“How did she even get in here in the first place?” Devon spits out.
“Her magick is my magick,” Rosalina says cryptically. “Although, on a much, much lesser scale.” She frowns at Jess and grabs her by the arm. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“Not happy to see me?” Jess asks Devon, ignoring her mentor. “I am happy to see you again.” Her voice goes soft and she adds an air of seduction to her demeanor.
“Oh, Hell no!” I roar at her and pull Devon behind me. “You take one step near him and I will end you again. This time for good.”
“Hmm,” Jess says with a huff. “He wanted me once, he will again.”
“Over my dead body will you ever get your hooks into my fiancé again,” I say heatedly, completely contradicting my previous threat, but enjoying the shock and upset on her face at my words, borrowed from CK.
“That can be arranged,” Jess snarls at me, suddenly going completely rabid. She tries to launch herself at me, but Rosalina snaps her fingers and the girl is gone.
Vanished in mid-liftoff.
“I apologize,” Rosalina says formally. “She is a willful child, one that still has so much to learn.”
“If she ever comes back here, I will kill her,” I say to her just as formally. “You keep that slut in your Realm.”
Rosalina tilts her head majestically at me, holding her hands crossed in front of her. “I can assure you, you will not see her again.”
“And you,” I say to CK. “You have some explaining to do.”
“Not really,” he says, hands on hips. “I believe it has all been laid out.”
“You know what I mean,” I say through gritted teeth.
“I need a drink,” Devon blurts out. “Now that she is alive and back, I need to get a whole shitload of drink.”
“She isn’t back,” I say to Devon just to placate him.
“You are not happy to see your charge?” Remiel asks, just a little nastily, from over the top of my head, making me jump. I hadn’t sensed his return from disposing of the latest corpse. Not good.
“Charge?” Frederick drawls from over in the corner. “Lucky you. She is smokin’ hot.”
I take in a sharp breath, surprised at the pain that causes me. I try to hide it behind a roar, so loud it probably woke up Remiel’s murdered corpses, “EX-CHARGE!” CK can’t know that my, supposedly, dead feelings for this man, have come rushing back ten-fold in my current agitated state. Frederick catches my eye and sees my jealousy. It pleases him, as a slow smile passes over his face. He was testing me! I can see his own jealousy over Devon, and it excites me. A lot. This is all so bad. I daren’t even look at my husband.
Devon, thankfully oblivious to this exchange, casts a disgusted gaze over to Frederick. “You can have her. Trust me, I want nothing to do with her.”
“She is mine,” Rosalina says forcefully. “None of you will touch her.”
“Gladly,” Devon says and turns his back on us all. He runs his hand through his hair, and I see his hand shake slightly.
“Dev,” I say quietly.
“I’m okay,” he says back stiffly. “Just a bit shocked.”
I rest my hand on his shoulder to let him know that I am here for him, but we have diverted far off course. “Back to the matter at hand,” I say.
“I will set a meeting with Dmitri,” CK says, also glad to be back to business.
“Where?” I ask, finally looking at him. He isn’t throttling Frederick, so I am going to assume he didn’t notice what happened before. Although, I doubt it. He never misses a trick. That worries me more...that he noticed and doesn’t care.
“Here,” he says, pointing downwards and avoiding my gaze. He knows. Oh, he knows all right and to my elation he does care. Just not enough to get sidetracked with murder, it seems. But I can live with that. “This is my stronghold,” he continues. “I will not be defied in my own home.” The fierceness of his tone scar
es me slightly. He seems to have gotten on board with taking back control of his minions and that is a bit of a concern for me now. Mixed in with his feelings over Frederick, I fear he is about to blow out some power that will make us all wish we had never been born.
“What about Delinda?” I ask, my tone leaving no doubt as to my concern for us all. “I need her safe.”