The Hour of Dust and Ashes Read Free

I’ll be kissed. Will you?”
    “You’re the oracle. You tell me.”
    A genuine laugh breezed through her painted lips. “I think I’ll keep that one to myself, Charlie.” She leaned forward with a conspiring gleam in her eyes. “You want me to tell you what your siren will be doing tonight?”
    My teeth ground together.
He’s not my siren.
“I’ll pass.” Because I knew exactly what my partner was doing tonight. Sleeping. Just like he’d done yesterday and the day before and the day before that.
    When Hank had used his siren voice to issue a massive power word atop Helios Tower, it ended the battle between us and the war-obsessed cult Sons of Dawn. But there was a consequence for that kind of energy drain.
    He’d held it together after the battle—long enough for us to find a hiding place for the cult’s most prized possession and to check on Aaron—but as soon as Hank had walked away from me at the station, he’d gone straight home, crawled into bed, and sunk into a near comatose state.
    That was a week ago. He’d missed Christmas. And he might even miss New Year’s if he didn’t wake up soon.
    “So certain you know, eh?” A smug grin crawled across the oracle’s face. “You of all people should know you can never
truly
know another. Trust. Faith. They are only hopes, not absolutes.
Never
absolutes. Thin hopes, at best, to ease the mind and heart.”
    Me of all people. Nice.
Hit me where it hurts, Sandra.
    I gave her the most annoyed expression in my arsenal even though she spoke the truth. My ex-husband Will and I had been together for eleven years. I would’ve sat across from the devil himself and bet my life on Will’s faithfulness and honesty. And the devil would’ve collected my soul, leaving me completely blindsided. Alessandra was right. You can never
truly
know another or what they’re capable of. Will and his secret life of black crafting had taught me that. It was a lesson I’d never forget.
    “There are limits on love and loyalty, Charlie. Everyone has a line, a truth, a sacrifice they are unwilling to make for another no matter how much devotion and love they have. Your siren has secrets just like you and everyone else. The only one who can truly know all is”—her white teeth flashed from within the darkness of her hood—“
me
.”
    My expression went flat. She might
know
the future as it was tonight, but I firmly believed the future was fluid, changeable, affected by constantly varying factors.
    Whatever.
    No matter what Alessandra saw or knew about Hank and me, she wouldn’t get to me. Not this time. I gave myself enough hell as it was. Every time I thought about losing control and blatantly falling under the siren spell like your average groupie, and then getting that damn truth mark, I could barely breathe let alone think about Hank’s last words to me.
You don’t stand a chance.
    And what the hell did that mean anyway?
    Dating? A fling? Something more? The answer hinged on what happened next. Except the “next” had been put on hold while Hank recuperated.
    “How long?” I asked tightly as her eerie green eyes laughed at me. “How long will it take to contact the sylph?”
    Alessandra waved the smoke away as though just realizing it bothered her. “As long as it takes. Now leave your token at the altar.” Which was code for:
We’re done; get the hell out of my temple
. “And for Dione’s sake, get your Revenant out of my club.”
    I turned, immediately finding the seat Rex had promised to stay in. “Shit,” I whispered through clenched teeth. Damned if he hadn’t gone into the club. I looked at my watch. Thirty minutes to gather Rex and get to the Mordecai House to pick up my kid from visiting with Bryn.
    My token consisted of a credit card swiped through a conveniently placed machine (aka the altar) by the steps. Tuni and the twelve other bodyguards lurking around the theater made sure everyone paid and everyone treated Alessandra with the utmost