Page 18 of Deadly Little Games
Mistral stayed by my side as I moved to open the gate.
With his attention on me, Sebastian lifted his hand, my playing card between two of his straightened fingers. “If you don’t keep this with you, I won’t be able to help you when there’s trouble.”
“She is safe here,” Mistral replied before I could say anything.
Sebastian’s eyes drifted to Mistral. “She could come to harm right where I’m standing and you wouldn’t be able to do anything.”
Mistral glared at Sebastian. “She could come to harm right where you’re standing, and you wouldn’t do anything unless she offered you something in return.”
Sebastian’s brow lifted. “Have you truly convinced her that you care? That you want more from her than the bounty on her mother’s head?”
I abruptly pushed open the gate, glaring at Sebastian. “That’s pretty rich consideringyourmotives.”
“I only speak the truth to Eva,” Mistral said. “The same will never be said of you.”
Sebastian opened his mouth and I held up a hand to cut him off. “I need to get to Emerald Heights, and I want to change first, so whatever is going on between the two of you will have to wait.”
His eyes widened briefly, and I realized I had messed up. “You intend to return?”
I had forgotten that I’d only told Mistral and Gabriel about that. “Yes. The court wizard knows a bit about realm travel. I want to ask him some questions.”
Sebastian lowered his chin, his expression clearly stating that he knew I wasn’t telling him everything. “Then I will escort you home to change your clothing, since no oneelseis offering.” His eyes were on Mistral as he said it.
Mistral took my hand before I could step over the boundary, then placed a light kiss on my knuckles, keeping his eyes lifted to my face. Magic tickled my fingers. “I hope you will remember what we spoke about.”
Since that could mean far too many things, and none of them would I want to discuss in front of Sebastian, I simply nodded. “I’ll come back when I can.”
He released my hand, and I stepped over the boundary.
Sebastian touched the small of my back to turn me away from Mistral, and I had a feeling it was only for the other man’s benefit.
I glanced back as we started walking, meeting Mistral’s gaze for a moment before we went around a bend in the path. The gate was closed at my final glance, though I hadn’t heard it move.
Once we reached the first street, Sebastian lifted his hand at the oncoming traffic and a cab immediately stopped for us. I gave him a suspicious look, but when he opened the door for me, I got inside. During certain times of the day it could be impossible to hail a cab in the city. I wasn’t going to gripe if he had used magic to help us out. I had places to be, after all.
We sat in the silence of the air-conditioned cab, with me squirming in my seat, breathing shallowly around the smell of stale cigarettes. I still couldn’t quite tell what Sebastian’s mood was, though verbally sparring with Mistral had seemed to bring him some enjoyment.
Once the cab let us out near my neighborhood and we were away from the potentially prying ears of our driver, I turned to face Sebastian. I really didn’t want him to ask me questions about Crispin, so I beat him to the interrogation punch. “What was with all your comments to Mistral? I know you guys have history, but no one seems to want to talk about it.”
His smile was pure ice. “You share too much with him. You seem to think he can protect you, and I felt it my prerogative to let you know that it’s not the case. Mistral cannot leave the Bogs.”
My jaw fell open. I had suspected it, but part of me couldn’t believe it was true.
Sebastian grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the way as a cyclist whizzed past us. “And youdoseem to need the protection.”
My heartbeat picked up as he continued gripping my arm. “How do you know he can’t leave the Bogs?” Not that it didn’t make sense. Now I knew why he had sent Gabriel to my apartment rather than coming himself.
Sebastian surprised me by actually answering, “Because that was the bargain he struck with me. His mother maintained the magic of the Bogs before him. When she died, he begged me to help him take her place—to create a contract of sorts between himself and the land. Being unable to leave the Bogs was the price he paid.”
“But how does that benefit you?”
He tilted his head. “Not everything has to benefit me, dear Eva.” He released my arm and gestured for me to start walking.
Reluctantly, I did, though I kept him in my sights. “You’re a real piece of work, you know that?”
“You’re too kind.” We reached my favorite café, and he stopped outside the door. “I thought we might like to pick up some of those delightful pastries on the way home.”
I looked up at him suspiciously. “Is that why you had the cab drop us so far from my apartment?”