Assassin's Kiss (16 page)

“As far as I know. She came back home before anything happened,” Tessa said.

“Ah, yes. Well, this demon isn’t leaving.” With that, Winston shuffled to a leather chair and lowered his slight frame. “Nope. We need to keep him. See how helpful he is?”

Tessa gave Scorpio an apologetic shrug. “Keep him? He’s not a stray dog.”

“You know what I mean.” Winston reached for a handful of nuts in a nearby bowl. “And he’s not in a rush to leave. Now, tell an old man what you’ve been up to.”

Hallon quickly filled in the Elder on the attack.

“Ah, child,” the old one said to Tessa. “The wolves will forever haunt you, and with good reason.”

“Maybe.” Her posture sagged. “I was terrified today. I remember what happened when I was five. It all came back.”

Hallon wrapped an arm round her shoulders, but her face was determined, not breaking or weak.

“Dad. Winston.” She swallowed and disengaged from her father to stand in the middle of the room. “Scorpio has defended me, defended Bronwy, again. He shouldn’t be locked up like an animal. I ask that from now on, he stay in one of the empty cabins. Post a guard if it’ll calm people down.”

Hallon drew a deep breath. “That’s a steep request.”

“Dad, this is ridiculous. He says he won’t bring harm to us.” She swiveled to face him, blue eyes bright and serious. “And I believe him.”

I believe him.
Scorpio’s heart stuttered, tripping over itself in a mix of surprise, elation, and
hell yes
. She believed him, believed
in
him. His hard work at reducing her fear and gaining her trust had paid off, and nothing could have felt more right. At least, until he claimed her fully. But he could be as patient as was necessary. He’d take baby steps with his beautiful, intelligent mate for as long as she needed.

“She’s right,” Winston said, polishing off the bowl of nuts and reaching for a wrapped piece of candy. “He won’t harm us. No malice in his aura.”

It was odd to be talked about as if he weren’t right there—but Scorpio knew the facts and, yeah, this situation was complex. Even weirder was the perception skills of mages like Winston. But it worked in his favor. He had nothing to hide.

Tessa folded her arms and looked at Hallon. “He could have left me for dead. He could have done the same after the crystal incident.”

“I know. But I have a contingent of mages who are afraid he’ll murder us all in our sleep.”

“Oh my gods, that’s ridiculous.” Tessa popped her hands on her hips. “I—”

“The Elders will discuss this,” Winston said. “They are on their way. I think this is a good idea.”

“Thank you,” Tessa said pointedly.

“But your father must examine all viewpoints and angles, don’t forget.” Winston arched a brow, eyes serious.

“I know, and that’s why I will never lead a coven.” Tessa shook her head.

“He can stay in cabin three. Get Orser and Kharv to stand guard. For now.” Hallon said, tone clipped. He stalked to his overflowing desk.

“Thank you, Dad.” A smile lit Tessa’s face.

“It may not last,” he growled from across a mountain of paper.

“I won’t give you a reason to rescind the offer,” Scorpio said.

Hallon nodded and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You two can go.”

Tessa looked at him and headed for the door. Scorpio clenched his fists, fighting the urge to take her into his arms and kiss her senseless. He followed her out into the sunshine.

But he couldn’t let her words go unacknowledged. “Thank you for what you said in there. And to the woman earlier.”

She kept walking. “It’s not a big deal. It’s facts. If everyone would just open their eyes they’d see it too.” She stopped abruptly and sucked in a breath. “I mean…”

Scorpio stopped as close to her as he dared. “Yeah? And what would they see?”

“I…” She twisted the hem of her T-shirt in her hands. “That you’re not a threat.” She swallowed. “If you were, I wouldn’t be standing here right now.”

He studied her determined face, listening to the wild thumping of her heart. There was more. But this wasn’t the place to draw it out of her.

“Tessa! Oh my gods!” Zeebi’s frantic yell carried across the open space. Her boots pounded the ground as she ran to them and yanked Tessa into a hug. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Tessa let her friend fuss for a minute. “Turns out it was good you had to leave.”

“I feel so guilty!” Zeebi pushed Tessa’s hair away from her face and studied her. “I could have tried a spell or something.”

“There wasn’t time. They were on us so fast. And anyway, Scorpio took them all down.”

