Blue Blood (Series of Blood Book 3) by Emma Hamm (books to read this summer .txt) 📕

up in a dark room, and was staring directly at him.

“Jasper, help me.” Tears streamed down her face. Lyra never cried. She hated for anyone to see such a compromising display of emotion.

His heart hurt. He didn’t want her to be in pain.

“She wasn’t taken with us,” Bluebell reminded him. “She was with Wolfgang when we were stolen. He wouldn’t let Malachi capture her.”

Jasper knew she was right, but he couldn’t stop staring at Lyra. Bruises appeared on her arms and her face became mottled with dirt, grime, and wounds. He didn’t want to see this. He couldn’t handle this.

“Please do what he says! Help me!” She was pleading now. Almost as though she could see him too.

“Jasper, it can’t be real!” Bluebell shouted.

“That can’t be real,” he repeated as he tore his eyes away from the image.

Malachi leaned slightly to the side and his red irises were stark against the holes of his dark pupils. “Would I lie to you?”

“Yes.”

“But if it were real, would you want to save her?”

“Yes.” Jasper did not hesitate.

“Then you will do what I say.”

“I have no guarantee that you even have her locked away. This could all be an elaborate story to get me to do what you want.”

The image disappeared as Malachi slashed his hand through it. The smile on his face contradicted the violent action.

“You will never get that confirmation,” he said. “If you want her alive and well, you will do what I ask.”

“Jasper.” Bluebell’s voice was anxious. “We shouldn’t trust him. He has already done so much. He lies.”

But he didn’t know if Malachi was lying. All Jasper knew was that Lyra might be hurt. She might be crying out for his help. He didn’t want to fall into whatever plot Malachi was planning, but he couldn’t leave Lyra.

“No! He lies. Listen to me, Jasper. I know he lies!” Bluebell shouted.

Another slow smile spread across Malachi’s face. The long, full line of his lips was as macabre as a cadaver’s grin. He should have been an attractive man — Jasper was not afraid to admit that — but there was something unsettling about Malachi.

“What is it you would have me do?” Jasper asked.

Ella moaned from her corner, but he did not spare a glance in her direction. His eyes were locked upon Malachi’s direct, red gaze.

“It’s a simple thing I need,” Malachi began. “I heard you are good at…let’s say ‘collecting’ things. You can also teleport. I need you to collect something for me that is very valuable to my game. Nothing more than a pawn, of course, but even a pawn can kill a king.”

Jasper narrowed his eyes. “I don’t think you’d be going through all this trouble for a pawn.”

“That is for me to decide.”

“Who is the pawn then?”

Malachi’s braid swayed as he began to pace in front of Jasper’s cell. Even his slightest movements were calm and calculated. He was a panther toying with his prey.

Malachi raised a long, thin finger to tap against his chin. “You’ll find out when you get there. All you need to do is retrieve it.”

“Where am I going?”

“I’m moving my pawns where I see fit. Your little friends won’t find you either way. The destination doesn’t matter if you are returning here before nightfall.”

Despite everything, Jasper was disappointed Malachi was playing his cards close. He could have used the information, as the Five should have found him by now. Pitch would have been able to find him, if they had gotten desperate enough to ask for help.

For now, he was locked in here. This was an opportunity to at least find himself on the good side of a very dangerous man. He had trained for years to retrieve items. It was what he was good at.

“Jasper, I’m begging you. Let us rot. This doesn’t seem good. I’m frightened.” Bluebell’s voice shook, but she was easily frightened. He could not make his decision based on her dislike of Malachi.

He rarely listened to the Fairy in his head. Though Jasper would never admit it to himself, he agreed that some of the misconceptions against Fairies were warranted. They were flighty, irresponsible, and rash. He disregarded the fact that they were one of the oldest species for a reason.

“One job. One retrieval,” Jasper finally grumbled.

“Splendid.” Malachi bowed again. “I look forward to it.”

“On one condition.”

Malachi’s eyes narrowed. “Which is?”

“When I complete the task, I go home.”

“Intriguing.” Malachi crossed his arms and tapped a finger against his lip. “And why would I allow that?”

“Because you want me to bring it back alive.”

“When did I say I needed it alive?”

Jasper shrugged. “You wouldn’t be sending me if you wanted it dead. You have enough soldiers for that kind of mission.”

“Good point.” An unsettling smile split across Malachi’s face. “You want your freedom in return for helping me?”

“Yes.”

The dangerous man shrugged. “I suppose I have no need for you after that. Once you bring me back the creature alive and well, I will let you go.”

Jasper was shocked. He hadn’t thought there was a chance Malachi would agree to such outrageous terms. The man had expended much energy to obtain Jasper. Now he was agreeing to let him go?

“And Lyra as well.” Jasper had to confirm.

Malachi nodded.

He wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. He would take this small blessing and run with it. Directly home with Lyra where he would tell her she was wrong. They weren’t just friends; they couldn’t be.

Because thoughts of her were all that kept him alive.

Malachi turned around and disappeared into the shadows. His goons followed him though the Hellhound glanced over her shoulder to give Jasper a nasty glare. It had not escaped Jasper’s notice that her hand was wrapped in gauze. The broken fingers would heal considerably faster for her than for a Red Blood. He knew how painful they would have been to set.

Jasper bared his teeth at her. A feral grin. A mad grin that threatened he would find her again. A Fairy