Crouching Vampire, Hidden Fang(89)

 

“He doesn’t even know Kristoff!” I protested. “Well, hardly knows him. He did imprison him, and tried to kill him after he couldn’t make me do the job for him, but that was two months ago, and I’m sure by now he’s forgotten all about Kristoff.”

 

“Thank you,” the love of my life said dryly.

 

You know what I mean, Boo. Besides, so long as I remember you, you have nothing to complain about, I said, blowing him a mental kiss.

 

His fingers tightened around mine.

 

“No other suggestions before I rest my case?” I asked the threesome.

 

The gentle whoosh of air from the air conditioner was the only sound for a moment.

 

“I hate to destroy any illusions you might possess regarding the director, Pia, but I’m afraid there is one very compelling reason for us to confront him and the other reapers.” Alec stood in the doorway, leaning against it with a mildly interested expression, as if he was somewhat bored.

 

“What would that be?” I asked.

 

He smiled. “You.”

 

“Me? I don’t stand in the way of anything Frederic wants.”

 

“You are a Zorya and a Beloved. Surely you’ve been in the Brotherhood long enough to know how vehement they are about anything to do with us. In their eyes, you are an abomination, tainted by your relationship to Kristoff, a contradiction to everything sacred. You must, at all costs, be destroyed before you can contaminate anyone else.”

 

I stared at him, my jaw slack, for a moment or two. “But . . . the reapers offered me a deal. They’re going to execrate me once I get Ulfur.”

 

The look he gave me was pitying. I leaned into Kristoff, needing comfort. “It says much about your purity of character that you believed what the reapers told you, but unfortunately, we know them of old. They will not honor their agreement with you.”

 

Kristoff?

 

I’m afraid he’s right, he said slowly.

 

You knew this? I asked, astonished.

 

I suspected that the deal the reapers made with you would not be honored, yes. But I did not know for certain, and since you wanted above all things to no longer be a Zorya, it seemed worthwhile to pursue.

 

You might have mentioned your suspicions to me, you know. I’m a big girl, Kristoff. I can take a little adversity.

 

I had no proof either way.

 

“I’m sorry, but a vaguely could-be-possible threat still isn’t enough,” I said after thinking about the matter, as well as making a mental note to have a long talk with Kristoff about my relationship expectations. Incredibly handsome and mouthwateringly sexy he might be, but he had a lot to learn about relationships. “I realize I can’t stop you guys, but you won’t get any help from me. My job now is to find Ulfur. The trail for the Ilargi may have run into a dead end, but I’m not giving up.”

 

“Excellent,” Alec said, striding into the center of the room, his eyes twinkling with enjoyment. “Then we can count on your assistance after all.”

 

“Huh? I just said-”

 

“You said you were going to find the Ilargi. Well, my fair little Zorya, that trail ends with the director.” His smile grew wider as I stared at him in incomprehension. “Oh, didn’t I tell you? Frederic Robert knows who the Ilargi is.”

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER 14

 

 

 

 

“So he just dropped that bombshell on you, and then went to bed?”

 

Magda and Raymond were seated in the chairs around a small round table in one corner of the hotel room, rapt expressions on both their faces.

 

“Well, it wasn’t quite that quick, but yes, basically, he said he believed that Frederic knew who the Ilargi was, and was tolerating him because he eliminated the need for Zoryas.”

 

“I’m not sure I understand your explanation of why this director fellow is doing what you say he’s doing,” Raymond said, his brows pulled together as he tried to puzzle out everything.

 

“You would not be alone in that,” Kristoff said as he passed me. He was pacing the room, his face abstracted with thought, obviously thinking about the plan for the following day.

 

I sat on the bed, leaning against the headboard. I badly wanted to get Kristoff next to me, but knew full well that I wouldn’t be able to stop touching him should I do so. I closed my eyes for a moment, the faint scent of him teasing my nose, stirring the craving I had to taste him, to feel his tongue sliding along mine, to run my fingers along the smooth, silky lines of his back and chest, to caress the muscles that lay so heavily under his skin, begging for touches and kisses and long, loving strokes of my tongue.