“I am
so
glad you were there for Tessa.” Zeebi shifted her focus to him.

“Of course.” Scorpio studied Zeebi. She looked like the perfect picture of a concerned friend. Though he didn’t have the perception skills of witches, his skin prickled with the sensation that something was off.

“What happened with the girls?” Tessa asked.

Zeebi looked at her blankly for a nanosecond. Then she made a face. “Nothing. They thought they had the affinity but they don’t. I guess it was good someone double-checked.”

“I guess. Maybe they just wanted attention.” Tessa frowned. “Here comes Orser.”

“Why? What’s happening?” Zeebi looked from Tessa to Scorpio.

“Everything okay?” The burly guard shot Scorpio a glare, then a concerned gaze to the girls. “I heard what happened.”

“Then you know the only reason I’m able to have this conversation with you is because of Scorpio,” Tessa said.

Orser grunted at Scorpio. “Yes. Thank you for protecting one of our own.”

She’s not one of yours. She’s mine.
But he’d keep that to himself for now. Scorpio supposed the tacit words were all he would get from the guard, and that was fine with him.

“Also, from now on, no more cage and no more bars.” Tessa drew herself up tall and looked Orser in the eye. “He stays in cabin three with you and Kharv at the door.”

“What?” Orser’s dark eyes flared. “That seems generous.”

“It comes from Hallon and Winston. The rest of the Elders are coming to confirm it—look, here they are.”

Four coven members shuffled up the path to Hallon’s door, and Scorpio, Tessa, Zeebi, and Orser all parted to let them pass. Three women and one man, all with graying hair and wise eyes that looked like they missed nothing. As they passed, the last female in the group stopped in front of Scorpio and stared up at him with eyes of a unique light purple. She had to be only five feet tall, and her hair cascaded in silver-white waves. She didn’t speak a word, only stared up at him as if she could see into his soul.

Half a minute passed, and he heard Tessa breathing next to him, shifting her weight. Then suddenly the old woman’s face split into a wide grin and she nodded as if she’d just gotten great news. She reached out to lay a wrinkled hand on his forearm and then continued inside.

“Oh my gods,” Tessa whispered. “Callia never smiles.”

“I know!” Zeebi looked equally impressed. “I can count the times on one hand.”

“I’m guessing that’s a good sign?” Scorpio said. Crazy perceptive witches.

“Yes!” Tessa said, and a happiness he hadn’t seen before danced in her eyes. “She’s the oldest Elder. Well, we think so. No one knows for sure.”

“And if she likes you, you’re golden!” Zeebi grinned.

Orser frowned. “Well, she is only one of five.”

“Oh, stop it.” Tessa smacked his arm. “You know how rare her smiles are. You know they mean a lot.”

Orser scrubbed a hand over his face. “Fine, yes. All right. Cabin three. I’ll head over and call Kharv. See you when you get there.” He stomped off.

“So, the Elders are going to confirm you don’t have to be jailed anymore?” Zeebi asked. “That’s huge.”

“Yeah. It’s appropriate,” Tessa said.

“And then what? I mean.” Zeebi leaned close. “Some people here are still royally pissed.”

“I know. And I’m not sure.” Tessa stifled a yawn.

“Oh my gosh you must be exhausted.” Zeebi took Tessa’s arm. “I’ll walk you to your cabin, after we stop at cabin three.”

Scorpio cursed the loss of privacy. But he was thankful for the time they’d had alone today, even if it had been harrowing. The layers of his impromptu mission were peeling back, each accomplishment leading him to the next goal.

Step one, she didn’t hate him. Check.

Step two, she trusted him. Check.

Step three…she needed to need him in her life.
Look out, my little witch, I’m coming for you.

C
HAPTER
14

N
IGHT BLANKETED THE COVEN IN
soft velvet darkness. If she could be bothered to step outside, Tessa could find Torth’s twin moons. They should be full tonight. This being February, the moons had moved into a once-annual alignment with a chain of stars known as Drea’s Tears.

Many people would be looking up at the unique night sky. Many—but not her. She tossed and turned on her white cotton sheets and finally laid on her back and stared at the roughhewn wood of her bedroom ceiling.

