“Oh yes! I'd like to see him try to use a psychic forcefield with that!"
"We don't have a sewing machine," Ansel said. "So we'll have to hand-sew the sheet. We'd better get cracking. And we need some blue or yellow fabric for the cat."
We started sewing all full of piss and vinegar. Ansel took on the tunic and I sewed the matching white leg warmers.
Late that night, one ruined blue curtain and one ruined sheet later, we had the most ghetto-looking ABBA costume imaginable.
"It doesn't really look like I imagined,” I murmured. “Did the cat have jewels on it or something? Like for eyes?"
"Probably. But I don't think that's the problem."
"This looks more like a school play outfit. Oh god..." I turned from the mirror. "Some queen I am. This plan was stupid. Alistair would have just told me to...I don't know. Something better than this."
"Mina...I don't know Alistair that well, but I know a few things. One, he wouldn't come up with anything this creative. Two, you still look really hot in this short skirt, even if it looks like a sack with a cat-shaped blob on it. I can still tell what it's supposed to be." He put a hand on my waist. "And I'm going to have to do some things to you before Viktor gets home..."
"Mm..."
"And three, stick with the plan. Whether you break Viktor's psychic field or not, I think you'll get one answer out of this. Is he really your consort or not? He's not going to expect it. If he thinks you're ridiculous or gets angry instead of falling hard for you, he's not your consort. After today, any last doubt I had is gone. I've never been with anyone like you. You're creative, a ton of fun, and even when you've been stripped of freedom, you still find a way."
I threw my arms around Ansel and kissed him. "Thank you...for being here with me. Someone I can trust... Someone who doesn't tell me my ideas are stupid..."
"Never," Ansel said. "I'll protect your body, but more than that...I will protect you. Your heart, your mind...whoever you want to be."
I pulled Ansel right into bed on top of me, leaving him with no question of who I wanted to be right now. His.
When I do see Al again, I thought. It's going to be different.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Florian
I got us over the bridge no problem, just like I expected. I'd always had a good nose for who I could trust, and I had a solid network of contacts. I didn't expect this to be too difficult. Ian was driving, and I directed him to Darius' apartment building.
Near the bridge, the signs of unrest were obvious. Cops and the National Guard posted around, and a fair amount of mean-looking civilians who looked like they'd be happy to pick a fight if provoked.
It was really neighborhoods like Darius' that I worried about. Everyone knew a lot of shifters lived there, and I thought things would get ugly there tonight.
As we turned the corner, and the building was up ahead, my eyes locked on the familiar vehicle parked in front.
"Stop the van." I nearly punched Ian in the arm trying to get the point across.
He slammed on the brakes rather than make the turn.
"That's Shaw's Cadillac parked in front."
"Shaw? Again?" Ian's expression shifted right into his resolved, pre-fight mode. "I made him a target, didn't I? When I asked for him to back me up at that rich lady gig…”
"Don't blame yourself,” I said, but I wasn’t thinking about anything but encountering Shaw again, like some recurring bad smell.
"The street is dead," Frankie said. "Except for...guards."
Darius' building was under guard, just like the hotel had been. It was a sickening repeat of the last time, except I had no idea how long Shaw had been here. What damage he could have done.
Frankie's magic had shifted things a little. I could no longer conjure up the memories of Shaw forcing himself on me, although I knew what he'd done. Now it felt like something I'd been told rather than a memory.
And what was I left with? Now other memories came to the fore. Shaw's dad smacking him, yelling at him; Shaw's weird little moment of kindness to me after he toyed with me. Shaw begging me to stay with him when he was courting Rowena, telling me Ro would be impressed if he brought me along.
That was when I finally had enough and escaped, when Darius took me in for a little while.
Remembering Shaw's glimpses of humanity didn't make me like him any more. It just reminded me of how fucked up the guy was, if the best moments he ever had was trying to comfort someone he'd just abused. In fact, those memories were just as bad as the ones I'd forgotten. I recalled how much I wanted him out of my face, how I'd rather be alone than have any insulting attempt at kindness from him.
And I remembered my brother. Ansel had nearly been pushed out of my mind once I was sold to Shaw. I blamed him for leaving me. I was so angry at him that I couldn't stand to remember how it felt to have a big brother protecting me, comforting me for real.
"I'm going to kill him," I said. "Right now. Ian, just stay parked--"
"Whoa!" Frankie sounded furious at me. "You are not going off by yourself."
"My friend is trapped in there. I count at least six guys outside. Shaw isn't going to let you in, but he will want to see me."
"But--Florian--" I saw fear in her eyes, and it was so strange to have another person who cared that much whether I lived or died.
Of course, there was the other option. Frankie could try to kill the guards, but that had never gone well for her so far, and I hated to think of this girl, the only woman I'd ever felt anything real for at all, becoming a hardened killer. "Shaw won't kill me," I said. "I feel sure of that. I've been training myself, getting faster and stronger every day. If you're going to bet on anyone, bet on me."
She was tense, still alert, weighing her options.
Waylon opened his bag. "Let him take care of it, pussycat. Here, Flor. It's luck and protection." He handed me a cotton bag on a string stuffed with sharp-smelling herbs. "Sorry it looks like some hippie shit. I didn't have time to make a more compact spell."
"It's fine." It was bulky; I worried someone might tear it off me. I finally just stuffed it down my pants. "Be right back."
The street was so empty. Usually there were kids playing out here. Some empty beer cans rattled by, caught in the wind funneled between apartments. The sky was blue and free of clouds. The guards were watching me carefully but not reacting much.
Something is weird about this...
My phone vibrated. "Hello?" I hissed.
"Hey, pet." Shaw laughed, a high-pitched, creepy sound that he only made when he was downright giddy. "You came. I was starting to worry! You're a good friend, you know that? Come on up."
"What do you want?"
"I want you. I haven't hurt Darius yet. I just want you. I want my pet back. Ro has never even gotten to see you. I've acquired others, since you, and they're not the same. It's getting real fucking dangerous out there, isn't it? You'd be safe with me."
"I'm going to kill you,” I said. “I think you know that the only reason I didn't was because of Bloom."