“So, tell me about the guy you’re seeing,” I said, smiling past the painful twinges inside my chest.

“How did you know?” she asked, shocked.

“There’s a certain glow around you. Dare I guess it’s love?”

“I’m not sure what it is.” Happiness washed across her face. “But it feels good.”

“Good.” I tightened my hold on her arm. “Because if anyone deserves to be happy, it’s you.”

“Leda, you deserve happiness most of all.” Her voice dropped to a whisper as we stepped into a hallway full of witches. “Your selfless sacrifice…”

We’d entered the restaurant, so we spoke no more of sacrifices or other serious matters. Bella gave my hand a squeeze before joining a group of witches at one of the tables.

The restaurant possessed the same elegant blend of modern and nostalgic elements—and of magic and technology—that characterized the witches. Gold curtains and antique wood furniture. Top-of-the-line coffee machines and blenders. Silver and porcelain, silk and stainless steel. It was so beautiful that I could have stared all day, but there was no time for that. I had to find Nero and the others.

I’d no sooner had the thought than they stepped into the restaurant. Nero led them across the room like he owned everything in it. Every plate and fork, every table and flower vase. And every person. The witches turned to stare at him in wonder. There was something darkly sensual about the way he possessed any space he entered, and I couldn’t help but stare a little myself. How did he do it? No one had looked at me like that when I’d come in with Bella.

“If you want to own any room you’re in, then you have to believe you own it,” he said as I moved into step beside them.

The more time we spent together, the easier it was getting for him to read my thoughts. I needed to learn to block him better. Or, better yet, I should stop spending so much time with him. That’s what any sane and logical person would do.

“What were you discussing with your sister?” he asked.

“We were just catching up.”

We moved into a private dining room at the far end of the restaurant. Soft orchestra music played from the speakers on the walls. We took our chairs around the dining room table, which was large enough to seat four times our numbers. Waiters in tuxedos rushed to fill our water glasses. When they were finished, Nero waved them away. Smooth as silk, they fluttered from the room and shut the door behind them.

Nero took a roll from the bread basket, his eyes staring at me from across the table. “I hope your familial entanglements won’t keep you from doing your job.”

“Of course not.”

“Your sister is a witch.”

“Really? I hadn’t noticed, but thank you for bringing it to my attention.”

Jace nearly choked on his roll, while Captain Somerset looked from me to Nero with obvious amusement.

“Careful,” Nero warned me.

I took a bite out of my roll before my mouth got me into trouble.

“Wise choice,” he said.

The doors opened again, and the four waiters glided in like they were skating across ice. They set a tiny plate of very snooty-looking pasta in front of each of us, then left the room again. I poked at the pretentious arrangement of carrots beside the two ravioli pouches on my plate.

“Afraid your lunch will try to eat you, Pandora?” Captain Somerset teased.

“No. It’s just…something feels weird.” There was an odd charge to the air, like static popping against my skin. A low hum buzzed in my ears.

“Shall we call the kitchen to order you something more to your liking?” She smirked. “Perhaps a bowl of macaroni and cheese?”

“That’s not what I meant. It’s just…” I shook my head. “I don’t know what it is.”

And before I could figure it out, an explosion shook the room.

11

The Bringer of Chaos

Jace slammed into me, throwing me to the floor as furniture exploded all around us. Smoke saturated the air, stinging my eyes and burning my throat. I blinked and looked up into Jace’s face.

“Uh, thanks,” I said. Why had he thrown himself over me? He hated me.

We stood and looked around. There wasn’t much left of the room. The furniture was in pieces, the window shattered, and the carpet burning. Nero waved his hand, and a fresh breeze blew in through the demolished window, putting out the fire and dispersing the smoke. Captain Somerset was already picking through the debris.

Nero had his phone out. “There’s been an incident,” he said brusquely. “Send me the bomb squad and an inquisition team.” Then he hung up. “Let’s go,” he told me and Jace.

“What do you want us to do?” I asked him.

“We’re going to keep an eye on those witches until the inquisition team arrives to interrogate them.”

“What if the people who set the bomb are already gone?”

“That is unlikely. I put a magic barrier around the campus,” he said. “No one is getting in or out unless I allow it.”

“You put a barrier around the whole campus?” I gasped.

“Yes,” he said, as though it were no big deal.

“How long can you hold the barrier?”

“Long enough.”

We headed toward the door. The bomb had gone off on the other side of the room, which was probably the only reason the door was still standing. I took a glance at the bomb debris. The boom had certainly been impressively loud, and the furniture had exploded spectacularly, but it all seemed so…cosmetic.