“My spirits are not pets,” Miranda said. “They are my partners, my strength. They are what I have pledged my life to.” She stepped forward, plunging her hand through the bars. “Come with me. If you won’t go home, we’ll find something else.”
The dog glanced at her hand, growling deep in his throat. On her finger, she felt Durn pull at their connection, but Miranda didn’t dare take her eyes off the ghosthound’s to see what the stone spirit was upset about. “Don’t die here,” she whispered. “Don’t let him break you. Come with me; run with me.”
The ghosthound met her eyes one last time. “It is you who should run, little Spiritualist,” he said, his voice low. “Listen to your rock.”
Miranda frowned and shifted her attention to Durn’s connection. As she did, the warning blared through her right before the hand closed on her shoulder, jerking her away from the cage.
“What do you think you are doing?”
The roar was Hapter’s voice, and the hand was his as well. Caught off-guard, Miranda tumbled back when he pulled her. The ghosthound’s claws snatched out a second later, going through the air where she had been to claw at Hapter. If she hadn’t been there, the blow would have landed, but the ghosthound apparently wasn’t willing to kill her to get to his enemy, because the dog shifted his strike at the last second to keep from hitting her and missed Hapter as a result. Hapter dragged them both back with a string of curses and threw Miranda against the wall, putting them both well out of the dog’s reach.
“Are you insane?” he shouted, panting beside her. “What part of ‘dangerous animal’ do you not understand?”
“He’s not an animal!” Miranda shouted back. “He’s as smart as we are. How dare you keep him in a cage like that?”
Martin stared at her in disbelief. “I see,” he said at last. “It’s not enough for you to throw away all propriety, you have to try and steal my ghosthound while you’re at it.”
“I’m not stealing anything,” Miranda said. “You have no right to lock up an intelligent creature against his—”
“Enough!” Hapter roared, slamming her into the wall.
The moment he touched her, Miranda reached for Eril. The wind flew out with a great whoop, hitting Hapter across the chest so hard he flew backward toward the ghosthound’s cage. She realized her mistake when she caught the glint in the hound’s eyes and grabbed her connection with Eril, turning the wind just before the dog’s claws snatched Hapter out of the air. The new gust blew him onto the ground at her feet, and the ghosthound snapped his teeth in frustration.
“Stop it,” Miranda said, glaring at the hound before turning her eyes to Hapter, who was pushing himself up. “And just so you know, I did that for him”—she nodded at the ghosthound—“not for you. If he’d killed you, your men would have put him down, and that’s far more than you’re worth.”
“Powers, woman,” Hapter wheezed, stumbling to his feet. “Don’t you know who I am? I could buy and sell your miserable life a hundred times over!”
“My life is not for sale!” Miranda cried. “Get that through your head!”
“And when will you get it through your head that you already belong to me?” Hapter said, tugging his jacket straight.
There were other men running through the zoo building, their boots so loud Miranda didn’t need Durn’s warning, but she didn’t dare take her eyes off Hapter. “I belong to no one,” she said as Hapter’s private guard came into the room. “My oaths are to the Court and the spirits. You own nothing of me.”
“There you are wrong,” Hapter said, his thin mouth breaking into a cruel smile. “You are a done deal, Miranda. Bought and paid for, just like him.” He jerked his head toward the ghosthound, who snarled. The sound only sent Hapter’s grin wider, and he glanced at the guard closest to Miranda. “Escort my fiancée to her new room, the one without windows, and see that she stays there. Don’t worry about her spirits. I’ve been informed by a reliable source that, since she’s not acting on behalf of the Court at the moment, she can’t use them except for self-defense from actual bodily harm.” He turned back to Miranda. “And since we’re only doing this to keep her safe, I don’t think there will be a problem, do you, dearest?”
“Why you—” Miranda was unable to finish before the guards moved in. They surrounded her in a ring of muscle, and for several moments, Miranda contemplated letting Durn have his way with them. But Hapter was technically right. She wasn’t acting on the Court’s behalf, which meant her right to use her spirits against others was severely limited, especially considering he was her fiancé. If she wasn’t careful, this could reflect very badly on the Court, and that was a chance she wasn’t willing to take out of temper. So she relaxed and let the guards take her, muttering insults at Hapter the whole way. Behind her, the ghosthound’s growl was loud enough to rattle the stone walls, but he didn’t say another word as the guards escorted her to the house.