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Niko woke once again with the woman of his dreams in his arms. Only this time, her warm, naked body was pressed against his, and when he gently ran his fingers over her golden skin, she let out a small moan of pleasure.

He knew if he had his way, he’d stay right there, exploring every inch of her body over and over and over again. Unfortunately he’d gotten a text that Polly Smart was being released from the hospital that afternoon, and her parents were taking her to their home in Arizona for the time being. If he wanted to interview her, it was now or never.

“Hmm, what a way to wake up,” Indigo said as she turned over to face him.

He bent his head and brushed his lips over hers. “I’d stay here all day if I could.”

“It’s my day off. There’s nothing stopping me from doing just that,” she said as she teased her fingers over his pecs.

He quickly grabbed her hand, stopping her.

Her eyebrows shot up. “Something wrong?”

“The only thing wrong is that I don’t have time to show you just how insatiable I can be.” He let go of her and quickly rolled out of the bed before his willpower lost the battle against his desire for her. “We’ve got to get to the hospital to interview the victim in my case.”

The sweet but sexy vibe Indigo had been giving off suddenly vanished as she sat up, pulling the sheet up to cover herself. “We? You really want me to go with you?”

“You did say you could break the spell if she’s still compelled, didn’t you?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

He smiled down at her, feeling triumphant as he held out his hand. “Good. Let’s shower so we can catch her before she’s discharged.”

She let him tug her from the bed and into the en suite bathroom.

As she turned the water on in the shower, she eyed him, letting her gaze wander the length of his naked body. “You’re pretty pleased with yourself, aren’t you?”

He nodded as he tugged her into the shower.

An hour later, smiling like two teenagers, they walked out of her apartment together and down to the café for coffee and pastries.

“Not exactly a breakfast of champions,” Indigo said and then took another bite of her coffee cake.

“I think we burned enough calories last night to justify a serving of pastry,” he said with a wink.

Her face flushed, and he decided she’d never looked sexier.

When they were finished with their pastries, Niko took her hand in his and led her to his Ram truck.

“Is this how you treat all your partners?” she asked with an amused glint in her eye as he held the door open for her.

“No, but that’s mostly because my only other partner’s name was Bud, and he wasn’t nearly as good-looking as you.”

She laughed and climbed in.

For the next forty minutes, they bantered all the way to the hospital. It wasn’t until he parked and they got out of the truck that Indigo sobered. He got the impression that she was happy to be distracted so that she didn’t have to think too much about why she had been asked to tag along. He knew everything about his case was bringing up memories she’d rather not revisit.

“I appreciate the hell out of you for doing this,” he said.

She nodded once and stared straight ahead as they made their way inside.

He was all business when they reached Polly’s room. He knocked twice and waited until a woman came out to greet them.

“Mrs. Smart? I’m Agent Morales from the Magical Task Force. I was really hoping I could have a minute with Polly before you take her back to Arizona.”

The woman glanced over her shoulder into the room before she stepped all the way out and closed the door behind her. “My husband won’t like it.”

Niko nodded. “I understand, but I really am here to help. Neither of us want to do anything to upset Polly.”

The woman glanced at Indigo briefly before turning her attention back to Niko. “Listen, I want to find out who did this to her more than anything, but she’s not…” She shook her head. “Polly can’t really answer questions right now. She’s just not totally there. The trauma?—”

“Mrs. Smart,” Indigo interjected. “I’ve had some experience with compulsions spells. I think I might be able to help her. If you’ll allow it, I’d like to meet her and see if my gifts can free her from the lingering effect of the spell.”

Hope shone in the mother’s eyes, but she quickly glanced back at the door again and bit down on her bottom lip.

“I’m happy to speak to your husband if you’d like,” Indigo said, her tone full of compassion.

“No.” Mrs. Smart shook her head with conviction. “If you think you can help my Polly, then it’s worth a shot.”

Relief washed over Indigo’s face, and Niko felt a sense of pride as he watched her. She was full of compassion and determination. Her empathy for Polly’s mother was undeniable. And that was exactly what was missing with most MTF agents.

Polly’s mother opened the door and led them into the room. A thin man with salt-and-pepper hair sat at the bedside of the red-headed young woman who was dressed and staring blankly at the wall.

Indigo sucked in a sharp breath.

“Who are you?” the man asked as he stood.

“This is Agent Morales from the Magical Task Force and…” Mrs. Smart looked at Indigo expectantly.

“This is Indigo Easton,” Niko said. “She’s well versed in compulsion spells and is here to see if she can help.”

The man eyed them both suspiciously. “My daughter is in no condition to talk to anyone.”

Niko opened his mouth to speak, but Indigo beat him to it and said, “I think I can help with that. I’ve reversed compulsion spells before, and I’d be happy to try again… if you’re agreeable.”

The man looked like he was ready to refuse, but Mrs. Smart stepped in and said, “If they can help our baby, then I’m willing to let them try.”

Polly continued to stare straight ahead as if no one was even in the room.

“If you think that’s the right thing to do, Dana, then okay,” the man relented as he stepped back.

Niko followed Indigo to the side of the bed. He introduced himself and Indigo and then asked, “Polly, do you know how you got here to the hospital?”

“An ambulance,” she said.

“Do you know what happened to you that caused your hospital stay?”

“There was a fire. I suffered smoke inhalation, dehydration, and a few minor burns.” Her answers were all monotone, robot-like. He had to admit that it was unnerving.

