Page 99 of Sky’s Edge

Terrinton ignored me when I came in, as was his way (though, I’d brought him a latte).

The RS agents stayed outside.

But Lua rushed to me, because Lua was Lua, but also because I was holding a tray of lattes.

“Hey,” she greeted. “You have a visitor in your office.”

My attention flew to the windows of my office up the stairs, my heart leaping, only to see Mon standing there, giving me a finger wave.

Not Tanyn.

An immediate sense of being crushed emotionally assailed me.

There I was again, being an idiot, hoping Tanyn would show.

However, I’d heard nothing from him.

Though, I’d been paying attention to news from Sky’s Edge (self-torture? yes—self-flagellation? also yes).

First, there had been nothing about Tatra, her disappearance, or what she (allegedly, sort of) had done to Riland, Darynda and their son.

Second, the vote in the Assembly about the new taxes had surpassed the ninety-five percent it took to scuttle it.

That didn’t mean Tanyn and his strategy didn’t work. It had. Because of it, Edgians had been keeping a close eye on that vote, and they lost it when it was voted down.

A massive protest was being organized for tomorrow to let their representatives know how they felt about it. And realm-wide boycotts of some of the businesses of wealthy beings who contributed to the representatives’ campaigns—stores, restaurants, hotels and products—had been put into place.

The political pundits were sharing that it wouldn’t take long for some representative to introduce another bill (so they could lay claim to it in the history books) that would do the same thing Tanyn’s bill would have done. Especially if the Edgians could keep up this pressure in the long haul.

I hoped that for them, but it was none of my business.

I was of The Fall.

So it had nothing to do with me.

Last, although we were getting regular comms from Gayle, things like I’m still here, and he’s given me a lapcomp so at least I can work, but that was mostly it, we didn’t have the full story.

But we knew she was all right, or at least, hanging in there.

Tressa, my other SA, was heading into the main gallery from the back.

I took my latte, handed the others to Lua, greeted Tressa on my way to the stairs, went up them and into my office.

“If I’d known you were coming”—more like ambushing, oh yes, I was no longer incommunicado, but I’d been keeping myself to myself and licking my wounds since I arrived home on Tuesday—“I would have bought you a latte.”

I dropped to give Monique a cheek touch where she sat in a chair in front of my desk, before I went around said desk, threw my bag on it, set my latte on it and shrugged off my coat.

All while she was saying, “I’m caffeined-out already. It’s my late day. I have clients until nine tonight. So I had to fortify early.”

Monique had one of the most popular, exclusive spas in Nocturn and was simply the most sought-after aesthetician in the city.

She further was saving to do some extensive renovations on her flat, and Mon was not one to let grass grow. If she wanted it, she busted her buns for it, which she’d now been doing for what felt like ever.

I hoped she was close to having what she needed. I could see she looked tired, and that had been getting worse of late.

“I know why you’re here,” I told her.

Having hung my coat on the hook on the wall, I was moving to my desk.