Chapter Ten #2
Wraith’s brows drew together as he listened, though his posture remained at ease. He spoke over steepled fingers. “Where is this Charm now?”
“We don’t know, but—”
“You’ll find it,” he said, not asked. Sera gave a quick nod. “You’ll find it and I’ll send Miles to retrieve it from you. You also mentioned an arrangement?” Wraith asked, his voice somehow deeper, more raspy than before.
“Oh.” The question surprised her, and she stumbled to think of a response.
Sera glanced at Kieran, but he inclined his head, encouraging her to continue.
Sera straightened her spine. She could do this.
She would sort out the warm, giddy feeling of someone having confidence in her later.
“Cole offers protection and gifts, in exchange for… various services. But he doesn’t allow you to leave once you’ve entered his service. ”
“And how does he ensure that?” Wraith pressed.
“Threats, mostly. He can find people, and uses his various sources to hunt down anyone who leaves. But he’s not above ensuring cooperation by… physical means, if necessary. Let’s just say, there was a reason I didn’t run until I had outside help.”
Wraith went quiet, drawing a finger around his mouth while he seemed to think through her words. Sera didn’t know if she should speak again, but the quiet in the room had become unbearable.
Her fingers began to flex, though she kept them firmly at her side. She was too nervous to move them the way her body called to do. Kieran’s hand closed around the outside of her fist, holding there for several seconds while the urge to fidget lessened.
She looked at him, expecting his normal apathetic stare, but there was intensity in his eyes. Buried deep in the silver so that his face remained impassive, but she could sense that he was struggling. And she suspected it had something to do with her confession about Cole.
She twisted her hand, clasping his and he looked down at her with the barest turn of his head.
Shit. He was furious. All appearances suggested his breathing was calm, but she could see the strain to maintain that appearance in each slow inhale.
She felt the barest tremble where she held his hand.
Her own breath caught as her heart clenched—then nearly stopped completely when Wraith shot to his feet.
It was not an easy task forgetting that Thaddeus Wraith was in a room.
“Well. This has been… enlightening.” Wraith’s expression was far graver than when he entered.
He worked his tongue at his teeth, his eyes still cast elsewhere.
“I try to allow a fair bit of trust in those I employ. Do your job, don’t lie to me, and I stay out of your private affairs.
” His jaw strained, like he was clenching.
“It’s inevitable that some less than tasteful transgressions slip through the cracks.
I know the business I’m in. I know the people I associate with.
But they know what I expect, and it seems Hawthorne has taken some liberties.
” He nodded at Sera. “I apologize for my associate. Though, I do intend to explore your claims before I take any action, it’s clear that his leash has gotten a little too loose. ”
Sera blinked. What was happening? “Thank you?”
“No, thank you, Miss Blair.”
Sera hesitated, unsure how to respond and her body mechanically dipped into an almost imperceptible curtsy.
“I appreciate you bringing this to my attention.”
“But… what about the threat to you?” She asked, still not able to understand what was happening, because it sounded like Wraith was pissed off that his subordinate was trapping people into manipulative arrangements, and not so much about the intended coup.
“Oh, that’s on the list. But,” he slipped his hands in his pockets, leveling her with a pointed stare, “either way, your problems with him will end.”
“What do you intend to do?” She asked, before she could stop the question.
Wraith’s golden eyes flickered with a danger that made her shiver. “Best not to ask.”
“Mr. North,” Wraith acknowledged with a nod. “Thank you for meeting with me, even if it wasn’t a choice. Still working on those iron initiatives?”
“Inclusivity starts in the infrastructure. It’s my priority,” Kieran said, voice controlled.
“I’ll make sure the demon and grimm reps know which side to support in the future.”
Kieran only nodded.
“But, uh, while I’m thinking on it, it’d be polite if I could expect you to reciprocate, should my kind ever need a law adjusted.”
It was unclear if ‘his kind’ meant grimm or criminals.
“I will gladly support any initiative that furthers the city’s interest in inclusivity and progress,” Kieran answered, and Sera had to clench her thighs to still the sudden pulse between her legs. Gods, was this really a turn on?
Wraith grinned, full teeth and Sera couldn’t tell if it was sinister or something else.