Indigo motioned that she wanted to talk to the woman, and Niko backed off.

“Polly, do you remember participating in any spells before you blacked out?”

The woman didn’t answer.

“Okay, do you mind if I hold your hands?”

Still no answer.

“Do whatever you have to do,” Dana Smart whispered as her voice cracked.

Niko moved a little closer to Indigo just in case she needed any help. He instinctively reached into his pocket and wrapped his fingers around the crystal he carried there. It was a protection crystal, meant to neutralize any spell that he might be hit with. He didn’t expect either one of them to attack him with a spell, but magic was unpredictable and he preferred to be prepared.

But he should have known he wouldn’t need it. He just watched in awe as Indigo held onto Polly’s hands, recited her incantation, and then unleashed her blue ice magic.

Immediately two daggers appeared on Polly’s forearms, but as the blue ice magic retreated and the daggers lit with flames, Mrs. Smart let out a cry of alarm.

Niko spun around and held his hands up. “It’ll be okay. I promise.”

A moment later, Indigo let out a cry as her own arms lit with the fire in the shape of the daggers. She stumbled backward and fell to the tiled floor, her face white and the flames gone, leaving only the dagger tattoos in their place.

“Indigo,” he said softly. “You’re okay.” He looked up to see Polly glancing around the room in confusion. There was no trace of the fire or the daggers on her arms.

“Mom?” Polly said in a small voice.

Dana let out a cry of relief and then rushed to her daughter’s side, nearly crushing her with a hug. Her father joined them, and the three of them were locked in a hug, both parents crying.

Niko picked Indigo up into his arms and carried her out of the room. When one of the nurses saw them, she rushed over and immediately directed them into an empty room. She got busy taking Indigo’s vitals while barking orders to another nurse.

The entire time, Niko sat next to her, holding her hand, knowing that all she needed was one of her grandmother’s restoring potions and some rest.

Indigo blinked at him, and with a hoarse voice she said, “Go get your interview.”

“I’m not leaving you after that,” he insisted.

“You have to,” she said weakly. “Go.”

Niko hesitated, but when she mouthed Go again, he got up and strode to the other room.

He found the Smarts all sitting together, both of her parents talking at once while Polly stared at them, confusion all over her face. It wasn’t the blank expression she’d worn before. This was pure bafflement.

He cleared his throat.

The Smarts stopped talking and looked at him.

Dana Smart ran over and tackle-hugged him. “You saved our girl.”

“Actually, Indigo did that. I know she’ll be pleased to hear that Polly is doing better.”

“I’d like to thank her myself,” Dana said.

“Me, too,” Mr. Smart added.

He nodded, understanding that they wanted to express their gratitude. “She’s next door, but she’s pretty wiped out. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind seeing you for a minute, but just keep it short. Using that kind of magic is really taxing.”

“Of course.” The two elder Smarts hurried out of the room, leaving Niko alone with Polly.

“Hello,” he said.

“Hi.” She raised her hand tentatively.

He walked over to the side of the bed and held his hand out to her. “I’m Agent Morales with the Magical Task Force, and I’m investigating your case. I’m hoping you can answer a few questions for me.”

The young woman visibly gulped but gave him a small nod.

He checked the notes on his phone. “You’re a student at Olympic Witches University, right?”

Polly pushed back a fallen lock of her red hair and nodded.

“Do you remember how you ended up at that burning house?”

She shook her head. “I don’t remember anything about it to be honest. I can see the inside of the house, but what I did there or why I was there is fuzzy.”

“Was anyone else there?” he asked.

“I don’t…” Her brow furrowed. “You know, I think there was someone, but I can’t see who or anything.” She let out a tiny growl of irritation. “It’s like the memory is right there, but I can’t access it.”

That was likely a memory spell, but since some of them could be permanent, he didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to cause her any more stress. “How about you just tell me the last thing you remember before you found yourself in that house?”

She thought for a long moment and then looked up and said, “I was working with my professor on my senior project.”

Unease settled in Niko’s gut. “Your professor? Which one?”

“Professor Cannon. She was helping me develop a potion that would replace eyeglasses. Can you imagine? No contacts. No glasses. To me it seems like a miracle.”

“That would be helpful,” he agreed as he wrote down the information in his notes. “Can you tell me your overall feelings about Professor Cannon?”

“What do you mean? Do you want to know if I like her?”

“Sure. Or if you ever had an off feeling or vibe about her,” he prompted. He was starting to wonder if maybe this Professor Cannon was the one who’d decided to compel both Tricia and Polly. So far the only thing the two cases seemed to have in common besides the spell itself was that the students were working on their final projects.

“No off vibe at all!” Polly said, shaking her head forcefully. “Professor Cannon is my favorite teacher at that school. The only vibe she gives is a cool witchy one.”

“Do you have any idea who might want to compel you and force you to… Well, compel you to do anything against your will?” he asked.

Polly picked at her fingernails nervously and then gave her head a violent shake. “I feel like I should know something. But I just don’t. How can that be?” she asked him earnestly.

“I don’t know, Polly. It could be trauma. You know, your psyche protecting you from something. Or it could be magical. Some sort of temporary memory loss. It’s hard to say.” He pulled out a business card. “If you remember anything else, will you call me?”

“Yes.” She nodded. “And please tell your friend thank you. I knew I was trapped, but I had no way to get out. She saved me.”

Niko squeezed her hand. “I’ll tell her.”

The Smarts returned just as Niko was leaving. He nodded at them and went to find Indigo.