To save her ghost-hunting career, psychic Kayde Foster must confront an evil and darkly attractive entity that has taken up residence in her uncle's business.
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Kayde prides herself on being fearless. Ghosts? Crumbling buildings? Scary legends? No...
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The atmosphere had changed in the room. No longer was it strung tight like a piano wire, but it was... relaxed. Candlelight flickered from various wicks around the room. The elaborate food display in front of me made my stomach gurgle. It was all so much. He had just... wished it out of thin air.
I wasted no time and dug in.
At the back of my head, I was cursing myself. Ozzol looked at ease—if not faintly amused for whatever reason—as he watched me keenly from the corners of his red eyes. What exactly did he see? A stupid girl who completely failed at getting him out of Tales Untold? A frazzled loon for taking off my clothes and streaking through my uncle's business?
Whatever he saw made the hair at the back of my neck stand on end. It was a hungry look.
And not for food, I'd imagine.
Right when I was serving myself a healthy portion of peas, his tail flicked out and ripped a chicken leg straight off the buttered bird with a snap. He certainly had an appetite that was all man, regardless of his monster-status.
Around four spoonfuls in, I swallowed and had to ask. "Why have servants if you can just make everything with magic?"
He grinned and took a bite of his massive chicken leg. It was strange to watch because his teeth were so damn sharp.
When he swallowed, he answered, "I'm not always here. The few guests that I have that come and go often come here without me if I allow it. I would have to be here each hour of each day to simply poof the food into existence." He laughed. "This is not my true home, but a place of solace. The Jinn were not made for chores. My servants must feel like they have a purpose."
I ripped off another piece of bread and rubbed it around my plate to catch some melted butter. I popped it into my mouth, thinking about that. "So this place has been asleep until you arrived?"
"Correct."
"Why?"
"Prison." He shrugged his massive shoulders. "I cannot maintain this dimension unless I visit it. Sometimes I liked to have a place away from courtly life and politics. The higher echelons of my noble society consist solely of entitled individuals competing for power—with assholes so tightly puckered, they never do a proper shit."
I almost snorted. Almost.
He has a filthy mouth.
When he wasn't being a sadistic man-eating monster, he was quite prim and proper—minus the lack of shirt. Other times, like these, he was more down to earth, but no less regal. He was three times my size, vibrating with power, and I was... surprisingly okay.
Not dead. Not maimed. Why on earth did he keep me alive? Wouldn't it be better to kill me and get it over with?
I had forgotten he was a prince in his realm—whichever realm that was. His brother was on the throne and he wasn't. Which only spurred many other questions, but I refused to voice them. I couldn't stop thinking about my uncle and Darby.
