Hour of the Dragon - Heather Killough-Walden Page 0,50

time? And how the hell did you find me, Sterling?”

Jarrod sighed heavily, and Anna had the sense that there was a lot unspoken packed into that sigh. “Can we go somewhere and talk, Faith?” His voice was soft, his words blunt. He glanced around at the crowd that seemed oblivious to their presence. “I understand the need to keep this public, and I’m more than willing to retire to a public venue. However,” he said as he looked back at her and splayed his hands open in a show of good faith. “The truth is I’m exhausted and I would very much like to sit down and rest.”

She narrowed her gaze at him, studying him carefully. That wasn’t the answer she’d been expecting. He did look a little pale. And she was betting he could tell she was worn out as well. He was playing to her current state of physical and mental being. Like a smart man would.

“Allow me to buy you dinner?” he offered gallantly. “Any place you choose.”

Anna chewed on her lip and contemplated carefully. Finally she nodded. “Fine. I’m tired too. And, I could eat.” Then she closed most of the distance between them herself, and Jarrod rolled back his shoulders, straightening a little as she approached. It was a posture meant to lend him height and grace, as if he needed any extra of either. But she supposed he was just used to it.

“But before I go anywhere with you, I need two straight-forward answers.” She held up her fingers. “Just two of them. No negotiating on these, Sterling. One, who did your vision show you was going to die? And two – once again – how did you find me?”

The incubus-warlock’s willingness or unwillingness to cut through the bullshit right here and now and be forthright with her would completely outline how Annaleia dealt with him going forward. For starters, it would determine where she took him for “dinner.” If he was honest and she felt she could trust him, she would take him to a favorite restaurant of hers where the food was genuinely good and relatively inexpensive. If he wasn’t – well, she knew of a few places in Austin where wardens liked to congregate. And few warden clans dealt more swiftly or effectively with trouble-making supernaturals than did Texas wardens.

Sterling regarded her a long while in silence. His dark, hypnotic eyes searched hers for something unnamed, or perhaps unnamable. She couldn’t help but be reminded of everything they had shared over the years.

At last, the warlock took a breath and said, “I can’t tell you who is going to die. I honestly can’t because I’m not certain. The vision was unclear. But I can tell you that the death will be wrong… and that it will be someone I care for deeply.” He waited a beat, and Anna processed his words, wondering whether she would be able to tell if he were lying. “As to how I found you,” he said as he came forward, closing the final gap between them once and for all. “I never really lost you, Annaleia.” His words whispered to her now; there was no distance left for them to traverse before they entered her soul. “I’m good at what I do.” He shook his head and cupped her face gently with his hand. She let him; he was warm and it felt good. “I let you go, little heart. But I’ve possessed the ability to find you all along.”

Chapter Fourteen – Still Austin, still Texas, still Sixth Street

Antares had been right. His prayers had gone unanswered. Sleep had mostly eluded him, and what little he’d actually attained was littered with nightmares. After the better part of an hour, Ares had called it quits, grabbed his black leather jacket, and headed back downstairs for yet another beer. Like werewolves, dragons were decidedly difficult to inebriate, but he’d never been a quitter.

“You know… a description of the target might be good,” Cain told him out of the blue. “Tends to help when you’re hunting someone. So, who exactly are we looking for?”

Antares stopped mid-beer raise, stiffening at Cain’s words. If Cain had already figured out that Ares was looking for someone, then he probably also knew who he was looking for. And also, Ares had never asked for Cain’s help – or company, for that matter. The son-of-a-bitch warden leader was just asking about it in order to prove he was aware of the situation. And to