Chapter 17 #3
“You heard me.” He continued to smirk at her. At least he hadn’t lost his arrogance entirely after her blunder. He grinned at her, as if he was a good catch, which he was, but she would never utter those words to him for fear of his head growing to double its size.
But that wasn’t what made her nearly cough up bits of chicken and grilled peppers.
“Say what you said again,” she said, putting down her sandwich and brushing off the grease on a napkin.
Her heart fluttered with excitement as a memory from the night of the gala took shape somewhere in her mind.
It was distant, but something Maverick just said had jostled it free, and if she could catch hold of it, it might provide some answers.
Maverick raised an eyebrow, clearly amused by her sudden interest.
“You really need me to repeat it? That the way you eat makes you all the more enticing? That it makes me forget about our first fight as a couple?” he teased, his voice dripping with playful innuendo.
“Ugh, no. Not that.” She didn’t have the brain capacity to think about his use of the word “couple” right now. Were they one? Even after her lie? Had last night coupled with their bond really changed everything?
No, she couldn’t think about that.
“Repeat what you said exactly,” she prodded.
He frowned in confusion. “That it’s seductive to watch you eat like that?”
“Yes, that’s it.” She nodded, suddenly remembering the incubus’s strange farewell at the gala. “Remember when you asked me if there was anything strange about my conversation with Kraven?”
He nodded, taking a healthy bite of chicken.
“That reminded me of something he said. It was really weird, but then I found you on the balcony and forgot all about it.”
Maverick leaned in as understanding swept across his face. “What was it?”
“It was when I was leaving,” Zera began hesitantly, unsure of how much importance to place on it and hoping she could remember precisely what was said. “He told me… something like, ‘I’ll be watching like a seductive shadow under a…’ Oh, what was it?”
She tapped her foot, trying to remember. Then she snapped her fingers. “‘Like a seductive shadow under a steel titan’s gaze,’ or at least that’s what I remember.”
Maverick’s eyes widened in surprise, and he nearly choked on his kebab. He dropped it onto his plate, the intensity in his gaze returning. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m positive. Does it mean anything to you?”
“It’s a location. One I’d totally forgotten.” Maverick let out a growl.
Zera looked at him, bewildered. “Seriously? It’s a location?”
Maverick nodded. “The Steel Titan is what Gareth used to call one of his many homes, but this one is different. It’s not just a home. It’s his stronghold along the Mystic Rapids. A heavily fortified fortress.”
Zera’s heart raced as the implications set in. Could it really be that simple? Had Kraven given them the key to tracking down their dangerous adversary?
But why?
“So Kraven was helping us find Gareth?”
Maverick nodded. “Seems that way. Why, I couldn’t tell you.”
Zera pushed her plate away, suddenly not hungry anymore.
If they had found where Gareth was hiding, then they were one step closer to ending this nightmare.
But she couldn’t shake the fear that came with it.
They were going against a dangerous elf with immense power—both magical and political.
She’d witnessed that at the restaurant. And whatever reason the incubus had for giving Gareth up to them, she was sure it wasn’t good.
Perhaps he had an ulterior motive for helping them, even before he’d known she was working on a synthetic competitor to the pixie-dust drug Gareth was flaunting.
Whatever it could be, they didn’t have time to consider it.
“What are we waiting for?” she asked. “We need to go there. Now.”
Maverick shook his head. “It could be a trap.”
“But what if it’s not? What if it’s our only chance at getting the upper hand on Gareth on our terms?” She couldn’t believe he was hesitating after he’d been so quick to head out on leads with far less weight.
Maverick sighed, the wariness evident in his eyes. “I understand your urgency, but we can’t rush into this blindly. I made that mistake several times already, and look where it’s gotten us.”
She chewed her bottom lip. She could see how much that had hurt to admit.
“Now,” he continued, “I’m usually all about solo jobs, but each time we’ve gone in after a lead, he’s been a no-show. I find that suspicious. If Kraven’s lead is legit, we need to have the upper hand.”
Zera thought for a moment. “Wouldn’t us not acting right away on Kraven’s hint at where Gareth’s base is be enough of a surprise? I mean, it’s been weeks since the gala.”
“Yes, it would be,” he agreed. “I never said we wouldn’t go. The stronghold is most likely where he’ll be. But we can’t go in alone. He’ll have an army there waiting for us, even if he doesn’t know we’re coming.”
“Then who’ll go with us?”
Maverick’s lips curled into a sly, satisfied smile. “My network of spies.”
“I thought everyone was icing you out because of the bounty Gareth put on our heads,” she said, trying to hide the impressed lilt of her voice.
“These aren’t those people,” Maverick replied confidently, as if that didn’t sound absolutely ridiculous.
She would just have to find out what he meant by that. A spark of hope ignited within her. With Maverick’s network of spies on their side, they might have a fighting chance at finally taking down Gareth and his stronghold. She couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when they did it too.
“One request,” she said.
He cocked his brow in question, and she fixed him with a determined look. She had to see this through, and even though out of the two of them, he was the trained spy, she had to be the one to do it.
“Gareth is mine,” she said firmly. “My son’s life was threatened by his hand. It’ll be mine that obliterates him.”
Pride flickered across his face, but he only nodded. It was all she needed. Gareth was going down.