by Karen Lynch
“Meaning what?” Fear sliced through me. Was he saying his magic couldn’t stop the royal guard?
“Meaning, I’ll have to add several layers of protection.” He smiled. “Don’t worry. You think your mother and father would let me ward your home if my wards weren’t some of the best?”
We walked to my parents’ room as Gloria came out and gave me a reassuring smile. The staff here was wonderful, and I’d miss them when my parents were moved to the treatment facility.
The agent posted outside the door put up a hand to stop us. “No unauthorized visitors allowed inside.”
“Tennin is a family friend, and he’s here at my request,” I told him.
The Agent shook his head. “No authorization, no entry.”
I crossed my arms. “Then call your superior and have them authorize him because he is going to enter that room.”
The two of us were locked in a stare down for a good ten seconds, until he nodded curtly and pulled out a phone. Tennin and I walked a few paces away while he made the call.
Tennin let out a low whistle when we were out of earshot. “You’ve come a long way from the girl who showed up at my place in November, and I feel compelled to add you’re hot when you’re bossy.”
I ignored his “hot” comment. “I’m not that girl anymore.”
“I think you are. A little jaded, maybe, but I still see her.”
Uncomfortable with his scrutiny, I changed the subject. “My father doesn’t know about my hunting or my involvement in their rescue. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention any of that around him.”
“You don’t think he’ll find out eventually?”
“I plan to tell him, but not until he’s stronger.” I glanced toward the room. “The drugs are messing with his head, and I don’t want to upset him.”
“Understood.”
The agent walked over to us. “You have permission to go in,” he said to Tennin.
I smiled at the agent. “Thank you.”
He gave his customary nod and went back to his post outside the door.
I crossed the hallway and entered the room. Walking to my father’s bed, I found him sleeping peacefully, thanks to the pain meds Gloria had administered. It killed me to know this would be his life for the immediate future, but there was no other way to recover from a goren addiction.
I turned to look at Tennin, who was frowning in the doorway. “You can come in.”
He waved a hand through the air, and a stream of pale green magic flowed from his fingertips and immediately dissipated. Taking a step into the room, he repeated the action with the same result. He pressed his lips together and finally met my gaze. “Your parents have already been warded.”
“What?”
Tennin nodded absently as he felt for the ward again. “And it’s a strong one, more powerful than mine.”
“Who would do that?” Other than me, the only people determined to protect my parents were the Agency, and they hadn’t mentioned a ward.
He didn’t answer right away. “Your mother and father have many bounty hunter friends. Perhaps one of them hired someone to ward your parents.”
My gaze swept the room as if I would spot the answer hiding in one of the corners. “It’s possible, but why wouldn’t they tell me? And how did they get in? The Agency has been guarding my parents around the clock.”
“That I cannot answer.” He swiped his hand through the air again as if testing the ward. “But this is the best ward money can buy. It will stop any attack from human or faerie. A bomb could go off in this room, and your parents wouldn’t get a scratch.”
“But it doesn’t keep faeries out if you’re able to come in.”
He put a hand to his chin. “It’s a very complex ward, made up of multiple layers. It would only allow me entry when you asked me to come in, and I suspect only you or your parents can invite a faerie in.”
Shock mingled with my relief. My parents were safe, but I had no idea who would go through this trouble for them.
Tennin smiled. “I guess my work here is done.”
“Wait. The old ward you did at my apartment required an incantation to let faeries in. This one doesn’t?”
“This is far more advanced than that one. You only have to invite a faerie into the room.”
“Like inviting a vampire in,” I said dryly, and he laughed.
I walked over to him. “Mom and Dad will be moved to the treatment facility in Long Island in a few days. Will you ward their room at the facility when they go there?”
“That won’t be necessary. When I said your parents were warded, I meant the magic is attached to them, not the room. The ward will stay with them wherever they go.”
I gaped at him. “You can ward a person?”
“If you know what you’re doing, yes. It’s not common knowledge, but many of your world leaders have body wards to protect them from assassination.”
“What about your royals? Are they warded, too?” I thought about the assassination attempt on Prince Vaerik that I’d help thwart. Had he been safe all along?
“Our own magic interferes with other magic, so wards don’t work on us.” Tennin smirked. “Except to keep us out.”
I digested this new bit of knowledge. “There is so much I don’t know.”
Tennin looked past me at my sleeping parents. “For a girl who doesn’t know much, you’ve done well. I’ll admit I didn’t have high expectations at first, and I’ve never been so happy to be proven wrong.” He lowered his voice. “Don’t tell your mother and father that I sent you to Teg’s.”
I laughed at his look of mock terror. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
He said he had to leave, and I walked him to the stairway exit since he hated to use the elevator.
“Tennin?” I said when we reached the door.
“What’s on your mind, Jesse?”
“Do you know if…?” I pressed my lips together as I thought of how to voice my question. “Can you tell me if Faris is okay? I understand if you can’t talk about him. I’d just like to know he made it.”
