Chapter 26
CALIX
“What the fuck?”
Aniyah’s voice cracked through the quiet before the hologram even fully stabilized. The second her image sharpened, she squinted at me suspiciously, her head slowly tilting to the side. “Why are you early to the meeting?”
I leaned back in my chair, lifting a brow without looking away from my tablet for long. “Interesting question coming from the woman who’s also early.”
Then realization hit me, and I dramatically slapped a hand against my chest. “Ohhh. I get it now.” I pointed at her accusingly. “You got in trouble last time, and now you’re trying to act like the responsible one. Smart move, little sister. Very manipulative.”
Her lips stretched into a sharp little smile that practically dripped violence, then she smacked her lips together while staring at me like she was mentally calculating how she could get me back.
“Cute deflection,” she drawled. “Still didn’t answer my question though.”
Another hologram flickered to life beside us.
Ezra appeared on the screen, still typing away at her computer, then froze when she realized Aniyah and I were already there.
Her eyes narrowed immediately. That woman smelled bullshit faster than a bloodhound.
“What’s going on?” she asked suspiciously, her gaze bouncing between us. “Start talking.”
Aniyah straightened in her chair like she was preparing a legal defense. She sucked in a dramatic breath, shot me the nastiest look possible, then turned to Ezra with a sugary smile that fooled absolutely nobody.
“I simply made sure all of my mates had very important things to do during the meeting time to ensure I got here on time and ready.”
I barked out a laugh loud enough to echo through the room. “Bullshit.” I pointed at her hologram. “There is no universe where that obsessive little stalker lets himself get tricked that easily.”
Ezra’s eyebrow arched higher. Slowly. Dangerously.
Aniyah’s mouth dropped open in offense. “Excuse you, yes, he did.” She crossed her arms tightly. “I told him if he wanted me to leave the cameras in the apartment and Winged Palace intact, then he had to let me attend the meeting alone and on time.”
Her chin lifted proudly. “He agreed to wait outside.”
Ezra’s stare sharpened immediately. “You mean to tell me he’s been recording these meetings while spying on you?”
Aniyah’s shoulders stiffened. One hand awkwardly slid into her lap while her eyes darted downward for half a second too long.
“No?” she answered weakly.
Ezra didn’t blink.
Aniyah sat up straighter, giving a more firm, “No,” before she followed with, “I make sure he turns them off for this meeting.”
Before Aniyah could dig herself deeper into the grave, two more holograms simultaneously flickered to life.
Nova appeared to be lounging in her chair until she saw the rest of us and straightened up. Riot was sitting up straight and ready, as always.
Ezra’s attention finally shifted away from Aniyah, and I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek to stop myself from laughing. While she was the tiniest bit distracted, I casually reached for my phone beneath the table.
Cal: Ooohhh you’re in trouble
Niyah: Don’t be a dick
She glared at me before starting to spam me with pictures of dicks. Over and over and over. Dick after dick. I tried to scroll down to the bottom so I could text her back, but my eyes got caught on the last one’. Scales. It had scales. This had to be what Ternin was talking about.
Cal: Okay. I’ll admit it. That one is interesting.
Cal: What does he do when it needs to shed? Does it shed?
Niyah: *laughing emoji*
Niyah: *mind blown emoji*
Niyah: You don't want to know.
But… Now I did want to know. Did it come off like a condom? Did it fall to pieces? Did that freak him out each time? Did it get bigger when it shed? Smaller? Did it change colors? I had so many fucking questions, and before I knew it, I realized she’d tricked me. She fucking dick tricked me!
Cal: I'm going to make you pay for this. I’ll be thinking about it all fucking day, damn it!
Niyah: Trust me, you're not the only one.
“Let’s start the meeting.”
Ezra’s clipped tone sliced through the room sharp enough that both Aniyah and I forced our faces to the screen, looking guilty as hell.
Busted.
Aniyah’s whole face pinched up before flushing red with the exact shade of a child caught drawing on the walls. Beside me, I slowly slid my phone farther across the desk before temptation convinced me to ask her seventy inappropriate questions about the snake-scale dick.
“Calix.” I looked up immediately.
Ezra was already staring at me with narrowed eyes. “Any updates on the blade?” Her mouth flattened further. “Ternin sent me a message saying they visited you, traumatized you, then told me I was welcome?”
Aniyah laughed. “Oh my god, the grandpas went to your lab?” Her expression immediately shifted into horrified sympathy. “Yeah, okay, you earned answers. I’ll tell you whatever you want about the scale thing.”
