Stone Cold Touch

I glanced down. In my bare feet, walking would prove tricky. Glass covered the floor, twinkling like little diamonds in the foyer light. “Yeah. Not even a scratch.”

Nicolai and Geoff approached the blown-out windows. Being our resident security expert, Geoff looked disturbed as he leaned out the window and with good reason. “These windows are reinforced glass. It would take damn near a rocket to break them and nothing or no one is down there. None of the motion detectors have gone off or any of the charms.”

“Or in here.” Nicolai turned around, frowning. “There’s no bricks or anything.”

Abbot turned to me and the taut line his jaw formed told me he was not happy. My gaze dipped to his hands. In one he held a small vial of milky-white liquid. “What happened in here, Layla?” he asked before I could question what he held.

“I don’t know. I was walking down the hall and the windows—they just cracked and then exploded.” I shook my head and pieces of glass wiggled free from my hair, clinking off the hardwood floors. Great. It would take forever to get all the glass out. I carefully stepped to the side.

Abbot arched a brow. “So you did nothing?”

My head jerked up. “Of course not! I didn’t do anything.”

“Then how did the windows get broken if there’s nothing here that could have done it?”

I forgot about the glass as I stared up at Abbot. Cold air rushed in through the windows, but that wasn’t the cause of the sudden chill skidding down my spine. “I don’t know, but I’m telling the truth. I didn’t do anything.”

Geoff faced us, crossing his arms. The dimple in his chin was all but gone. “Layla, there’s nothing in here that would’ve broken the windows.”

“It wasn’t me, though.” My gaze darted among the men. None of them, not even Dez or Nicolai, wore expressions that said they believed me. “Why would I break out the windows?”

Abbot raised his chin. “Why were you in the hallway?”

“I don’t know.” Irritation pricked at my skin. “Maybe I was walking to the kitchen or the living room. Or one of the many rooms down here?”

His eyes narrowed. “Do not take that tone with me, Layla.”

“I’m not taking a tone!” My voice rose a notch. “You’re blaming me for something I didn’t do!”

“The windows didn’t break themselves.” The hue of his eyes burned a brilliant blue. “If it was an accident, I’d rather you tell me the truth. No more lies.”

“No more lies? That’s real nice coming from you,” I shot back. The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them, and well, it was like having one foot in the grave already. “Especially when you’re telling them to keep an eye on me.”

His chest rose in a deep breath as he stepped forward, towering over me. “So you were out here eavesdropping when the windows were broken?”

“No!” Not really. At least that’s not why I was originally down here, but that wasn’t the point. “I was just walking by and heard my name. The door was cracked open. It wasn’t like you all were trying to be quiet about it.”

Dez stepped toward us. “Layla—”

Holding up a hand, Abbot silenced the younger Warden. “What did you hear?”

I folded my arms, silent. Unexpected stubbornness filled me. I didn’t say anything even though I’d only heard the one part.

He lowered his head and the act seemed to symbolize how unafraid of me he was, and for some reason, that relieved me. When he spoke, his voice was low and frighteningly calm. “What did you hear, Layla?”

Summoning courage, I kept my mouth shut and forced myself to meet his stare. “Why? What do you think I heard?”

His nostrils flared with a heavy exhale. “Girl, I raised you as one of my own. You will speak to me with respect and you will answer my question.”

A quiver of fear shot through my muscles. There was a huge part of me that wanted to tell him that I hadn’t heard much, wanted to make him happy, because he was the closest thing I had to a father. His approval was something I constantly sought, but this—this wasn’t fair and I wasn’t going to be a doormat for him.

Or for anyone.

Tension filled the atrium and the rest of the Wardens shifted uneasily. “Just tell him,” Nicolai said softly.

Resolve built steel around my spine as I continued to hold Abbot’s stare.

“What’s going on?” Zayne came down the steps, three at a time. Drops of water clung to his wet hair and patches of his black shirt stuck to his body. Fresh from the shower, his winter-mint scent filled the air. His gaze was trained on us and then moved to the windows. His brows rose. “Father?”

Abbot held my gaze a moment longer and then straightened, addressing his son. “The windows magically exploded, according to Layla.”

“I didn’t do it,” I said, resisting the urge to stomp my feet and end up with glass as shoes. “The windows did explode. I don’t know how it happened, but it wasn’t me.”

“If she says she didn’t do it, she didn’t.” It was that simple to Zayne. He believed what I said, and for the love of all things holy in the world, he was my hero in that moment. His gaze flickered to the floor. “Jesus, be careful. You don’t have shoes on.”

I started to smile or launch myself at him, but Abbot moved. He stalked past us. “Go to your room, Layla.” Glass crunched under his boots. When I didn’t move, he stopped and his angry glare pierced straight through me. “Now.”

“I didn’t do anything!” I exclaimed. “Why do I have to go—”

“Now!” he shouted, and I jumped again.

Zayne caught my arm, keeping me from stepping on glass. He shot his father a look.

Abbot turned to the Wardens. They started toward him, but he stopped them. “Just Geoff. The rest of you are excused.”

Geoff exchanged looks with the others, but followed Abbot into the library. The door slammed shut behind them, and my shenanigans sensor went off. I looked at Nicolai and Dez. “I didn’t do it,” I said yet again.

Both of them looked away, and the unease inside of me spread like wildfire as Nicolai left the atrium.

Dez sighed. “I’ll find Morris and get him to help me with this mess. And the windows.” Then he was gone, too, leaving me alone with Zayne.

“He’s in a bad mood,” Zayne reasoned quietly as he helped me navigate the path of destruction. “He has been ever since Ro—the demons showed up last night.”

Maybe that was why he was acting as if he’d sat on a nail, but it was more than that. At the bottom of the stairs, I spoke. “He was in the library with the other Wardens. I overheard him saying something.”

Zayne was staring at the floor. “Are you sure you didn’t get cut with all this glass?”

“No. Pay attention to me,” I said, tugging on the sleeve of his shirt. He looked at me, brows raised. “He was telling the other Wardens to keep an eye on me.”

“Okay,” he said slowly.

“Okay? Hello. He told them to watch me.”

Zayne took my hand, leading me up the stairs. “With...well, you-know-who being back, of course he’s going to want to make sure you’re safe.”

That hadn’t even crossed my mind. “It wasn’t like that, Zayne. He said something else, but it was too low for me to hear. And then he was talking about something being what he suspected.”

“What?”