Chapter 26
More and more, I feel like the victim of my own success.
I initially started this company on a whim.
After purchasing the plot where our house now stands, I thought it would be a good idea to offer housing tailored to the needs of other inhumans.
Alix and Désirée were the first, and the rest of the street quickly followed suit.
Then I expanded into apartment buildings, introduced more variety in housing options, and everything just took off from there.
The glamoured jewelry came much later, more as an afterthought when I began hiring inhumans to work for me.
Not all of them could hide their true forms, so they needed to blend in with humans.
Naturally, there’s a market for items like that as well.
Here I am now, in a country on the other side of the world, trudging from one boring meeting to the next.
Thankfully, Thomas caught a cold and had to cancel at the last minute.
Otherwise, I’d be stuck with him all week.
William joined me instead, giving me the opportunity to observe the First Son closely and see what he’s made of.
I let him take the lead in most meetings, and he does surprisingly well.
So well, in fact, that a plan is slowly starting to take shape.
Maybe something good will come from this week after all.
“Here are the details for the penthouse you inquired about.” William hands me a folder after the meeting, and I quickly thumb through it. “The pictures are accurate to what it looks like in real life.”
“Good.” I nod, leaning back in my chair. “Go ahead and set up an appointment for another viewing. I’d like to see it myself.”
“Already done.”
I look up at William in surprise, and he shrugs with an apologetic grin.
“I was fairly certain you’d like it, so I didn’t want to risk someone else buying it first. I made a small donation to keep them from selling before you got the chance to see it for yourself. The viewing is this afternoon.”
William went to view the penthouse this morning, planning ahead? Shit, I’m starting to think I need to make sure to keep him around. Thomas would never do this.
“Well done,” I say, genuinely impressed, allowing my tone to reflect it.
“You’re welcome, sir.”
“Do you think she’ll like it?” I ask, my eyes lingering on the pictures of the rooftop garden. It’s the reason I was insistent on this particular place. It’s a penthouse on the top floor, but while most of these places add a rooftop pool, this one has a garden—trees and all.
“She’ll love it,” William replies with a wide smile.
We both know she will. I don’t know why I’m suddenly feeling so… unsure about something like this. Of course she’ll love it. She enjoyed the garden in our prison, and she absolutely loves the park, so to have this, plus the added view… I can already picture her there.
I snap the folder shut and hand it back to William, only to be handed another one. I accept it with a raised eyebrow and find a few pages listing different available job positions inside the company.
“Are you thinking about asking for a transfer?”
William clears his throat. “It’s for Creiddyla, sir.”
Ah, of course. I flip through the options, not sure which would suit her best. It might depend on how things evolve with the family, so perhaps I should park this for now. On the other hand…
“William?”
“Yes, sir?”
“How do you feel about an assistant?”
“Sir?”
He gives me a blank look, clearly unsure how to interpret my question. I’m not sure yet either, so I just return the file to him and change the subject.
“Any news on the jewelry?”
“Yes, and I’m afraid you’re not going to like it.” William grimaces nervously while tucking both files in his briefcase. “I got word during the meeting that the seller is putting the lot up for auction.”
I groan. “I already offered way above his asking price. What’s he aiming for? Does he think another buyer will pop up who can pay even more?”
“I suspect so,” William says. “Invitations have been sent out, and word around is that there are a few interested potential buyers.”
“Meaning he’s hoping for a last-minute bidding war.” I sit back and think for a moment, drumming my fingers on the wooden tabletop in front of me.
There’s a reason I want this particular set.
It’s the wedding jewelry that belongs to Alix and Désirée, the one we’ve been so desperately searching for since it was stolen.
I had hoped to get them the entire set, but I’ll settle for just the rings if I have to.
Those are their wedding bands, for fuck’s sake.
“Send me the details for the auction,” I finally tell William.
“Inform the seller that I’ll be attending personally and that I expect to have a word with him.
