“No.” Warren snarled.
Ryn smiled sleepily. “I have a question for the Drude. But one. If you agree to my terms, I shall impart my knowledge and be away.” Cole rubbed his bottom lip with the pad of his thumb while he surveyed our group. “Surely one question is not too much to ask for such a boon.”
I cleared my throat and raised my hand. “I want to know what’s in the box.”
“Me too,” Jae admitted out of the corner of his mouth. Hugo stepped closer to my side.
Hart stalked forward, with no care for the growing tension. He sniffed the air once, saying nothing. It occurred to me very slowly that all my men had fallen into formation around me, like a star. Protecting me as the center of their group.
Ryn shook the box again. “One question.”
Davenport glanced at me, and I nodded. “One.” He agreed.
The bored expression melted from Ryn Cole's cherub face, replaced with shrewd happiness—the face of a creature that just got one over on someone. With a flourish, Cole opened the stained dirt box and showed us three rows of bullets. Dark, tarnished and uninteresting.
I feigned a yawn. “Boring.”
Davenport ignored me. “Explain.”
“It was a rare order. Iron wrapped in Devil's Silver. I tracked the bullets, they were still active, none spent. They were buried in Queens, behind a suburban house.” Ryn stepped forward, his arm outstretched to hand over the bullets. Hart intercepted and took the box.
Davenport's mind was going a mile a minute, I could almost hear the cogs turning. None of that showed on his stoic face.
Hart opened the box and showed us all the contents. Every bullet was accounted for. I had felt sure that Frankie had been shot in the leg. Each of the Fae had died so differently from the rest of their teams. The Ifrit had burnt out the Hunters from the inside, but the Fae had been killed by iron poisoning.
The only outlier was Frankie Gardiner.
Ryn brushed the dirt from his hands and put them back in his pockets. “It seems that your assassin procured the bullets but did not use them.”
“Riveting,” Davenport replied dryly.
Something else was killing the Fae. The bullets seemed like a good distraction technique. To keep us from looking at the actual weapon.
I, of course, said none of that. I was too busy shivering. The trees on the edge of the park provided little coverage from the wind.
Jae blew into his hands to warm them up.
I shrugged away from the center of the Hunters. “Your question?” I quirked a brow.
Ryn Cole cleared his throat and bit back a smile. “Do you remember?” He asked simply.
My brow furrowed. “Remember what?”
The Fae laughed bitterly, shaking his head to himself. “That’s what I thought. You can't help me, Mara.” He stepped back and melted into the darkness, bidding us all farewell with a solemn nod.
All of the Hunters turned to me.
“Was that the question?” I wondered, my head cocked to the side like a confused puppy.
“I honestly don't know.” Davenport murmured in agreement.
The SUV was parked in the corner of the empty parking lot, furthest away from the street lamps at the edge of the concrete wall. Raised voices drifted across the asphalt from the second that we broke through the trees and left the path.
“Remi was meant to watch the car, right?” Hugo asked, pushing his hair out of his face. Davenport nodded wordlessly and continued his stride towards the hulking armored vehicle.
Jae reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Using the flashlight app, he illuminated the two dark silhouettes that appeared to be arguing by the side of the car.
Hart's lip hitched into a silent snarl. Jae rolled his eyes heavenward. Hugo slid his arm over my shoulder.
“Ms. Greenlea.” Davenport greeted the hysterical redhead with polite indifference, only I could hear the rage building behind the surface. “You were not invited to this mission. Why are you here?”
Jae shone the flashlight on her beautifully made-up face. Her lips were curled back in anger, and Remi had been backed against the side of the SUV. I could taste the burning plastic of Witchling magic in the air, and I had no doubt that she had been able to drop a colossal spell. Remi plastered a smile on his face.
“It's okay.” He assured us. “Alicia was just leaving.”
Hugo clutched me tighter. To restrain me or to protect me, I did not know.
Callum stepped forward and brushed his fingers against Remi's temple. “You’re bleeding.” He stated plainly. “Her phone has blood on the edge. I can smell it. She threw it at you.”
Alicia's face turned to stone. “Remington, it's time to go. I promised Daddy that we would come back to the estate to check-in.” Her eyes did not leave Remi's as they flashed with all sorts of veiled warnings.
Alicia Greenlea made my stomach feel like it was full of snakes. She made my skin itch. I wanted to peel her away from every facet of my life.
Every muscle in my body tensed as I processed Hart's words. Alicia had hurt Remi. She had made him bleed.
Remi pushed himself away from the car, following Alicia's orders to heel. I moved so quickly that Hugo's arm did not have a chance to hold me back. One second, I stood on the periphery, the next, I was in front of Alicia, chest puffed out, and fists clenched.
“No.” I felt my eyes bleed into darkness. “You will not touch him. He does not belong to you.” I told her. My voice layered and turned demonic.
Remi gripped my shoulder to pull me back. I would not be moved.
“Why are you here?” I cocked my head to the side, my eyes never leaving hers.
Alicia's jaw tensed. “Fuck you.”
“Pleasant.” I tsked. “Remi does not want you here. None of us do.”
“He told me that he wanted space.” Alicia spat. Waving her hand towards Remi as her face creased in disgust.
“You tried to use magic to harm my teammate.” Remi's voice broke my heart. “That’s not okay!”
“You’re mine.” Alicia hissed. “I can do what I like to make sure you understand that.”
Remi stepped back, he began to shake his head frantically wincing like he had bitten into something foul.
Alicia tried to follow his steps, but I lifted my palm and pressed it against her solar plexus to halt her movements. She jerked away from my touch but recoiled when she met my black eyes.
“You will leave.” Davenport enunciated clearly, speaking down to her like she was a naughty child. “I cannot condone this kind of behavior.”
“He has to marry me.” Alicia smiled proudly. Deciding on another tactic to further her own ends. “We have contracts. He's signed. Remington belongs to me.”
“He belongs to himself and the Balance.” Hart pulled open the car door and nudged for Remi to step inside. For a second, he did not move, until Hart nudged him again.
Alicia tried to bypass me to get to Remi, I stepped into her path.
“Leave.” I bit out.
“I'm not letting some tramp get her hands on my property.” Alicia spat in my face, rising up, so her hateful eyes met mine. I caught the moment of horror when she saw the gaping pits of nothing that stared back at her. The Witchling flinched and wrenched herself backward. Alicia scrambled away, turning only once to shout a garbled and incoherent threat.
We all stood still, only our eyes followed the squealing wheels of her convertible as she did a tailspin out of the parking lot.
“She saw your eyes,” Hugo whispered. “What if she tells someone?”
Davenport responded by pulling out his phone. “Ms. Greenlea is no longer welcome at the compound. I don’t believe that will be a problem.”