Sophia looks at me expectantly. “The witches are not being patient. They want the figurine in trusted hands and don’t consider the Leonids as being that.”
Ah, yes, what this meeting is actually about.
I sigh. “I need more time. I will not give in to the Leonids’ demands in exchange for the figurine. Their price is too steep.”
I’d thought that being patient and waiting the shifters out would cause them to give another price I’d be willing to pay, but they are sticking to their original demand.
“What are they requesting for the figurine?” Mace asks. “Just curious of course.”
I roll my eyes and tell him anyway. I need him and Sophia in the know for their next assignment. “They want the northern fae gate. They say they are getting into imports and exports.”
“Imports and exports, of course that’s what they are after.” Mace snarls.
He has a potent hatred for trafficking and has worked hard to stomp out every ring to crop up this side of the gates. The location of the northern gate is very remote. Ideal for that use case, and I have no reason to believe they’d use it for anything else.
The gate stands unused and sealed by the magic that gives me ownership. If it were closer to civilization it could be useful to me, but I have other gates that are much better situated for actual imports and exports of goods. As it is, the presence of the northern gate is a nuisance. An indestructible nuisance crafted with forgotten magic.
“Exactly,” I say. “I need you two to get me all the information you can about the Leonids. Specifically, anything that will give me leverage to demand new terms.”
“I don’t know why you don’t just destroy them,” Sophia says. She’s a harpy. Being bloodthirsty goes hand in hand with her kind. “You’re a big, fiery baddy, aren’t you?”
I sigh with patience like I haven’t explained this to her before. “Balance is important. If I take out a whole organization without a thought to who will replace them, we could be handing the position to someone worse. I don’t want to be a dictator. I’m too old to want to spend every moment policing everyone else. I won’t do that just to get the figurine back.”
It will require the situation to become much more dire for me to risk having to deal with the Council by upsetting their “balance.”
“What do you want me to tell the witches?” Sophia asks. The witches prefer only speaking with women. With the number of power players that are like the Leonids in the game, I don’t blame them.
“I need you to convince them to be patient,” I say. “I will not abandon the figurine. Tell them the stakes are high for the safety of many paranormals if you must.”
If I’d known that letting Katarina leave with the figurine would have caused so many headaches, I’d have locked her up in the caverns under this house after that night and just kept her there.
That’s not true though. My dragon doesn’t care for these games. He gave the piece of the hoard away for the woman’s company. He only disliked when I stepped in and made sure we couldn’t continue anything resembling a relationship after that night.
Mace stands. “I think Sophia can convince them.”
Sophia raises both brows at him. “Oh really?”
“You are very clever, love.”
The harpy who’s skewered at least one man’s balls with her talons according to my records blushes.
“Send the bill and your report about the Leonids when you can,” I say. I hire them because they are skilled, not because I want to watch them simper after each other.
“We’ll show ourselves out,” Mace says, and there’s a gleam in his eyes that gives me warning. “Odd that Ben seems so preoccupied of late.”
“I’ll show you out,” I say, if only to keep the demon from snooping. I’d hate to have to kill him. I like him half of the time.
16
KATARINA
GRIFFIN CLEANS UP WELL. After Ben took Stella home, we go for a supply run. It took watching some videos online, but eventually, the cat has been bathed, fed, and is sleeping comfortably on my bed.
I’d asked Ben not to tell Kalos about the cat, and he had sighed as if I’d told him Maggie was never going to make her award-winning potatoes again. I won’t tell him, but he’ll find out. You can’t keep the cat a secret forever, he’d said.
I don’t need to keep Griffin a secret forever… just for now. I run my fingers through his fur which is a full shade lighter now that it’s been washed, and he buries his face into the blanket on the bed in delight. Happiness glows in my chest. Being chosen by a cat may be a joke to some people, but the warmth of him under my hand and his rumbling purr just make me happy.
I don’t want to pop that bubble for anything, especially not to tell Kalos. The house is big enough that he probably won’t even notice Griffin prowling around. I’ll keep him in the giant bathroom and closet combination at night when Kalos visits and go from there.
I sigh and check the time. Maggie said she wanted to do a health check before dinner, so I leave the cozy cat on my bed after some belly rubs.
As always, the kitchen smells amazing. Maggie sees me and points me toward the table and chairs of the breakfast nook that we all eat at during the day. The set-up is much smaller than the dining table and has a comfortable bench at the back below a large window.
Maggie hustles over after checking all the pots on the stove. “Ben told me about the cat.”
My mouth drops open, and Maggie laughs.
“I thought he was capable of keeping a secret,” I say.
Maggie shakes her head. “He’s a gossip, or at least with me he is. He won’t tell Kalos because you asked him not to though. I’m glad you have a pet. I’d love to meet him when he isn’t a secret anymore.”
“His name is Griffin, and he’s perfect,” I say.
Maggie grins. “I have no doubt about that. Cats are always perfect.”
“I’m letting him settle in, but maybe in a couple of days he’ll have free range of the house.”
I hold out my hands for Maggie to check on the baby, and she takes them. The zing of her magic always tickles, and I focus on staying still. She takes longer this time, her brow furrowing in concentration before she smiles at me again, but it’s tighter now.
“I have some concerns, but I think we should talk to Kalos about them.”
The blood drains from my face. “What?”
Is it odd to be so attached to something that happened by accident? Maybe, but I don’t care. This is my baby, and there’s something wrong. Are they okay? What if I ate something I wasn’t supposed to? I haven’t even checked the chemicals I use for work. I always wear gloves, but could they have hurt the baby?
“It’s nothing serious yet,” she says firmly and pulls me to stand with her. “Let us go talk to him.”
I focus on controlling my breathing as we walk, and tears start to well in my eyes. Something is wrong, and I don’t know what to do. Maggie pats my hand in reassurance, but it doesn’t help the spikes of worry tearing at my heart.
What if it’s my fault?
I don’t think I could bear the guilt.