Page 75 of Playing with Fire

Clemmends didn’t realize my Quinn was related to the three gorgons in his office? My grandfather-in-law had even referred to the prince as Quinn’s cousin.

Idiot.

With a slow, sly smirk, my grandfather-in-law sank onto on one of the room’s three guest chairs and propped his feet up on Clemmends’s desk. “Gorgon society is complex, but I’ll focus on the local gorgons. We have two kings and two princes born of the same line. My brother is a gorgon king. My eldest human son is also a gorgon king. I gave my rank to my eldest male offspring, as is proper. I have whelped many girls, and they are the pride of my life. My son’s eldest child is Samuel Quinn, and as his father is a king, he is a prince. While there are other gorgon clans in the area, only ours has the right to rule.”

Clemmends paled and his Adam’s apple bobbed.

I was missing something. While I specialized in cleaning up after gorgons, learning about their familial structure hadn’t been a priority for me. “Right to rule? Why’s that?”

“It’s a what, not a why, dear. It’s a type of magic, and it’s why I am not wearing sunglasses. My brother wears his only because he loses his temper far easier than I do. It’s also why our snakes are uncovered. Our control over our powers is superior. Many other gorgons petrify with a look, as their abilities are always active. We choose when we petrify someone. That is evidence of our right to rule. I have it. My brother has it.”

I didn’t need to do the math; if Quinn ever became a gorgon, he’d have it, too. Would dust even work on someone who carried gorgon genes already? I couldn’t remember anything about the CDC testing the possibility.

I hadn’t even known gorgons could have human children.

The head of the CDC blanched. “Chief Quinn is gorgon spawn?”

Every single snake in the room hissed, and Quinn’s cousin’s expression turned so terrible I suspected his sunglasses were the only thing keeping Clemmends from petrifying. I filed ‘spawn’ away as an insult.

“My grandson is the child of two humans. By the CDC’s own rules, he’s quite human, I promise you. He will not accidentally petrify anyone.”

My eyes widened at the subtle inflection in my grandfather-in-law’s voice. Could Quinn petrify someone as a human?

“I see.”

“Bailey, dear heart, do show Mr. Clemmends your bracelet.”

My bracelet? Oh, the tattoo. I’d forgotten about the thing, and I obeyed, shoving back my coat sleeve to reveal the golden pattern, which still glowed with a faint light, although it had dimmed. “It’s really pretty. I didn’t get a chance to thank Sylvester.”

“Don’t you worry your lovely head about that. Angels love weddings. I give it a day at most before his common sense dribbles out of his ears and he has eloping regrets.”

“He doesn’t have ears.”

“Oh, he does. If you want to see a great reaction, give his shoulder a slap one day. You might luck out and launch him into orbit.”

I could handle an angel’s lack of a head. I could handle their ears being on their shoulders. I could. I’d gotten better at being a polite adult. “That’s good to know.”

My grandfather-in-law smirked at me before turning to the head of the CDC. “Mr. Clemmends, I witnessed the signing of their marriage certificate. Samuel’s other grandfather bound them together until the end of days, and they both carry the evidence of their binding on their left wrists. Now, please explain to me why you thought, for even a second, it was acceptable to attempt to coerce someone into an agreement to serve as a surrogate?”

I took a discreet step to the side to get out of the biting range of the hissing, swaying coral snakes, and Barnabus joined me, whispering in my ear, “I’m just the scapegoat. On behalf of my side of the family, I’m very sorry you got dragged into this. My whelp’s idiocy is inexcusable.”

“Let’s review,” I muttered. “I really had no idea how I’d get my husband to marry me—or even keep me as his girlfriend at the minimum. I’m hopeless. I should be thanking someone for this mess, but if I get too close to your whelp, I might be tempted to try to kill him again. He tried to petrify me!”

“Tried?” Barnabus straightened, and both of his eyebrows rose. “He didn’t succeed?”

“Freak bit me, too. I hate when gorgons bite me. It hurts like hell.”

“You’re really immune. Full immunity?”

“I’m really immune. That’s why I get the worst jobs in the city.”

The gorgon king made a thoughtful noise in his throat. “Even to dust?”

I wrinkled my nose at the mention of the substance. “I’m immune even to dust.”

“It seems Prince Samuel picked an extraordinary woman indeed. I’m impressed, and that doesn’t happen often. You should escape while you can. Once my brother begins to rant, he doesn’t stop for a long while. Welcome to the family.”

“Thank you.” I backed away and fled while I could, easing the door open enough I could slip out of the office and make my escape.