” Not that it’s possible to stop him from going through with it, but he should at least be informed of my displeasure.
We’ve done business before, and I expected better from him, considering I’m one of his best customers.
For him to blatantly disrespect me by putting it up for auction is a bold move that I’ll make sure he comes to regret.
William nods, and a moment later my phone buzzes with the details.
“Alright,” I say. “If that’s all for now, I suggest we take a break. I’m in desperate need of some fresh air.”
“I’ll have a car sent out to pick you up in thirty minutes,” William informs me.
I get up and leave the meeting room, with William gathering his things and trailing behind me. For now, we’re only renting this floor, but with the company continuing to grow, we’ll soon need to expand. Especially if the planned dining establishments take off.
I should talk to Elly about that when I’m back home.
She’s supposed to be in charge of the magical aspect, but at this rate, it might soon be more than she can handle alone.
We may need to consider getting her a team to support her—a coven of her own.
The idea makes me grin. I can already see her as a coven leader. She would be amazing.
After thirty minutes, right on the dot, a car rolls around to pick me up.
Stepping out in front of a sleek, modern apartment building, I crane my neck to take it all in.
It’s inhabited by humans, so we’ll have to take some precautions while we’re here.
But all in all, I think being among humans every now and then might not be a bad thing for either of us.
I enter the building’s foyer, and an overenthusiastic real estate agent approaches me. She’s human, dressed in a tight pantsuit, her heels clicking against the white and gold marble floors.
“Mister Deimos, I presume?” she asks, extending her hand for me to shake.
“Indeed,” I say with a smile as I shake her hand.
She returns my smile in approval, probably already able to smell money on me, and she leads me to the private elevator for the penthouse.
The penthouse looks even better in real life than in pictures. It’s sleek, ultra-modern, and perhaps just a bit overdone. Yet, as soon as I step out into the garden, I’m sold.
“How much?” I cut her off mid-sentence; I couldn’t care less.
The real estate agent is taken aback but quickly recovers. “The asking price is—”
I cut her off again, turning to look her in the eye. “No, how much for me to walk out of here as the owner?”
She blinks at me. “I, I would have to ask the owner.”
I merely nod at her, and she scurries off to make the call. Twenty minutes later, the owner finds me in the garden overlooking the city below. An hour later, I walk out as the new owner.
The auction takes place at an auction house named Kakusareta Daini no Sekai, The Hidden Second World.
A place where humans gather to sell, trade, and buy inhuman items, run by half-breeds who only allow entry to inhumans or humans with an invitation.
Which means that my seller is one of the few who knows about our world.
He’s probably under the assumption that I’m human myself, just like him, and that he can outsmart me this way.
The place is. Unfortunately for him, I won’t have any problems getting in.
The things I put up with for those two idiots.
Upon arriving at the auction location, something feels off. My blood magic tugs at me, which instantly puts me on high alert. It’s not the peculiar magic that serves to protect the place from any unwanted visitors, though that on its own is enough to make my skin crawl.
“Did you hear back from the seller?” I inquire with William as we enter the building, attempting to shrug it off.
“Apparently there’s a second interested buyer, which is why the sale was made public,” William informs me.
“Disappointing.” I sigh. “Any idea who this other potential buyer is?” My eyes scan the foyer for anyone I might recognize, human or inhuman. But it seems that most present are humans greedy for something otherworldly and ready to spend to acquire exactly that.
A gnawing feeling tells me something is wrong or about to go wrong. Even though it seems unlikely, part of me suspects I know who that other buyer could be. I hope I’m proven wrong.
“I’m afraid not. He hasn’t been forthcoming with any information. Doesn’t want to speak with you until after the auction.”
“Smart. Annoying, but smart.”
A pair of arms wraps around my neck from behind, catching me off guard. I grab the collar of whoever stands behind me and, in a swift move, throw them over my shoulder. They land on the ground in front of me, and I stand nearly over them, my fist raised a second later.