“That’s all we can ask, yeah? I can appreciate a man who stands by his principles.
” Wraith continued to the door, stopping halfway out of the room.
“Apologies for the, uh, interruption, by the way. I did have an appointment.” He shut the door with a soft click behind him.
Sera went to the door and engaged the lock before falling with her back against it.
“That was… unexpected.” She put a hand over her frantic heart, waiting for the tempo to finally return to normal.
Her gaze drifted to Kieran. There was emotion in his face.
A crease in his brow, concern in his eyes, a slight gap in his lips that was almost gaping.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, “Did I miss something? I think that went well, considering.” Was he still upset about Cole?
He remained immobile. “I…”
Sera waited, holding her breath. What? What was he trying to say? Was he worried? About her? About Wraith? About himself? What? She wanted to shake him and demand an answer. She would have, but she feared pushing him too far.
He cleared his throat, and his eyes grew distant. “I think we should return home.”
Sera’s jaw hung open as he tried to move around her and retreat. The… the fucking nerve. She slammed her hand against the door. He did not look at her, but he did stop.
“No. Don’t shut me out like that. If you have a concern, tell me.”
“My concern?” He let out a breath that might have been a laugh. “My concern is that I can no longer see the shadow over you.”
Sera shrugged. “That’s good, right? We don’t want to see shadows, right? That means death isn’t coming and all that.”
He leveled her with a direct stare and fear shot through her. Not of him, she realized, she did not fear him whatsoever, but fear of what could possibly cause this sort of reaction from him.
He carefully curled his hands into a fist and it was extremely telling to Sera that she didn’t even flinch.
“I cannot see death on you anymore. Which means either this conversation with Wraith changed something about Cole’s future plans, or that I am more compromised than I believed.
I was…” he closed his eyes. “I was too distracted earlier to take proper notice. It was a dangerous lapse in judgment and now I have no idea if you remain in danger.” He cursed in a language that Sera didn’t understand. Probably Faery.
“But there is still a chance that I’m fine? The shadow might be gone for exactly the reason we think, Cole is no longer a threat.”
“And you are content to gamble your life on that assumption?” He said, almost a growl.
“I have one job. One purpose above all others and that is to prevent death when prevention is possible. It has been my curse and function for my entire life. Long before my siblings, my gift was used to serve others. The power to sense Death is so rare that it has not been seen in seventy years. Not until me. I do not have the luxury of squandering it by indulging in my own selfish pursuits. Your life is important, Sera. I hold it in the highest regard. And I may have just sacrificed it simply because your touch unravels me in a way that I cannot seem to resist.”
Sera’s heart leapt into her throat, her mind clashed with the turns of his speech, unsure which track to follow.
“You are dangerous, Seraphina. Dangerous to the control I have worked a lifetime to maintain.” He advanced toward her. His speech was rushed, almost ranting, but his movements remained rigid and controlled. "The merest touch of your hand is enough to completely disarm any sense of reason or logic.”
Her back hit the door, where he had been teasing out the most exquisite pleasure she’d ever experienced before they were interrupted. His hands braced on either side of her, once again pinning her in place, though he did not move close enough to touch her.
“Hearing what Cole was capable of, the mere suggestion of him hurting you,” his eyes raked over her with such ferocity she felt it like fire across her skin, “I have never been so close to losing control. The anger that raced through me…” his body eased closer, like he couldn’t stop himself, “the vicious, possessive need to cause him physical harm. Because of you.”
She swiped her tongue through her dry mouth.
Somehow his anger did not scare her, the intensity of his words, the way he shifted like he was desperate to touch her…
she had never been more aroused. His eyes closed, head drawing forward before adjusting so his forehead hit the solid wood above her shoulder.
She felt him breathe, no longer calm and controlled.
Heard his fingers dig into the door, the shudder in his muscles as he fought whatever he was trying to resist.
“But do you not see the bitter reality of my gift?” He pulled back, stepping away from her, cold slapping her heated body.
“I can never care for anyone. There is no hope of relationships or love in my future, because the moment that bridge is crossed, the moment a person becomes important to me, I lose the power to protect them.”