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There’s no doubt many spellcasters will be willing to get rid of Cyella if she finds herself looking into more than mid-level magical felonies. What if they find her before she finds them? A seemingly female blurry mage with undoubtedly some of the strongest wards I’ve ever encountered narrows down the potential identity of my forger by an awful lot.
“I own you one,” I tell Steve as I drive off, realizing I should leave town even if Cyella continues to keep my own name out of the press.
What’s to keep Greiko or anyone else from doing the same? Maybe if I leave a business completely in his hands, he’ll stay quiet and so will Felicity. Lucy could be gifted my share of the piano bar, even if her mother has to run it on the youngling’s behalf.
How soon can I transfer some investments to Greiko?I send the text to my lawyer and call Eloise.
“I can’t remember the place Greiko took Cyella for their honeymoon,” I tell her voicemail, skipping the greeting and explaining my plan to surprise the two with another trip there. All I remember from the numerous diatribes Greiko went on about the place is that they all made me envious. “I can’t remember the name, but I’m sure you will.”
I hang up and wonder how pathetic the gift will look, even though I’ll be out of town by the time they get it. I’m not stupid enough to think it’ll keep Cyella from revealing a thing or change Greiko’s mind by itself. But maybe the fact I’ll be staying gone will.
Topside anywhere is better than deportation, I think as I head home to brainstorm. I just need Felicity to hear me out. She doesn’t have to trust me yet.
25
FELICITY
When Argoss sees me standing in the living room, his eyes widen, and he drops his keys in surprise. “Felicity, you’re here.”
I’m expecting him to be angrier. The last time we spoke, he’d been a total asshole, but now, he’s almost tentative. “I got your calls.”
He grimaces at that. “Right. I’m sor – I probably shouldn’t have done that.”
I hear the beginnings of an apology in there. It’s not good enough, not by a long shot, but it is a decent start. “I needed space to think.”
He glances behind me, craning his neck. “Is Lucy here?”
“She’s in her room,” I reply, crossing my arms. “I’ve already talked with her, so she knows she’s not in trouble, but she’s staying there while we have a chat. Like adults this time, please.”
He inhales sharply in a wince, closing his eyes. “Probably deserve that.”
“Yeah, you do, and more. I’m still pissed,” I say, crossing my arms. “You don’t get to talk to me the way that you did. I don’tcare if you were angry or scared or insulted. You have no right to talk to anyone like that.”
“Understood,” he replies, and I’m suddenly thrown off balance. The Argoss from a few days ago would at least grumble about it, but he seems different. Did I really get through to him by leaving? Or is this some kind of manipulation tactic?
I continue anyway. “You went back on your word, using me and Lucy without telling us what was really going on. If you had been honest with me from the start about why you wanted to get married, I would have agreed to it.”
Unbidden tears prickle at my eyes. “I was falling for you. Did you know that? I thought maybe you felt the same way about me, but you didn’t care about us enough to tell the truth. I had to find out from a fucking note left on my car. Do you have any idea how humiliating that is?”
He stays silent, his face impassive, and it makes me want to scream. “And then, when I confront you about it, you attack me. You act like expecting the truth is selfish just because it's inconvenient foryou.”
I’m pacing the room like a caged lion. “Now, all I can think about is what’s going to happen the first time Lucy makes a mistake or even a just choice you don’t disagree with. Are you going to berate her like you berated me? I’m an adult. I don’t like it, but I can take it. But Lucy is a child. A brilliant, brave, resilient child, but still a child. And she looks up to you so much. You could destroy her with a word if you’re going to push her every time you don’t get your way.”
“I wouldn’t,” he says softly, and I whip around on him.
“Is she safe with you? You’re so reckless when you think you have something to prove. The first time she gets an F on a test, will you encourage her or will you call her stupid? Will you make her so afraid of failure that she’ll never come forward and ask for help when she needs it? Will you only praise her when shedoes whatyouneed and never give her a chance to think about herself?”
“I-I didn’t think of that,” he says.
I let out a bitter laugh. “Of course not. Why would you? All you seem to care about is what’s best for Argoss, but that’s not how parenting works. When you have a child, they are entirely dependent on you, so you have to put them first.”
With a groan, I take a seat on the plush leather couch. “I don’t know if I can trust you to do that. I don’t know if I can trust you, period, after breaking your word and lying to me for months.” I sigh, saying the part I’ve been dreading. “I don’t think being married to you is a good idea anymore.”
Argoss sits on the opposite end of the couch. Normally, he spreads out, taking up as much space as possible, but now he’s sitting up tight in his spot, his back ramrod straight.
Finally, he responds. “We can’t get a divorce. Not yet, anyway. But I can make a compromise.”
I glance up at him, furrowing my brows. “What kind of compromise?”
