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“I keep thinking about how much I’d miss.”
“While you might enjoy the difference at first…I think you really would miss home too much. After a while, you’d have to leave, or you’d wither like a blossom in the frost. If Sharah does return home, I think you should limit yourself to visits. Maybe on weekends, or for a week every few months. But I promise you, as much as I can promise anything, Sharah will make certain you get to see your baby, and more than just once a year. She has too much respect for you to do otherwise.”
“You really think so?”
I nodded. “I know so. She loves you, Chase. Even if she’s not ready to get married just yet. And you love her.”
He ducked his head, smiling. “Yeah…I do. I really, truly do. I never expected it to work out like this, but Sharah…I think…I’ve found out what it really means to be in love. And the thought that she’s having my baby scares the hell out of me, and yet it’s so absolutely right.”
And then, we were scrambling in the carriage, and off to the portals, on the way home.
The house was bustling by the time we burst through the door. Iris and Bruce were back—and since their house was still a ways from being a reality, Bruce was now living with us, too. We’d slowly enlarged our extended family to the point where we were now a freaking commune.
As we walked through the front door, Smoky caught up Camille and planted a kiss on her as he swung her around. Morio was helping Hanna clean up a patch of wet finger paint that had managed to take out one of the roses on the handwoven rug. Hanna looked flustered and Morio was trying to calm her down.
“It’s okay. She gets away from all of us at times. Don’t worry about it.”
“I did not see her run! She’s picking up speed from the time I get here.” Hanna had come to us from the Northlands. She helped Camille escape from Hyto. She spoke English now, and though she was still a little awkward around us, her heart was in the right place.
Iris trailed out of the parlor, a very colorful Maggie in her arms. Our baby calico gargoyle was in the toddler stage and she’d be there a very long time, much to our consternation. She was getting into everything, and that wasn’t likely to change for the foreseeable future. Her fur was matted with blue and red paint, and she was giggling as she watched Hanna and Morio.>And with that, a truce was born. I watched, silently standing by Delilah. We couldn’t just forgive and forget. Too much water had passed, too many land mines had gone off. But maybe, perhaps…just perhaps…we could move forward from here and find some common ground.
After tentative hugs and kisses, we gathered around a central table. I was beginning to feel tired, and I seldom felt tired. But the emotional war with our father and the stress of coping with Quall and his cronies had set me on edge. Give me a rumble with a gang like Crimsy’s men any day over the drama-queen flurry we’d been through.
Father called for food—including a goblet of blood for me. The blood was fresh and sweet, Fae blood…not human. I didn’t ask where he’d gotten it.
“We have a serious problem, and Tanaquar instructed me to approach you. She thought I’d be the best intermediary. First, we’re prepared to offer you all your jobs back. Full reinstatement with back pay.”
Bomb number one. None of us had seen that coming, that was for sure. I glanced at the others, who looked just as confused as I felt.
“Based on what Queen Asteria has discussed with Tanaquar, we think it in everyone’s best interests to have you girls working for both sides. Queen Asteria is aware of our offer.” He stopped, giving us time to think.
“If we were to entertain such a thought, what conditions might we expect to be working under and to whom would we report?” If they wanted us this badly, they could jolly well ante up for us. The OIA had been our home for many years, but it had also tossed me into a vampire’s nest and kicked our butts Earthside when we didn’t perform as expected.
“And what about the fact that I’m pledged to Aeval’s Court? That’s suddenly okay?” Camille still sounded bitter.
Sephreh rubbed his temples. “It would seem that Tanaquar is no longer concerned about that.”
“What about you?” She leaned forward, waiting for an answer. “How do you feel about me working with the Earthside Fae Queens?”
Leaning back in his chair, still rubbing his forehead, he glanced across the table at her. “I admit, I’m not entirely thrilled with the idea, but I won’t stand in your way. Nor will it be a problem with us working together.”
“Us working together?” I saw where this was going.
“Since I am the liaison between the OIA and the Guard Des’Estar, and in charge of covert operations…and since you are my daughters, Tanaquar decided that—should you decide to work with us again—you will be reporting directly to me. I will be your superior.”
Vanzir, who had managed to keep his mouth shut all this time, let out a snicker. “Oh, that’s lovely. The family that slays together plays together?”
“Shut up, demon.” Contrite or not, Sephreh was still our father. “Please, take the assignment. We need you. We have trouble and have pulled back all other OIA operatives, so we need you Earthside, especially now.”
“What trouble?” Delilah pulled out her notebook. She was so used to taking notes that she acted as our secretary without being asked.
“Your friend, Andrees? He was sent Earthside on a mission to discover what you are up to. But he’s vanished. We have no clue of what happened to him, no idea of where he might be. We need you to find him.”
Andrees. He’d been in the OIA training class that the three of us had taken. We’d studied together, and he’d never treated us with anything but respect. Delilah had developed a crush on him, but he’d never known. He’d trained as a scout, and the OIA had originally planned for him to spy on Dredge, but he came down with a fever and had been laid out for a good month. So they’d pawned the assignment off onto me. He’d avoided me ever after that, and I could see the guilt in his eyes. I’d always wanted to tell him that it wasn’t his fault, but never had the chance. Maybe now, I would.
“We’ll deal with the fact that the OIA was spying on us later.” Camille straightened her shoulders. “Where did they send him?”
Sephreh thumbed through a folder of papers. “Somewhere in…West Seattle. White Center area. We had a small store there, a massage parlor on Roxbury Street, owned by Iyor, one of our operatives. We sent Andrees there to connect with Iyor, and from there, he was supposed to work his way over to see what you were doing. We haven’t heard from him since he crossed over.”
