By the time I got back to the common area, Jax and Elian were already heading out the door.
“Where are you going?” I asked, twisting my wet hair into a bun.
“Back to the pub to meet up with Gem,” Elian said. “She might have some intel on Keradoc.”
“Great! I’m coming with you.”
“No, you’re not.”
“You got me into Midnight, Elian. And Jax and Hudson got me to Amaranth City. But if I’m going to pull off a blood heist, I’ll need as much information about Keradoc as I can get. Every little piece of gossip or news could end up being important later, and the more ears we have to the ground, the better our chances of picking up on something useful. So, yes. Iamcoming with you. And you’re going to shut up and take it like a man, or I’m going to tell your friends about theadorablenickname we had for your—”
“Wow, would you look at the time?” He huffed out a nervous laugh and offered me his arm. “We’d better get going if we want to find a good table!”
I smirked at him and squeezed his arm, more than happy to gloat.
Haley Barnes, you’ve still got the touch.
27
ELIAN
As an immortal fae, I’d lived a lot of fucking lives. A childhood I barely remembered in the royal fae court of Autumnshire, back before we lost my brother Evander. Our family’s banishment to the material realm. The darkness that eventually landed me in Blackmoon Bay, where I finally met Haley, my light. The all-too-brief years we’d shared that were still—of all the lives I’d lived before and since—my fucking favorite.
After the Bay came my first tour of Midnight.
Then New Orleans, Saints and Sinners, the empire that Jax, Hudson, and I built.
And now, I was back in Midnight once more, all of my lives converging and colliding like someone had tossed them into a blender and hit puree.
Felt like they’d tossed me right in there too.
We sat huddled around a sticky table inside the dark, dank pub, the whole place reeking of bodies and spilled ale. It was a long way from the cool refinement of Saints and Sinners, but something about the nameless pub in the Hollow would always feel like home.
Still, I couldn’t risk being recognized. Right now, Gem was the only resident of Midnight I trusted, and until I could determine otherwise, I’d be operating under the assumption that everyone else was an enemy out for blood.
I sank a little in my chair. Drew my hood low, throwing my face into shadow.
“It’s so nice to finally meet you, Haley Barnes,” Gem said, beaming at her. “Saint’s told me almost nothing about you, a fact which speaks even louder than words.”
Haley laughed, but I didn’t get the joke.
“Save it, Gem,” I warned. “I’m not paying you for your comedy.”
“Well, you should be. I’m pretty hilarious.” She laughed again and tipped back her ale, but I knew the woman. Part of it was an act—blending in, playing the easy-going party girl. Her eyes were sharp though, darting around every dark corner, cataloging every new patron that walked in and every old one that stumbled out.
Gem was one of the Midnight elite, a pureblood fae witch who could travel freely between this realm and our home realm. She could also travel freely between Keradoc’s ruling class and the class of miscreants and reprobates that made up the majority of this city, which came in handy for picking up intel from both camps.
In the time I’d known her, she’d gained a reputation as a tough and loyal friend who looked out for the real people of Amaranth and did what she could to keep Keradoc’s nose out of our fucking asses, which was the only reason Jax, Hudson, and I were able to get our empire off the ground and keep it running in NOLA.
She took her cut, of course, just like everyone else, but that was fair. She earned it.
And now, she’d be earning a little more.
Since I’d left Midnight, she’d stepped in to fill the void, serving as the woman who could get anyone anything, anytime—for the right price.
The most valuable of her offerings?
Secrets.
