Page 89 of Bent Out of Shade
“I agree that we either treat each other with respect, free of magic bindings, or we go to war.”
Ah. There it was. Threat equilibrium restored.
“Fine. No blood oaths.” I shrugged. “It’ll be more fun to destroy you myself should you break your promise.”
“To use one of your phrases, ‘back at you.’” He chuckled darkly and went to fetch Tatiana. “Miriam and I have come to an agreement,” he told her.
I did a double take at both his use of my first name and my colloquial phrasing. Had the apocalypse started? I glanced around the room. Had one of his paintings been even an inch crooked or the corner of his Persian rug been folded up, I might have decided that yes, yes, it had. Instead, I chalked it up to me growing on him.
Tatiana sat down. “What did you two decide?”
“I’ll swear a blood oath to never compel or harm only you, Tanechka.”
“I don’t want that,” she said. “I want you to be the person I know you can be.”
“You don’t trust that person.” Zev sat down in his desk chair and neatly folded his shirt sleeves up, exposing a dusting of dark hair on his muscular forearms. “What would you have me do?”
My enjoyment of his physical prowess was short-lived when I noticed Tatiana ogling him as well. Nope. Any vague attraction to the vampire was well and truly dead.
“Become someone I do trust again,” my boss replied archly.
They exchanged a loaded look while I shrank against the chair and tried to make myself invisible instead of appearing like I was hanging off every word and glance.
Zev inclined his head at her, and Tatiana returned the gesture. That wasn’t as good as a kiss, but it also wouldn’t scar me for life as the sight of any lip-lock between them would.
The events of the past few days had left me exhausted, but this mutual respect that Zev and I had come to was worth it. Then I remembered that Dumah had the Ascendant thanks to me, and my foot hit the ground, all satisfaction gone.
Tatiana and Zev stared at me with similar curious expressions.
I flexed my foot. “Muscle cramp,” I lied.
I dug my nails into my palms to keep my magic from breaking free because that situation wouldn’t have occurred if the two of them had been honest with me—and each other—from the start about that damned amplifier.
The thing is, in the end, it had been my choice to throw the Ascendant into Gehenna, so I could hardly throw blame around. Until I’d met the Leviathan, I hadn’t even thought of that place as Dumah’s prison since the angel was in charge of torturing souls. Apparently, no one else in my circle had either, including Laurent, because no one had raised the issue after the artifact was gone.
Perhaps it was a carefully guarded secret to make Dumah and the threat of eternal torture for the wicked appear more dire. As Tatiana always said, branding was everything.
“Our business is concluded,” Zev said. “Bring me Sabrina.”
I stood up. “You’ll talk to Vincenzo?”
Zev nodded. “Once I have Sabrina where he can’t get to her until a deal is struck.” He slid his phone out and sent a series of texts. “Have Amar deliver her here tomorrow at 9AM.”
When I hesitated because Laurent was compellable, the vampire eyed me. “Doubting me already?”
“Nine AM it is,” I said.
“Rodrigo will meet you at the gates.” Would Zev be asleep at that time? I’d never seen him in the morning so maybe that was our best window of opportunity to avoid Vincenzo as well. “Until then,” Zev continued, “I’ll send my people to guard both your places. And if you find her sire before I do, tell me. Immediately.”
“Absolutely.”
Tatiana nudged me. “Tell him about the shadow.”
Zev blurred in front of me, blocking my way. “What shadow?”
I scratched my arm. “It turns out that before Sabrina was turned, she was enthralled.”
Zev pinched the bridge of his nose. “You did get it out of her, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Why do I sense a ‘but’?” he said in a tight voice.
“She’s dybbuk-free but she isn’t waking up. There’s nothing wrong with her,” I said, “and once her shadow regenerates all should be well, but I’ll look for a way to make it happen sooner. Just keep Vincenzo from seeing her until then.” I held a fist up in solidarity as Zev ground his teeth. “Mutual respect for the win.”
