Page 122 of A Shade of Myself
Giselle would still get her comeuppance so why should Gigi be burdened with this knowledge? If this was how Tatiana acted over a simple request that cost her nothing, how would she behave when she learned about my parents?
“Giselle still has to live with her actions and her professional career will be finished. Isn’t that punishment enough?”
“I’ve indulged you over and over again,” my employer said. “Now I’m telling you to do your job. I don’t give a damn about those women.”
A clump of roses on the rosebush exploded, showering us with petals.
Emmett buried his head in his hands with a groan.
“Wait.” I shook my head. “Carpe Demon is killing Edvin, which leaves me to get the twins to safety. But if you don’t care about the women, then what does my rescue entail?”
“The hunters aren’t killing the demon,” Tatiana said, exasperated. “You are.”
The dead stalk fell from my hand onto the grass. This was exactly what I’d been attempting to avoid. Both times I’d gone up against a demon, I’d had help. Magic help. Emmett wouldn’t be of much use.
“You’re going to get me killed!” I raked my hands through my hair. “There’s a perfectly good organization trained to hunt demons.”
“It has to be you.” Tatiana gave an annoyed sigh. “You stopped trusting your instincts. You were right about there being something to this case and you kept digging until you hit on the truth. But then you got scared and sentimental. You are a confident, intelligent, and tenacious woman, Miriam. Sentimentality has no place in your life. Neither does underestimating your abilities.” She sniffed primly. “It’s unbecoming.”
Her words landed on me, but where I expected nails and razor wire, I was blanketed in the plushest velvet imaginable. Suddenly, my way forward was clear.
“Tatiana, I have to tell you—”
The golem fidgeted worse than usual, practically dancing in his chair.
I rounded on him. “What is wrong with you?”
He glanced at Tatiana and then started humming like he hadn’t heard me, but his gaze darted from me to the house.
“Oh, for crying out loud,” she said. “I brought a junior member of Carpe Demon in for a friendly chat. He’s enjoying our company here until you return triumphant, having beaten the hunters to their target.”
“That’s insane. Why would you do that?”
The elderly artist stood up, her spine ramrod straight. “Because when that illusion is broken and our former client loses everything, I want her to know that she has me to thank.” She leaned over, her face only inches from mine. “Don’t disappoint me.”
