Chapter 34
Chapter
Thirty-Four
I woke up back inside the diner. It was considerably cooler, missing most of the front wall and windows. People were talking over my head, and when I blinked my eyes open, I saw Iris Milner sitting in one of the few remaining booths, watching as Cassander argued with someone I hadn’t seen before.
“What happened?” I asked, my throat so dry that the words came out a garbled mess.
I tried to sit up and looked down to see my chest wrapped in bandages and one of my arms looking like I was an extra in an old MGM mummy movie.
“Mr. Reyes,” the stranger said. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m actually feeling okay.” I tried to sit up again, this time managing it with Cassander’s help. His hands were warm on my shoulders, and he wrapped an arm around me to keep me upright. I blinked.
Betty was bringing in food from the back of the diner, and Brad was surrounded by a group of men and women all wearing business suits. One of them even had a clipboard.
From the snatches of conversation I could hear, they seemed to be doing a review process of how their pack had handled the call to attack.
“Glad you’re awake,” Iris said tightly. “Now, let’s discuss terms of concession.”
“Not until after he’s been seen by a real doctor,” Cassander growled.
Candy crossed her arms where she was standing next to Iris, keeping her in the booth. “Not until Damian says he’s ready.”
Rolling her eyes, Iris gestured to the stranger. “Emory here is a real doctor.”
Brad broke away from the rest of the lawyers to say, “With his medical license revoked.”
“He still knows his medicine.” Iris raised her eyebrows. “Well, Doctor?”
Emory shrugged but knelt down next to me, holding out what looked like a piece of rock but I recognized instantly as a magical artifact. The colors rolled off it, and with my new sight, I could see as they ran over my skin.
“He’s about as healed as I can get him,” Emory declared, ignoring Cassander’s scoff.
I stood, Cassander’s hands still on me, and shook my head once, the world tilting slightly before it righted itself. “I’m good. Let’s talk terms.”
I blinked. Somehow, I was still wearing pants. Iris had a cut over her right brow, and her lips were tight.
“Where is everyone else from her side?” I asked Candy.
“The ones that didn’t run away screaming when they saw two dragons fighting are helping Betty in the back with the food.” Candy’s smile was sweet. “Until we agree on terms.”
“And Officer Choi?” I looked around but didn’t see him.
Candy frowned at me. “What?”
I waved her off. That would be a problem for another day.
“What are your terms?” Iris asked.
“Just to be clear, you’re conceding to us , right?” I asked.
“My father’s ambition exceeded his sense. You killing him solves the problem of him going back on a fae deal.” Iris raised her chin. If she felt any way about me killing her father, it certainly wasn’t the same agony I felt knowing Milner Senior had murdered my father.
“Terms. You and anyone else associated with your organization leaves Desert Flower. Forever.” I crossed my arms.
Iris pursed her lips. “That’s unreasonable. This is my home. This is where everything I’ve built is based.”
“We both know that Green Scales is international. You can have the whole world. You don’t need Desert Flower.” I raised both my eyebrows. “I hear when there aren’t random gunmen wandering the streets, Paris is nice.”
“How do I know that as soon as you heal, you won’t go back to nipping at our heels?” Iris leaned back, as though the negotiation was going in her favor. Which, given that I was offering her the world and only claiming a few square miles of desert town, it actually was.
“Believe what you want, take the deal, leave the deal, but let’s remember who won the last battle.” I leaned forward, raising one finger to draw it in a slow circle in the air. “I did all this with a deposed prince, a bartender, lawyer werewolves, and a hairstylist. What do you think I’m going to do if you actually go to war with me?”
Iris Milner frowned, two lines appearing between her brows. “We agree that Green Scales will not be supporting Prince Cassander in his attempt to regain the throne?”
“Hey, as long as you aren’t supporting his brother, we are good .” I tilted my head, not bothering to mirror her, not bothering to calm her, just asking a simple question that had a simple answer. “Are you planning to support his brother?”
“Green Scales will have enough to do, given that we’re rebuilding after one persistent SPA agent took down half of our operation over the past year.” Iris looked out at the street, where the massive body of her father lay. “Not to mention the loss of its previous leader.”
I waited until she looked back at me. “And you and me? We’re good?”
“My father killed your father, you killed my father. At a certain point, we’re in the middle of a Princess Bride reenactment.” She glanced back outside before focusing on me. “I see no reason to continue the conflict.”
