Total pages in book: 194
Estimated words: 187021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 935(@200wpm)___ 748(@250wpm)___ 623(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 187021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 935(@200wpm)___ 748(@250wpm)___ 623(@300wpm)
“I can’t go back to the attic,” Gen said with finality. “And while I need to stop in at Five Points, I don’t know that I’d want to stay there without you or Ethan.” Her cheeks were pink again at the mention of Five Points.
“Want to see Ronan?” Kierse teased.
“No!” Gen gasped, then relented. “Maybe.”
Gen had confessed that she’d had a short relationship with Nate’s second, Ronan, a man of few words and many deadly looks. Kierse had been shocked that Gen of all people would be interested in a ruthless killer with a cigarette dangling from his mouth.
“Or just Niamh,” Kierse suggested.
“Oh, please, there’s nothing there.”
“There could be.” And Kierse was certain of that. She’d had enough relationships with women to know the difference between friendship and flirting, and Niamh had definitely been flirting. She hoped that Gen explored everything she wanted to explore. Growing up the daughter to a madame had made her wary in a way that Kierse had never been able to penetrate. She hoped that learning these new powers also opened Gen up to all of life’s experiences.
Kierse’s eyes left her best friend and settled on Graves heading toward the downstairs study. She was exhausted and should absolutely go upstairs, unpack, and pass out for a few hours. But instead…
Gen cleared her throat. “Well, I should catch up with Edgar.”
“I can show you,” Kierse said quickly.
“I’ll make do.” Then she was hurrying up the stairs after Edgar and Laz. Kierse would have to check in on her before she went to bed.
Right now, she followed Graves into the study. He was mesmerizing in the dim electric light. She was so used to the fireplace being lit, but it had been winter when she’d last been in this room. What she hadn’t expected was to see her case for the spear at his feet. Though he wasn’t paying the spear any mind. Instead, he was frowning down at a bouquet of red roses.
“Who are the flowers from?”
Graves plucked the card from the table and passed it to her. He’d clearly already read it.
Heard you were on this side of the pond and didn’t stop by.
Bad form, old friend.
—Kingston
Kierse tensed. “Is this a threat?”
“With Kingston, I’m never sure,” he admitted.
Kingston was Graves’s warlock mentor. They had met when Graves had been bleeding out on the streets of London, and only after Graves had proven he could survive had Kingston brought him on as an apprentice. They were still friends.
Well, she had thought they were.
He took the card back from her and set it amongst the roses. “Warlocks are never particularly friendly. We take offense easily.”
“You don’t say,” Kierse said sarcastically.
He shot her a look. “Kingston and I have been on steady terms for centuries. He wouldn’t challenge me over something this small.”
“But you think he might challenge you sometime?”
“Perhaps. But it’s not a concern for today,” he said easily, turning from the flowers to the case. “This is a problem for today.”
“The spear?”
“Yes. It is too powerful to leave out in the open, as I’m sure you’re aware.”
She glanced at the innocuous case, hating that he was right.
“I wish I could keep it with me,” she said, thinking of how much she preferred to have the thing in her hand than in a box.
“It’s a powerful tool. And we are not the only ones looking for it,” Graves told her. “I’d be wary of its strength. There’s a reason there’s a trail of bodies in its wake.”
“And should I trust you with the spear?”
His smile was quick and vicious. “Definitely not.” He stepped forward, smoothing a lock of her hair. “Not yet, at least. I haven’t proven myself to you.”
She swallowed and took a step back. “Where should we keep it, then?”
“I thought I would give you access to my vault.”
“Your vault?” she asked in surprise.
His eyes lit on her face. “Since I revealed its existence, I’m sure you could break into it at any point.”
“Obviously,” she said with no pretext of humility.
“But I want you to have access to it.” He wasn’t any closer, and somehow she could still feel the heat of him. The pull to him that never quite went away. “You have access to anything you want while you’re here. To me.”
She nodded. “All right.” She picked up the case. “Let’s do it, then.”
Graves guided her back downstairs and reprogrammed the vault, hidden in the depths of his underground garage, to identify her. It hissed open softly to reveal an empty room where five months earlier the sword had been housed. With trepidation, she set the spear inside and watched it seal shut with finality.
The end of their first bargain.
Tomorrow would begin anew.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Day two without a nightmare. Kierse woke up feeling more refreshed than she had in months. She didn’t know if recovering the new memory had kept the rest at bay or if her mental state was more secure now that she had a plan. Either way, she would take the win.