Chapter 28
EMBER
Dense fog hung low over the city, permeating every atom of air from the street to the sky. The Authority had a lot of locations where their precious pets lived—locked behind heavy iron gates to keep the rabble out—and the Valnord was one such place.
I watched the building from a perch three blocks away, behind one of LimonCo’s subtler “daylight” screens.
In neighborhoods like the Valnord’s there wasn’t so much as a hint of flashing neon or bright digiscreens.
This was where all the managerial class Corps employees had homes.
They hated the aesthetic of neon and flashing lights.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I glanced at it for a long moment, digesting the paragraphs upon paragraphs of words—a veritable lecture on my poor performance—then shot back a one-liner.
The heart of Kara Asterion’s response was what I expected.
Calypso Montague wanted out of Aradios. It was all worked out, but for the timing.
Obviously, we’d have to wait until Sera was well and Max could go to Aradios for good.
I rolled my eyes a little, but it was fine.
Kara was as condescending as ever, but she had the upper hand here, so she could afford to be.
The digiscreen I hid behind shifted images, showing a snow-white unicorn galloping across colorful fields of wildflowers.
Such nonsense—everyone knew unicorns were wasteland creatures and the beasts certainly weren’t white and fluffy.
The digiscreens showed nothing but artificially generated bullshit that didn’t exist anywhere and glorified evil creatures like unicorns.
My lip curled in disgust. Unicorns ate humans alive, after all, if given the chance.
But the images were quiet. Beautiful to the untrained eye of the corporate and government bourgeoisie, but not actual art.
Much like the Valnord itself. It was a forty story limestone behemoth, guarded by enormous gothic renditions of the Saints. I checked my phone, re-reading Ares’ text to make sure I was in the right place.
Another text appeared below the address. I’m here. Are you close?
I searched the Valnord’s rooftop. At first glance, all was calm, empty, serene.
Near the stained glass dome that covered the atrium, there was the merest hint of movement.
Had I not known exactly where Ares was meant to be, I might have missed it.
I watched the guards at the Valnord’s gates for a few moments before making my way across LimonCo’s roof and onto the next building.
Far in the distance, sirens blared, muffled by the thick, soupy fog that thickened by the second.
I hated these bougie neighborhoods. They were too quiet, too empty at night.
I got the reasons why Lara hated the Carlyle, but at least it was in a lively neighborhood.
Right now, across town, I knew for certain the streets were full of people, rushing back and forth in the neon-soaked fog, from the bars and noodle shops or late night seances.
There was life in our neighborhood. This one was sterile. Nearly every window in the Valnord was dark. Everyone was either still at work, or at posh dinners further uptown. My jaw ached as I leapt onto the Valnord’s roof, my feet stinging with impact when I landed, though they did not make a sound.
I didn’t have Rhiannon’s talent for moving in pure silence, but I still had a warrior’s ability to move quickly and quietly, and I stole over to where I knew Ares waited.
He stood leaning against the rooftop door, dressed in slim-fitting black trousers and a black turtleneck sweater that showed off the lean, lanky muscles in his arms and chest.
“Aren’t you cold without a coat?” I murmured as I approached.
Ares’ eyes narrowed a bit. “I’m fine. You ready?”
I nodded.
He picked the lock to the rooftop door. They didn’t use electronics up here, but real keys still.
It was a boon. The less we depended on any kind of spiritual energy, the less likely we were to be tracked.
I was certain Ares could summon a spirit to pick the lock for us, but the fact that he didn’t was yet another mark in my growing list of things I found impressive about him.
The door clicked open, and Ares pocketed his picks.
Silently, I followed him down the stairs and through the hallways of the uppermost floor of the building.
He closed his eyes for a moment, his lips moving in silent communication with the dead, I assumed.
When those green eyes opened back up, he nodded once before picking the lock on the Senator’s door.
As I waited, watching his back, listening carefully for anyone approaching, it occurred to me that when he texted me I came without question.
Of course, I looked up the address and found out who it belonged to, but I hadn’t dug deeper.
I didn’t trust myself, but for whatever reason, I trusted him.
That alone felt like I’d leapt into a yawning abyss, with no guarantee of safety.
