Cover Spell (25 page)

He lunged at with me with an animalistic rage, when he realized my intent was to suppress his power. I dodged the desperate scrape of his fingers as he fell to his knees only inches away from where I stood. I steadied my palms over his head and pictured the dark magic evaporating in his blood, leaving his body like a puddle drying in the sun.

Madame Chantilly didn’t tell us what would happen when I did extinguish his power. I wasn’t prepared; nothing could have prepared me. I shielded my eyes as the being before me started to shrivel and melt into a feint resemblance of what used to be a man. His terror-stricken face oozed over his shoulders and puddled at his feet.

After a few seconds, the man who had terrorized New Orleans, his daughter, and Emmy Harper was gone. Nothing remained but his designer suit piled on the floor, mixed in with Emmy’s scattered clothes and broken hairdryer.

Relieved and in disbelief, I turned to find Finn, but he was busy untying Emmy from the ropes that held her to the chair. She didn’t appear to be completely conscious, and Finn scooped her up and brought her close to his chest. She looked at him, and then closed her eyes again. Bits of jealousy tinged my thoughts to see him holding her so delicately.

“Ivy, go! This cover isn’t going to last much longer, and she might wake up again. We can’t take that chance. Get out of here. I’ll take care of this. I have to call this in. Go!” Finn was urgent and firm.

I wanted to stay and argue with him about why he switched the spell on me. This was definitely not what I had agreed to do. I was going to be the one to reveal the magic. I was going to be the one who had to recover my strength and power. Not Finn. Why did he decide to change it? Ugh! What if he was too weak to defend himself? What if he was hurt? He seemed so wrapped up in cradling Emmy, I couldn’t tell if he cared if I was hurt.

I didn’t want to leave.

“Go!” he yelled again from the room.

Retreating from the rescue scene, I ran down the dark hallway and searched for a way out of the side of the warehouse.

“This way! I heard it coming from the back office,” a man’s voice yelled through the building. Two men were running straight for me. They must have heard the scuffle. I couldn’t let them pass me and find Finn and Emmy. He wouldn’t be ready for another attack.

Cloaked in the darkness of the warehouse, I charged at them, and with both hands palm out, shot forceful stun strikes directly at their faces. They fell to the ground, and I heard the metal impact as their guns scattered on the floor.
Deep breaths, Ivy.

My body was trembling, and I had to force my feet to keep moving. I needed to get out of this building. I ran. I shoved the door open with a frenzied push, desperately seeking an escape from the structure that felt more and more like a tomb.

Alone and free, I leaned against the outer wall, forbidding any tears to dare well in my eyes. I had never killed anyone. I sank to the ground. Nothing went the way it was supposed to. I didn’t want to think about what could have happened if I didn’t stop the gun-toting assailants who had just shown up. Did Madame Chantilly know all along that by extinguishing his power, I was going to reduce the consul to a gooey pile of mush? I was angered by the lack of information I received in our mini prep class. However, there was no other way; it was the only option to free Emmy and stop him from kidnapping more girls.

I took a few deep breaths to steady my senses. The night was clear, and I could easily make out the constellations in the sky. That was something I could focus on. I looked for Cassiopeia. Slowly, I felt the effects of the
Cover Spell
shedding from my body. I reached my hand above my face, toward the sky, and recognized my pink nails and the bluish glimmer of my grandmother’s ring. I smiled. My hands were back; I was back. We did it.

I felt the back of my head. I winced at the crimson layer of blood coating my fingers.
Ouch
, I definitely needed something for this headache.

Fighting evil hurt like a bitch.

I
KNEW
Finn wouldn’t be back right away from depositing Emmy with the authorities at the police station. I kept checking the clock in my hotel room. 8 a.m. The heavy blackout curtains were pulled together. I didn’t want to see the mob of reporters gathered outside of the hotel. The TV was on mute. The big news of the morning was the rescue of Emmy Harper. It was on every station. Kelly Saint-James rallied the movie troops for a celebratory press conference at 10 a.m. I didn’t have plans to attend; I had done my part. I was sure whatever she had planned would be on the epic end of the public relations scale.

It had been hours since I walked through the doors of Hotel François. The journey from the warehouse was a lonely one. I wanted to talk to Finn. I wanted to make sure he was ok. I wasn’t sure how he would handle having less power. It wouldn’t last forever, but still losing it wasn’t a great feeling. I could talk him through it—that is, if he would let me. How did he deliver Emmy to the police without arousing more suspicion? Was she ok? It didn’t look like the consul had hurt her beyond holding her captive to that chair, but I wanted to know for sure.

