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12
SADIE
The Rink’s an open playground today for all the Houses. Muses fly from spotlight to spotlight, Nymphs zip in the air above the stands, and the Mad Maes dance drunkenly above the skating track. Which leaves me and my sisters skating for fun with the Gorgons—wings out.
Tisia skates next to me, wearing a different Hack and Ale shirt today. Her split lip has scabbed, and a dark bruise covers part of her face. “Hate I missed makeovers and manicures last night. I hear you put on quite the show.”
I shake my head. “They came for free samples of product my brand releases next spring, not for me.”
“Still, it probably helped argue the case this morning to the Syndicate that you had zero connection to any supposed jailbreak by the marshal and me.”
“Freaking Huntresses. They didn’t have the right to lock either of you up.” I dodge a basketball game with the net forty feet in the air and no penalties for wings or fouls.
“They wouldn’t show their faces at the open rink after that judgment. Not when they’d be the only wingless ones here.” She snickers. “Except the Styx and those dead bitches wouldn’t know how to cut loose and have a good time. Why isn’t your marshal here?”
“He’s not my marshal.”
“Suuure. Except Bunny mentioned she scented you on him.”
“What? When?” That rabbit.
“When she was helping Stone bust me out last night.”
“No.” I flare my wings. “I mean when did she sniff him?”
“Jealous?” Leave it to Tisia to make me ask such ridiculous questions.
“No. What he does is none of my business.” Except if I’m still imagining freaking colors the next time I see him, I’ll wring his wolf neck. “Kiva said he was supposed to head out this morning on a seaplane.”
“The Syndicate allowed that?” Her shock mirrors my own from earlier. “Aircraft haven’t been authorized to fly near Syn City in years.”
“They let a marshal come to town. What the hell difference will a plane make?”
“True. But he’s your marshal.” Tisia makes kissing noises.
“Don’t make me gag.”
“Your sisters seem happy with their mates.” She lifts her chin toward where Kiva battles Stone with foam swords they obviously swiped from the merch booths while Dottie plays flirty tag with Chase in his mountain lion form bounding over the rows of chairs. Both my sisters use their wings to their advantage.
“They are. But I’m not meant to be a marshal’s mate.” I try not to think of his off-handed comment about going back to Nashville with him. As if I could.
“He could get a new job.”
“The marshal’s office is his life, has been since before I turned Fury. It’s his purpose, the same as seeking revenge for my family is mine. If we’re lucky we can help each other out before we go our separate ways.”
“That sucks.” Bumping into me, she says, “Hey, maybe you two can scratch a wolfy itch before he goes.” She waggles her brows.
“You’re bad.”
“I’m the worst.” She grins and hardly flinches when the movement pulls at her wounds. The woman’s derby tough. Her smile falls, and she jerks her head toward the mid-level deck where the main entries open to outside. Devlyn and the Huntresses walk in. “Looks like I jinxed sexy times for everybody. What are the prude police doing here?”
I manage not to blush. While I don’t go around judging people’s sex lives like the Huntresses do, I’m no more experienced than they are. That’s what I get for crushing on a wolf who’s married to the marshal service and more interested in what good I might be in solving a big case that’ll land him a promotion than seeing me for me. “No idea. I thought they’d be pouting over the Syndicate’s decision.”
“I still don’t know what happened at the bar yesterday, but they’ve shut the Hack and Ale down indefinitely.”
“Sorry, Tisia.”
“Not your fault. The whole damn city has gone crazy.” She seems to be counting the green uniforms with her pointer finger and not on the sly. “The two who were practicing their archery at the bar when all hell broke loose? They’re not here.”
