He strides towards Jade. What is he going to do? Surely, he doesn’t think that simply trying to arrest Jade is going to work?
All too late, I see the gleam of a dagger in the vampire’s hand. I open my mouth to shout something, either a warning or a threat. I don’t know. And I never will. Because Jade lifts his hand and a blast of magic pours out of him, straight into the vampire’s chest and suddenly there is nothing but a floating cloud of dust where the vampire used to be.
Jade turns his full attention to me. His emerald eyes are glowing.
“Please, don’t do this,” I whisper.
“Jade! Don’t hurt Ned! Don’t let the fey in! You don’t want this!”
Jade’s gaze flicks to my side, where Pink is now standing. The little human really is a brave motherfucker. Here he is yet again willing to risk his life for the greater good.
The light in Jade’s eyes shifts as he stares at his best friend. Pink and Jade have had their difficulties, but they are close. Closer than I am to either of them.
Jade continues to stare wordlessly. He looks a little more human. As if looking at his human friend is bringing out his human side.
I swallow as my mind races. Jade has more human blood than fey. His fey side is only distant ancestry. So, is he human enough for me to glamor him?
“Jade,” I say.
It’s worth a shot. It’s not as if there is anything to lose.
His emerald eyes turn back to me, and I hit him with my full whammy.
“Stop this,” I command.
He snarls at me. He fights it, so I enforce my will with everything I have. It is way harder than glamoring a full human, but it is working.
Slowly, slowly, piece by piece, he surrenders to me. His primal prey self accepts my predator dominance. His control slips away and I seize the reins.
“Sleep!’ I bark with a final push of the last of my strength.
And he does. His eyes roll back and he crumbles to the ground. The glowing runes go dark as if they have been unplugged. All the strange swirling magic vanishes as if it was never here.
Cool night air rushes in. The distant sound of traffic fills the silence. Everything is suddenly, startlingly normal.
Everyone rushes to Jade’s side while I stagger backwards a few steps.
I heave in a breath of cold air. Then I fall to my ass. You know what? Sleep sounds like a wonderful idea. I close my eyes and allow my body to keel over.
Then there is nothing but darkness.
Chapter twenty-five
Morgan
Ican’t stop thinking about Ned. All day, every day, whatever I am doing, he is the only thing on my mind.
Right now I’m putting groceries away. Nothing about putting orange juice in the fridge should be making me think of Ned. Yet here I am. Incapable of any other thoughts.
I wouldn’t mind so much if all this thinking was getting me towards some sort of conclusion. A decision on what to do. But nope, that’s staying out of reach. I’m still as conflicted as ever. My mind is simply spinning in circles like a dog chasing its tail.
I sigh heavily and cast my gaze over the mountain of full bags on the counter, all groaning with food that needs to be put away.
The kids are watching cartoons, but that’s not going to hold their attention for much longer. Perhaps I should see if Tina is free? The house is a mess and there is a ton of stuff I need to do.
It shames me to realize it, but I had no idea how much Ned was doing around the house. I had a housekeeper for the first year after Jennifer’s death. She retired just beforeNed started, and I mistakenly thought I was managing just fine. Clearly not.
I need to hire more staff. It makes me feel uncomfortable, but this house is far bigger than the one I grew up in. It was never meant to be managed by one person.