Surprise flickered in his eyes. “I haven’t heard anything, but if he had died, it would have been announced at court.”
I let out a breath. “That’s good to know.”
He tilted his head to study me. “You’re not going to ask about Lukas?”
“No.”
“If that’s all then.” He reached for the door.
“There is one more thing. Do you have time to redo the ward at my apartment while you’re in town?”
He let go of the doorknob. “You have no ward at home? What happened to the one I created for your parents?”
“It was kind of destroyed when Conlan created a ward on the apartment.”
“You should be good then. His magic is as strong as mine, maybe stronger.”
I shifted uncomfortably. “His ward also lets him and his friends enter my home whenever they want.”
“Ah.”
“Exactly. I hired another faerie when I couldn’t get you, but he wasn’t able to take down Conlan’s ward.”
“I’m not surprised.” He stroked his chin. “I’ll come by in a few days and see what I can do.”
“Thanks.” I didn’t ask him how much it would cost because I already knew it wouldn’t be cheap. A ward like his old one could run upward of five thousand dollars, but leaving things as they were was not an option. I tried not to think of my other expenses, such as the building’s intermittent water pressure problems that were most likely going to require a very expensive plumber.
“Okay then.” Tennin opened the door. “I’m out of here. Prince Rhys is in town, and I found out where he’s having dinner tonight.”
“Of course, you did.”
He smirked. “See you around, Jesse.”
* * *
“Jesse, you haven’t listened to a word I’ve said.”
Violet’s exasperated voice broke my concentration, and I glanced up from my task. �
��Sorry. But you were amazing the first four times you ran through the lines. I didn’t think you needed me to listen again.”
Her scowl transformed into a pleased smile. “You’re just saying that.”
“You’re fishing for compliments. You know those lines so well you can probably say them in your sleep. Like I told you an hour ago, those people are idiots if they don’t give you that part.”
“You’re right.” She tossed the pages she’d been reading on the coffee table and sank down on the other end of the couch to grin at me. “How long have you been at that?”
I shrugged and adjusted the position of the pick I was using to free myself from the shackles on my wrists. “About an hour.”
“I thought you’d already figured out how to pick every lock in this place, Miss Smarty Pants.”
“Every normal lock. These are Agency shackles, and the lock is a lot more complicated. I’ve been working on them for the last few days, and I’m determined to get it tonight.”
In addition to training with Maren, I’d dedicated time each day to practicing with my parents’ weapons and mastering my lockpicking skills. I had also been going through Mom’s computer files that detailed every one of their jobs. Her notes were meticulous. If she and Dad ever wanted to retire from hunting, they could make a killing writing how-to books.
Violet snorted indelicately. “You expecting the Agency to arrest you?”
“Not anymore, but it never hurts to be prepared for any situation. I… Ow!” I rubbed my ear as I glared up at the tree house across the room. There was no sign of Finch, but I knew the little brat was watching me from behind the vines that covered his house. “Stop that!”
“Why is your brother throwing peanuts at you?” Violet asked, not trying to hide her amusement.
“He’s sulking because I went to the hospital without him to see Dad.” I raised my voice. “And if he doesn’t behave, I might not take him tomorrow.”
An indignant whistle came from the tree house, and I bent my head to hide my smile. I’d never follow through on that threat, but it was enough to make him stop trying to injure me.
Violet snickered and picked up the TV remote. She turned on the TV and flipped through the channels while I went back to trying to pick the shackle lock.
“Did the doctor say when your mom and dad will be moved to the treatment facility?”
“Not for another week, at least.”
As much as I wanted my parents to get better, I wasn’t looking forward to the move. Dr. Reddy had informed me last week that the facility limited family visits to only one a week for the first month. I was already trying to figure out a way around that restriction, more for Finch’s sake than mine. He was going to be crushed when he found out he couldn’t go see them every day.
“Once again, here is tonight’s top story,” said a female voice from the television. I looked up at the breaking news headline scrolling across the bottom of the screen beneath a live aerial view of a big house in Hollywood hills. “Jackson Chase has died. The twenty-one-year-old actor, who famously began an exclusive relationship with Princess Nerissa last summer, died earlier today during an apparent failed conversion.”
Violet and I shared a stunned look before turning our attention back to the television. The news anchor tried unsuccessfully to maintain a solemn expression, but the gleam in her eyes betrayed her excitement as she recited the limited details they had about the star’s death. As she spoke, a clip played that showed agents leading a sobbing dark-haired faerie from the house.
“Is that the princess?” I asked.
Violet nodded and placed a hand on her throat. “She looks totally destroyed.”
I swung my gaze back to the news report that was replaying the same footage on a loop. “Why would they risk it?”
Violet wiped away a tear. “They were in love. I guess they couldn’t bear the thought of not being together.”
“But he was too old. They had to know it would never work.”
“Love makes you do crazy things.” Violet shook her head sadly. “Poor Princess Nerissa. What do you think will happen to her?”
I lifted a shoulder. “Nothing. She’ll probably just be sent home.”
