Free Wicked Enchantment by Anya Bast Page B

things for the Phaendir and, ultimately, for the fae. That difference in their agendas could be trying on their relationship.
    Gideon answered with the ease of the innocent. He’d always been good at lying. He hooked his hands behind his back and met Maddoc’s eyes. “Indeed. I needed to relay information to Brother Rhys about the incoming film crew from Faemous . The patrol searched them before they entered, but I still suspected they might be carrying in HFF propaganda and wanted Brother Rhys to keep a close eye on them.”
    Emily, Maddoc’s personal assistant, came up on Maddoc’s side. Her shoulder-length red hair was twisted up behind her head and secured with a claw clip today and she wasn’t wearing her contact lenses. A pair of tortoiseshell glasses perched on the end of her small, cute nose.
    His composure slipping a bit, Gideon shuffled his feet and glanced at the warm brown carpeting of his office.
    Emily slipped a sheaf of papers into Maddoc’s hand, their fingers brushing just a little longer than necessary. She glanced at Gideon and then eased away.
    Maddoc studied the papers, frowning, while Gideon fumed. Maddoc was fucking her. He just knew it. His fingers clenched at his sides, fingernails digging into his palms. Maddoc had everything Gideon was supposed to have—the power, the prestige, the respect, the title.
    And, now, the woman.
    Rightfully, it was all Gideon’s. He was the one with the better plan for the future, and he had plenty of backers in the Phaendir to prove it. More every day.
    Maddoc made a mumbling response to Gideon’s answer and shuffled away, nose buried in the papers. Abruptly, he turned back. “I forgot to tell you that we may have a lead on the Book of Bindings. The archivist has been tracking the trail of possession to a fae family, name of Finvarra. Seen the name in your research? They’re apparently an affluent and well-connected Seelie bloodline.”
    Oh, be careful, man. Danger . He frowned. “It doesn’t ring a bell, but I’ll look through my notes.” He gave him a pleasant smile.
    “Thank you. If we can locate a document with information on who is still living in that family, we may be able to deduce which of them has the book. I don’t need to tell you that this is of the utmost importance.”
    Gee, finding the Book of Bindings, the book that held the spell to obliterate the warding around Piefferburg was of the utmost importance? What a revelation.
    Gideon smiled and bowed his head. “Of course, Brother Maddoc.” When he lifted his head back up, the imbecile was gone. He stared at the spot where Maddoc had been standing a moment ago, feeling the burn of magick through his veins and spearing the spot as though he could light the former occupant on fire with his hatred alone. His body shook with it, his face flaming and his eyes popping.
    His time would come.
    From the heart of the building, a gong sounded. Three short bursts of resonating sound that immediately wiped away the lust and rage that had entered his body in the last couple of minutes. Leaving all the work he had to do lying on his desk, he entered a small room that adjoined his office. Every member of the highest echelons of the Phaendir had their own, private chamber where they could worship. The lower slobs had a communal room.
    After lighting the six candles on the small wooden table near the entrance, he closed the door and carefully disrobed, hanging his suit from a peg on the opposite wall so he wouldn’t get blood on it. Then he removed his socks and shoes and placed them near the doorway.
    Taking the leather cat-o’-nine-tails from its peg, he knelt before the table with the candles, closed his eyes, and lifted it. Pretty, sleek cat that bestowed pain and joy in equal measure.
    The blows rained down on his back, steady and soothing, motions he’d made every day and millions of times. His back was a mass of white, mottled scar tissue. Each lash of the cat-o’-nine-tails flayed skin from his