Chosen Thief (16 page)

I watched as she lifted her head and touched Sin’s nose gently with hers, not licking but gifting him with a kiss, and my heart melted a little. “Ah, she’s so cute.” I stepped closer, going on tiptoe, which put the top of my head barely at the top of Sin’s shoulders — if I jumped a little. I raised my hand
without the tissue to very carefully let her sniff me then rub the top of her furry head. I glanced at Sin, eyes hopeful. “It’s obviously a prank, but…I want to keep her. We’ve never had a pet before.”

Patient eyes stared down at me, even as Sin brought the tiny wolf in close to his chest and pressed his forehead to mine. “Caro,” he shook his head slowly, his cool skin feeling great against my
fevered flesh, “a wolf is not a pet.” My jaw set, and I glared into his eyes. He sighed, pulling his head back, and stated, “Maybe we could find a dog or a cat instead.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but King Zeller cleared his throat, gaining our attention. Both his and King Collins’s arms were crossed, each Ruler with a fist in front of their mouths, their expressions blank, though their eyes
were a bit squinty. And I felt my gaze narrow, wondering what it was they were hiding, so I asked directly, “What aren’t you telling us?”

King Zeller cleared his throat again, then he dropped his arms as he moved closer to us. “Before you two start deciding the benefits between wild and domestic pets, we need to figure out if it is a Vizoac.” A head tilt toward King Collins. “And he doesn’t want
to be bitten, so I’ll test the issue.”

I shook my head, eyebrows furrowing. “Sin’s obviously tested the theory since he’s holding her. She’s not a Vizoac.”

The wolf pup yipped at me quietly, but her head swung to King Zeller when he took another step closer.

King Collins stated, “Just humor us while we test her. She’s…smaller…than Brann’s; if she does bite, hopefully it won’t be as painful.”

King Zeller grunted, staring down at her and eyeing her carefully. “Even if she is smaller, it doesn’t mean it’s not going to hurt.” I watched in confusion as he lifted his hand slowly to her head, talking quietly to her in a soothing voice. Then, startled, I jumped against Sin’s side when King Zeller muttered a loud curse, his hand blurring at he pulled it back…because the tiny she-wolf had bit
him. Viciously. With a scrappy growl to go along with it. I watched, stunned, as King Zeller’s thumb healed instantly, the blood dripping down his hand the only sign he had been cut. As he lifted a tissue from a box close by, wiping his hand, he glanced at King Collins and muttered sarcastically, “Oh, no. Didn’t hurt at all. Why don’t you give it a try?”

I blinked. Glanced at the wolf as she
licked the blood staining the white fur around her mouth. And instantly dropped my tissue to grab her from Sin’s frozen hand. Eyes wide, worry coursing through me, I held her away from everyone with one hand while I seized Sin’s hand, checking it and asking quickly, “She didn’t bite you, did she?”

He stared down at his hand, too, flipping it inside my hold to look at it from all angles, but there
was no blood there. “No, I don’t think so.” Slowly, he took his hand from mine as his head lifted to the two Rulers, his eyes carefully analyzing their studiously blank faces. “Care to explain?”

King Collins’s eyes went to the ceiling, his head teetering back and forth before he glanced back down to us. “No. I don’t believe I will.” A shrug of his shoulders. “Call it payback, or whatever you
want, but you two will figure it out eventually.”

King Zeller’s lips twitched as he glanced at King Collins. “It could mean something else.”

King Collins’s eyes flicked back and forth between Sin and I where we stood glaring at him. “Yes, it could, but it’s not really likely since it only happens with the other Rulers or…” His lips curved. “Well, anyway, enjoy the conundrum.” Brown eyes swung
to me. “And it does appear you have a Vizoac. I imagine London and Aria will be receiving theirs shortly, if they haven’t already.”

I inhaled heavily, the sound wheezing. “But,” I licked my lips, eyes staring hard into his, “that means…”

His lips pursed, and his eyes turned cold, much colder than I had ever seen from him. Hell, it made me shiver in foreboding. “Yes, it does. But it doesn’t necessarily
mean a war. A gifted Vizoac means only that there will be a time of unrest during a Prodigy’s eventual ruling.” He cracked his neck and glanced at King Zeller, who now stood staring at our closed door as if he could see through it. “Plus, if there is a time of unrest, at least you’ve got the current Rulers, us, who have been through hell and back, to train and learn from.” Again his lips
curved, and it wasn’t a pretty smile. “We actually enjoyed parts of the war. A little action is sometimes balm for the soul.”

