Page 39 of Tanglewood Legacy (The Three Sisters 3)
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a few more invitations to extend.” Gabriel bowed and then strode away.
Pierre waited until he thought Gabriel was out of earshot before whispering, “I thought you said no prison could hold her.”
“It can’t,” Isis said. “But if she breaks free, she shows the humans what she is. I suspect Delphine is smarter than that. She’s likely, even now, conspiring to prove her innocence.”
“Do you mean…” Pierre tipped his head back and stared at the sky. “Lucienne.”
Isis sighed. “Will likely strike again while her sister is locked up, proving Delphine isn’t the murderer.”
ChapterNineteen
Back at Tanglewood Plantation, Isis brought her sisters up-to-date on the day’s events, while Pierre returned home to manage his work responsibilities.
“The dragon invited all of us?” Circe asked, Endora nestled in her arms, while Rhys perched on the arm of the chair beside her. The rain forest in Rhys’s office had begun to recede, but the occasional parrot soared through the room with a resounding squawk. “An actual ball! I haven’t been to a proper masquerade since we left Darnuith.”
Medea crossed her arms. “Did you miss the part where Isis announced she’s engaged to be married, Circe? I think that is far more exciting news.”
Circe shrugged. “Of course she’s engaged! Anyone can see she loves Pierre, and he thinks this planet’s single sun rises from her ass.”
Rhys chuckled and kissed his wife’s cheek. “What my wife is so colorfully trying to say is congratulations, Isis. We hope Pierre makes you as happy as we are.”
“Now, can we talk about this ball?” Circe asked excitedly.
“No,” Isis insisted. “We need to talk about Delphine. It’s safe to assume she’s conspiring to have herself freed. If she left prison by magical means, people would know what she was. She needs to prove her innocence, which means arranging a murder while she’s locked up. It’s likely Lucienne will strike again sometime soon.”
Medea heaved a beleaguered sigh. “Beginning immediately, make sure your time is accounted for. The demon would likely love to pin this on one of us—or Pierre, as the man who turned her in. Don’t give her the opportunity.”
“Even more reason to go to the ball,” Circe said. “To see and be seen. Please say we’re going. I feel cooped up in this house.”
Rhys was quick to voice his support. “Leave Endora with me and go with your sisters. We’ll be safe behind the wards, and the three of you will be accounted for.”
Circe squealed excitedly. “I wonder if there will be dancing. I love dancing.” She gazed up at her husband with so much love on her face, it made Isis’s heart swell in her chest.
“For the love of the goddess,” Medea said. “The lot of you are enough to rot my teeth with how sweet you are toward each other.I’llwatch Endora. You’ll both go to the ball.”
Truly?” Circe beamed.
Medea rolled her eyes. “Yes. No part of me wants to spend the evening watching you and Isis hang off your romantic partners. Leave me a quiet house, a book, and this little darling, and go have a good time. And make yourselves seen.”
Isis wrapped her arms around Medea’s shoulders and hugged. “You are the best sister.”
She grunted. “For goddess’s sake, take care of one another. Demon magic is dangerous, and when it came to Pierre, Delphine enjoyed toying with you at his expense far too much. That prison can’t hold her if she wants out, and we all know Lucienne is just as dangerous. Keep an eye on her.”
“I’ll keep Pierre safe,” Isis said. “Besides, I doubt Gabriel will allow supernatural mischief at his ball. He’s guarded his secret too closely for that. Based on the look he gave me when he invited us, absolutely nothing about our current situation has escaped his attention.”
* * *
“I’ve never seen a morebeautiful woman.” Pierre bowed to kiss Isis’s hand. She’d appeared in the shadows around the corner from Blakemore’s at precisely eight o’clock as planned, dressed in a gown of rich lapis blue that brought out her eyes and made his inner workings heat with desire. He lowered his mouth to her ear and whispered, “You are stunning in that dress, but I’d prefer to see you out of it. Are you sure we can’t skip the ball and go straight to bed?”
She pulled away, laughing. “My sister would never allow it. She’s been looking forward to this all day.”
“What have I been looking forward to?” Circe, in a rose-colored dress trimmed in white lace, sidled up to them, her mask dangling from her fingers.
“This ball. I’d be willing to bet you’ll combust into a heap of ashes if we delay much longer.”
Rhys stroked his beard. “Isis is right. My best estimate is that we have less than ten minutes until detonation.”
Although Pierre didn’t know Circe and Rhys like he knew Isis, he felt at home with them almost immediately. The easy way they teased each other spoke to a deep bond he longed to be a part of.
