It had been an unexpected blessing for them to ship her off to boarding school as soon as she was old enough. While other rich kids had lamented their fates, she had enjoyed the freedom that came with living away from her parents. She admitted that she enjoyed the privileges that came with being the only Darling heir. But their expectations could be daunting, especially when it came to using her gifts.
Because power acquired that way always came at a cost.
And for every ally gained, there was an enemy waiting to see them fall.
Over the years, the Darling family had convinced themselves that their actions served a greater purpose. They had intervened in political conflicts, corporate battles, and private affairs, believing that the right people needed to remain in power and the wrong ones needed to be stopped. Sometimes their interference prevented disasters before they unfolded. Other times, it simply ensured the outcome benefited them in some way.
But the line between self-interest and altruism had blurred over time.
Besides manipulating events, the information Theodore acquired made him extraordinarily wealthy. In the modern age, secrets were even more lucrative than true skill. He knew where to invest before markets shifted, what scandals would erupt before headlines exposed them, and which rising figureswere destined to become untouchable. He leveraged secrets the way others leveraged money, trading information for influence, protection, and control. Entire careers had risen or collapsed because of whispers he chose to release…or bury.
His ability had one fatal flaw, though.
It didn’t work on supernaturals.
Because of that limitation, the Darling family had chosen to remain in the Human Realm for centuries, where their gift could be used to its fullest advantage. There, they had flourished, amassing wealth, influence, and power by uncovering the hidden truths others would have done anything to protect. Their legacy had been built on secrets, and mortals always provided an endless supply of them.
However, Lana was different.
Perhaps it was the combination of demon and witch blood running through her veins that made her stronger than the rest of her family. Whatever the reason, her gift had evolved into something far more powerful, far more dangerous, than anything the Darlings had possessed before. Besides reading humans, she could uncover the secrets of even the strongest supernaturals if she had skin-to-skin contact with them long enough.
Which was why she’d kept it a secret…until now.
“Hey, kid. You planning on going inside or you just going to stand there admiring the building all day?”
The low, resonant voice that spoke from directly behind her made her jolt in surprise. It was too close to have snuck up on her by normal means without her noticing his approach, which meant he had to be supernatural. She slowly turned and felt her apprehension melt away enough for her to send him a genuine smile when she recognized the glowing silver eyes staring back at her.
Lana had recently met Kingston Spencer after her fairy friend, Starla, had gotten a part-time job at his mate’s bakery. He’d been a powerful demon before he mated Autumn, the newly appointed Goddess of Revenge. But now, they were a formidable couple that few would dare to cross.
Kingston was a big male, with impressively wide shoulders that stretched the material of his jacket declaring him a member of the Mystic Fire Department. Although he still helped out at the fire station where he used to work, most of his time was now spent helping his mate with what they liked to call their revenge projects.
Although she had only met them a handful of times, Lana had grown genuinely fond of the mated pair. For all their immense power and elevated status, Kingston and Autumn were remarkably approachable. They were friendly, grounded, and refreshingly unpretentious, which was a rarity amongst the gods. The ease with which the bakery staff and the other firefighters interacted with them said more than words ever could. It was obvious the couple hadn’t let their magical ascension change who they were at their core.
“Hi, Kingston. Fancy meeting you here.”
“Actually, I’m here for you.”
She raised a brow at that. “That’s unexpected.”
“Not really. I’m here for your meeting with the council as one of the representatives from the Hell Realm.”
“Oh, I had no idea you were a councilmember.”
In a way, it made perfect sense that he served on the council. Few people commanded the same level of respect in both the supernatural and human communities as he did. Still, she found it difficult to picture him willingly tying himself to an organization that had once accused and convicted him of a crime he hadn’t committed.
He grinned wryly. “Let’s just say, sitting on the council is the perfect way to change the enemy from within. It’s not exactly something I like to spread around since some people get weirded out by the title.”
That made her laugh even as she mentally cringed at the way the god had been able to read her thoughts. She had to remind herself to be more guarded around the gods since they were always catching stray thoughts of the people around them. She couldn’t even imagine how annoying that was for them.
Chuckling, he said, “You have no idea. Anyway, glad I caught you before you went inside. You’re early.”
“Punctuality is one of life’s essentials,” she quipped.
“I wish more people thought that way.”
“It’s a basic tenet of boarding school upbringing. If you’re on time, you’re late,” she retorted dryly.
Kingston snorted out a laugh. “Since you aren’t meeting with the full council, there has been a change of venue.”