“So we have a deal?” I waited to see what she would say, and when she dipped her chin, my shoulders relaxed.
I extended my hand, and she clasped it in hers.
“Congratulations, Damian Reyes.” Her smile was thin. “Desert Flower is yours.”
By morning, the body of Silas Milner was gone. Whether it had disintegrated with the rising sun or Iris Milner had taken it with her, I had no idea, glad for one less thing to deal with.
Instead, I woke up in my own bed to Riley staring at me. She held out my cell phone.
“Some scary lady is on the phone.”
Blinking, I shifted into a sitting position, Cassander still curled around me. He made a muffled, unhappy noise and cracked one eye, only to shut it at the bright morning light.
I brought the phone to my ear. “Hello?”
“Agent Reyes,” Twenty-one said on the other end. “It’s been dealt with.”
For a second, I stared blankly at the wall of my teenage bedroom. The paint was exactly the same, the color slightly different than my memories, but I was still struggling to comprehend what Twenty-one meant.
“What’s been dealt with?” I asked slowly.
“It’s safe for you to come in now.” Twenty-one’s words were clipped, and I had the sense that she was typing on the other end. “I can arrange a plane ticket tomorrow or tonight, depending on how soon you can get to the local airport. There isn’t a direct flight from Palm Springs, but there is a route through LAX, if you’re willing to transfer planes.”
“Twenty-one.” I wet my lips, unsure I wanted to say this on a recorded line, then figuring who cared? Either they knew, or they didn’t, and either way, I wanted out. “Director Ashland is on the payroll of Green Scales. Other people in the SPA probably are dipping into that gravy too.”
“Damian,” Twenty-one said, using my first name for the first time in our entire relationship. “I know. I dealt with it.”
“Dealt with it how ?” I leaned back against the headboard, and Cassander moved his arm, rubbing circles around my hip bone.
“Director Ashland is taking his retirement early and will be confined to a small island with no chance of ever leaving and no access to the internet.” Twenty-one’s words were precise, clipped. “The other responsible parties were… also retired. Permanently.”
“So who’s in charge there now?” I waited, listening, having some suspicion but needing her to say it.
“Temporarily? I am. There will be a Senate confirmation hearing soon. Hopefully, at that point, we’ll have a better understanding of who our new boss will be.” Twenty-one waited. “Assuming I’m confirmed, I will need loyal people at my side.”
I blew out a breath. It was everything I wanted. A good boss, someone honest in charge, a position that people respected, a chance to decide my own missions.
“I’m not coming back.”
Cassander’s hand tightened briefly, his fingers going back to soothing circles after a breath.
“You’re not coming back.” Twenty-one’s words weren’t a question, but I felt the need to explain anyway.
“I’m back home. And I want to stay here for a while. Just being Damian Reyes.” I waited.
“You want to go on temporary leave?” Twenty-one paused. “That can be arranged.”
“I don’t know about temporary. It might just be… leaving.” The words were hard. Twenty-one was as close as it got to having a friend in my line of work. I could feel myself struggling to lose another gold piece from my hoard.
“Well, that can be arranged too.” There was a long pause, and then Twenty-one cleared her throat. “Of course, even if you do leave, the SPA can always use consultants and contract workers.”
“Yeah. That sounds good.” I wiped at my face, aware that I had started tearing up. “If you ever end up in Desert Flower, I’ll take you out for a beer. I know a really good bar.”
“Expect a courier later today with your severance paperwork and information on the severance package.” Twenty-one’s voice was calm again, completely emotionless, almost as though we were both trying to forget that this felt a lot like goodbye. “If there are any missions that need your expertise, expect a call.”
She hung up without saying goodbye, and I put the phone down beside my bed.
“So we’re staying here?” Cassander asked.
“I guess so.” I turned to look at him, the way the morning light lit his skin like an illuminated manuscript.
“Unemployed. Homeless.” He looked at me speculatively. “But no longer penniless?”
“No. I’ll have access to my funds now.” I traced a finger down his cheek. “And I think I know what we need to do next.”
The restaurant was technically outside of Milan, set in an ancient cathedral. It was a sort of restaurant where one reserved a table five years out, and the wait list included presidents and a few dictators technically not allowed in the country. The lighting was soft enough that everything had a warm, gold tone, and diners spoke just quietly enough to be heard by their companions, too afraid to be kicked out for being disruptive if they spoke louder than a murmur.
