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Let’s not do that too often, I said.
No, they agreed, mental tones weary.
But at least we have something interesting to share with the little ones, Bear added.
I raised my eyebrows. Meaning everything you did with Jonas wasn’t?
That’s business, Cat said, sounding all grown-up. Very different.
I snorted softly, finished the rest of the macaroon, and then picked up my coffee, holding the mug between my hands as I continued to stare out the window. There was a dark-haired man five doors down who seemed to be spending a very long time contemplating whatever lay inside the bakery’s window. My watcher, I suspected.
Has Nuri managed to find enough mercenaries to guard the vampire base and its tunnel? I asked.
Yes, because we’re pulling people from every operation we can, and we’re also installing battery-operated UVs across every entrance and in the tunnel. His tone was grim. We’re hoping it’s enough to stop any vampire or wraith attempt to regain control of the area.
If Dream is Hedda Lang, could she order a corps assault?
She can, but she’d first have to gain House approval, and then Julius Valkarie would have to sign off on it.
So we have time?
But not much.
Trepidation stirred. Don’t tell me Nuri’s had another of her future insights.
We’ve three days, he said, mental tone flat. If we haven’t stopped Dream by then, it’s all going to go to hell in a handbasket.
As declarations of doom went, it was right up there with her statement that if I didn’t find the missing children, no one would. Of course, in the end it had been a combination of Jonas and me that had found them, and I really hoped this one could be similarly sidetracked.
Because we were now battling more than just the mad desires of three people. We were fighting for the safety of our city, if not our world.
Did she say how?
I bit into the second macaroon, but the heavenly sweetness suddenly tasted bitter. It seemed fear could kill taste buds quicker than anything else.
It involves the lights, just as Penny warned, he said, which is why we’re currently using every resource we have within the government and without to check the identities of everyone who has access to the grid. But again, it’ll take time.
Especially when identities are easily enough faked.
I could feel his smile through our link, though it held little in the way of warmth or amusement. Having used them ourselves for many a decade, we’re more than capable of spotting a dummy identity when we come across it.
What do you want me to do, gi
ven Dream is having me followed and obviously suspects my Catherine identity?
He hesitated. We need you to maintain cover. While she’s relegating her attention and her forces to ensnare you, she’s not paying attention to what else is going on.
And if she does ensnare me? I asked. Or worse, simply decides to get rid of me?
She won’t kill you, he replied. Not immediately, anyway.
I frowned. Why not? It makes far more sense for her to simply get rid of me. While I’m still alive, I’m capable of causing her problems.
Yes, but you are now also involved with Charles. The Fontaines have been a powerful force within the House for years, and she cannot afford to have him offside at a time when her plans are nearing fruition. She will need to have concrete evidence against you—or at least against Catherine—before she can act.
The need for evidence was why she was having me followed, obviously. But that wouldn’t be the end of it, and it was those unknown plans that were worrying me.
Charles has said he can’t gainsay the chancellor, I said. Why would it be any different when it comes to Hedda Lang?
