They all, even Baz, looked at me. After a reluctant sigh, I said, “That’s what I was told.”
“By whom?” Félix asked.
“By someone I trust beyond reproach, someone who’s never wrong.”
“And who’s that?”
When I didn’t reply, Baz said, “We’ll get into everything later. Right now, we have bigger issues.”
“Bro … she’s the D’Arco princess we all believed to be super dead, longtime dead,” Lev said.
“Yes, and Mauldrene may have eaten the emperor.”
Lev frowned. “Fair enough.”
“And Terencia’s here, with a bunch of her busybody nobles. She might not have cared when Mauldrene ate the parvnit, but I’m pretty sure she’ll care when she finds out Mauldrene ate her husband.”
“Fuck,” Night said. “This is bad.”
“Big time bad,” Baz said. “Terencia’s tricky to deal with under normal circumstances.”
“With Junot out of the picture, it won’t be long before she comes after your dick,” Lev said. “You know she will.”
I bristled. I couldn’t stop my reaction before it happened. Baz’s attention flickered over me as if he’d noticed, dammit.
“Unfortunately, it seems likely,” Baz said. “I’ll deal with that when I have to. She’ll at least have the decorum to wait a while, and by then, with some good fortune on our side, we’ll have found him.”
“’Cause good fortune is so often on our side,” Aziza muttered bitterly.
“I gotta get to her right away, then,” Lev said. “Distract her. The feeder I sent her was a meek, mumbling, reed of a man. She’ll break him if I don’t hurry.”
“You sent her someone unwilling?” Baz asked stiffly.
“Nah, man. I know you better than that. He was willing. Nervous as if I’d asked him to pop in to the Igneuslands, but still willing. Brave guy, really.” He fiddled with his pipe. “I hope she doesn’t break him. Shit, I gotta go.”
“No,” Aziza said. “Baz, tell him. He can’t go. Terencia is…” She looked at me and trailed off.
Baz huffed a burdened sigh, ran a hand through his hair before noticing, then flicked it to the side. The Rillis rope swung between us. “Zi’s right. You can’t, Lev. I’ll figure something else out. Maybe we just send her a female. It’s not like she can get pissed we don’t have what she wants when she and Junot are the ones who stationed us at this…” He pursed his lips, seeming to swallow a series of insults. “…place.”
“She’ll throw a fit,” Aziza said. “But you still can’t send Lev.”
“I’d never choose to send Lev, or any of you, for that matter.”
“Aw, Zi … how sweet. You want my dick all for yourself, is that it, baby?” Lev said.
Aziza groaned and rolled her eyes. “Right now, I want to snap off your dick.”
He gasped, drawing his pipe to his chest in affront that I thought was playful at first, but then wasn’t so sure. “That’s … don’t threaten my dick. Not ever. That’s going too far.”
She plunked her head back against the couch in possible defeat, exhaustion, or annoyance.
“Take it back,” Lev said.
She jerked her head up, eyes fiery. “I don’t take it back. You say stupid shit, I will too.”
“What stupid shit did I say?”
“You mean, most recently? That you’re going to go feed Terencia! She’ll demand to have sex with you.”
