Chapter 18 #2
Irdeel barely looked up, her face a mask of boredom.
“She’ll use her goblin nimbleness and shape-shifting abilities to blend in and infiltrate secure areas undetected,” he said to no one in particular. “She’ll also use her alchemical specialty to create and set traps to create distractions for our team.”
“It’ll be a blast. I’m sure nothing will go wrong,” Felice chimed in, winning another dirty look from Irdeel.
Maverick folded his arms across his chest. “If this is going to be an issue, you two working together, tell me now because if we head out on this mission with beef between each other, then we’re as good as dead.”
Felice huffed. “The only issue I have is that we haven’t heard a single word from her since she moved to the FBI. I don’t trust her, and I have no idea who this Cillian is with her.”
“Working with your lot was always just a side gig,” Irdeel hissed through gritted teeth.
“You’re welcome for that, by the way,” Quill piped in and pressed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.
“If it weren’t for me, you, Miss Irdeel, would never have had an alias to keep your nefarious ‘side gig’ from the FBI’s radar.
They probably wouldn’t have even accepted your application. ”
“Don’t think I owe you anything, demon. You were well paid for it,” the goblin FBI agent spat as she shot him a glare that could curdle milk.
“Not everything’s about money, goblin.” Quill snapped his fingers, and a piece of black licorice appeared in a puff of smoke.
“A thank-you card would’ve been nice. But my point is, I’m not sure we can trust the FBI traitor.
” The demon proceeded to peel the licorice and eat it at a leisurely pace, seemingly unfazed by the tense atmosphere that surrounded him.
“Who are you calling a traitor?” Irdeel asked, her tone as sharp as a blade.
Zera was certain that, if things didn’t get under control soon, a full-on fight would break out among all of them, and then the mission would be off. She balled her hands into fists. That couldn’t happen.
“You responded, so…” The demon’s voice trailed off.
The squabbling spies might as well have been children, but it was Zera’s child they were fighting for, and they didn’t even know it. They were totally unaware of the full picture and urgency of this mission, and they were letting their personal issues get in the way.
Irdeel jumped to her high-heeled, boot-clad feet. “You conniving little—”
“Stop it,” Zera said, her voice soft. But the bickering didn’t stop, so she repeated it much louder and in her mom voice. “Stop this right now!”
Everyone froze. Mouths dropped as all eyes turned to Zera, who was now standing, though she didn’t quite remember when she’d gotten off the stool at the kitchen island.
“Just so you know what the stakes are,” Zera began, her whole body shaking with a mix of fear, anger, and determination jumbled together, “I have a son.”
The room grew even more still, as if all the air had been sucked out of it.
Maverick’s eyes went wide, and she knew he probably didn’t approve of her sharing her personal story or any facts about her true identity, but she didn’t care.
She needed these people to be on the same page, to fight together, and she hoped that they were at least the types who would defend an innocent child.
“Gareth sent men to kill me and my son,” she continued, avoiding Maverick’s gaze. “He’s a baby. And they nearly succeeded in both. Gareth must be stopped so that I can finally be reunited with my child without fear of people hunting me.”
“That means we must all put our knives, claws, and fangs away,” Maverick cut in, probably so she wouldn’t share any more personal information and ruin their cover—even if it was a moot point, since all the spies must’ve known they weren’t actually married.
Not even their fake wedding bands could convince these seasoned spies, but no one had questioned it.
“Gareth must be killed but not before we get him to remove the bounty on our heads. Those are both crucial to our plan and to help Charlotte and her son.”
Maverick paused to give each one of them a look that said if they accused one more person of being a traitor, he would gut them with his wolf canines, which peeked out from under his top lip.
“Now, even though I haven’t heard much from Irdeel since she left because she’s been on a mission in the Human Realm, I can personally vouch for her integrity.”
“And what about the vamp?” Quill asked, brows raised.
Maverick rolled his eyes. “Yes, I vouch for him too.”
Felice stepped closer to Zera, her brows furrowed. “Did Gareth really send hunters to kill you and your son?”
Zera nodded, the memory of being powerless as the druid dangled her son above her still fresh in her mind.
