“But it is within your ability.”
“No.”
“Azriel—”
“No.” This time there was an edge of anger in his voice. “I am not here to alter the hand fate has dealt to any of those people inside.”
“Not unless it had something to do with the keys, which this does.”
“Only peripherally. I have no justification for interfering in either the life or the death of those within that building.”
“What about Genevieve Sands? She might be connected to both the dark sorcerer and the keys, so why can’t you at least go in there to see if she survived?”
“Look at the building, Risa. Do you really think it possible she could be alive?”
I twisted around and my gaze widened. Flames leapt high from either end, but it was the middle of the building—in the area that had held Lauren Macintyre’s storage unit—that had taken the brunt of the explosion. It was completely destroyed. There was nothing left but the charred remnants of brick walls and the twisted remains of metal. There is no way in hell anyone in that area could have survived.
“There’s no guarantee she was actually in there at the time of the explosion. She might have set it all up and then used the stones to escape.” That was what I would have done if I’d been in her somewhat ugly shoes. “We need to go check the Razans’ place and see if she’s there.”
Azriel’s expression went back to being noncommittal. “You cannot go in Aedh form, as they will sense you.”
I met his gaze. “You could go.”
He hesitated. “I prefer not to leave you—”
“Who’s going to attack me here? The Raziq are waiting for my father’s appearance, Hunter still has use for me, and anyone else I can cope with.”
“Given you do have the unfortunate habit of attracting danger, that is no comfort.”
I smiled. “It’s going to take you a couple of minutes, if that, to check. What trouble could I get into in that amount of time?”
“Plenty, I suspect.” He rose, his movements fluid and graceful, and offered me a hand. “Do not go into that building.”
“I won’t.” Not in human form, anyway.
“Risa—”
“Stop being such a worrywart and go before she escapes us again.”
He did. I brushed the dirt and grit from my hands and clothes as I studied the blackened, broken building. There was little sound coming from the building now—little in the way of human sound, anyway—but the flames were intense, a caress of heat that would burn my skin if I got any closer. But I had to get closer, no matter what Azriel said. Though the approaching wail of the emergency vehicles was barely audible over the fierce burn of the fire, they were little more than a couple of minutes away. If I wanted to check if anything in that locker had survived the blast, I’d better do it now, before officialdom descended and perhaps destroyed whatever evidence still survived.ment touched her lips. “I’m glad to hear it.”
I bet she was. Couldn’t have her pet joining the opposition, after all—not before she’d done what was expected of her, anyway.
“He did give me his contacts at the entertainment agency. I thought I might go talk to them, unless you’d prefer—”
“If I wanted to get deeply involved in this case, I would have,” she said. “Report back to me if you uncover anything else.”
And with that, she hung up.
“Hunter was her charming self, I see,” Azriel murmured.
I laughed, as he’d no doubt intended. “Yeah, she was.”
He caught my hand and rose, dragging me upright with him. “Tao is about to call for you.”
“Why?”
“I believe he is hungry.” He gave me a somewhat stern look. “And you should be eating something, too.”