“I’ve got an idea.” Mai removed a tube of lipstick from her pocket. A nasty comment about her primping readied itself then died when she removed the cap, twisted the base and a short blade extended. She cut her eyes toward me as she sliced a gash across her wrist. “This will either jumpstart her metabolism or make a mess. You ready?”

Unsure what I was agreeing to, I nodded and moved closer as Mai brought her wound against the woman’s lips. Being half vampire meant Ayer required blood, but I wasn’t sure how much sway its siren song held with her fae half.

A soft rumble vibrated in Ayer’s throat, seeming to come from hundreds of miles away. Mai’s blood hit her tongue, and her eyes dilated. Black voids latched on to that fresh source of blood, and Ayer lunged, knocking over her chair and tackling Mai to the floor.

I gripped Ayer by the nape and hauled her off the bleeding kitsune. Weakened as Ayer was from her time here, I had no trouble restraining her. “Feel up to answering our questions now?”

Snarled words almost below my hearing told me she was revived enough to curse at us.

Mai stood and cupped her hand against the shallow cut she’d given herself. “We don’t have much time.”

With minimal effort, I righted the chair and dumped Ayer in the seat. I uttered a universal restraining Word, one I’d learned during marshal academy, and experienced the satisfaction of hearing her yelp as her wrists snapped together, bound by magic.

“Let’s try this again.” I rounded on her. “Did you see someone step from the portal?”

Blood smearing her mouth, she curled her lip. “Yes.”

A brief thrill zinged through me. “Did he touch you? Talk to you?”

“He took me.” Her feral expression crumpled. “I didn’t want him to. I said no.”

That fast my high flatlined. “He raped you?”

“Yes.” Her brow puckered. “No. He was inside me, but not that way. He was under my skin, in my head. He told me what to do, and I did it. I couldn’t stop myself. I lost control.” Her throat flexed when she swallowed. “He taunted me with things no one knows. No one.”

Treading carefully over her pain, I had to press for answers. “How did he get to you?”

“He…” Her eyelids fluttered.

“Marshal Ayer?” I shook her shoulder gently. “How did he take control of you?”

The adrenaline rush was fading, and Ayer was too weak to climb back out of her stupor. Mai could try a few more drops of blood, but we only had minutes left, and I wasn’t convinced the trick would work twice. She slumped back, lids heavy, mouth gone slack.

“Stay with me,” I gritted out while shaking Ayer, whose eyes closed.

“She’s done.” Mai touched my shoulder. “All that shaking is going to give her brain damage.”