Chapter 24 #3
I hated that my hand wouldn’t stop shaking as I knocked on the door.
Corrine languished on her chair, relaxed back, using her feet to swivel side to side.
The silence stretched, her arctic glare locked on me.
The space between us seemed to contract, the air pressing in until even breathing felt strained.
Her sleek ponytail highlighted the beauty of her features and showed how harsh and strident they became with the slightest frown. She was dressed in a maroon dress that clung to her upper body and spilled over the seat of the chair. Metallic gold and green glinted in the low light.
“Takara Raina Bennett.” It rolled from her tongue in an icy purr. I didn’t recall ever giving her my full name. It was troubling that she had it. Even when I forced a smile, her eyes still bored into me. She stopped the chair, tapping her dagger-sculpted nails on the table.
“Why did I receive a blip of a message from William wishing me luck in dealing with you?” she asked. There was no way she didn’t know the reason.
Carefully, I told her everything, filtering it through what I believed was Raynard’s perspective, trying not to divulge any more information than he’d given William.
“What are you?”
“An ashinwa. My magic has been locked, and it can’t be granted to me unless I go through Spellrend. I believe my parents were supposed to initiate it. I don’t know why they didn’t, but I don’t have real magic.”
“But you do, Kara. Uncontrolled and erratic.” Her eyes scoured me, sending a chill through me. “Quite dangerous to vampires.”
“It’s not.”
Her smirk revealed the edge of one of her fangs. “Let’s not be na?ve, Kara. If you believed that, you wouldn’t have withheld that information.” The way she examined her nails made me take a few steps back and reposition my hands for easy access to the blade in my pocket.
“What a precarious predicament we have landed in,” she mused. Her attention remained on her nails, sparing me even the most insignificant glance.
Moments ticked by while I waited in the tension-filled room for the fate of my job—and maybe my life. My pride wouldn’t allow me to bargain for my job, and even if I did manage to be successful, the cloud of doubt would linger. Trust had been splintered.
“William took the bracelet?” she asked.
“He sent someone to get it.” I showed her my wrist. Contractually, I was required to wear it at all times.
In a flash of movement, she was in front of me, giving me an evaluating look.
Her presence so quickly in front of me made me realize how inefficient my weapons were when I didn’t have the element of surprise.
Even the stake of necri was inconsequential, because in the time it would have taken to remove and brandish it, Corrine could have easily taken it from me.
“I value honesty.”
So everyone in this room is a liar? Okay.
A pang went through me because I hadn’t informed her Diehle was dead and her grimoire wasn’t needed.
She’d given it to me in lieu of payment, so technically I’d purchased it.
But that deal was made when she trusted me and I had her affections.
It was moot now. The book would return to her.
“I also value power. Unfortunately, you don’t possess either.” She slowly returned to her seat, gentling swiveling the chair, her dagger nails steepled in front of her. “Did the House of Knight give you a severance?”
I nodded and gave her the figure, which was two months of my salary. She nodded, took out the phone on her desk, and after a few taps, I received a notification. Money had been deposited, a third of what the House of Knight had given me.
“Thank you.” There wasn’t a severance condition in my contract, so I was grateful for whatever I was given.
She dismissed me with an apathetic wave. A parting shot. My heart fell to the pit of my stomach. I felt discarded, not just terminated.
“Do you know what an ashinwa is?” I asked.
She shook her head. “But I will make it a priority to find out. I don’t trust that you’d be forthcoming with the information, so I’ll find it through means I do trust.” Her chilly accusation was a slap.
“I didn’t need your grimoire. I’ll return it to you,” I said.
“I’m assuming you don’t want to disclose the reason.”
“Diehle is dead.”
Her lips parted and then slowly moved into a smile.
Her frosty disposition lifted and her head tilted, reassessing me as a worthy adversary.
The money wasn’t the parting shot—this was.
I might not have been viewed as an enemy to the House of Knight, but I wasn’t sure of my standing with the House of Hollows.
Navigating the eerily silent house, I met only one person, Darby, who signed for me to “stay safe.” Tears pricked at my eyes at the finality in her expression as she waved goodbye.
By the time I’d made it to my car, I’d received notification of a second payment from Corrine.
It matched that of the House of Knight. I didn’t know what to make of it.
Was it compensation for the return of the grimoire?
A reward for my honesty? An indication of a truce?
Or to ensure the Houses of Knight and Hollows had equal footing in my eyes?