Page 108 of No One’s Daughter

This room was different again.

Large and open. Floor-to-ceiling windows stretched across one wall, revealing the city far below, lights glittered like a sea of stars.

I stood there for a long moment, staring out at the world I could no longer reach, my reflection faint in the glass.

Waiting.

For whatever came next.

CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT

Leon

I WALKED THE halls of the Ninth with confidence, and I was greeted by our officers with warm smiles and approving nods.

​Everyone had been called in from all the outposts for Valerius’s yearly Christmas party. We weren’t invited, though. It was for the elite, for Valerius to manipulate and control politicians, CEOS and the like. ‘Human business’, he’d call it. He liked to show a face of force by having all units readily available and standing guard. The humans were oblivious to the supernatural energy of course, with only a few in the know, a bunch compelled and the rest blissfully ignorant.

Being one of a handful of true borns here gave me authority and respect from pretty much everyone, with the exception of Valerius, of course. I didn’t think he respected anyone to be honest, certainly not the lives of those beneath him, and he viewed everyone as being beneath him.

​But just because we were on equal footing in terms of age and on account of being true borns, didn’t mean that I wasn’t very aware of our differences. He was a scary motherfucker on a good day, not someone you ever wanted to disappoint, and the best way not to do that was to simply do as he told you. So that’s what I did. Sure, some might say that makes me his lapdog, but what choice did I have? He brought me here, gave me a purpose and because of that, I owed him.

​It’s all I deserved in all honesty, so I’d made my peace with it. Still, I didn’t much like being summoned to his office. But I was a master of schooling my features and my smile could hide a million insecurities.

I tied my long hair into a tight bun as I walked. Valerius hated that I kept my hair long, said it made me look unkempt. But I liked it like this and I took pride in my hair, so fuck what he thought. Though flaunting it before him would have been plain dumb. That was the thing about Valerius, you just had to know how to stay out of his wrath and you’d be safe enough.

The glass door swung open and I was met with Brandon’s ugly mug. “He’s ready for you,” he said, as though the words hurt him. Brandon was Valerius’s second in command, and a complete cunt. He couldn’t have been further up Valerius’s arse if he tried. He hated me because I was better than him in every way. Smarter, more charming, stronger, with the ability of magic, and of course I was much better looking. Oh, and people actually liked me. He liked to think that I was after his post, but I really didn’t want to be that close to Valerius. I liked the tiny bit of freedom I had, I wasn’t looking to give that up.

I stepped into the open space that was as imposing as an office could be. I supposed the views were nice, though there was too much grey for me, personally. It was void of personality, just like him.

“Take a seat.”

I did as I was instructed, taking a seat, but making sure to keep my posture upright. He wouldn’t like it if I appeared too relaxed.

“I have a task for you,” he said, not turning, his attention still fixed on the city sprawling beneath the glass, hands clasped neatly behind his back like he owned every inch of it. Because he did, even if they didn’t know it. “I have a special guest attending tonight that will need supervision.”

“I’m to be their bodyguard?”

“Something like that,” he said, crossing the room with that same effortless authority, stopping at a polished cabinet set into the wall. It opened with a soft click, revealing a selection of items that most would never recognise for what they really were.

My jaw tightened slightly as he reached inside.

When he turned back to face me, he held a small device in his hand—sleek, fitted with a narrow, wicked-looking needle at its tip.

He approached me without hurry. “Hold still.”

I already was.

The needle sank into my arm without warning, sliding between muscle. Pain flared, but I didn't react. Didn’t even so much as flinch.

I knew what this was and he knew that I knew.

There was no point in addressing it, or in protesting.

We’d been here before.

It was ultimate control. Not just a tracking device, but a way to subdue my magic—not quite suppressing it completely, but dulling it so I couldn’t be a problem.

“I want you to flirt with her, get her comfortable with you,” he said lightly. “Get her to trust you.”