With that, he took Rozelle's hand, then the two of them disappeared. I grabbed the shifter's wallet, then became Aedh and returned home. The apartment was dark and silent. Tao still wasn't here. I bit back the instinctive urge to ring and check if he was safe, knowing there was little I could do if he wasn't, and walked into my bedroom. I'd left the door open and the acrid smell of smoke was stronger this time. My nose twitched and I briefly wondered if we'd ever be able to rid the place of it. Or if, indeed, we'd even bother rebuilding it. Especially if the worst happened with Tao…
I slumped wearily onto my bed and rubbed my forehead, half wishing for coffee but not having the energy to actually walk down to McDonald's to grab one.
"Which is why I did," Azriel said, as he reappeared. He handed me not only a coffee, but a double Quarter Pounder.
I raised my eyebrows. "And just where did you get the money for these?"
"One does not need money when one can simply arrange for them to be given."
"You stole them?"
"If they are gifted, they are hardly stolen."
I grinned. "So if I feel the sudden need for diamonds, you could arrange for them to be ‘gifted'?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Diamonds are hardly necessary for your health."
"You obviously have no understanding of women and diamonds."
Amusement creased the corners of his bright eyes. "I think we can take that as a given. Eat."
I did. Once I'd finished the burger, I took a sip of the coffee and said, "So what do we do now?"
"Until the Raziq or your father comes through with some way of finding either of our sorcerers, I do not know." He paused. "I would suggest sleeping, but I already know the answer to that."
"Yeah." I grimaced. "It just feels wrong to sleep when the clock is ticking for Mirri. But I could go see Uncle Quinn."
Surprise flitted across Azriel's expression. "Why?"