Wish Bound (A Grimm Agency Novel Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

and the only sound was the occasional crackle of the Forest Seal, which rested in an altar-manger combination you’d never find on a baby registry on Earth.
    Every crackle of magic from it reminded me of goblin feet crushing dead leaves. The last thing I needed was a close encounter of the green kind on their home turf, alone. As I glanced about wildly, searching, a flash of light hit me, like a glint from a mirror. When I turned to look at it, I saw nothing, but it hit me again as I scanned the slab. Wincing, I closed my eyes, then peeked out. Like a spot in the corner of my eye, if I looked just right, a beam of light shot out from the portal slab.
    When I realized what I was looking at, it took my breath away. Death told me I needed to see, and I did. Through the veil that hid most of the spirit world, I saw where Ari had opened her portal.
    And it wasn’t gone.
    The last faint echoes of it hung, still outlined in the air. Invisible to human eyes, but maybe—
    I sprinted toward the fragmenting vortex of light, curling into a ball as I leaped. My stomach swirled as the portal tore me from the Forest, casting me into the beyond.
    I landed shoulder first, rolling onto my back and knocking the breath out of me, but the good news seemed to be that both of my feet, my hands, and all of my fingers made the trip with me. Even better, they weren’t rearranged into some sort of Picasso painting, where I’d pick my nose every time I moved my lips. The lights above looked familiar. Fluorescent.
    The carpet underneath felt much too comfortable for the Agency. Grimm never paid for anything but the cheapest remnants available, on account of how often our carpet caught fire, got doused in blood, or transmuted into moss. Light streamed in from stained glass windows, and wooden chairs lay scattered like leaves before me, in a—
    “Rise, handmaiden.” A voice like a silver flute, lilting with a French accent, laced with power. “I have awaited you.”
    I rolled to my feet and froze.
    Twenty feet away stood a face I recognized from a dozen history books. From half a dozen documentaries that showed on the Kingdom Channel late at night. From an oil painting that showed up on my front doorstep, sent by the doorman at the Court of Queens. Her beauty entranced me, regal, unreal. From the gentle sweep of her arms to brown eyes that mesmerized me, everything about her said she was as powerful, as beautiful, and probably even more dangerous than the documentaries claimed.
    Her hair hung in long brown tresses to her waist, without the annoying curls that would have turned mine to springs at that length. Her figure, I’d call it killer, as in “that’s got to kill her back.” Like anyone else famous, she wasn’t nearly as tall as pictures made her look.
    “Isolde Faron.” I practically spit her name, reaching for my bracelet. “Grimm, she’s here. Time to do your thing.”
    The edges of her rose-pink lips curled up. “Yes, Father. Come and rescue your pet. Come and negate my power.”
    The bracelet on my arm began to glow, almost white-hot, but Grimm didn’t even appear in the glass windows.
    “Is something wrong?” The Black Queen glanced around. “Father, it’s going to be hard to have our family reunion without you present.”
    Though my bracelet continued to glow like fire, Grimm showed no signs of coming to my rescue. I looked the Black Queen in the eyes and kept my tone firm. “Where is Ari?”
    Isolde stepped to the side, and behind her, Ari hung in midair, spinning lazily like a top. “She challenged me to a contest. She, a peasant’s princess, not even trained.”
    “Put her down.” I reached for my purse and the gun inside, realizing too late I’d left it behind in the Forest.
    “Or?”
    “I won’t let you hurt Ari.” I stepped to one side, watching her turn to face me.
    “Take your place at my side, handmaiden, and I will forgive her challenge.”
    I looked around, searching for something to throw, something