Bloodline Alchemy: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Academy Novel (Bloodline Academy Book 6), Lan Chan [free ebook reader for android TXT] 📗

Max took his place where Durin would have once sat. Despite my better judgement, my attention flicked over him and hissed at where his hair had been cut much shorter than he usually wore it. I almost shattered the bones in my right hand to stop myself from reaching out as though to run my fingers through it.

Max’s head turned to the right as Orin Harcourt cleared his throat. The reason for the close-shaved hair slammed me in the chest. Earlier, I had been too far and he was too leonine for me to make out the necrotic scars of claw marks that now permanently decorated the left side of his face. All the way from the top of his ear to halfway down the back of his neck. The curved line of the scarring said that something, probably a malachim, had grabbed hold of him by the hair and perhaps almost won the fight.

For all of my determination not to give in to the mating link, I was so busy ogling that I didn’t even notice the person who followed Max into the room until the click of heels cut through the fog in my brain.

“Really, Jacqueline?” the Trinity sorceress smirked.

“Yes, Agatha. Really,” Jacqueline shot back as she circled the edge of the room and ended up leaning back on the top of a desk. No matter what room she occupied, Jacqueline had a way of commanding attention.

The thing was, she made no indication that she was here for me specifically. Or how she felt about me given the circumstances. I swallowed hard, reminding myself that I was a criminal in their eyes and that I shouldn’t expect sympathy.

Andrei groaned. “Can we get this over with? I’m getting sick of standing.”

“You don’t get to decide when you’re sick of anything,” Victoria admonished. Her tone was so chilly I felt goose bumps raise on my arms. The snort that came out of Andrei’s mouth was anything but affected.

“Guess again, you withered old hag. Unless you want the whole supernatural community to know what you did to my family–”

“Our family,” Victoria grated.

“My family,” Andrei pushed forward, “you gave up that right when you agreed to this farce.”

One of these days, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if somebody shot Andrei a dirty look and he just dropped dead on the spot. The vehemence in Orin’s eyes when he spoke was nothing short of damning. “You dare threaten us?”

Andrei was unfazed. “I thought Fae had better hearing? Does it sound like I dare?”

Before Orin could continue their bickering, Angus threw out a hand and quieted him. That too seemed to incense Orin to the point where his face turned a shade of puce. I wondered which of the two of them had been higher ranking in the Fae dimension. It didn’t matter anymore, because Angus commanded the floor and there was no arguing with him when he took off his charming mask. I became the focus of absolute scrutiny.

“The blade,” Angus said. “Despite being under guard, it has disappeared.” Ah, that. Part of the hex on the blades required that they return to connect with my magic. If they were removed for too long, they broke down. Call it a supernatural burglar safety net. Good to know that it worked.

All eyes settled on me. Willing my face not to twitch, I picked a spot over Angus’s shoulder to stare at so I wouldn’t chicken out and clam up. It didn’t have anything to do with trying to avoid the gaze of a certain somebody at all.

The silence stretched out. Andrei opened his mouth. “Nobody asked you,” Ivan said before Andrei could say a word. He spoke anyway, as if Ivan wasn’t giving him a death glare.

“Nobody’s asking her either,” Andrei said.

Ivan’s left eye spasmed. “Somebody get him out.”

Instinct had me moving closer to Andrei. So close I almost stepped on his toes. The action was involuntary. I had to believe the same explanation when Andrei’s arm settled over my shoulder. We’d spent so long watching each other’s backs that separation was out of the question. It wasn’t because I liked him or anything. Surely not!

Everywhere around the room, quivering lips peeled back over teeth gone shifter sharp. I totally understood. A year ago, if somebody had told me Andrei Popescu would be the person I trusted most in a room chock full of shifters, I would have laughed myself to death. Victoria smacked her cane into the legs of the table. “Is she under your compulsion?”

I glanced at Andrei out of the corner of my eye. The amused look he gave me made me smile for some reason. It was a bit rich to accuse Andrei of compelling me when the reason I was in this situation was because they had given an order to wipe my mind in the first place.

Angus must have realised that because he pressed forward. “The blade, Sophie. That kind of advanced blood magic could only have been performed by a high mage or sorceress. You must know why we’re concerned.”

For the first time, I turned my attention to him. “I know exactly why you’re concerned. You should be.”

Over the top of the general muttering that erupted in the room, a high-pitched cackle soared. Agatha coughed to contain her mirth. “I’m going to assume it was Basil Dumont’s handiwork. Not bad for a lowbrow First Order mage. It’s almost a shame he absconded.”

I smiled sweetly back at her, lifting my chin in answer to her indirect question. Yes, I knew where he was. No, I would not be telling them. Not now. Not ever. As soon as he caught wind of what the Council intended, Basil had grabbed Betty and disappeared. She’d spent years in the thrall of a demon who warped her mind. He wouldn’t allow her to be tampered with again. He’d have taken my parents too if they weren’t already in Council custody. That,