Read Online Dark Swan Bundle by Richelle Mead - Free Book Online

Otherworld couldn’t hurt you…but what about the Underworld?”
    He didn’t answer. I sent my will into the wand and felt the air crackle with power. Fear crossed Kiyo’s face. So. He was afraid. That was all I needed to know. The words were on my lips to send him to the crossroads, but suddenly he moved with that rapid speed I’d seen earlier. He backed up toward the sliding glass door, opened it up, and then ran out and over the edge of the balcony.
    A small scream escaped me in spite of myself. We were three floors up. I dropped the wand and dashed off to the balcony, peering around on the ground for him. No way could he have survived that uninjured.
    Yet, there was no sign of him. A few bats flew up over the eaves of the building, and around the far side of it, I saw the flicker of headlights. A coyote howled from far out in the desert, and a cat slunk into the shadows. There was life out here but not the kind I sought. With a lot of maneuvering, I hung over the side of the balcony, making sure he wasn’t hiding under it like escaping people often did in movies. Nope. Nothing.
    I gazed back over the desert, wondering what had happened to him. It was possible he could have “jumped” figuratively to the Otherworld. He’d have to be a very powerful gentry to do that without a thin spot nearby, but similarly, a strong gentry would have also been able to hold a perfect physical shape in this world. I supposed it was also possible someone so powerful could pass themselves off as human. I hadn’t encountered any who were that strong.
    Walking back inside, I sat on the bed cross-legged, wrapping my arms around me. The residual ice from the elemental had melted into small puddles. The bed smelled like Kiyo and sex, and I swallowed down the nausea building within me. Oh God. What had I done? Had I had sex with a monster? Had I had sex with the very kind of thing I hunted and hated and killed? Kiyo had spoken to me about honesty, yet it seemed to have all been a lie. At least it had been safe sex.
    Worst of all, I had liked him. Really liked him. When was the last time that had happened? Dean and I had seemed to date and sleep together simply because neither of us had anything better to do. With Kiyo, I had started to feel a real connection. Real chemistry. His betrayal hurt me deeper than I liked to admit.
    I opened my eyes, thinking. Most gentry were too technologically inept to function seamlessly in the human world, yet he had navigated it well. He’d had a car back at the bar, one we’d passed over in favor of letting me drive. He’d also had a wallet and cash to pay for drinks and the condoms. And if he was checked into a hotel, he had to have a credit card. Credit cards were traceable. If he had a dual life in our world, I should be able to find out something.
    I picked up the phone and hit the button for the front desk.
    â€œGood morning, Mr. Marquez,” a pleasant desk clerk answered.
    Kiyo Marquez. It was a start.
    â€œUm, actually this is Mrs. Marquez. I was wondering if you could tell me if my…husband already prepaid for the room?”
    A pause while she looked it up. “Yes, he did upon check-in. He left the same card on file for incidentals.”
    â€œCan you tell me the number on the card he used?”
    A longer pause. “I’m sorry, I can’t give that out to anyone but the cardholder. If you can put him on the phone, I can tell him.”
    â€œOh…I don’t want to bother him. He’s in the shower. I just wanted to make sure we weren’t maxing out the wrong card.”
    â€œWell…I can tell you it’s a Visa ending in 3011.”
    I sighed. That wouldn’t do me much good, but I doubted I’d get more from this woman. “Okay. Thanks.”
    â€œIs there anything else I can help with you?”
    â€œYeah…can you connect me to room service?”
    I ordered breakfast on Kiyo and then