I thought about trying to find Meyers, but logic told me that was probably useless. He was bound to the consul, and once I had extinguished the consul’s power, he no longer was bound by the immortality curse. Meyers almost certainly shriveled up in the same kind of gooey, disintegrating pile that formed when I squashed the evil force within Josette’s father. I wished I had been able to tell him Emmy was safe. She had no idea Meyers was to thank for her rescue, and sadly, she never would know.

My entire body ached from the rumble with the consul. I rubbed my neck and winced at the tender spots on my head. The bleeding had stopped from the gash on the back of my neck. A hot shower and fluffy hotel robe didn’t ease the dull throbbing coming from somewhere in my back. Finn had to be worn out too.
Why wasn’t he here yet?
I flipped through the channels, looking for a movie that didn’t involve a fight scene, terrorists, or kidnapping. I snuggled into the cushiony bed and pulled the sheets up to my chest.

“Babe, babe, wake up.” Finn nudged me, and I felt a warm kiss on my forehead.

I rubbed my eyes to see him standing next to the bed. Man, he was gorgeous, even beaten and ragged. He looked tired and had a black eye from where one of the guards hit him. I reached out to touch the edge of his eye. Wasn’t there a healing spell I could think of to help him with that? Maybe I should call Mama and get some advice.

“Are you ok? What time is it?” I tried to break through the mental fog surrounding my nap. “Sorry, I guess I fell asleep. I was worried about you.”

My phone was out of reach, and the clock was facing the wall so I couldn’t tell what time it was. I had wanted to be awake when he got back. Sleeping during the
Say Yes to the Dress
marathon happened by accident. I found my balance and tried to sit up. His hands rested on the tops of my shoulders, and eased me back down on the bed.

“No talking,” he whispered.

Little sparks singed under my skin as my body sank into the bed. He freed the loose knot of my robe, and in one long, controlled motion, pushed away the fabric separating my body from his. I gasped as I felt the cool air hit my skin.

I searched his eyes for the words he didn’t want to say. We had survived together. Together we had battled and won. I had faced darkness and death and it was cold, black, and empty. Right now, I wanted nothing more than to feel alive. Finn could do that. He could make me laugh and cry, love and hurt, and want. He could make me want all the things that happened when I breathed the air he breathed. He could erase the hollow feeling that had gripped me.

As his mouth traced the line from my jaw to my neck, I reached for the hem of his shirt. I worked it over his shoulders. I moaned as my body responded to his fiery tongue. It twirled over my breast and he took me in his mouth, making me quiver deep inside. I was completely exhausted, all the way to the core of my body, but he awoke every nerve ending I had. His touch erased the searing tinges of pain numbing my limbs. All I felt was raging need that only Finn could heal. I felt completely alive with him and I loved it.

Nothing else mattered in that moment, but being completely and utterly connected to him. I tugged until his belt was free, and I could strip his pants and anything else he was wearing from his body.

My palms lingered over the letters on his stomach. I arched toward him, sliding my stomach against his.

“What do they mean?” I whispered, running my fingers down his back. He had never told me. It was always something too personal for him to share, but after tonight, I couldn’t imagine keeping secrets from each other.

His lips drifted across my mouth. “I’ve never told anyone.”

I rocked toward him. “I know.” My desire for him was building.

He threaded his fingers through mine and raised my hands above my head. I felt like I belonged to him this way. His knee shifted my legs so I was parting for him. My breath caught in the back of my throat. He was making me wait for everything.

He kissed the side of my neck, then my throat. “It’s a Guardian thing.”

I bowed toward him, ready to feel him inside me. Feeling his skin gliding against mine distracted me from the letters. His mouth trailed between my breasts and landed above my navel, the same place his letters were marked on his skin.

Hot breath singed over my bare stomach. “The top one reminds me my job is to protect.” He kissed an inch lower, his mouth pressing firmly. “The middle one reminds me to honor those gone from my life.” I tried to stay still as his lips planted a third electric kiss. He flicked his tongue against my stomach. “And the last one is to remind me to trust.”

I gripped his shoulders as he hovered over me. I had never heard anything so powerful. Finn’s life was wrapped up in those three letters—the quest, his parents, his job to protect. Before I could tell him all the things surging in my heart—like how I loved that he was a Guardian, or that he could always trust me or the fact that I was falling in love with him all over again—his lips crashed into mine, and I felt the rush of heat spread to my core as our bodies fused together.

“I love making you glow,” he growled and surged deeper, bringing us closer than ever before.

He pulled the sheet over our heads, and I arched toward him, ready to get lost with him.