King Zeller chuckled quietly, the sound scary as fuck, and I was really happy his back was to us so I couldn’t see his expression. “Sin, you’ll want to stick around for a while. It appears you’ll be able to use those skills you’ve been reining in since you arrived here.
And maybe I’ll teach you a few techniques of drawing out pain to where it’s damn near a work of art.” He nodded to himself and began walking out the door. “I’ll start working on a lesson plan for him, and possibly Aria if she can handle it.”

I stared after him even when he disappeared out of our room. “Sin…”

Sin cleared his throat and spoke reasonably, “Hey, who am I to turn down the King of
the Vampires?”

My eyes closed and I sighed heavily, bringing my Vizoac close against my chest, cuddling her. “This does not give you free reign to revert—”

“I know, Caro,” Sin stopped me, his voice irritated as he pulled my back against his front, keeping my Vizoac away as he rested his hands on my shoulders. “We’ve had this conversation plenty. It doesn’t need to be rehashed.”

Agreed…I guessed.

I opened my eyes to King Collins, feeling the need to emphasize a point I had already made. “I still won’t use my powers.”

He stared at me evenly, then he stated simply, “Then you will die.” He shrugged his shoulders, walking backward toward my door as both Sin and I stiffened, more than a bit stunned at his words. “Just because it might not be a war — and it still could possibly be — you were
gifted a Vizoac for a reason. For a time of unrest. A violent time.” Hand on my doorhandle, his blue eyebrows rose. “I don’t know your fear for not wanting to use what is yours, but,” another shrug of his shoulders, “I suggest you get over it before you get yourself, and the other Prodigies, killed.” He stared pointedly at me for a moment before his cell phone rang and he walked out, shutting the
door swiftly behind him as he answered it.

Sin and I stared at the door for long moments before I made my way back to the bedroom, our bed, not really wanting to discuss what King Collins might possibly have a point about. Lying on the fluffy mattress with my Vizoac on my chest, I stared at the ceiling, petting her furry head absently. Sin followed, falling on the bed beside me, and also stared
at the ceiling, just as mute as me. He was smart enough to know I couldn’t talk about my fears, even if I wanted to.

But my Vizoac had other plans, wiggling out from my hands and jumping onto the bed, and literally appearing as if she were hopping over the thick folds of the comforter she was so small. Sin froze when she took a mighty leap and landed on his stomach, and started trotting up his
torso…to lick his frozen chin. She then turned in circles before snuggling up on his chest, bitty chin on her paws, her eyes closing peacefully.

I stared, then I blurted, “It’s because I love you. It has to be.” The conundrum wasn’t that hard to figure out for anyone with half a brain.

Unhurriedly, Sin lifted a hand, head cocked as he carefully began stroking her back while he stared at her.
“A Vizoac is partly the essence of the owner’s soul.” Humored eyes glanced at me. “Not much of a mystery, huh?”

I shrugged a shoulder, grabbing another tissue before rolling closer to them, resting my head on his shoulder. “Maybe we should act as if we don’t know for a while? Let the King think he’s one-upping us so he’ll leave us alone on something else.”

“Decent idea,” he murmured, resting
his head on mine as we stroked her soft fur. After a few minutes he yawned sleepily, asking absently, “I think we already know her name, don’t we?”

I chuckled quietly, letting my eyes close. “Of course.” It was a given.

In unison, we mumbled tiredly, “Isolde.”

Because…shit was going to hit the fan.

As I rushed down the marble stairs to the main Shifter foyer, my yellow fuzzy slippers slid along the slick surface, almost taking me down more than once, but I pressed on, wondering if it would be safer and faster to mount the curved railing and slide down. Almost four full days after getting sick, I was nearly fully recovered, but I still had a cough that I was beginning to think
antibiotics would be needed for. I also had a dripping nose that was more of an annoyance than a hindrance. But when London had come by the room to check on me a few minutes ago while Sin was gone, his blathering gossip had lit a fire under my ass, sparking energy into my mending but drained body. My current mission was to find King Collins, despite looking as I did — like hell — in one of Sin’s
t-shirts, which was so long it hid the pair of short cotton shorts I had on, my fuzzy slippers…and a day or two without a shower so my hair was in hideous disarray. But I didn’t give a flying fuck what the housekeepers or anyone else thought as I flew past them.

