“You did the right thing,” he admits quietly. “Risk or not, we had to try.”
His words unravel a horrible knot inside me and my shoulders sag with relief. I hated being at odds even for a minute. We’ve always been a team, and it feels right to be in sync again.
Hearts racing, Gideon and I climb the steps together.
GIDEON
My adrenaline rocketsinto overdrive and every hair on mybody stands on end when Cal knocks on the door. I don’t like this shit. My animal fucking hates it. He thinks we’re going into battle and wants to shift. It’s getting harder by the second to convince him this situation calls for the man, not the lion.
The door opens with a high-pitched creak. My left arm trembles. I grip it hard to stop the shift. Alina stares up at us, a fake smile glued to her face.
I breathe deeply through my nose to check for any other scents. When nothing besides Alina’s overwhelming perfume hits me, I release my arm but keep my guard up. If I learned anything growing up around a coven, it’s that witches are unpredictable. The second you think you’ve got one figured out, they turn around and do the opposite of what you think.
“It’s good to see you again, Gideon,” Alina chirps. Her smile frays around the edges as she looks at me, but I can’t bring myself to give a damn. “Where’s your djinn?”
She talks about Sheena like she’s a designer pet. I bite my tongue to hold back my instinctual need to put Alina in her place. If she’s truly willing to help, I can’t risk pissing her off before we get what we need.
“She’s here,” Callum says. He turns and looks over his shoulder—the signal we told Idris to watch for.
Where the SUV looked empty before, the fae suddenly appears. He gets out, cradling Sheena in his arms with a blank look on his face.
“Ah, boys,” Alina purrs and claps her hands with delight. “I see you’re thanking me for my gesture of friendship with some new tricks.”
Instead of being offended by the glamour, she seems pleased to learn we hid things from her.
Fucking witches.
Silently,Idris climbs the stairs, carefully supporting Sheena’s head on his shoulder. Alina ignores him completely, turning her full attention to my mate.
“You weren’t kidding. She doesn’t seem well at all.” She clicks her tongue, but the sympathy is as fake as her smile. “Perhaps I can do something about that.”
Alina reaches for Sheena. Callum and I step together to block her path. She laughs, the sound grating and way too fucking loud given the circumstances.
“She really isyour djinn after all then. How curious that you would protect her from an old friend.” Alina pouts, but I’m not falling for her antics. Neither is Cal.
“I followed your instructions. She’s here. You’ve seen her,” Callum snaps. “Now where’s the talisman?”
He sounds dangerous, but Alina just rolls her eyes and pulls a ring from her pocket. I don’t have a clue if it’s actually what Sheena needs to harness her power, but it looks old. When Callum reaches out to take it, Alina snatches her hand back.
“Not so fast, darling. I didn’t ask to seeher. I asked to meether.” Alina tuts, tapping the ring against her chin. “We can hardly meet if she’s not even awake to say ‘hi.’”
I swallow my growl, already sick to death of Alina’s games. We could try to overpower her and take it, but only the gods know the hell the witches would rain down on us if they thought we were stealing from the coven. Playing along is still the best choice.
Even knowing that, ittakes me two tries to get my body to obey my brain and step aside. As the witch advances, I block her with my hand and speak for the first time. “If you hurt her, Alina, I won’t rest until you’re dead.”
I lock eyes with her, and she finally loses her fake smile.
“Always so rude,” Alina huffs at me. “Threat received, Gideon.” Pivoting and walking into the house, she tosses her hairover her shoulder. “At least bring her inside so we’re not causing a spectacle for every bored human in the neighborhood.”
One by one, we follow her in. The door swings shut by itself.
When Alina reaches for Sheena again, I allow it, ignoring every muscle in my body that demands I stop her. The witch places one hand against Sheena’s temple and the other against her heart. I’ve seen Alina use magic before, but when her fingers begin to glow a hazy green color, I stiffen. Watching anyone cast so close to where the mate bond lives feels wrong.
Color returns to Sheena’s chalky cheeks and her breathing becomes less ragged. Her beautiful green eyes flutter open, and Alina steps back, chest heaving and shoulders slumped. Whatever she did took effort.
Sheena blinks as she looks around and takes in the unfamiliar house, the stranger, and the tense looks on all of our faces. When she realizes Idris is holding her, she seems even more flustered.
“So you’re the last djinn,” Alina says in a dry tone.