“Yes, a druid who worked for Gareth came. Nearly killed us all,” she admitted softly, her voice barely above a whisper.
She hadn’t talked about that night in the kitchen until now.
She’d shoved it aside, not wanting to think about it.
But now, on the cusp of finally ending all of it, she had to tell them.
The heaviness of the truth settled in the room like a thick fog.
Felice turned toward Maverick, a determined fire blazing in her eyes. “Going after a fae child goes against our sacred rules. There’s a line, and Gareth crossed it. We will all get along, setting aside our differences for this mission.”
Zera held her breath, hope filling her as she watched the others nod one by one.
A small crack in Maverick’s mental wall opened, and a trickle of confidence that matched her own whispered through their bond.
She couldn’t help the grin that followed as she realized it was happening.
Gareth would be gone, and within a few hours, she might be able to see her son, together again and free from this fear of being hunted.
That was all she wanted. The bond that was growing between her and the faeboy couldn’t compare, even if they could resolve things.
Her kid would always mean more to her. Perhaps others would think that was wrong or unhealthy.
Zera didn’t care what anyone else thought on that subject.
She would always be there for her child, and it killed her not to be with him now.
This mission had to work. It meant everything.
When it was clear they were all on the same page and would put their personal issues aside, Maverick continued assigning everyone a position.
Quill would be the forger, of course, as well as a backup illusionist if Zera’s pixie dust dwindled.
Cillian, the vampire and Irdeel’s fellow FBI buddy, was not only a trained assassin but an expert in magical tech systems and would act as their hacker.
Maverick, with his werewolf senses, would be the scout and help with navigating the difficult terrain.
The stronghold was built into the side of a mountain along the Mystic Rapids with special spells that restricted anyone from shimmering in.
Zera had a feeling they would definitely need Maverick’s skills.
But there was one role that hadn’t been explicitly mentioned.
“So, if Cillian is the assassin and the hacker, what will I be?” Zera asked, hoping to still be the one to take the final shot at Gareth.
Sure, it couldn’t hurt to have a backup plan, but this was her fight to finish.
Maverick locked eyes with her, the intensity of his gaze sending a jolt of electricity through the bond.
“You will also be the assassin,” he said, moving toward Cillian and taking a case Cillian had just picked up from him. Zera recognized it as the box containing the Whisper’s staff, and she stiffened.
Even from within the box, the staff hissed and groaned for her to touch it, to unlatch the box and free the weapon from its cage. A sliver of her was tempted by it, seduced by the passion of her ancestors and the pixie blood and dust that flowed through her.
But it wanted death to all, and Zera only wanted Gareth gone. She was a one-and-done kind of assassin.
“For our plan to work,” Maverick continued, unlocking the case to reveal the staff, its double blades on either end reflecting off the lights above them, “you must use the Whisper’s staff.”
There were murmurs among the group of spies, but to Zera’s surprise, no one protested.
Maverick closed the case to remove the distraction, but everyone’s eyes were still on the reflective case. “It’s the only weapon that will ensure Gareth and his elven powers die with him.”
Zera’s mind reeled. The last time she’d held the staff, she’d nearly killed Maverick.
If she did that at Gareth’s stronghold, she would never forgive herself, and worst of all, their chances of escape would be next to nothing.
She couldn’t do it. It was too much of a risk.
Zera’s heart thumped loudly within her rib cage as she met Maverick’s gaze, her eyes pleading for another solution.
The weight of the staff in that room felt suffocating, its power humming at her even to where she stood at the kitchen island.
Zera. Maverick’s voice filled her heart, their bond strengthening and muting the seductive thoughts the Whisper’s staff breathed in her mind. You can do this. Remember, you are stronger than it. It will heed to your desire and yours alone. I wouldn’t have formed this plan if I didn’t think so.
Her mind and heart raced as one. Maverick’s familiar voice was a flicker of resolve amid the storm of doubt that threatened to consume her. In this moment, she knew she couldn’t doubt herself. This was the moment that would define everything else. If she believed it, she’d do it.
She finally nodded. “I’ll do it.”