Rogue Descendant (Nikki Glass) - By Jenna Black Page 0,57

“I feel a hell of a lot better. And Sita may be hard to control, but at least I can control when and where I let her out. When I was fighting the death magic instead of cooperating with it, everyone knew I could snap at any moment.”

That was a bit of an exaggeration. Sure, his temper had been volatile, and he could be dangerous when his death magic got antsy, but he didn’t go off without provocation. Of course, it hadn’t taken much to provoke him . . .

“I’m glad you feel better,” I said carefully. “But I hope you won’t let Sita cut you off completely from the rest of us.” Especially me. No matter how much my common sense told me I shouldn’t let him get too close.

He shrugged. “I guess we’ll see what happens. I’ve only been working with her a couple of weeks. Maybe my control will get better. And maybe she’ll stop seeing everyone else as her competition. But until then, you have to give me my space. I had a great time tonight, but I never should have let you talk me into this. Sita is going to be one angry kitty next time I summon her.”

He put the car back in gear and pulled out of the makeshift parking spot. I got the signal loud and clear: our heart-to-heart conversation was over.

I couldn’t have told you how I felt about the night’s revelations. There was good news and bad news, and I didn’t know which was bigger. But at least I no longer thought Jamaal was avoiding me because he was pissed at me. That was a step in the right direction.

THIRTEEN

On Tuesday, I had to meet Steph so we could make the apartment she’d rented for the Glasses as welcoming as possible before they arrived the next day. The place was attractive enough, with good-quality, bland vanilla furniture, but the decoration was sparse, to say the least. Steph thought coming home to a bare-bones apartment was going to make the Glasses feel worse than they already did, so we spent the whole afternoon darting around from store to store buying things like throw pillows and wall hangings, and then spent the evening and well into the night installing our purchases.

The rain was finally starting to clear when I couldn’t take decorating anymore and left Steph to finish up alone. The clouds were patchy, and at times I caught quick glimpses of the moon between them. I didn’t think it was clear enough for a hunt yet, even if I weren’t exhausted and I hadn’t agreed to Cyrus’s terms. Maybe by tomorrow night . . .

But no. I didn’t believe Konstantin was the firebug, and if Cyrus thought for a moment that I’d continued the hunt despite my promise, there would be hell to pay.

Knowing Wednesday probably wasn’t going to be any easier on me than Tuesday had been, I collapsed into bed the moment I got home.

The following day dawned bright and clear, not a cloud in the sky. The weather forecast said we’d be venturing up into the low fifties, and after the chilly rain of the last few days, it was going to feel like spring.

The cheerful weather did nothing to calm my rampaging nerves, however. Steph and I had agreed that she would pick up the Glasses at the airport when they arrived around noon. I’d have gone with her, except the Glasses had packed for a three-month trip and would need every spare inch in the car for their baggage. Steph would call when she was leaving the airport, and I’d meet them at the apartment.

I had missed my adoptive parents while they were away, and there was a part of me that was looking forward to seeing them again, whatever the circumstances. I wasn’t looking forward to seeing their lingering grief over the loss of their house, nor was I looking forward to their worry when Steph told them about the fire at my condo. On paper, they were the owners of the apartment. There was no evidence that the police had linked the two fires—yet—but you could be certain the Glasses’ insurance company would take a serious interest in the “coincidence.” And, since I was supposedly living in the condo, the Glasses would probably worry I was in some kind of trouble, especially when they factored in the fire at my office building.

What I was dreading the most, however, was the distance I was going