Noc’s words were pure ice. “Next time, try the front door. How did you manage to get here, anyway? The portal to our estate isn’t accessible without the help of an assassin.”
Gaige smirked. “Beasts are wonderful creatures.” He reached into the pocket of his coat and extracted a small, pale-blue beast that sat snugly in the palm of his hand. It had a jelly-like body and four stubby tentacles that moved slowly, curling toward the center where a circular aquamarine gem glistened like the ocean.
My eyes widened. “That’s a Kaiku. I’ve never actually seen one before in real life.” I itched to move closer, to skate my fingers over its radiant stone. “Where did you get it?”
“Not on Lendria.” His smile deepened, and then his emblem glowed as the beast-realm door groaned open. The Kaiku disappeared. “A Kaiku acts like a compass, pointing its Charmer in the direction they seek without fault. I didn’t need assistance getting here because my beast simply read my desires and showed me the way.”
“I see.” Noc bristled, clearly unhappy that there was a creature out there that could bypass Cruor’s defenses.
“Regardless, I apologize for any alarm I may have caused.” He offered a polite nod before returning his gaze to me. “By the way, Leena, I do appreciate you allowing Dominus to stretch his legs. Okean has missed him.”
Upon hearing his name, the liquid-blue beast rammed his massive skull into Gaige’s side and nipped at one of the silver studs. Gaige batted him away with a loving shush, and Okean sauntered toward Dominus and Onyx before dropping to his haunches. With the back of one of his paws, he rubbed the finned whiskers lining his jaw and throat.
I fisted my hands behind my back. “Of course.” My lack of control over Dominus was not something I wanted to share publicly, let alone with a Council member. We still didn’t know who to trust in Hireath. Yet.
Kost spoke my thoughts aloud. “Do you bring word of the bounty?”
“Unfortunately, no.” Gaige held Kost’s stare. “I went straight to Wilheim after escorting you home from Hireath. I’m on the return journey now. Kaori asked that I check in on Calem.”
Calem’s spine straightened. With a wicked smirk, he laced his fingers behind his head. “Oh, I’m fine. But if she’s not convinced, you can tell her I’m always open for a personal checkup.” Oz elbowed him in the side, and Calem shot him a slitted glare.
“Don’t get your hopes up,” Gaige said, a slight grin tugging at his lips.
Noc’s hand found my waist. “We won’t keep you, then.”
“Oh, I’d rather you did.” His playful gaze pinned Kost for a half second longer than needed before sliding back to Noc. “You see, you’re not the only one who finds it mildly unsettling that my people haven’t turned up information on the person who contracted Leena’s bounty.”
My pulse jumped. Gaige folded his arms across his chest, and the jeweled citrine glow of his Charmer’s symbol glimmered in the morning sun. He met Noc’s hard stare head on.
Noc remained impassive. “Oh?”
“I make it my business to deal in information. Someone is holding their cards very close to the chest. So, I took the liberty of sussing out a mage and setting up a meeting for tomorrow.”
“A mage? Here?” Calem’s eyes went wide. Oz’s hands slackened by his sides, and his brows crept toward his hairline. But Noc and Kost… An electric current surged between them. It was so minute that, if I weren’t connected by Noc’s grip on my waist, I’m not sure I would’ve felt the jolt in his fingers. A tendon feathered along his jaw, but he kept his gaze steady.
Unease settled low in my gut. Sure, Kost and Noc had had decades together. A life and secrets and experiences I couldn’t begin to hold a candle to. It bothered me to no end that we still hadn’t openly discussed his past, and their unspoken words only fueled my frustration.
Kost removed his spectacles and began to polish them with a cloth from his breast pocket. “There are very few mages on our small island continent. They have enough discord to keep them focused on their own lands. How did you manage to find one?”
Gaige narrowed his eyes, seemingly tracking the invisible thread of tension between Kost and Noc. “I have my sources.” After a beat of silence, he cleared his throat. “My point is, I secured the meeting for you. The mage wants something of me, and in return, he’s offered his magic to secure whatIwant…within reason. Perhaps the mage can sever the oath, and we can put this whole mess behind us.”
“What does the mage want from you?” Noc asked.
Gaige lifted a shoulder. “That is between me and him. I try to form relationships with a number of powerful players. You never know when their skills might come in handy.”
“You did this on your own? Why?” Kost got to the heart of my concern before I could voice it.
“Because it seemed like the right thing to do.” Gaige paused, running a hand along his jaw. “Though I could always keep the meeting for myself if you’re not interested. Mages are powerful. There’s no telling what I could gain from his favor.”
“So much forthe right thing to do.” The low note in Noc’s voice hinted at danger and unexpected anger. He was usually more collected than this. “What do you want from me in exchange?”
Gaige hummed. “As I said, I trade in information. Because I’d be giving up the chance to secure rare and valuable insight, I’d be remiss if I didn’t take the opportunity to gather precious secrets elsewhere.”
Kost’s fingers were bone-white against the metal frame of his spectacles. “We have nothing to give you.”
Noc placed a firm hand on his shoulder. After a moment, he turned his gaze to Gaige. Obsidian eyes as hard as metal betrayed nothing. “If you take us to see the mage, then I will give you full access to our library.”
“I’ve been to many libraries in my lifetime.” Gaige ran an errant hand down his sleeve, feigning indifference. But there was an unmistakable glint of intrigue in his stare. “I’m not sure your tomes will yield anything of interest to me.”
