Shadow Thief - Eva Chase Page 0,16

bulging arms over his chest. “It didn’t sound as if they relayed any information that would direct us.”

“They didn’t,” I agreed. “Because either your friend Omen got grabbed by some regular if particularly ambitious hunters and it’s all a coincidence that he was talking conspiracy theories beforehand, or the conspirators are keeping their plotting incredibly quiet. I’ve got other people I can check with, though.”

“You told the woman in white that you’d accompany her to a place called ‘Jade’?”

Sweet jackrabbits and hares, how closely had he been eavesdropping? I gritted my teeth as I got my fork. The microwave dinged, not a moment too soon.

“Jade’s,” I said. “As in Jade’s Fountain. It’s a bar run by one of your kind, with other shadowkind as frequent clientele along with various mortals, most of whom have no idea. She doesn’t like to get involved in inter-realm conflicts, but she’ll pass on observations if she doesn’t think it’ll come back to bite her—or she might point me to someone else in the know.”

Thorn didn’t look convinced. “Are you sure this is the most fruitful avenue you could take? Talking hasn’t resulted in any progress so far.”

I resisted the urge to mash my newly heated container of pad thai into his face. Satisfying as it might briefly be, it’d be a waste of the food.

“It’s the best strategy I can think of. If you want to keep busy in the meantime, how about tomorrow you show me the spot where Omen got ambushed and maybe we’ll find something there?” Maybe I could move these three along before I even got to Jade’s, and I could spend my time there chatting with Vivi instead of digging for clues.

“I highly doubt our attackers would have left obvious identifying ephemera behind,” Thorn said, his glower deepening.

Of course he’d take offense to the slightest hint that he might have missed something. I shrugged. “Well, maybe I’ll pick up on something you all wouldn’t have. If you have other avenues you want to pursue, get to it. Now I’m going to go have dinner. Alone.”

Since I wasn’t likely to get privacy in the kitchen, I marched back down the hall. But my “protectors” couldn’t take a hint. They trailed after me as if connected by a magnetic force.

I spun around when I reached my bedroom doorway, about to tell them off. Before I had the chance, Thorn barreled ahead with his interrogation.

“That young man you spoke to momentarily before the images on the wall started—he gave me the impression of hostility. Is there any chance he might have something against the shadowkind after all?”

Could I stab him with my fork? I did have plenty of those. Of course, who could say whether the guy’s commitment to keeping me safe would hold firm in the wake of a direct assault. I settled for clenching the handle tighter and aiming my best death glare at him.

“Leland’s hostility has nothing to do with his feelings about you, only about me. Believe me, if I’d thought he was relevant, I’d have mentioned him. There isn’t anything else worth mentioning, so why don’t you all go raid my kitchen again and give me a break?”

Thorn’s face tightened, but he inclined his head. “If that is what you require. We will ensure your living space remains secure while you dine.”

I couldn’t help rolling my eyes, but he’d already turned his back. Snap slipped away too, still with a confused air that I couldn’t help feeling a twinge of guilt over.

Ruse had eased back a step, but he lingered in the hall, his head cocked.

“You deserve much better than that dingus anyway, you know,” he said. “He didn’t have the slightest concern for your well-being or pleasure, only what he felt he was missing out on.”

My hackles came up. “I told you to stay out of my—”

He held up his hands with a softer smile than usual. “I didn’t need any mystic awareness to pick up on your discomfort,” he said. “My regular senses work just fine. And you never said I shouldn’t see what I could make of other people’s emotions. His weren’t subtle at all. I guarantee I could take you to heights he’d never even have bothered to attempt.”

The seductive timbre of his voice sent a giddy shiver through me, stirring up the memory of our short interlude this morning. But he didn’t stick around in any attempt to persuade me, just popped his dimple at me and turned to follow the others.

As