The door to the Senator’s apartment swung softly open behind me, just as Ares’ fingertips brushed mine. When I turned, he pulled lightly on my hand, his skin barely touching me. It was enough to send shivers up my arms.
“Stanley is blocking the CCTV,” he said, as the door closed behind us, sealing us into the Senator’s apartment. “And there are two Shades on this floor. The Senator is out for the evening, and they’ve agreed to keep watch while we search.”
I nodded. Aside from the Poltergeist’s blocking of the security cameras, it was such ambient spirit activity that we shouldn’t draw much attention. I still didn’t know why we were here. “What are we looking for?”
We still stood in the narrow front hall, which was all black marble, cold and reflective. Ares shook his head. “To be honest, I don’t know. Eli Cabot is my go-between with Lux right now and he passed this address onto me without context.”
I drew a sharp breath in, impressed yet again that Ares had both been so careful, and that he had strong enough connections with both the Cognoscenti leader and Eli Cabot, who was one of the most talented Thaumas in the city, that he received such favors.
I’d never paid Ares Necroline as much respect as I should have, busy as I’d been being furious with him for burning my house down.
My impulsive mouth got ahead of my good sense. “We should have been working together all this time.”
His serious expression deepened, the planes of his gorgeous face honing fiercely. “Things would be better if we could. For our people.”
The way he said “our people” sent a slow, delicious warmth creeping down my spine and through my abdomen.
My breath picked up pace. Ares stepped closer to me, backing me against the wall, his eyes burning with emotion.
We were alone. Really alone. Not just alone in my room, in an apartment full of people who could hear every move we made if they listened hard enough. But truly alone.
The heat of his body warmed the chill off mine. “We don’t have a lot of time,” he murmured as his head lowered to mine. “We should get started searching.”
My back arched away from the cold marble, my body skimming his, the space between us nonexistent as I pressed into him. “Right.”
His arm snaked around my waist, his hand spreading over my back as he pulled me into his chest. “You are infuriating,” he murmured. But it didn’t sound like an insult. It sounded like yearning’s end—like finally giving into the magnetic pull between us.
“You’re a dick,” I replied.
His thigh slid between mine as he backed me up against the wall, giving me a full expression of just how hard he already was for me. My arms flew around his neck and I pulled his mouth against mine.
Ares Necroline kissed me like he knew death intimately. Like he was mortal and understood just how close he was to perishing. Like I was the only thing standing between him and Tanith’s peaceful promise. I had no choice but to be the answer to Tanith’s dark call—Amarante’s endless loop of light.
He pulled me harder against him as we moved against one another, a writhing tangle of breath, tongues, and limbs, of heat mounting and desire finally about to be met.
Stanley wound around my leg, materializing in his form as a two-headed black cat with bat wings.
I was surprised he allowed me to see him.
Ares growled with frustration at the interruption.
“What?” he snarled to the ghost cat.
Though I could not hear the answer, Ares nodded. “The Senator has moved onto the opera from dinner. We have about three hours, unless he has parties to attend afterwards.”
Neither of us moved, but Stanley disappeared, back to his monitoring of the security cameras, and apparently the CCTV system. Ares didn’t let go of me. In fact, he pulled me harder against him. “The next person who interrupts me when I’m kissing you gets their aura twisted into knots.”
The hard length of him pressed into my core with his words.
He nipped at my bottom lip, kissing me again, as though he couldn’t bear not to, before his grip on me slowly loosened.
“I want you so fucking much,” he murmured, his gaze lowered, as though in prayer.
“This isn’t…” he trailed off, worry clouding his eyes.
Was Ares Necroline worried that I didn’t want him the way he did me?
My hands went to his face, my thumbs grazing over his cheekbones until his eyes met mine. “I want you too.”
He still wouldn’t meet my eyes. I felt him flinch, as though he might pull away. I pulled gently on the sleeve of his sweater to keep him from going. And then slowly, so he wouldn’t try to walk away, I turned in his arms, dragging his arms around my waist as I leaned hard against his chest.
“Touch me,” I whispered, bringing his hands to the waistband of the leggings I’d worn this evening. I’d dressed practically for quick movement and there were no buttons, zippers, or even undergarments to deal with.