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Argent put her sword away, but her expression did not soften.
“We’ll leave you to your business,” she said.
Turning, she led Adam back toward the car.
“Do you think he is telling the truth?”
“I don’t know,” Adam said. “He seemed pretty scared. Would you really have told the rest of the market what they did?”
“Yes. There is the greater public good to consider. If the imps are inviting harm in their dealings, others should know of it. That said, information obtained by coercion is often inaccurate. We’ll have to use the other avenues at our disposal.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t stick to the plan.”
Argent shook her head but her smile told him she wasn’t disappointed.
“You are a gentle soul, Adam, despite what you have faced. That is to be admired.”
“Tell that to the jocks back in high school.”
Adam hadn’t advertised his sexuality, but that had hardly mattered. He wasn’t the butchest guy, and with his Sight out of control, he’d been marked as a certified weirdo ripe for teasing.
“I do not think I understand the reference.”
“Don’t worry about it. It was a long time ago. I should probably let it go.”
His life now was so far from where he’d come from. There was no way teenage him could have imagined where he’d be now: a loving relationship with Vic, being the Page of Swords, albeit on probation. Even his friendship with the elves, especially Silver, would have shocked the Adam of years ago.
The secrets twisted in his guts. He didn’t like that he couldn’t simply ask Argent about the elven religion, about why the information about it was being hidden. And friends or not, he couldn’t trust anyone but Vic with the truth about Ian.
“You appear lost in thought.”
“Yeah. I was just thinking about the past and how the present would surprise my younger self.”
“I understand. If I may offer an immortal’s perspective—that feeling never goes away. You will be surprised, eternally, which is nice. That is what keeps it from getting boring. That said, a little boredom would be a pleasant respite.”
“Yes,” Adam agreed. “Enough of interesting times. Maybe we’ll get a break after this.”
“Perhaps. Regardless, keep the clothes. They may save your life.”
“Thank you.”
He didn’t often wish for her level of magic. It was a responsibility he didn’t want, but the ability to do more than cast a glamour, to just make his clothes over at will, would certainly be a real time and money saver when it came to laundry and wear.
While her gift meant losing a pair of battered work boots, jeans, and a T-shirt, the outfit was an upgrade, so he wouldn’t complain. Maybe she was right, and maybe he wouldn’t get hurt as much.
He remembered the look of worry on Vic’s face when he’d noticed the banshee scar. There might come a time, regardless of what Vic said about priorities, when Adam would need to choose him over this job. Everyone called him a hero, and thought they knew how that would go, but Adam disagreed, because he’d choose Vic every single time.
What they could really use was another vacation, a chance to reconnect without anyone else around. He’d need to figure out how to pay for it, of course.
They had to stop the banshees, and he had to find a way to keep Ian from becoming the Wolf that didn’t involve severing his nephew’s magic. That was the hardest thing about not being able to talk to Argent about it. He needed someone other than Vic to bounce his thoughts off of.
He almost stopped walking when he realized that there was someone else who knew he’d killed Ian. She’d know because she always knew. Maybe it was time to speak to Death.
“What now?” he asked Argent.
“We will try to identify the body from the market. Then we will see if Jack has had any success in finding the emails Cole Lawrence received.”
Wary of who might be listening, Adam asked, “What about the, uh, individual we discussed earlier?”
