Hearts of Darkness by Kira Brady

worst, he would—what? Kill her in a room full of witnesses? She shook her head. Seattle was making her paranoid.
    There was a commotion at the door. Familiar large men in black dusters stormed inside, guns at the ready. She recognized Rudrick—face almost purple with rage—and his goons.
    Not again.
    Kayla didn’t duck this time, or cower. Maybe she’d found her backbone. Mabye she’d inhaled a whopping dose of Idiot. Who didn’t duck when guns were pointed in their direction?
    Norgard didn’t blink at the intruders, or the guns. “It has been a delightful evening.” He swept up Lucia’s hand and kissed it. “I am so disappointed that you could not stay longer.”
    â€œGet away from her!” Rudrick yelled over the crowd. He scattered patrons left and right in his effort to reach the girl.
    Norgard ignored him. There was a pleased gleam in his eye as he bent over Lucia’s hand. “Please join us again anytime.”
    â€œOh, I will—”
    â€œShoot him!”
    That got Norgard’s attention. He twisted a large malachite ring and a blast of arctic air bowled through the room. Candles flickered and went out, leaving only gas sconces for illumination. Screams echoed off the arched ceilings, a haunting noise that scraped over Kayla’s eardrums and left trails of icy fingerprints down her spine.

Chapter 5
    The hair on Kayla’s arms stood on end. It wasn’t just the cold; it was something else, something that felt like a low volt of electricity and fear all in one.
    â€œDon’t tempt me,” Norgard told Rudrick over the noise. “My servants can’t be killed.”
    â€œHold your weapons.” Rudrick shoved against some invisible force until he reached Lucia’s side.
    He didn’t acknowledge Kayla at all. She didn’t want to talk to him again either, not even to ask him about the birds. She had three days. Time enough to find the necklace and screw up her courage to face him again.
    Rudrick and Norgard stared at each other, an invisible battle warring between them. Tension rolled and Kayla almost imagined she could see the air molecules boiling with it. A truce flickered, unspoken but understood. She wondered if they were more concerned with violence or showing themselves before the human patrons of the tea house.
    â€œGive us the princess and we’ll leave,” Rudrick said.
    Norgard lowered his hand. Instantly the temperature in the room resumed to normal.
    Lucia crossed her arms, but didn’t protest when Rudrick grabbed her.
    â€œYou don’t have to go with him,” Kayla said.
    â€œStay out of this, human,” Rudrick snarled.
    As he led her away, Lucia called over her shoulder, “Lovely to meet you, darling. I had a smashing good time.”
    Kayla watched the Kivati leave. She should have felt more anxious about it, but her limbs were warm and tingly. Buzzed, she would say if she had been drinking. There was something about Norgard that made her forget what she was doing. She couldn’t stop thinking about his cologne, and she found herself drinking more and more tea. She needed to confront Norgard about Desi.
    Norgard clapped his elegant hands. “Free drinks all around,” he announced. It appeased the tea house’s patrons, who were quick to forget the incident and crowded the bar. Hart was right. Humans ignored what was right in front of them. They were eager to return to their comfortable, oblivious existence. Or maybe this was normal behavior at the club. Maybe, like Adam suggested, they were in on the secret and chose to turn a blind eye.
    Norgard turned back to Kayla with a brilliant smile. “Shall we see if this evening can be salvaged? Let me treat you to something special. Quite the theatrics for an evening, wasn’t it?”
    Beneath the fatigue that muddled her brain, she knew she shouldn’t follow him. But she needed answers. If only she could