Scorpio. His name echoed in her mind on constant repeat. The way he had roared at her to defend herself, even though she was in a mental lockdown. The ways he killed the wolves. Those hands flung fire and snapped a neck. In
minutes
. He’d looked savage and totally in control of the situation, mesmerizing and strong…like a protector.

And then he’d handled her so carefully. She wouldn’t have thought it possible. She was almost embarrassed by the way she’d sunk into his arms like a baby. But she’d been grateful and so desperate for reassuring contact. And if she were honest, a little greedy for him. To feel him so close, to have a valid reason to press against his muscled chest.

It didn’t make sense. How did she go from despising him, to wanting to rub against him like a cat in heat?

And by the way, her traitorous feline was nowhere to be found. Probably with Scorpio right this second.

No, Scorpio had an instant, unexpected effect on her right from the first day she’d inspected the bars of the cage. He’d shattered every preconceived notion of hers with each day, each fight, and with each newly revealed surprise.

He wasn’t the murderer she’d first thought. Yet he
had
killed Pennar. And after watching him on these last two outings, he still possessed every one of his lethal skills.

The thought should have set off warnings bells, but it only invited question after question into her brain. The same ones that had been circling in her mind. He projected honor and a steadfast heart…so he’d left his dark past behind.

Killing to protect shouldn’t invite judgment. After all, she was marrying to protect, in a way. To at least lessen the amount of shit her people had to deal with.

People could change. She fully believed that. From bad to good, or from good to bad, depending on what life had thrown at them and how they had chosen to deal with it. But she never expected to grapple with it here and now, in the form of the most dangerous male she could imagine.

She curled a hand into the cotton sheet and rolled to face her window. Maybe she could count the stars—

A shadow moved across the sill. She bolted upright and reached for the knife that was always under her pillow.

Even though the coven boundary was warded and so was her own cabin, she wouldn’t take any chances, with Vespera growing in power every day. She strained her ears, but her hearing was about as good as a human’s, so she detected nothing.

A minute passed. Tessa sat silently in her tank top and panties and tugged the sheet up to her waist. Which was silly, because if someone were here, she wouldn’t hesitate to take him down, no matter what she was or wasn’t wearing.

Was it Damien? Gods, he would try to sneak into her room, just to prove he could. Her lips curled in disgust.

She exhaled slowly, thinking she might have imagined it. Then a creak from her front room had her heart hammering in her chest. Shit! She pulled her arm back, poised to throw her knife. Had Jinx wiggled her way back in, or had—

Her bedroom door opened, slow as molasses and completely silent.

Fury churned through her, though she remained still. How dare he? Each inch that the door opened farther gave her a bigger window to aim and throw. Just a little more, and she would see the intruder’s face—

She gasped.

Standing there, his silhouette filling the doorway, was Scorpio.

“You!” She stared, shock and relief mixing into a dizzying cocktail. “What the hell are you doing here?”

He held up both hands. “I’m not going to hurt you. I just wanted to check on you.”

“Check on me?” She exhaled the breath she’d been holding. “You scared me!”

“I didn’t mean to.” He took a step into the room.

She eyed him as wariness and uncertainty fired through her veins. Not fear, exactly, but confusion. He’d never been able to choose to get near her before. It was always the other way around, or him being ordered to accompany her. But his reduced restrictions were her own idea after all. She just wasn’t prepared for this.

She looked over his shoulder, seeing no one else. “How did you get out of your cabin?”

“I can get out of anywhere,” he said, and his tone was again matter of fact, not cocky. Like when he’d said he was simply better than the witches, when Vespera was attacking at the rowan tree.

She gulped another breath and laid a hand over her still-pounding heart. “I’ll bet you can. But crap. Some advance notice would be nice. It’s the middle of the night!”

“I didn’t want to wake anyone else,” he murmured.

“What about your guards?”

“They think I’m still inside the cabin. I went out the back window.”

Whoa.
Kharv, Orser, and the rest were no slouches. If Scorpio slipped past without alerting them, his stealth skills were beyond anyone she’d met. “How did you know I was awake?”

“I heard you.”

“You’re not close by! How could you—wait, your hearing is
that
good?” She stared at him, incredulous. Their cabins had to be at least a hundred feet apart.

“It is. I heard your breathing and the sheets rustling. I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”