Page 29 of Bound
His steady footfalls sound over the glass floor after me. “What? What did you think of?”
“Ruin!” I bellow as I clear the edge of VIP.
He turns from his place near the bar, a bunch of printed papers before him. “Gage—”
“The tech,” I cut in. “The tech is deadening the Fae’s powers. They wouldn’t be able to fight anyone off with magick, and the only ones with physical training were the captain and the guard.”
He sets the papers down, his black eyes riveting to mine. “I don’t understand. What the hell does that mean?”
“I’ve had years to adjust to the press of technology. To build my power until I can use it or to deaden it. So I can handle cells, the electrometer … Tech without shorting it out.” He dips his head, following me so far. “The Fae from the Sith are Aos Sí. High-ranking males with power that, under the hill, could blast me into fucking oblivion.”
His gaze widens. “Shit.”
I nod. “But here … They’re untrained men with maybe a few parlor tricks if they strain hard enough.”
He runs a hand through his hair. “No defenses then.”
“Like fucking none,” I admit. “That leaves them as ample targets for even a human faction. A hate group. Someone with little to no power to pick them up like a half-starved person off the street.”
When he peers at me, his gaze is unfathomable. “Are you fucking telling me that it could be humans that took them? Humans that we can’t fucking track? Humans that outnumber us by a hundred to one?”
My nod is stilted. “It could be anyone.”
He swears low and long in a stream that would leave Amoret blushing into her golden locks. “God fucking damn it,” he snaps. “What the fuck are we going to do? How the hell am I going to explain that to the fucking Council?”
“Ruin, that’s not the worst part,” I say, my voice lowering. “Without their magick, they can’t get free. They will be stuck wherever they fucking are until someone gets them out. And without their power …” I trail off.
His attention fixes on me, and the first flash of gold light pierces the blackness of his eyes. “What, Gage?”
“Without their power, without a way to get out, they are stuck,” I tell him. “And they will slowly die from the iron lacing the world ...”
That flash of gold turns blinding and his jaw slackens. “If whoever has them doesn’t kill them first.”
A low buzz rattles my pocket.
My gaze drops from Ruin’s as I pull my cell free. “Horan?” I ask, pressing my thumb to the speaker icon.
His exhale is pissed. “You need to get your fucking ass back here. Now.”
Ruin’s eyes widen at the fallen angel’s language, and I know my own brows have raised.
“Problem?” Ruin calls.
“The princess tried to burn down the fucking suite,” Horan growls.
“Princess …” My heart thumps. “Amoret?”
“What other damn princess is there, Whitehorn?” he snaps. There is a lengthy pause. “She won’t tell me what happened. She refuses to talk to anyone. Even her own people. So get your fucking ass back here. Now.” The line clicks and there is silence.
I hold the phone between us, pulse thundering.
Burned down the …
“Fuck.” I shove the phone in my pocket and run toward the doors. Slipping out into the fading sunlight, my boots thud on the sidewalk.
Heavy footfalls pound behind me, but I don’t look back.
I wrench open the door of the SUV and climb behind the wheel. The passenger side door flies open and Caine clamors in beside me.
My lips part to roar at him to get out, but his expression is surprisingly solemn.
“Ruin said fire, and I know the girl is Fae,” he says fast. “If she is losing control of her magick, you need my shield.”
Between all of us, the demon’s magick is the fastest. The most flexible. My fire won’t help, and Horan’s is nearly as volatile. You can’t pit fire against fire. And if Amoret burned …
Forcing down the odd rush of desire and sympathy inside me, I grind my teeth. “Fine. But you touch her and you lose a fucking limb.”
Something flickers through his gaze, but he nods. “You have my word.”
Though I don’t trust the demon as far as I can throw him, I slam the SUV into gear and speed into the city.
