“Thanks for looking out for her.”
“It wasn’t easy.” He licked his lips. “Selene is a temptation for the senses.”
Jason growled, turning one of the blades of the cylinder toward the demon.
“Relax, my friend. I know better than to bite the hand that feeds me.”
Jason released his grip and the silver rod returned to its original state. “I assume I can borrow this on credit and return it when I’m finished. Or do you want payment upfront?”
“You can borrow it, for free, on one condition.” Ryker’s eyes filled with ruby fire. “As I mentioned, a dragon fae’s heart has magical properties that a demon in my line of business would find exceptionally useful. Bring me the heart, and we’ll call it even.”
One of the skills Jason possessed that made him an excellent investor was his ability to read people. Ryker was a demon, but his intentions weren’t evil. Self-serving, perhaps, but the guy had a moral code. His word was good, and most of the time, he spoke the truth.
“It’s a deal,” Jason said.
The demon tipped his head in affirmation. “Good luck, Jason Flynn. I certainly hope to see you, Selene, and the dragon’s heart in my shop very soon.”
Jason nodded and made his way out of the crowded store. There was much to do and this was only his first stop.
When Jason arrivedat the Route 9 Bridge over Eagle River, he wasn’t sure what he expected. Not a blinking neon sign that saiddragon this way,but something, some clue that he was headed in the right direction. The picture Nickelova had implanted in his brain showed two mountains in the distance, beyond the forest he was looking at now. Only, standing here, with the road, the river, and everything else as pictured, the mountains were conspicuously absent. He took this as a sign. He would hike toward where the mountains should have been and trust that the way would reveal itself when he got close enough.
He tied the laces of his new hiking boots and donned the backpack of camping supplies he’d packed, checking that the silver cylinder was strapped to the side and well within reach. Then he sent Silas three texts. The first was a picture of his Bugatti in front of the Route 9 sign he’d told him about. The second was a picture of the place where the mountains should be. The third contained two simple words: “I’m sorry.”
His phone rang almost immediately after he hit send, but he didn’t answer. He couldn’t risk Silas giving him a direct alpha command to return to Rivergate. He needed to do this, and if he didn’t go now, he might lose his nerve.
His brother was right. He was probably walking into a trap. That was semiobvious. But without a doubt, Jason couldn’t live with himself another minute knowing she was there and he was here. He’d happily go to his death or to his slavery to save Selene. Silas would never let him do that, though. His brother didn’t realize life meant nothing to Jason without her. He had to do this.
He turned off the phone and tossed it into his backpack. And then there was nothing but his boots and a narrow footpath that seemed to lead in the direction Nickelova wanted him to go.
Selene shivered in the darkness,her hands groping the stone floor beneath her. What had Nickelova done to her? One minute they were standing just outside the bounds of Rivergate and then she was here. It all seemed to happen in the blink of an eye. Only Selene had the oddest notion that she’d been unconscious for some time. The cold breeze on her neck seemed to confirm that hypothesis. Her hair was missing, cut short at her nape. When had that happened?
“Hello?” she called through a dry throat.
A fire blazed to life in an alcove of stone nearby, flooding the room with light. As her eyes adjusted, she took in the vast cavern around her. She was not alone.
“Welcome back from la-la land.” Nickelova’s high-heeled black boots click-clacked against the stone floor as she approached Selene. Stalagmites and stalactites broke the otherwise normal continuity of the room, which included a red Persian carpet and a plush-looking sofa near the fireplace.
Nickelova’s posh appearance intimidated Selene. Her sleek platinum bob and tall, lanky build were something she associated with runway models, as was the red dress that wrapped around her body in a way that revealed more cleavage and leg than appropriate in mixed company. But it was the dragon-scale amulet around her neck that unsettled Selene the most. It throbbed with power as she neared.
“Jason won’t come for me,” Selene said. “I’m just an acolyte priestess who acted as his spiritual advisor. My life is not worth risking a member of the royal family.”
“Hmm. Why do women like you constantly underestimate yourselves? You barely brush your hair, throw on any old rag that will cover you, and then creep around like a little mouse trying your best to be invisible. But clearly you are not invisible, Selene. The affection I witnessed Jason showing you was unusual for the man. For any man, actually. So, little mouse, it seems you’ve been noticed despite your best efforts.”
Cheeks warming, Selene lowered her eyes. “I think you read more into it than there was.”
Nickelova rolled her eyes. “Let me enlighten you. The curse I placed on Jason’s vice was meant to force him to come to me. Obviously someone broke that curse. But part of my magic remains. A spell I placed on him long ago, on the evening we first met. You might call it a tracking device. It’s how I found him and possessed that woman he was with in the first place. When he gets busy, I feel what he feels… I see what he sees. But oddly, I hadn’t felt the tug of my curse in weeks. When I felt hisinteractionwith you this morning, I went to him immediately, well, as close as I could get to the protective enchantment. I didn’t just happen upon your rendezvous, Selene. In a way, I was watching you from the inside out. News flash: Jason loves you, little mouse.” She said the last part through her teeth. “Let’s stop pretending he doesn’t. It wastes both our time.”
Selene sputtered unintelligibly, trying her best to find the right words of denial, but Nickelova continued.
“I can’t say I’m not jealous. I had hoped thatIcould be the one to master Jason’s heart. But accommodations must be made. You will have to be the carrot on the stick. It’s why I’ve kept you alive.” Nickelova smiled wickedly, her eyes shifting to focus on something behind Selene.
Selene turned tentatively, only to let out a piercing scream. She was standing in front of a pile of bones. Human, animal, all mixed together in a grisly pile of death. Some were bleached, some burned, and some still clung to the remains of the flesh that once resided around them.
Hand clasped over her mouth and nose, she backed toward Nickelova, only to bump into a wall where there was no wall. After a frantic inspection of the area, she accepted the truth. She was a prisoner, jailed with a pile of bones behind an invisible barrier.
“No need for hysterics,” Nickelova said. “A girl’s gotta eat.”
Selene turned from the bones and swallowed the bile rising in her throat. She was still naked but at least the fire Nickelova had started warmed the cave to a temperature that stalled her shivering.