“What the fuck, D? Chill!” Alix looks at me with wide eyes and arms raised in a defensive stance.
Chatter erupts around us as several people look on in shock.
“Don’t ever sneak up on me like that again,” I growl at the vampire as I drop my hand and release his collar. “The only reason I didn’t kill you on the spot is that we’re in public.”
“I told him it was a bad idea, but he wouldn’t listen,” William chimes in, sounding somber.
“You knew he was coming?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.
“I’m fine, by the way, thank you very much,” Alix grumbles as he gets up from the floor. “Now my suit’s wrinkled.” He gestures down to his suit, but I ignore him.
“I told him not to come, but there wasn’t much I could do to actually stop him,” William retorts, sounding slightly defensive.
“And you gave him the address?”
“Um, no.” Alix steps between us, sensing where this is going. “He did no such thing. I followed you from your hotel room.”
“You”—I point at Alix with a scowl—“shouldn’t be here. At all.”
If Alix sees what’s up for auction, who knows what he’ll do? Hell, I know exactly what he’ll do. Last time we got a hit on the jewelry, he tore apart a whole town. Literally. And the set ended up being a different one. This time, I know for a fact that it’s theirs. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.
“Yeah, well.” He shrugs. “I’m here.”
My hands clench and unclench into fists at my sides, a headache building behind my eyes. Sometimes, things would be so much easier if I could just…
I stop that thought right there and try to focus. “Why are you here, Alix?”
“Something has happened that I think you should know about,” he says.
By the change in his demeanor, I can tell he’s serious. “Explain.”
His eyes shift to William.
“You can take the night off, William,” I tell the First Son.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’ll have Alix take over.” Though I won’t let him in the auction itself—over my dead body. “Go have some fun.”
William nods reluctantly and leaves.
“Alright, spit it out,” I say, redirecting my full attention to the vampire.
“I’m pretty sure you’ve talked with Ella about visitors and the wards around your house,” Alix begins, and I growl for him to get to the point.
Besides, people are starting to move to the auction room, which I should be doing as well.
“Out with it. I really don’t have time for this,” I snarl.
Alix sighs. “She invited your brother’s fiancée inside.”
“She did what?” I can’t keep the anger from my voice. “When did this happen?”
“She entered yesterday evening and left again this morning.”
“You waited until now to tell me this? And don’t give me that time zone bullshit, Alix.” His mouth snaps shut. “If there was ever an occasion to invite yourself over, that was it.”
Fuck. I don’t know why Elly let her inside, but this is bad.
If Yblis didn’t already know where I live, he will now.
Not that he can enter without an invitation, but I do not need him showing up at my front door.
I told Elly we’d deal with this when the day inevitably came, but I was hoping it wouldn’t be this soon.
“You okay?” Alix asks, reaching out to me.
I slap his hand away, rage coursing through my body. It takes all I have to keep my magic in check. “No, far from it,” I snarl.
I see the hurt flash across his face from my outburst, but I’m really not in the mood to deal with it right now.
From the corner of my eye, I notice someone approaching us—someone from the auction house, here to inform us that things are getting started soon. I nod at him and push my anger down—very far down.
“I have some business to take care of,” I say, straightening myself and checking if my jacket is still in place. “Wait outside. I’ll come find you afterward.”
I need to trust my wife and that she has her reasons for granting my brother’s woman access to our home. Besides, I can’t run back to her every time I suspect she might need me, no matter how badly I want to or how much I ache to protect her.
Alix pouts, gesturing once more at his suit. I know he was hoping to join me, but right now, I can’t deal with his presence. The fact that my magic continues to whisper in my ear, tugging at me, isn’t helping.
I give him a final stern look and then make my way to the room where the auction is being held.
Another staff member hands me a flyer, and I quickly leaf through it to see when the jewelry set is up.
Thankfully, they’re kept as a set, but I audibly groan when I notice that they’re almost all the way in the back of the program.
It’s going to be a long night.