Amelia gave a jerky nod and took a deep inhale. Immediately, the shaking of her shoulders quelled a tad. I wondered how many times she’d had to forcibly calm her nerves to keep up appearances.
I placed a hand on her arm. “After tonight, you won’t have to live in fear. Everything will be back to normal.”
“Back to normal,” Amelia whispered hopefully.
“Mr. Smith will once again be the amazing man you married,” I added. “I promise.”
A small sob escaped her, but she cut the emotion off. “Okay. I’m ready.”
As soon as the senator’s wife disappeared through the crowds, I grabbed Hunter’s hand and led him out of the ballroom to the nursery. I knew where it was. On one of the nanny’s nights off, my parents had recruited me to babysit the Smiths’ son while the four adults indulged in too much wine. I’d been so annoyed that night, but not anymore. Their desire to party then had given me the insider knowledge I needed to pass my trial now.
Or so I hoped.
We climbed the stairs two at a time and dashed into the nursery a few minutes later.
“This is a nursery?!” Hunter exclaimed, spinning on the spot. “It’s as big as a freaking tennis court! How much room does one kid need to play? And why does he need toys the size of small cars?”
“Who cares? Hurry up, we have to hide.” I pointed to the window with thick, navy curtains. “Get behind those. When they come in, wait until you hear Amelia say the code word.”
Hunter nodded, and I gestured for him to go first. If his body was invisible behind the heavy curtains, I would have no problem hiding. Once he was situated, only the gleaming tips of his shoes stuck out. He had massive feet, so that was no surprise. After a few seconds of analyzing just how visible his black shoes were in the dark, I decided it was fine. We wouldn’t be hiding behind the curtain for long anyhow.
I took my spot.
While we waited, I wondered what the audience in Merlin Amphitheater was making of our performance. So far, there hadn’t been as much spectacle as I’d heard from other trials, but that was okay, right? I couldn’t imagine all real-life spy missions being epic battles. We practiced stealth and charm for a reason.
The door to the nursery snicked open, halting all my doubts and sending ice through my veins. It was time.
“He’s just in here, honey,” Amelia said, her tone cheery.
“Shouldn’t he have gone to bed hours ago? What kind of nanny are you hiring for our son?” The senator’s voice was clipped, almost a growl.
“He woke up and wanted to join the party, but Raven persuaded him to play with his toys. It was a smart move. You know how distracting Ethan can be. You’d get no work done if he appeared downstairs.”
Senator Smith grunted. “Well, where is he? Ethan? Are you hiding from Daddy?” A few more steps resonated through the room and then stopped. “Dammit, I have work to do! Where is he, Amelia?”
Whatever demon was inside the senator, it had a mega short fuse.
Amelia cleared her throat. “He must be playing hide and seek again. Ethan, honey where are you?”
Her heels clacked on the wood floor as she pretended to walk around. I hoped she was making her way back to the door like we discussed.
Thirty excruciating seconds later, the tapping of heels on the floor ceased, and Mrs. Smith took a shaky breath. “Or maybe he’s playing pineapple pin drop?”
My heart lunged in my throat. There it was. The nonsense code word Hunter had come up with.
“Pineapple pin drop? What in the hell is that—”
The door slammed shut.
“Amelia!” Footsteps sounded, moving away from us. “What’s going on?”
We stepped out from behind the curtain just in time to see the senator reach for the doorknob. A burst of Hunter’s green magic flew past the senator, freezing him in his tracks and locking us in with the demon.
“Hello, Senator Smith,” I said.
The senator turned, and a look of recognition swept over his face. Whatever demon possessed him had been there long enough to read some old memories.
“Odette Dane? Why are you here?”
