Chapter Forty-Four
BLISS
With Liz at the helm, planning it out, it didn’t take long to gather everyone.
After a few reluctant meetings at the Voracious Maw church with Grim, we formed a plan.
A pretty good one at that. And with a bit of luck, perhaps a little bit of persuasion on my part—though I didn’t have much to spare—we were able to get Grim to agree to release Pisces in order to lure Jordan out.
In the weeks since Pisces and I were arrested, Grim’s team managed to narrow down where Jordan was hiding. It seemed he’d fled to Barcelona, Spain. And so that’s where we meet up, gathering in a hotel room.
“We’ll set up our trap in Ciutadella Park.
There are tiny fae sectors within the park but no portals, so as long as we have it surrounded, he won’t be able to escape once he’s there.
” Grim points out the sectors on a map that’s spread out on the coffee table.
Sectors are just smaller versions of districts and often don’t have names of their own.
I’ve already seen the map, so I don’t crowd around the table like everyone else.
When Grim arrived with Pisces, I’d hoped that we would have some time to talk, for me to explain, but he ignored me every time I tried.
So I’m left to study his features as he looks over the map in concentration, perhaps trying to memorize where all the sectors are located.
I can feel my bond growing excited to be so close to him again.
Thoughts of touching him and kissing him and more keep interrupting my mind and I have to force myself to focus on the mission at hand.
I remind myself constantly how inappropriate it would be to try to seduce him when he’s still mad at me, and we are here to catch a literal murderer.
That seems to take the wind out of my inner succubus’ sails, but only just barely.
I still let my eyes drift over the lines of his face, the straight long nose that ends in a soft point. His ears that peek out from underneath his hair that’s grown out since I first met him. The way his mouth is always betraying his emotions in the way it’s set. My mate.
He’s my mate.
When I look at him, it all makes sense. Of course he’s mine. He couldn’t be anyone else’s. And I find I want to belong to him. I want him to want me and call me his.
The ache in my chest swells. And I let it. Because it’s a reminder of everything that’s happened.
Grim continues to lay out the plan. In a matter of minutes we are packed up and headed out to the park. Dusk fell quite some time ago and a warm breeze blows about, caressing and calming.
The park is closed, of course. It’s late, almost midnight. But Benny gets the gates open quickly and we all slip inside. He closes the gate almost shut, leaving an unnoticeable gap so that when Jordan makes his way here, he won’t get stuck outside the park.
We spread out into groups around the fountain of the Cascada Monumental. Evan and Grim come with Dericia and I as we take up positions out of sight behind a large gazebo.
Simon, Amelia, Shaun, and Pinkie are across the way from us, also getting into their hiding spot, covered by a grouping of trees and bushes. Bell, Stormy, Benny, and Taser are roving, ready to use our comms to tell us when Jordan’s arrived.
“I still don’t get how we’re even certain Jordan will show up,” Reese mutters from our crouched positions.
“You’ll see,” I tell her, though my eyes are on Grim. He’s also not totally convinced this will work. Pisces may be two for two when it comes to his lure, but as Grim pointed out when I laid out the plan to him, maybe it only worked because I’m his mate.
Pisces stands out in front of the fountain, watching the many sprays of water jet out of the pond.
“We’re right here,” I say into our comms. He looks to his left, towards where he knows we’re just out of sight. He gives a single nod but says nothing.
He takes a seat on the ground, sitting cross-legged before the fountain, eyes closing in concentration. His face lifts up towards the stars almost in silent prayer, and his bottom lip curls inward for a moment.
It takes several minutes, the hum of his lure magic building subtly. And then Pisces’ eyes snap open.
“I’ve got him,” Pisces says into his mic.
“We’ve got the entrances covered,” Benny says. He and Taser will use their vampire speed to pick up on wherever Jordan enters the park, Benny having unlocked the rest of the gates just in case.
Minutes tick by and I wonder if Jordan will be sleepwalking like I was the first time Pisces lured me. If that’s the case, it could be a while before he shows. Reese shifts beside me, letting out a yawn.
“You know you didn’t have to come right?” I ask, reaching out and clasping my best friend’s hand.
“Proving Jordan is behind those murders and capturing him was the only way to free your mate. Of course I’m gonna be here.”
I hug her tightly, feeling that earlier ache soothed by her. “I’m so grateful for you. I know lately it’s been so weird, but—”
She stops me. “Don’t even worry about it. If best friends can’t handle one little hardship, then they have no business calling themselves best friends.”
