Storm's Heart (Elder Races #2)(56)

Niniane started to laugh. She couldn’t help it. “Duncan is a very nice guy. Would you let him go, please?”

“But I’m not done sexually harassing him.” Niniane dipped her chin and glowered at the harpy, who scowled back and grumbled, “Oh all right.”

As soon as Aryal’s grip around his throat loosened, Duncan sprang to his feet and lunged to take a stance between Niniane and the harpy. It was a brave, stupid and totally useless gesture of protection.

Aryal blurred into a Wyr’s shapeshift as she rose to her feet as well. In her more human form, she was a six-foot-tall powerful woman, armed and dressed in leather, with an angular face, lean muscles, tangled black hair and stormy gray eyes. She said to the Vampyre, “You wanna hug it out?” She feinted forward and Duncan jerked back a step. “Yeah, I didn’t think so.” She bounced once on the balls of her feet and gave Niniane a feral grin. “Hey, pip-squeak.”

Aryal looked so happy to see her, the pleasure on her odd gaunt face so sincere and uncomplicated, for the moment Niniane’s disappointment that Aryal wasn’t Tiago took a backseat and she was simply glad to see her friend.

Niniane put a hand on the Vampyre’s shoulder and pressed down, silently telling him to stay put as she told him, “You know, Duncan, I have seen this harpy drunk on her ass more than a few times. Once she even—”

“Don’t say it,” Aryal warned.

Niniane grinned. “She even let me put pink lipstick on her and her hair up in pigtails.”

“Traitorous bitch!” Aryal said. “You carp-carp-carped. ‘Lemme just see what you look like, Aryal. C’mon, Aryal, I won’t tell anybody. Five minutes and you can wipe it right off.’ And now what do you do? You tell every freaking body you can every chance you get.”

The Vampyre relaxed only slightly at their banter. He asked, “How did she look?”

“You know how she looked just now when she smacked you down?” Niniane asked.

Duncan’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah.”

Niniane started to giggle. “She looked a lot scarier.”

The harpy rolled her eyes. Still laughing, Niniane launched forward. Aryal grabbed her and hauled her in for a tight hug. “How are you doing, pip-squeak? I was awfully proud of how you kicked the shit out of those three Dark Fae ass**les, but you gave us quite a scare when you disappeared like that.”

She pressed her cheek against Aryal’s leather vest and her laughter dissolved into a harsh sob. “I’ve had a rotten day.”

“Whoa,” said Aryal. She sounded alarmed. She patted Niniane’s back. “You know how tears freak me out. Who do I have to kill to make it better?”

“I don’t KNOOOOOW.”

Aryal said over her head to the Vampyre, “Go guard the inside of the patio door. Pretend you can’t hear us.”

“Count me deaf and gone,” said Duncan.

Aryal’s hug turned bone-bruising. Niniane tilted her head back. She gasped, “Let go already. I’m not going to cry anymore.”

Wide, worried storm gray eyes looked down at her. “You sure?”

She nodded. Aryal released her and she sucked in a deep breath. She turned to walk back to the patio table and sit. The harpy threw herself into a nearby chair and sprawled, arms crossed and long legs stretched, her piercing gaze fixed on Niniane’s face.

Niniane said, “What are you doing in Chicago?”

“Rune and I are here to investigate those f**kers who attacked you and Tiago,” Aryal told her. “Tiago called us just after you got back to the hotel and saw the doctor. We blew in a bit ago. We were barred from coming up through the hotel to see you. Then we heard from a Chicago PD chick that you and Tiago had separated. Rune went to find Tiago. I took the alternative route to see you.” The harpy tilted her head. “Now it’s your turn. Why isn’t Tiago still with you, and why are you having a rotten day?”

“Oh gods, where to start.” Niniane put her elbows on the table and hid her face in her hands.

“Wait a minute, you were awfully spry just now when you jumped at me,” Aryal said suddenly. “What happened to your knife wound?”

“Carling,” Niniane said. Speaking between her hands, she told Aryal everything that had occurred since she and Tiago had returned to the hotel. Well, minus the blisteringly personal stuff. She hugged that to herself, to be examined in private later when she had the chance. “I went into shock when I found out that it had been Wyr and not Dark Fae in the attack. I’ve been dealing with old bad memories anyway, and to hear about it in the meeting—well, that wasn’t a good way to find out.”

“I bet,” Aryal said. The harpy sat forward to put her elbows on the table as well. “Tiago should have told you.”

Niniane sighed. “He tried to tell me he got busy and forgot. I just wasn’t able to hear it at the time, so I sent him away. Now I can’t get ahold of him to apologize.”

“He’s used to giving orders. He’s not used to sharing.” Aryal narrowed her eyes on the plate of cheese, crackers and fruit. She raised her eyebrows at Niniane who gestured for her to help herself. Aryal popped a piece of cheese into her mouth.

“It didn’t make any sense,” Niniane said. “Why would you attack me?”