London had been delivering a message from King Collins. I was to make myself presentable and attend dinner tonight. Because we had guests
arriving. Important guests that apparently the Rulers had been hush-hush about for the last couple of days, holing themselves up in conference rooms to discuss anything pertaining them. But London had done some digging today, and apparently the housekeeping staff gave up the goods — as he had excitedly whispered to me — that the many rooms they had been preparing were in the Elemental section
of the castle.

The rooms decorated in…white.

Which could mean only one thing.

Spirits.

As soon as I had heard that, I had bounced from my bed, anxiety and fear pushing me past my current ill limits to find King Collins. One of the house staff had kindly told me where she thought the other Rulers were, and now I was trying to find the damn room inside the Shifter area, wiping my nose as I dodged
a few Shifters in their shifted forms of a jaguar and a buffalo. The buffalo was a bit harder to maneuver around since the Shifter himself was trying to turn in the hallway, but I ducked under his body and continued on my way, peering into each room I passed.

I struck gold at one end of the hallway where the door was closed. Not bothering to knock, I threw the door open, barging inside and my
attention instantly swinging to the right where King Collins was speaking. All four Rulers were standing beside each other dressed in their finest clothes — for their own taste, anyway — and I ran inside the finer Shifter living room I had seen before to stand not too far in front of them. I waved an arm as I hunched over, trying to catch my breath, wheezing, “King Collins, I need to talk to you.
It’s important.”

King Collins’s eyes were huge on his face, and his jaw was gaping a bit as he stared at me, but I waggled my hand again with the tissue, trying to stand straight with the stitch I had in my side. I rubbed at it absently, breathing heavily, and I started rambling as fast as I could since this needed to be said and I needed to get out of this. “I can’t go to dinner tonight. London
said it was probably spirits coming.”

I pointed at my face, using expressive gestures. “I’m still not feeling up to it…and there’s no way in fuck they will understand this. And besides,” I shook my arms at him like I was directing a plane, to emphasize my point, “I will appear weak. You don’t want that do you?” I sucked in a big breath, my gaze darting to each of the Ruler’s faces, each of them
quickly turning blank — that perfect card-playing face Sin had mentioned. “Seriously! You four have to understand this. Me meeting with other spirits right now,” I waved a hand at myself from head to toe, “is not a great idea. I’ll just…stay in my room.”

King Collins closed his eyes for a moment, then he opened them as if they weighed a hundred pounds, stating slowly, “Caro, you need to—”

“No,
I don’t need to.” I cut him off, pointing at him. I started to say something else, but I paused to sneeze a whopping three times into my tissue, which gladly was less than I had been doing. “I don’t want to meet them.” I wiped at my watering eyes and used them to beg with him. “Please, just trust me on this. The other spirits will not
understand
why I,” I shook my hands, “am what I am right now.”
I threw my hands in the air. “Come on! Don’t make me do this!”

I froze when a cold nose and a huffing breath jammed between my legs from behind — something sniffing me extremely rudely. I yelped, jumping to the side to stare down at… “Oh, holy shit.” My eyes were huge, jaw gaping as I stared down at the most beautiful white tiger I had ever known, its black stripes vivid across its pure as snow
coloring.

Which could mean only one thing.

Of its own accord, my hand lifted to the platinum collar around the beast’s neck that dazzled with the huge sparkling diamonds decorating it. Queen Ruckler made a noise in her throat and started to step forward, but I held my other hand up to her instantly as the handsome tiger nuzzled his head against my hand. I murmured softly, more than freaked the
fuck out, “Hello, my handsome devil. I’ve missed you, too, but you need to give me a moment while I speak.” I paused, holding his fur tightly. “And sniffing me like that is very impolite, so don’t do it again.”

He snarled a bit, not liking my order or being ignored, but I quickly placed the palm of my hand against his nose and mouth. “Hush, Tristan. I need to talk.”

He opened his mouth, sliding
my hand inside and skimming it along his sharp teeth. He released it just as quickly, but he was letting me know in his own way that he wanted attention soon and wouldn’t wait long.