He took the cup and bent in the open door to hand it to Sidhiel, who took it cautiously as though she expected it to explode in her face. “Here is your coffee, Councillor,” said Dragos. He met her gaze. “Don’t try to leave New York until I know for sure my mate is free and safe. I don’t think the journey would go well for you. Enjoy the games today.”
Color washed her pale features, and her pale gaze glittered with equal parts fear and fury. He stood back and watched the limo pull away from the curb. Then he pulled out his iPhone and hit speed dial.
Bayne answered on the first ring. “Yup, got two people following the limo now.”
Dragos said, “She can do anything she wants as long as she doesn’t leave town. If she does try to leave, call and let me know.”
“You got it.”
He clicked his phone off. Sidhiel would make sure that there were repercussions for him frightening her and issuing threats, but that was an issue to face on another day.
A slicing winter wind whistled down the tall corridors created by the skyscrapers, stinging his skin. He ignored it and turned to face south while logic and instinct clashed inside, building pressure. These days there was always more pressure.
Logic said that Pia was all right, that the Wood’s influence was just as Sidhiel said it was, and that it interfered with spells cast from the outside. While he had sensed a great deal of hate in Sidhiel, at that point in the conversation she had spoken plainly and he had not sensed any insincerity in what she had told him.
Logic also reminded him that Pia had five days left of the week they had agreed upon. Five days was a very short amount of time, despite the Powers that were active and moving through the world. In the meantime, he knew Pia was also awake and thinking about their missed dream date. He should give her time to send him a message, at least a day and perhaps two.
But instinct was a much more simple and overriding imperative. It drove him unmercifully and roared that she was gone, gone.
And the fact of the matter was, he was not actually needed at the games today. The contestants would fight each other, and half of them would lose, and tonight there would be twenty-eight left. And Kris could shoulder for the short term whatever business crisis hit, just as he always did when Dragos had to travel. Bayne and the other sentinels would call if they needed to get in touch with him. Dragos’s presence wasn’t essential until the final round of combat, the day after tomorrow.
He should not cross the Elven border.
And he never did well with things he should not do.
The intolerable pressure that had built up inside him eased as he took to the air. It was an unutterable relief to fly south.
He would go as far as the city limit. That was all.
Once he reached that point, he would decide what he would do next.
? ? ?
The fastest messenger in the group was Hugh, the gargoyle who could fly out in a few hours the distance that had taken them an entire day to travel by horseback.
Theoretically.
Pia thought of the stories of the lost hikers, and her stomach tightened at the possibility that the Wood might somehow interfere with Hugh’s flight. What if it screwed with his sense of direction so that he flew in circles? If that happened, who knew when he might emerge?
Eva didn’t like the idea of sending out their only avian capability, but then Pia was pretty sure that Eva didn’t like anything that she thought of. “Stop wasting time,” Pia said. “You know it’s got to be Hugh if we’re going to have any chance of getting in touch with Dragos quickly.”
“Fuck,” said Eva. “Fine.” She turned to Hugh. “Get ready to go.”
“You got it,” said Hugh.
By then everybody in the apartment was awake and alert. While Hugh prepared for the journey, Pia sent Johnny out to look for an attendant. Johnny returned almost immediately, followed by a pleasant-faced attendant who wore the High Lord’s plain green-and-brown house uniform.
“Good morning, Lady,” the Elf said, smiling. “Would you and your group like breakfast brought up to your rooms?”
Nobody outside the group needed to know the reason for Hugh’s journey. Pia told the Elf, “I must send a messenger to Charleston right away. I need to know how safe he will be traveling through the Wood.”
The Elf blinked rapidly. “You are the High Lord’s welcome guests,” he said. “The Wood will not harm either you or your messenger, but if you are concerned in any way and can wait for a short while, I’m sure the Lord or Lady would be most happy to send an escort.”
Pia looked at Hugh, who had returned to the room. The gargoyle balanced on the balls of his feet, his long rawboned body coiled with readiness. His sword and crossbow were strapped to his back, and he carried a belt filled with crossbow bolts angled across his chest along with a long knife in a sheath tied to one thigh. He no longer looked sleepy. He looked interested and capable, and very deadly.
Hugh shook his head at Pia’s unspoken inquiry. “I’m good.”