“Well…” I sighed dramatically, rubbing a hand down my face. “The grandfathers did, in fact, descend upon my workplace like a plague.”
Nova snorted while Riot quietly leaned forward with interest.
“I got Syris to examine the blade.” My fingers absently tapped against the desk while I organized the information in my head. “He recognized the magic immediately. Apparently, it dates back before the royal wars in Faerie.”
Ezra’s posture straightened almost imperceptibly.
“That bad?” Nova muttered.
“Worse.”
The humor faded from my face as I continued. “According to Syris, it’s corrupted Faerie magic. His uncle created it when experimenting with the land’s power.” I exhaled slowly. “Basically, the magic developed a will of its own.”
The room went quieter after that.
“I’ve spent weeks trying to damage it.” I shook my head once. “Nothing works. Syris says the only way to stop it permanently is either letting it burn through its own magic supply… or finding the book his uncle used for the experiments and releasing the magic back to Faerie with a spell.”
Ezra’s lips pressed together so tightly they nearly disappeared. Not good.
“Anything else?” she asked carefully.
I rubbed the back of my neck once. “Well…” Every pair of eyes locked onto me. “I may have encountered someone using a gun infused with the same magic.”
Ezra’s left eye twitched. Oh, fuck. That’s bad.
“I handled it,” I rushed out, lifting both hands. “The gun is secured. He doesn’t have it anymore.”
That seemed to stop Ezra from launching herself through the hologram to murder me personally.
“And while he did technically attempt to shoot me—”
Nova half-rose from her chair. Aniyah cursed loudly. Riot’s eyes sharpened.
“—I wasn’t hit,” I finished quickly. “The bullet struck an electrical panel instead.”
That got their attention in a different way.
“The magic vanished from the bullet afterward,” I continued, leaning forward now.
“So Rack and I ran tests through the night, and it looks like high electrical current burns the magic out over time.” My pulse picked up slightly just talking about it.
“So I’ve already redirected FangTech’s entire supe T&D division toward developing an electrical shielding system. ”
Riot nodded slowly while Ezra leaned back. The micro-expression on her face said she was processing.
“It won’t solve the bigger problem,” I admitted, “but it gives us protection while we search for the book.”
The room held still for a beat while Ezra studied me silently. I knew that look. The anger. The relief. I could hear her silent words being spoken to me across the transmitter. She doesn’t want me to get hurt, is pissed that I didn't tell her sooner, but she’s glad that I got everything handled.
I winked at her anyway, and even though her expression didn’t change, one side of her mouth twitched.
“Good work, Calix,” she finally said. “And the person with the gun?”
“Clean-up already handled him,” Riot answered before I could, and I tipped my head toward her in thanks.
“Yes,” I confirmed. “Before he died, I got a location out of him. Once the shield is complete, I’ll go to investigate. Shouldn’t take long.”
Ezra nodded once. “Riot, can you go with him?”
Riot nodded, and her attention slid fully toward me then, cold and precise enough to make most people squirm. “I can infiltrate ahead of you and scope out the area. Send me the coordinates.”
Ezra folded her hands together. “Her stealth abilities make her the best option. This needs to be rooted out quickly.”
Honestly? She was right. Saying no would be stupid.
“I’d be glad to have your help,” I answered seriously.
Riot gave one sharp nod. “I’ll be on the next flight out.” Then her focus returned to Ezra like the conversation had already been filed away and completed.
It was going to be an interesting few days ahead, that was for sure.
“I’m still digging into the group itself,” Ezra continued, her voice could freeze hell over. “They’re quick to kill their own, and anyone that has true information is under a spell or has drunk so much of the Kool-aid that they would kill themselves before spilling anything.”
She clasped her hands together, gripping tight, “But no one is untouchable.”
The fury flashing behind Ezra’s eyes was brief, just one crack in the iron control she kept over herself, but every single one of us noticed it. We all straightened instinctively.
“I’ll get answers,” she said quietly. “No matter what it takes.”
Nobody joked after that. If there was one person in this world capable of forcing reality to bend through sheer willpower alone, it was Ezra.
I’d watched impossible situations crack open beneath her hands too many times to doubt it now. She didn’t quit. Didn’t fold. Didn’t fail. That was her real power.
“Does anyone else have something to add?”
Ezra’s voice settled, becoming calm and controlled now that the blade discussion was finished.