The Flame Game (Magical Romantic Comedies #12) - R.J. Blain Page 0,83

was an unwanted gorgon female. I refused. That’s when the nightmare ended. She ended it.” Annie touched her bare chest, which lacked any evidence she’d been stabbed with a sword. “Oh. I thought she did.”

No, she had. “Audrey stabbed you? Is that what you’re trying to say? Or shot you?”

“Stabbed. She had a sword. She said all who failed to do as she wished would fall to her sword. She was a little crazy. She claimed she was the new queen of the Quinn hive.” Annie giggled. “She had no idea the Quinns were even gorgons. She spoke of them as if they were all human. That confused me.”

“What a fucking moron,” I muttered.

“I didn’t correct her. She seemed unhinged.”

“That she was.” I made more of the neutralizer paste and went to work cleaning the pixie dust off Annie’s face. “You were badly injured and turned to stone, which saved your life. One of the CDC’s representatives is trying to get a hold of your father, but I’m fairly well versed with gorgon customs at this point, so you’ll probably go home with me in a few weeks, and in the meantime, I’ll ask one of the Quinn hives to have you as a visitor. Sam and I adopted two whelps, and they’re learning how to survive better, as they had odd schooling. You’ll join them for now.” I eyed the archangel. “Do you accept contracts to teleport?”

“I can offer you teleportation services as needed for this situation, as it would be uncaring to not make certain the healing has fully restored her. I can also send word to Archambault Quinn about his impending guest and her circumstances so he can make preparations.”

“If you please could, I would appreciate that.”

“It shall be as you ask.” The archangel vanished.

“Did I die?” Annie asked.

“No, you didn’t die. You were just hurt really badly. Everything will be better now.”

That much I could promise.

Every time I thought I understood the depth of gorgons, they managed to surprise me.

If I were to judge gorgons by Annie’s father, there was no species on Earth more capable of love or grief. I hated keeping them separate while Quinn did his best to comfort the distressed male until they could be reunited.

Detoxifying her of the pixie dust took time, as did making certain all of her snakes were healthy. Once I finished my work, I wrapped her in a blanket and handed her over to her father, who wept and held her as though she were a child.

I guessed, to him, she’d always be his little girl despite the culture that demanded he send her off to a new hive now that she’d grown into a woman.

My husband ignored any potential risk of pixie dust contamination to kiss my temple. “Your left hand looks like it went through a meat grinder.”

“Her poor snakes all needed at least two or three strong bites, and they were in pain. And they pack a punch, so we’ll have to be careful. I assumed she was infected with rabies, so I gave her the first dose of neutralizer while handling the dust contamination. My hand will be fine in a day or two. You’ll just have to amuse yourself pampering me, as I’m temporarily unable to use my left hand for much.”

“Good call on the pixie dust, by the way. If she’d been distressed when her father showed up, it would not have ended well.”

“I may have some intact skin still on my left hand if he needs to bite to work out his nerves.”

“He’ll be fine. He’ll take her home for a week, and then we’ll take her to be with Beauty and Sylvester until we’ve handled our business here. I’d rather send her to my grandfather now, but she’s her father’s first born.”

“Oh, that poor hive.”

“He learned the hard way why we take the precautions we do. He gets the right kind of closure, which you’ll find is a rare enough thing in our line of work. Normally, we do not adopt every victim, so don’t get into that habit.”

I scowled. “I don’t see why we can’t.”

“Bailey.”

Damn. I loved when my husband growled at me.

“We need to deal with that other woman. Kendra,” I said, determined to give the gorgon some time to comfort and protect his daughter. “How long do you think it’ll take before he calms down enough he can be approached?”

“At least an hour. The CDC can handle him. This is more familiar territory, as the CDC