It didn’t matter that the princess had broken the law and violated numerous treaties. She was Fae royalty and not subject to punishment in our realm, no matter how serious the crime. And there were few crimes more grievous than an unsanctioned conversion.
Conversion was a simple term for the process to change a human into a faerie. It was so dangerous that it was illegal unless permission was granted by a member of the Fae monarchy. In the rare event that it was allowed, there were certain conditions that had to be met.
The first condition was that the human had to be sixteen or younger. Once the body finished puberty, the risk of it rejecting the change increased exponentially. The younger the human, the greater their chance of survival.
The second was that the child had to be terminally ill. No healthy children were allowed, and there were no exceptions.
The third condition was that only a royal could perform the conversion because of the amount of magic required. Not all royals were created equal, so only faeries with the bluest blood were powerful enough to attempt it.
Even if all conditions were met, there was still a risk of the child not surviving the change. To my knowledge, there had been only nineteen successful conversions in the thirty years the Fae had lived among us. All of the children had been under the age of sixteen.
Violet lowered the volume on the television. “I know what she did was wrong, but I feel so bad for her. If I were in Jackson Chase’s shoes, I might have done the same thing.”
“No, you wouldn’t.” When we were younger, she used to talk about what it would be like to be a faerie, but she never would have left her parents or me.”
She sighed. “You’re right. My life is too awesome to risk it.”
I snorted and went back to trying to free myself from the shackles. I had barely fitted the pick into the lock when my phone vibrated on the couch beside me. I looked down at the screen and frowned at the Agency insignia displayed there. Picking up the phone, I logged into their secure app and read the message I’d received.
“Something wrong?” Violet asked.
“It’s a notification to go to the Plaza tomorrow for an important announcement.” I set the phone down. “The only other time I got one of those messages, it was about the two kelpies in the East River.”
She pursed her lips. “You don’t think it has something to do with Jackson Chase, do you?”
I resumed work on the shackles. “They already know what happened, so I can’t see why they’d involve us. Plus, something that high level would be handled by the Agency.”
She started flipping through channels again, and it was no surprise to see most of them were covering the Jackson Chase story. This was as big as Prince Rhys’s debut last month, maybe bigger, and people would be talking about it for a long time.
I held my breath when my pick found a mechanism inside the lock that I hadn’t noticed in all my hours of trying to pick the shackles. It was cleverly hidden behind the row of pins I’d been working on for what seemed like forever, and it moved when I nudged it carefully with the pick.
My stomach fluttered when the tiny lever clicked into place, and I eagerly went back to the pins. Seconds later, I let out a triumphant whoop when the shackles sprang open.
Chapter 2
“JESSE, OVER HERE,” Trey called when I entered the crowded lobby of the Plaza the next morning. Looking around, I found him and Bruce standing off to my far right, and I headed over to join them.
Bruce smiled broadly. “I heard your father woke up yesterday. How is he?”
“He’s still a bit out of it, but the doctor said that will pass. I’m going to see him and Mom tonight. The doctor said she’ll wake up soon.”
“Tell them they are missed,” Bruce said.
I leaned against
the wall beside him. “If you want, I’ll try to get you added to their visitor list.”
“I’d like that.”
“Dad would, too.” I scanned the lobby, seeing a lot of familiar faces and a few new ones. “You know what this meeting is about?”
“No idea.” Bruce’s brow furrowed, and I followed his gaze to the main entrance where three agents had entered the lobby. My lip curled at the sight of Agent Curry, whom I’d had some not-so-pleasant dealings with last month. The fact that he’d freed me from the cage in Rogin’s basement hadn’t made me forget how determined he’d been to prove my parents were guilty of crimes they didn’t commit.
I recognized one of the men as his partner, Agent Ryan. The third man looked familiar, but I couldn’t place him. The way he walked in front of the other two agents told me he was in charge.
“Do you know who that is?” I asked Bruce.
“Ben Stewart.” Bruce watched the agents cross the lobby. “He runs the New York Special Crimes division.”
“I knew I recognized him from somewhere.” Ben Stewart was Agent Curry’s boss and the person who had ordered Curry to stop harassing me after Violet’s mother had talked to him on my behalf. I’d seen him in passing when I went to the Agency to give my statement two weeks ago, but he hadn’t spoken to me. I wondered why the Agency’s head of Special Crimes was at the Plaza.
The elevator opened, and Levi Solomon got off, along with the other bond agents who worked in the building. They shook hands with the three agents and conversed for a few minutes before they turned to face the room.
Ben Stewart stepped forward, and everyone grew quiet as an air of anticipation filled the lobby. Whatever he was going to say had to be big to summon us all here like this.
“Thank you all for coming today,” said the sandy-haired man who looked to be in his early thirties. He went on to introduce himself and his two companions before he finally got to the reason for his visit. “What I’m about to share with you is highly classified information. Something of this nature is normally handled within the Agency, but the need for expediency requires us to utilize all available resources.”
