Page 86 of Night's Fall
I doubted he had a cosme-mask or a spa-visor to help me out, soIdid whatIcould with an old-fashioned washcloth.
OnceIwrapped the cloth over the edge of the sink,Itook in a huge breath and returned to the mirror.
I lifted a hand to my chest.
Tears threatened again, soIclosed my eyes and pressed into my own flesh.
“You’re not gone,”Iwhispered.
Nothing from my beast.
I wondered how long it would take for the sedative to wear off and was tardily thrilledAlekseihad thought to call a doctor.
Maybe there was a reversal.
I opened my eyes and stared in the mirror, feeling the warmth of my skin under my hand, and such gratitude, such profound gratitude, it was unreal.Ihad to tamp it down, orI’dbe overwhelmed and unable to function.
“I’m so fucking glad you’re not gone,”Iwhispered.
Still nothing from my beast, but she was there.
PraiseHecate,she was there.
Another deep breath whileIpulled back my shoulders, thenIran my fingers through my hair to bring some semblance of order to the windswept mess.
With that,IdecidedIwas ready for whatever else was going to happen that night.
Or at least as ready asIwould get.
I headed out to the landing.
I stopped there whenIheard voices.
And at what those voices were saying,Irested a shoulder against the wall of the alcove around the double doors, andIlistened (okay, eavesdropped).
“Son, youincinerateda man in anart galleryforBeelzebub’ssake,” a man stated hotly, andIcould tell it was over a comm. “Wehave due process in this realm!” he nearly shouted. “Thisis aPRdisaster.”
“We need to spin it.Immediately.I’mcallingGermaine.”Thatwas a woman’s voice.
“And then you destroyed said art gallery and flew over the city with an untethered female on your neck.”Theman’s voice was back and going atAlekseilike the woman hadn’t spoken. “Thesafety issues you ignored with that alone are going to dog my reign, and yours, until our deaths.Ican’t even begin to imagine what got into you.”
I jumped guiltily whenAlekseiappeared on the lower level, just beyond the edge of the upper landing, whereIcould see him, but more to the point, he could see me.Hewas holding a tablet, but his attention was on me.
He lifted a hand, crooked a finger, andIhad no choice but to leave my eavesdropping spot and join him.
“Are you listening to us?” the man demanded from the tablet.
Aleksei met me at the bottom of the stairs, guided me back to the freestanding kitchen bar, slid an arm around my shoulders and turned us both to the display.
I gasped and then immediately dropped into a clumsy half-curtsy that was hindered byAleksei’sarm around me whenIsawKingFillionandQueenCalisascrunched together on display.
Her famed burnished-brown tresses were arranged in an elaborate updo, and she was dripping in jewels at ears and throat.Hisblack hair was swept back, andIcould see the ends of an untied bowtie dangling at the sides of the opened collar of his pristine white shirt.
Unlike any timeI’dever seen them before, when they were always collected and completely put together, now, they both appeared wildly harassed.
Then again, their son’s life had been threatened, and he did indeed commit a number of rather alarming felonies that night.
Aleksei sounded amused when he told me, “Youdon’t have to curtsy over a comm.”
