Memnon reaches for the other blade and sheath. “I’m still getting used to the sight of modern dresses,” he says as he works, “and I have to admit there is something very provocative about them.” He lifts my skirt high enough to slide the other sheath on. “Particularly when they hide weapons.” After he secures my second blade, he sits back on his haunches. “Now, show me how easily my pretty, deadly wife can pull a dagger on an enemy.”

I’ve never worn a thigh sheath, nor have I played with blades in this life, but I manage to smoothly reach into the slit of my dress and withdraw one in a matter of seconds. It’s light and delicate, long enough to hit internal organs but thin enough to easily wield.

I press the blade up to Memnon’s throat.

“Good.” His smoky eyes gleam. “And the other?”

Without looking away from him, I unsheathe it, crossing this second dagger over the first so that Memnon’s neck is scissored between the two.

The grin he gives me is downright evil. “Very good.”

I withdraw the blades from his throat, tucking them back in their sheathes, and breathe down my unease. It’s been a long time since I touched a weapon in earnest. My muscles remember the movements, but my mind snags on the thought of using them.

The sorcerer’s expression grows serious. “Remember, these are violent, dangerous people,” he says, catching my stray thought. “Use those blades the moment you need them—if, of course, you need them.”

Memnon’s eyes gleam, and wisps of his magic are escaping his skin. I know he’s thinking of ending all these people himself. I can feel the call to war roaring across our bond. The warlord is finally back to battle.

“Ready?” he asks.

I draw in a deep breath, the weight of the daggers comforting. “Ready.”

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER 46

The Equinox is a huge, deep green skyscraper, its glittering outer walls made from reflective glass.

The Fortuna family owns the entire building? I ask down our bond, aghast as I take in the staggering structure.

Every inch, Memnon says, giving my hand a squeeze.

I glance over at him only to see empty space. A split second later, a man in a business suit bumps against what looks like thin air, stumbling a little on the congested sidewalk. The man looks around, then glares at the woman in front of us before moving on.

Memnon and I have both placed enchantments on ourselves that make us invisible. It takes a lot of power, but it’s a simple enough spell—one that bends the light to hide you. I used it before when I had to bring Nero through a couple airports, but this version of the spell is a lot more sophisticated.

We continue onward, toward the Equinox Building, sidestepping other pedestrians where we can. The two of us left Memnon’s car in a parking garage a block back.

Beware, Memnon says. The building is crawling with guards, security cameras, and wards.

I’m not worried about the first two issues, especially being essentially invisible at the moment. It’s the third one that might be tricky.

What sorts of wards? I ask. There are wards that can confuse the mind so you wander in circles, wards that form impenetrable walls, wards that make you irrationally scared, wards that will slingshot you ten feet back if you touch them.

From what I learned when I picked up bodies here, Memnon says, the spells change frequently, so the Fortunas’ enemies can never be sure what they’re dealing with.

Considering we’re now the enemies in question, that’s not exactly what I was hoping to hear.

Besides wards, remind me again what else can we expect? I say. We’ve been over this several times, but now that adrenaline is surging through my veins, my thoughts have scattered.

There will likely be guards posted around the perimeter of the building, especially since they’re expecting you, Memnon says. I will take care of any of them we run into.

For once, I’m grateful that Memnon isn’t squeamish about violence. I try not to think about the fact that I still am.

We get to the stoplight across from the Equinox and wait for the light to change.

If these enchantments fall, Memnon says, it will only be a matter of time before they see us. And once that happens, things will unfold quickly.

I swallow. This is the part of the plan that truly terrifies me. We aren’t heading through the lobby like Sophia demanded. I have to force away my worries over what Sybil might endure for this breach in plan.

The light changes to green, and Memnon and I cross the street, the sound of cars and horns blaring.

If both murders and illegal auctions are happening inside this building, then it will be a fortress, one that is safe for the Fortunas and their clients but not for us, Memnon says.

Which means that the only way out is to stop the Fortunas first, along with anyone who works with them.

As soon as we step onto the city block where the Equinox Building is located, I feel the tug of the first ward against my skin. I glance up and see the faint edges of the glittering spell, the spindly threads of this one a raspberry color. It looks like nothing more than a shimmery spiderweb, the strands of it faint.

I hear a gasp from a woman behind me. When I turn to look at the middle-aged woman, her eyes are wide.

Our illusion is gone, Memnon says down our bond.

Fuck.

The first ward apparently strips enchantments.

The woman hurries away, and the flow of pedestrian traffic continues on around us, the rest of the crowd indifferent to the fact that two people manifested out of thin air.

Should we redo the spell? I ask Memnon.

My mate attempts to, his magic spiraling out of him, but the enchantment only forms for an instant before dissipating again. It looks like the ward won’t allow illusions at all.

So we have no choice.

We walk down the block to the Equinox parking garage entrance, which gapes like a mouth. My skin pricks; I don’t see any cameras nor any obvious guards, but that doesn’t mean anything. The Fortunas might already know I’m on their city block.

I reach into the armhole of my dress and pull out my phone from where I’ve tucked it in my cleavage. I check the time.

11:39 p.m.

I have eleven minutes until I’m expected to show up at the front lobby and twenty-one minutes until the auction—and likely Sybil’s murder—is to begin.

My heart thunders as I slip the phone back into my gown. I peer into the shadowy garage entrance, noticing that at the base of the decline into it, another ward shimmers. The semitransparent spell stretches from floor to ceiling like a makeshift wall. The color on this one is more obvious than most high-level wards, and in this case, it’s dual toned—a burnt orange in some places and a blue green in others. Clearly, two separate supernaturals made this ward together, and their magic didn’t mesh well.

Memnon and I step up to it, and I look for any streaks of black that might indicate someone attached a curse to it, but I don’t see anything. Intuition is telling me this is just a basic ward, the kind that lets some people in and keeps others out.

Tentatively, I lift my hand and release the barest plume of power. I watch the pale orange hue of it cross the ward unimpeded.

I think if it allows my magic to pass, it will also let me pass.

I think it’s safe, I say. Or safe enough at least.

Once we go through, Memnon cautions, it truly begins.

The plan to retrieve Sybil is this: get to the lowest floor of the building, the one closest to the earth. That’s where the dark magic will have the strongest pull, so it’s the likeliest place Sybil will be if they intend to kill her. Fight the bad guys, save my friend. That’s what it really boils down to.