A Kiss of Blood (Vamp City #2)(25)

“Can they be trusted?” Neo asked, his expression making it clear he doubted it.

“I do not know,” Arturo admitted. “They have no love for Cristoff, but the hold he has over them is prodigious. It is impossible to know whether they will help Quinn without being forced.” He lifted a brow. “But I am happy to force.”

“It may be a moot point if we can’t free the sorceress’s magic,” Neo countered. “And we have little time. The equinox is only a few days away, and it’s unlikely Vamp City’s magic will last until the winter solstice. The next strong power day,” he added for Quinn’s benefit. He glanced at her. “I would read your magic for myself, sorceress.”

“What do you mean ‘read’?”

Arturo’s hand covered her arm, squeezing lightly. “Where I taste magic, Neo feels it through touch.”

“I’ll barely touch you, Quinn,” Neo assured her. “And only your face.”

God, she was tired of having to trust vampires. But when Neo reached her chair and motioned her to stand, she complied, turning to face him. He was a tall man, a couple of inches taller than Arturo, and smelled pleasantly of Mediterranean spices and warm climates. As he reached for her face, she instinctively tensed, then forced herself to relax. The last thing she wanted to do was call up her power in this place filled with humans. Zack wasn’t the only one she might injure.

Taking a deep breath, she eyed Neo. “Tell me what you’re going to do.”

His blue eyes were kind. “I will touch your face, Quinn. Just that. Through my fingertips, I’ll be able to read your magic. Yes?”

She’d never been comfortable with strangers touching her. Or friends, for that matter. It wasn’t in her nature. And there was no telling what a powerful vampire could do with a touch. Micah had changed her entire appearance. But she needed to understand her magic.

“Yes. Do it.”

Neo watched her a moment longer, as if he were as cautious about touching a sorceress as she was about being touched. Finally, he lifted his hands again and pressed his fingers lightly against her cheekbones, his thumbs resting on her chin. Dark lashes dropped, hiding those incongruously blue eyes. After a moment, his lashes rose again.

Releasing her, he stepped back, his brows drawing together. “You have power, sorceress. And yet . . . I don’t know. There’s something odd about it. As if it’s been caged.”

“Kassius said the same,” Arturo told him.

“I know of someone who may be able to tell you more,” Mukdalla said. “A fae by the name of Tarellia. Do you know her?” she asked Arturo.

“We’ve met, but I’ve not seen her in decades. Tell me where she lives, and I’ll fetch her.”

Mukdalla shook her head. “She’ll not leave her house—you’ll have to take the sorceress to her—but she lives in the Nod, not far from here. It’s a safe enough journey.”

“There are no safe journeys, my friend. You know that. Quinn will remain here. I’ll bring the fae to her.”

“You will go to the fae, Arturo,” Neo said, his tone brooking no argument.

Arturo smiled a smile that didn’t reach his eyes as his voice turned Obi-Wan. “It will be fine, Neo.”

But Neo only shook his head. “You’ll not sway me, Arturo. You bring too many to my home. You’ll compromise all our safety. No more. You must go to the fae. There is too much at stake.”

Arturo’s jaw hardened, but to Quinn’s surprise, he didn’t argue further or attempt any more mind control. “We’ll go tomorrow. I do not wish to run across York’s vampires again. Not with Quinn.”

Neo nodded. “We are in agreement, then.” He motioned to the platters of food. “Eat. Enjoy. Now that the sorceress is here, we have a chance. This is cause for celebration. If you’ll excuse me, I have work to do upstairs.”

Once Neo left, Micah and Arturo moved off to one side of the room to talk in private. While Zack refilled his plate, Quinn placed a couple of finger sandwiches on one of her own, then joined the vampires. She was through being left out of discussions.

“I’m going to have to report to Cristoff in the morning, first thing,” Arturo said, as she approached. He met her gaze, apology in his eyes. “It’s been several days, and he’ll have someone out looking for me if I don’t.”

The thought of him with Cristoff curled her stomach.

He either felt her uneasiness or saw it in her face, for he said, “It will help us not at all for Cristoff to know I’m his traitor. He’ll send his troops after me to get to you. And he might well succeed.”

“I know.” And she did, logically. It didn’t mean she had to like it. “When will we visit the fae, then?”

“Afterward. My visit with Cristoff will be short.”

“I’m staying here,” Micah added. He cocked his head at her, a smile lifting his mouth, a kind Mike smile. “You look . . . lighter, Quinn. Like the weight of the world is no longer weighing you down. I’m glad. It’s Zack, isn’t it?”

It amazed her that, despite all the revelations—that he was a vampire, that he’d been spying on her—he was still Mike. He was still her friend. Either he was a heck of an actor or he’d never acted with her at all. She was inclined to believe the latter.