Chapter Twenty-Eight #2
“It’s rumored that Beasts can sense other Beasts, since you all come from the same primordial magic.” Remy glanced at Mandal before adding, “In fact, some legends say that you can track each other, too.”
Setreg stared at me. “What kind of ‘beast’ are you?”
I looked at Remy and raised my brows in silent question. Could Setreg be trusted with this?
“A beithíoch,” Mandal said after a nod from Remy.
Setreg made a contemptuous noise. “Impossible. Remy would never lie with a beithíoch’s host.”
A snort left me. Remy had done a lot more than “lie” with me. I didn’t even have names for everything we’d done yesterday.
“No,” Setreg whispered, correctly interpreting my snort. Then, louder. “No. She can’t be.”
Remy placed a hand on my shoulder. “She is. If you trust me at all,” he added over Setreg’s immediate outburst in a foreign language, “trust that Raine is not our enemy.”
Setreg spat out something else in that unfamiliar language.
Remy answered in the same tongue.
Setreg started making gestures that looked like he was conducting the world’s angriest orchestra. I didn’t need to know what he was saying to get the gist of it.
“Whatever horrible things you think of the Beast, I agree,” I interrupted, holding Setreg’s blazing stare. “But I am not the thing inside me. I’ve been fighting it for the past eleven years, and I’ll fight it for the rest of my life, too.”
“Eleven years?” Setreg said in English.
Remy sighed. “I told you, she is its true cage. Nothing else has come close to containing this Beast like she has.”
Setreg shook his head, muttering something else in that unknown language before finishing with, “I will trust you on this, Remy, even if I do not agree with you.”
“I didn’t, either,” Mandal said quietly. “Until I saw her wrest control back from the beithíoch and save Remy’s life.”
Setreg raked me with another look, doubt clear on his face.
I shrugged. “There’s video, if you want to see it.”
“Video.”
The way Remy said it made my head swing toward him.
“What about it?” I asked.
Remy began to pace. “I couldn’t understand how Daegal had heard a rumor that I’d ‘captured’ a Beast. No one except me and Mandal knew what you were. I thought it might be a guess since few creatures’ blood could break the blocking spell. But now…”
“You think someone hacked the video,” I filled in.
Remy threw a hard glance at me. “Not all of it, or Daegal would know you were the Beast’s host, and yesterday’s meeting would have gone very differently.
But someone must have caught enough of the video to tell Daegal I had trapped a Beast. How like Daegal to be arrogant enough to taunt me with that, too. ”
I let out a short laugh. “I’m glad the Beast broke out immediately, then.” Those were words I never thought I’d say. “Otherwise, they would’ve seen my face on that video, too.”
Mandal started toward the door. “I’ll scour our network to see who breached it.”
“Wait,” Remy said.
Mandal stopped, impatience nearly humming from him.
Remy, however, looked like the picture of lethal calm. “Setreg, get Malina and the rest of your family out of Orion. Mandal, ensure that our other allies leave there, too.”
Setreg’s sigh seemed to come from his whole barrel-shaped chest. “Daegal will know why your friends and allies are suddenly fleeing. He’ll take it as a sign of war.”
Remy smiled. “No, because he’ll be coming here, too.”
“Here?” I repeated. “To our world? Why?”
Mandal’s brows rose, silently echoing my questions.
Remy smiled widened. “I’m having a ball.”
I waited, but Remy didn’t say anything else. When Mandal said, “Ah,” in a knowing tone, I was done waiting.
“You’re having a ball doing what?”
Remy’s brow arched. “I wasn’t referring to a good time. I’m hosting a literal ball. Tonight.”
“Don’t we have a murder scene to go to?” I sputtered out.
“We do.” Remy’s smile turned hard. “And if it is another Beast attack, that’s even more reason for the ball. These attacks are meant to make me look weak. I’ll show everyone tonight that I’m not. As for other Wardens, I’ll say that this is my engagement party. That will ensure their appearances.”
I was startled by the “engagement party” part until I realized what else Remy was after. “Daegal hinted that other Wardens might not love the limitations of their positions. You want them here so I can scope out their auras, don’t you?”
Remy gave me an appreciative smile before flashing a much darker look at Setreg. “You see what I mean?”
“I’m starting to,” Setreg said slowly.
“I told you that ability wasn’t foolproof,” I reminded him.
“I already have my suspicions,” Remy replied. “You’ll only be confirming them.”
Mandal sighed. “Which venue do you want me to book?”
My brows went up. “Venue? You own your own hotels!”
“They’re too small,” Remy said, causing my brows to rise higher. “Which ballroom is bigger, Mandal? The Pierre, or the Cipriani?”
Mandal thought for a second. “The Cipriani.”
“Cipriani it is, then.”
Mandal sighed again. “I’ll get everything booked and the invitations sent. Is there a theme?”
“A fantasy ball,” Remy replied. “What else?”