he almost died.

We fought battles together, hard battles that nearly cost us everything.

All of it feels like a lifetime ago. “Only after you saved my life. You took bullets for me, Alexei.”

“Those were dark days. But they’re over now.” He brushes my cheek with a wry smile. “All I’ve wished for since is for darkness to return to my life so I would have an excuse to call you back to me.”

My heart wrenches. When I saved Alexei’s life all that time ago, I tried to use my magic to lift his curse, but nothing worked. Every spell, every sort of magic that I tried… all I’m left with is the revival spell.

His eyes meet mine without a hint of a lie in them. For him to want darkness… just to see me…

He gives a short laugh. “I saw a genie at the bar downstairs earlier and I considered forcing him to grant me a wish so I could conjure you here. Now here you are.”

As his hand grazes my cheek, the assassin’s ring he wears on the forefinger of his left hand glints.

Three red rubies set into the chunky black ring glow in the iridescent lighting.

Our surroundings crash back into focus.

The red rubies!

Mother Kadris wants me to steal the rubies from Alexei’s assassin’s ring.

Every assassin wears a ring—all different—each one imbued with power that gives the assassin superhuman strength, agility, and the ability to merge into their surroundings, becoming invisible to the eye.

Even supernaturals can’t detect an assassin when they’re invisible.

It takes assassins years of training to fully master their magic, but Master Assassins like Alexei are the strongest, quickest, and most dangerous.

I wonder for a moment if The Proprietor somehow mistook the magic in Alexei’s ring for some sort of inherent supernatural ability, but I shake off the idea immediately. She isn’t likely to be fooled.

Stealing the rubies will be an impossible task.

Nobody messes with assassin’s rings. The magic in them is too dangerous. I can only hope that the rubies are purely for decoration, so removing them won’t hurt me, but… the removing part worries me even more. The only way to steal them will be to distract Alexei. In a big way.

How badly do I want this? Enough to endanger my heart even more than I already have?

For a moment, my resolve falters, and I stumble against the bar.

His other arm darts out to steady me.

I meet his gaze again, clearing my throat and leaning into him.

“Clumsy heels. I’d much rather take them off.

” I glance around, a deliberate surveillance of our surroundings.

I’m satisfied to see that all of the sunken couches are taken now because it gives me an excuse to move somewhere more private.

“Do you think we could find somewhere quieter?”

“I saw some free seats downstairs,” he says.

I allow myself to smile, hoping I don’t appear too eager. “That sounds perfect.”

He leaves his drink untouched on the bar as he lightly takes my arm, but I scoop up the short glass, praying it contains vodka. Alexei’s drink of choice. I take a quick sip to make sure.

He gives me a curious look, his eyes widening when I tip back my head and swallow the whole thing. The cold liquid burns my insides, giving me instant courage.

I give Alexei a challenging smile as I sashay ahead of him, tugging on his hand before I release it. “We’d better be quick or all the seats will be gone.”

I twist back to him to check that he’s following me, catching the way his gaze travels from my waist to my feet.

I don’t flatter myself that he might be checking out my figure. A man like Alexei is always vigilant. His focus is on my pace. He won’t have missed the fact that I’m suddenly more than happy to walk on my heels.

Making sure my ruse plays out, I wobble on my next step, deliberately reaching for him to balance myself. A slight narrowing of his eyes is the only indication that he distrusts my motives.

Damn it, he’s too perceptive.

I hate myself. I’ve never played games with him. He may have always been blunt with me, but I’ve always been honest with him, too.

Still, I tell myself to stay the course.

I want that spell. I want him to feel emotion again.

If I don’t get the spell, I’ll regret it forever and I’m done living with regrets.

Not giving Alexei time to think, I draw him across the rooftop to the rainbow stairs, clambering through the neon cloud, squeezing past other couples walking upward, and leading him past the band as we return to the second level.

I’m grateful when he follows me, since I’m not strong enough to compel him to go anywhere. I quickly draw him past the purple cube and along the second-level walkway while the beat thumps around us and the dance floor lights glimmer from the level below.

Happily, I find that the circular chairs are all occupied.

I don’t want a chair. I want a cube.

It’s hard enough for me to let my guard down, let alone when I’m surrounded by people. What I need to do next requires me to let my guard down in a big way…

“Damn,” I say, my speech exaggerated. “We’ll be lucky to find a place to sit.”

Please let a cube be free… Please let a cube be free…

Relief floods me when I see a vacant cube dead ahead.

Willfully ignoring the vacant swing chair nearby, I hurry forward, Alexei’s hand firmly clutched in mine.

“Quick,” I say. “Before someone else gets it first.”

Just as we near the entrance, a man appears from the other direction, darting toward the cube. His aura tells me he’s a shifter, some sort of bird, his face and body all sharp angles and his movements furtive.

The darkness I sense from him makes my skin crawl, and a shudder shoots down my spine.

I have to get to the cube before him.

Just as I reach the entrance, he speeds in front of me, his movements so fast that he blocks my path before I can blink.

His lips twist into a snarl, his dark gaze drilling holes into me. “This cube is mine.”