Cassander and I walked in, past the shocked ma?tre d’, through the sea of synchronized waiters, each one stopping to stare at us. We went straight for a table right next to a window overlooking the lake.
I could see the magic that swirled around the table, fogging the memories of everyone who looked at it. To everyone else, even the waiters who served the table, who had replaced the wine bottle twice, the table was empty. The waiters had a fuzzy memory of someone being there, but if asked who, or to describe them, or even to say how many people were sitting at the table, they couldn’t have said.
To me, the man sitting at the table, with long golden locks of hair and an easy smile, looked just similar enough to Cassander that I could see they shared a parent. He looked up when we approached, his smile confident. He held up a hand to stop the two bodyguards that had lunged forward, weapons already drawn.
“Dear brother,” the fae emperor said. He waved a hand at the empty chair across from him. “Sit.”
Cassander raised an eyebrow, and the emperor laughed. “Please.”
Somehow, he managed to make the pleasantry feel mocking.
Cassander sat across from him, silently waiting. The tension rose, neither man speaking. I stood at Cassander’s elbow, my eyes on the two guards, their eyes on me.
One of the waiters approached, his puzzled expression clearing when he got a good look at the two men sitting. Yes, the table was occupied. He had been right. He looked at Cassander. “Can I take your order?”
“Just a wineglass,” Cassander said, not looking away from his brother.
The emperor smiled and nodded his head, and the waiter scurried away, returning within moments with a wineglass that he placed in front of Cassander. Then he took the bottle from the table and poured Cassander a glass.
“Well, this is unexpected.” The emperor raised his own glass to Cassander. “I heard you have had a rough few weeks, brother.”
“Yes, attempted assassinations can leave one breathless.” Cassander raised his glass, taking a sip. Clicked his tongue against his teeth. “The same taste as always, brother.”
The emperor’s lips tightened, a twitch on his cheekbone the only sign of his discomfort. He looked over at me. “I heard you had acquired a human plaything. How absolutely marvelous. They are so delicate, though, aren’t they?”
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” I said. I took the coin out of my pocket, flipping it in the air. The emperor’s eyes went wide, mouth dropping open, and he turned to Cassander to stare.
“Do you want to call it?” I asked, catching the coin. “See, Cassander’s new ‘human plaything’? Well, he breathes fire and sprouts wings when he gets pissed off. You’ve lost your allies with Green Scales, and I heard a whisper that things aren’t going so well for you in court.”
The emperor’s lips drew back, teeth bared. “Is that a threat?” He directed the question at Cassander, turning his attention away from me as though I was nothing.
I flipped the coin again, catching it, before rolling it across my knuckles and making it disappear.
“Not a threat. He’s merely stating facts.” Cassander raised his chin. “I have no interest in your title nor your throne. But as of right now, I have a very powerful friend who has a vested interest in my safety. I won’t make any moves on your court as long as you stay away from me and mine.”
“Are you offering me a deal, brother?” The emperor sneered, raising his hand and throwing back his hair in annoyance.
“No. You don’t have anything to offer me.” Cassander stood, taking one last sip of the wine. He shook his head, looking at it with some regret. “Make sure that I don’t have any reason to pay you another visit, brother.”
He turned and began walking away. I drew the coin out again, making it appear as though from thin air. I flipped it toward the emperor, and he winced away. It landed heavily in front of him.
Raven side up.
Reaching forward, I plucked it off the white tablecloth, flipping it again. In my palm, it landed dragon side up.
“Nice meeting you, Emperor,” I said.
I followed Cassander out into the cool air. He stood next to the valet stand, trembling slightly now that he was out of sight of his brother.
“Are you sure you want to give up on that crown?” I asked. “I don’t think your brother is going to be good for peace among the paranormal creatures of the world.”
“You made your choice. I made mine.” Cassander turned, his smile brilliant. “Damian Reyes, let’s go home.”
For the first time in twelve years, I knew exactly where that was.
Coin
Well, that was certainly entertaining wasn’t it? Watching Damian’s carefully constructed world crumble and giving Cassander a changed fate he didn’t know he wanted was terribly satisfying. You know, it takes a talented coin to make bad luck turn into a good outcome.
I can’t wait to see what these boys will get up to the next time I see them.
However, it’s time for me to move on to another pair who needs my help. Shae and Griffin are sure to entertain with their grumpy/sunshine dynamic with a hint of Cinderfella. I cannot wait to sink my teeth… er… offer them my loving support.