“Try,” I said, and leaned forward to press another kiss against his forehead.
A smile tugged at the corners of Tybalt’s lips. Then the smell of pennyroyal and musk rose in the air between us, and he was gone, replaced by a striped tabby. The beating he had received was more evident in this form, without clothing to hide his wounds; the fur above his paws was worn away, and there were several gouges in his side. His breathing was labored—something I hadn’t noticed when he’d been in human form, but I hadn’t been looking for it, either. I’d been too relieved to see him awake.
Looking up at me, Tybalt meowed.
“We need to get out of here.” I stood, scooping him into my arms. He settled against my chest, offering a single rusty purr before going perfectly silent, perfectly still. I zipped my jacket to hold him there and turned to Etienne. “Now we just need to find Chelsea and Quentin.”
“Assuming they’re being held in this same location,” he said grimly.
“Let’s at least try to look on the bright side, okay?” I walked toward him. “So far, we’re not too hurt to keep moving, and that’s more than I was hoping for. Now let’s go find our kids.”
“I was waiting for you,” said Etienne, and opened the door.
His don’t-look-here spell was still holding, hanging around the three of us like a shroud as we stepped back out into the hall. I paused to breathe in, testing the air. Then I froze, the smell of Folletti hitting me like an icepick to the temple. There was nowhere for us to run, and no time to explain. I yanked the door shut and clapped a hand over Etienne’s mouth, hoping he’d get the message.
Years of training served us both well. Etienne’s eyes briefly widened before he offered me a short, sharp nod, acknowledging my unspoken request. Together, we waited in silence for what was coming next.
We didn’t wait long. Three Folletti came drifting down the hall, their semi-transparent bodies gliding about two feet above the floor. All of them had their swords drawn, and were looking around suspiciously. I didn’t need to see their faces to know they were on edge.
My experience with the Cloud Kingdoms—and hence the Folletti—is limited enough to verge on nonexistent. Since they were made of air, and illusions are technically bent air and light, they might see right through Etienne’s don’t-look-here. On the other hand, being made of air might make the illusion work even better on them. It was a gamble. As their searching eyes found our side of the hall, I tensed, ready to throw myself at them in order to buy Etienne time to open us a portal.
The Folletti looked right through us and drifted on their way. I kept my hand over Etienne’s mouth and began slowly, silently counting, refusing to let either of us move until I was certain we were alone. When I had reached a hundred without the Folletti returning I pulled my hand away, jerking my chin toward the end of the hall. Etienne nodded. Still holding Tybalt to my chest, I pushed away from the wall and started walking toward the doorway to the stairs.
If Riordan thought we were safely confined in our individual rooms, she wasn’t likely to have multiple squads of Folletti checking up on us. That would be a waste of resources, and whatever she was planning was big enough that I didn’t expect her to have resources to waste. Holding that thought in mind, I put my free hand on the bannister and began descending the stairs. Etienne was close behind me.
Ashes of Honor: An October Daye Novel
Seanan McGuire's books
- Bed of Roses
- Son Of The Morning
- Cover Of Night
- Affairs of State
- A Profiler's Case for Seduction
- Because of Rebecca
- Conflict of Interest
- Eclipse of the Heart
- Flames of Attraction
- Illusions of Love
- Keeper of the Moon
- Keeper of the Shadows
- Legacy of Love
- Love Proof (Laws of Attraction)
- Miles of Pleasure
- Of One Heart
- Off Limits
- Off Sides
- Out of the Dark (The Brethren Series)
- Out of the Depths
- Pool of Crimson
- Prince of Wolves
- Rules of Entanglement
- Shadow of My Heart
- Sins of a Ruthless Rogue
- Something of a Kind
- Son of a Preacher Man
- Taste of Desire
- Taste of Love
- Translation of Love
- Web of Deception
- Words of Love
- The Lady of Bolton Hill
- The Scars of Us(Scars Series)
- Dreams of Lilacs
- House of Ivy & Sorrow
- A Question of Honor
- The Owner of His Heart
- The Heir of the Castle
- Tower of Glass
- The Last Prince of Dahaar
- Terms of Engagement
- Secrets of a Bollywood Marriage
- David Lord of Honor
- Return of the Prodigal Gilvry
- Killing Me Softly(A Broken Souls Series)
- Starting Over(Hart of Seattle)
- The Resurrection of Aubrey Mill
- OFF SIDES
- Confessions of a Royal Bridegroom
- Stolen: Warriors of Hir, Book 3
- The CEO Buys in (Wager of Hearts #1)
- The Law of Moses
- A Pound of Flesh (A Pound of Flesh #1)
- Arouse: A Spiral of Bliss Novel (Book One)
- Awaken: A Spiral of Bliss Novel (Book Three)
- The Art of French Kissing
- Leo (A Sign of Love Novel)
- Echoes of Scotland Street
- Jesus Freaks: Sins of the Father
- Stinger (A Sign of Love Novel)
- Ten Days of Perfect (November Blue #1)
- The Song of David
- The House of the Stone
- The Weight of Feathers
- A Man for Amanda
- Dance Upon the Air
- Moon Island(Vampire Destiny Book 7)
- A game of chance(MacKenzie Family Saga series #5)
- Death Angel
- Loving Evangeline(Patterson-Cannon Family series #1)
- A Changing Land
- A Clandestine Corporate Affair
- A Gentleman Never Tells
- An Inheritance of Shame
- And Then She Fell
- Anything but Vanilla
- Anything for Her
- Anything You Can Do
- A Rancher's Pride
- A Stranger at Castonbury
- An Act of Persuasion
- An Unsinkable Love
- Angel's Rest
- Be Good A New Adult Romance (RE12)
- Beauty and the Blacksmith
- Beauty and the Sheikh
- Blood and Kisses
- Captain Durant's Countess
- Cardwell Ranch Trespasser
- Cavanaugh on Duty
- Chances Are
- Cinderella and the Sheikh
- Currant Creek Valley
- Cowboy Enchantment
- Dance With Me
- Dangerous Refuge
- Dicing with the Dangerous Lord
- Down and Dirty (Dare Me)
- Ein Mann fur alle Lagen