“I love you,” I say, grinning.
“Love you too.”
“You two about done?” Taser says into the comms. I hadn’t realized ours were picking up the conversation.
“We’re done.” Reese laughs.
“Good, but just for the record, I love you all too,” Taser says. “Since we’re being sappy and all.”
“Oh, it’s sappy time?” Simon asks. “Well, in that case—”
“Save it, mate,” Benny interjects. “We’ve got one psychotic vampire entering the park. Heads up, he’s not sleepwalking, and he looks pissed—confused but pissed.”
It becomes evident why it’s taken this long for Jordan to arrive, as he makes his way down one set of the monument’s steps. His movements are jerky, obviously against his will, as the lure deposits him in front of Pisces. To Jordan’s knowledge it’s just the two of them.
“Who—?” he starts to ask but stops when Pisces turns around. Jordan’s confusion and anger melt into amusement and he laughs, the sound making my skin crawl, but the usual fear that accompanies it is noticeably absent. “A siren lure, interesting. I thought that was just a rumor.”
Pisces doesn’t respond. It’s a ploy to get Jordan to keep talking, enough to incriminate himself.
“So what? You were feeling a bit hungry and decided you want a bite of vampire? Or—” he pauses, cocking his head to the side, “—is this supposed to be pay back for feeding off Bliss?”
Again Pisces doesn’t respond.
“You know you and her will never work, right? A Born fae with a Made? Keep dreaming, siren boy.” How does Jordan even know about Pisces and I? I file that question away for later, but the thought that maybe Jordan has been keeping tabs on me really creeps me the fuck out.
“Seems to me like you’re projecting,” Pisces says, a smirk appearing on his face. “You know what I think? I think it eats you up at night that she’s not your mate.”
Jordan’s amusement falls away. “Succubi are bottom of the food chain anyways. Someone like me needs a higher class of fae for a mate.”
“Right,” Pisces responds, looking off to the horizon as if he’s bored.
Jordan huffs out a breath of frustration as he tries to move away from Pisces. “Fine, let’s just get this weird siren feeding shit out of the way so I can go.”
Pisces’ smirk widens into a feral grin. “What makes you think after I feed there will be anything left?”
“Siren lures are meant to feed off emotion, aren’t they? That’s what I’ve heard.”
Pisces shrugs. “I don’t think there’s a hard and fast rule.”
Fear finally finds its way into Jordan’s eyes. He thrashes against whatever magical hold Pisces has on him.
“Why did you do it?” Pisces asks, taking a threatening step towards his prey. Jordan is almost a full head shorter than Pisces and the way my mate stalks forward towards him does something to me. Each step is powerful, deliberate.
Pisces circles Jordan, waiting for an answer.
“Do what?” Jordan asks, licking his lips.
“Try to frame me for murder?”
He swallows. “I didn’t. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You viciously murdered at least three women.”
“No, that wasn’t me. It was Jinx.”
“Your weasel shifting friend has an alibi for all three.”
“Bring it home,” Grim mutters besides me.
I wait with baited breath for Pisces to draw out a confession. They’re circling it like water down a drain.
“It’s just you and me,” Pisces says, coming to stand behind Jordan. He leans down to whisper in his ear. “Why don’t you just confess? Who knows, maybe it’ll make your time in the afterlife not so bad if you own up to what you’ve done before you die.”
Jordan stills and slowly looks around, a smile curling his lips.
He laughs again. “Does she get off on watching you feed? Did you enjoy the taste of her sweet cunt?” I startle at the question and Reese squeezes my hand.
There’s no way Jordan could know Pisces healed me if he hasn’t been keeping close tabs on me.
Or is he just assuming and taking a stab in the dark?
Pisces comes to a halt before Jordan, standing in between the vampire and the fountain.
“Time’s up, mate,” Jordan says. He lunges forward, pushing Pisces into the fountain, biting into his throat.
Jordan gets up, cackling. He toes Pisces’ limp body in the water and spits on him.
“I’m going to have so much fun tracking down Bliss.
She’s going to be mine. And I’m going to march on over to the fae council and tell them how you admitted to murdering those humans and how you told me all this before you tried to kill me. ”
Jordan picks up Pisces by the scalp, wrenching his head up out of the water. He leans down close to Pisces, whispering, “It won’t take any convincing. You’re a crazed siren, after all.”
All reasoning leaves me as Jordan takes Pisces’ head in between his hands, snapping his neck with his vampire strength in less than a second.
A second.
A second for me to lose everything.