Master of Shadows by Joss Walker & R.L. Perez

Author:Joss Walker & R.L. Perez
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781948967365
Publisher: Two Tales Press

Jayne only expected to sleep for a few hours, but when her phone rang and she slid out of the hazy fog of a much-too-long nap, she realized it was eight in the morning. She’d slept for freaking ten hours.

Groggily, she answered the phone with a slurred “Hello?”

“Deirdre just landed,” Amanda said. “We’ve sent a car for her, and she’s headed your way.”

“Got it. Thanks.”

Jayne took a quick shower and donned a button-up blouse and pencil skirt, realizing how much she missed being in libraries. Even just wearing her most librarian-esque outfit made her nostalgic for the stacks at Vanderbilt and Trinity.

A light knock sounded at the door, and Jayne hurried to open it. Deirdre stepped in, her hair pulled into a messy ponytail and her dark eyes wide with a mixture of awe and excitement as she drank in the grandeur of the flat.

“Deirdre!”

Jayne surged forward and embraced her tightly. Deirdre, normally reserved, stiffened for a moment before hugging her back. Jayne let her go, remembering their shared experiences at Trinity—both as librarians and pawns in the Kingdom’s game. Deirdre hadn’t revealed all she’d endured at Alarik’s hand, but being the wife of a psychopath who ran a terror organization couldn’t have been easy.

“Has the TCO been treating you well?” Jayne asked.

“They have. All those libraries…they’re endless.” Her clipped Oxford accent was more posh than ever.

“I’m a bit jealous, you know. Stuck out here on assignment instead of perusing all those fabulous tomes. I’ve only read one book this week, can you imagine? You ready to get your librarian on?”

Deirdre laughed. “Always.”

“Have they briefed you on what’s happened?”

“Amanda said you’re having some glitches with your magic. Is it something Alarik did?”

“No. The folks we’re up against have managed to poison me, and it’s affecting how I access the Torrent. We’re working on it.”

Deirdre blanched. “Poison?”

“I mean, it’s magical. Not as serious as it sounds. I’m totally fine.”

Jayne picked up her bag and withdrew her glasses—which, after Amanda’s handy magical LASIK trick a few weeks earlier, were just for show—before putting them on. She checked herself in the mirror. Oh yeah, she’d totally been missing this “hot librarian” look.

“How do I look?” she asked.

Deirdre grinned. “Sophisticatedly bookish.”

Perfect.

Looping her arm through Deirdre’s, the two of them left the flat.

Once they emerged from the complex, Jayne led the way to the nearest metro station. For a moment, she allowed herself to gaze up at the architectural beauties surrounding her, the pillars and balconies and archways so unlike what she was used to in the States.

As they walked, a companionable silence fell between them. Deirdre wasn’t much of a talker. It resonated with Jayne’s introverted temperament, especially now. Damn, but she was nervous.

After a while, Jayne cast a sidelong glance at Deirdre and asked, “How are things really? With you? With the TCO? I bet you have whiplash.”

Deirdre had gone from being a respected research librarian at Trinity, married to a psychotic madman who wielded magic, to working for the U.S. government and taking a vow of secrecy.

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