The City of Crows by Bethany Lovejoy (novels in english .txt) 📗

couldn't inform Leo that actually, whatever happened to Landon was likely very bad and could very well happen to him. Instead, all I could do was pull back, nodding helplessly at him.

"I do love the newest piece," her voice spoke once again, the older woman recrossing her legs once more on her white upholstered couch, her eyes twinkling with anything but amusement. "Bold lines that still retain a bit of fluidity, it’s quite inspired. I didn’t take you for the type to draw a collection of nudes, but I suppose you found inspiration." Her voice suggested that she was not happy about said inspiration, and had jumped to her own wild conclusions.

Pat Lobdel was everything I'd seen on the television, and that wasn't a compliment. I'd always thought her to be self-serving, self-righteous, and definitely self-obsessed. Still, I brushed that off as being residual hostilities due to my status as a witch and her status as a slanderer of witches in the press and any other outlet one would give her. It was nice to find that, upon actually meeting her, she was every bit as obnoxious as I thought she was. What I thought was once a commission done to stimulate the local economy turned out to be a little more; a commission to capture the attention of a young, budding artist while her husband drank his soul away at parties. She could barely hide the greedy way that her eyes scanned Leo, though she tried to.

Leo treated her with unfailing kindness, smiling and nodding just as he was meant to, finding no issues with the affections of a woman twenty-five years his senior. “I tend to keep things like that to myself, helps me really enjoy the time I have with my partners."

She cast me a smile, one that didn't reach her eyes. "Lovely." She leaned back into her couch once more, her ample bottom spreading across the loveseat. The room we were in had four couches, and every one was occupied. But hers remained empty except for her. Leo and I sat smushed side to side once again, a bitter look on Pat’s face as she eyed us; I put my hand on Leo’s knee if only to upset her further. "Lyra Pelling, again, right?" She asked, confirming my fake last name. "Just want to make sure that I get it right when I tell the other ladies later," which no doubt meant that she just wanted to get it right for when she inevitably placed me on the banned list within an hour of me leaving.

"That's right, Lyra Pelling," Leo confirmed with a nod, his fingers impatiently tapping on his thighs. We'd been trapped in the same conversation for a while, the night melting away around us as we were stuck talking to the mayor. Crops of pink and purple hair had already appeared and disappeared, Yvie taking the time to show up in the background long enough to throw a wink in my direction as she draped herself over Gigi, guiding the young woman to the dance floor. It was easy to be jealous of their happy faces as their hips swung dangerously close together.

The party was beginning to seem more like a waste of time; not a single hair of Autumn's head visible since Leo last spotted her. Instead, we sat trying to entertain an older woman who most definitely would have gotten divorced by now if the public eye wasn’t on her. I hadn’t sniffed out her attempts at infidelity originally, but it was growing harder and harder to ignore her more than passing glances at Leo.

Oh, politicians.

Even Leo was at his wits end, long tired of circling through the same questions over and over again, the woman waiting for a change in answer. Honestly, it was frightening how well he managed to keep his lies straight. Quiet when it counted, as he always was, he'd somehow led the woman to believe we were lovers and, taking pity on him, I'd played along.

"Well again, it is just such a shame that you're off the market, Leo. I really thought that I'd met the one for you, but it seems you've already taken care of that," Pat said with a pointed glare, quickly regaining her composure. "I do hope that all of this doesn't get in the way when I move to commission you again," she said, barking out a dry laugh, "would hate for you to be too busy for me."

"I could never be too busy for you," he said, anxiously looking around before she wasted his night. "Again, anything you need, just give me a call, Pat."

"Oh, don't worry, Leo," Pat remarked, a suggestive undertone to her voice as she leaned forward to grab his shoulder. "I'll be sure to remember that."

Thankfully, that seemed to be enough. Pat rose from her couch, giving a hearty sigh as she no doubt looked across the various large open doors to see her husband cornering a maid. Leo and I had initially passed him when we first ran into her, and he'd not moved since. I'd checked multiple times during our conversation, amused at how boldly the man flirted with the help during such a large event.

Finally, finally, Pat left. No sooner had she vanished from view than Leo stumbled up to his feet, my body instinctually following him as he quickly returned to the party, his eyes scanning the crowd to find someone, anyone of interest. I followed suit, looking to the best of my ability and seeing no one. No red, no pastel-colored hair, no signs of any traditional witching wear. The party at the Lobdel's looked just as it should, just as it had for hundreds of years; devoid of the magically inclined.

But that's not what Leo found. His eyes scanned the crowds, and he found someone, his eyes settling on a familiar form as his hand reached for mine, wrapping around my wrist to get my attention. I turned