Page 35 of A Shade Too Far
“And we’re supposed to take your word for it, are we?”
“Yes.” Shadows swam over me like animated tattoos. I was stuck in a loop of tight rage, sick and tired of my kind being framed as evil.
“I’ll say this yet again.” Laurent’s tone was steel. “Nothing and no one can control them. If one got free from that woman thanks to her magic, she’s fully possessed and it’s in control.” Laurent brushed a hand over my arm. “Can you shut your magic down? Nav’s not worth hurting yourself.”
Daya checked the tea, tossed in another bag, and placed the lid on the pot. “Agreed.”
Shame for my outburst warred with my anger, and I stood up abruptly, opening the back door to let the breeze cool me off. I gritted my teeth against the desire to let loose on Naveen, forcing myself back into a semblance of calm.
The shadowy tattoos faded away, bringing down the emotional temperature of the room.
“Right, then.” Daya carried the teapot to the table, smiling at me to come join them.
I couldn’t help the flush on my cheeks, but I nodded gratefully and sat down once more.
She poured the fragrant gold beverage into cups. “Going with the assumption that you’re correct about this Ohrist woman, how did she get past all of Santiago’s security?”
“Why would she have to get past us? That crowd was hardly pillars of society and they were invited.” Naveen’s fingers tightened on his mug.
“Then why let them past his wards in the first place?” I ate another piece of fancy Belgian chocolate that might as well have been cardboard for all I tasted it, but I was unwilling to let Naveen get under my skin any more than he had.
“Santiago knew the importance of showing his dominance by gathering everyone together at these fights.” Naveen matched my civil tone.
“Pride.” Daya clucked her tongue.
Great. The one time that some caution would have been handy, Santiago had to go swinging his dick around. “Is it possible someone got hold of an invitation and crashed the party?”
“Every invitation was embedded with a code specific to each invitee that was also tied to a fingerprint scan.” Naveen added honey to his drink. “All the guests checked in without incident.” He raised an eyebrow at me. “The invited guests who didn’t magically sneak in.”
I shrugged. Sorry, not sorry. “Ohrists can’t cloak so she must have had an invitation.”
“Scans can be faked.” Laurent waved off the offer of tea and bit into a plum with even white teeth, his tongue darting out to catch an errant drop of juice. He nodded at me. “Describe the woman you saw.”
“Dark red hair, taller than me, but she was in heels. She had giant sunglasses hiding most of her face and a scarf over her head, so hard to guess her age, but I don’t remember wrinkles… Oh. Kind of flowy dress.”
“It’s a start,” Naveen said. “The security team can narrow down the guest list to possible suspects.”
“You know the collectors in these circles,” Laurent said. “Does anything about her ring a bell?”
Naveen snapped a large piece of chocolate in half. “I’m supposed to know all the players, right? But this woman blindsided me. I’ll speak to Wendy, who’s head of security, and Mukisa, her second. They’re Torres’s personal bodyguards. If he discussed the curse or who was behind it with anyone, it was these two.”
Did I need to warn Zev now that he had the gloves? The sip of rich lemon ginger tea I’d taken soured.
Daya squeezed her brother’s shoulder. “No one expects you to have all the answers.”
Laurent and Naveen shared a look that all too clearly said they expected themselves to have them.
I frowned, absently munching on grapes. “Let’s go at this a different way. Assume we’re correct and this Ohrist woman is dybbuk-possessed. Did she go there specifically to kill Santiago because of his previous refusal to hand over the gloves or had she intended to steal them at the fight as well? And if so, how would she have gotten past the heartbeat alarm? It’s not like golems are a dime a dozen.”
“I only put it all together because I’d met Emmett,” Naveen said. “Thought it would be the easiest way to achieve my goals.”
I refrained from gloating that he’d thought wrong.
Laurent nudged my foot, his eyes dancing with amusement.
Naveen was glaring at me.
Whoops. Wherever had my smirk come from?
