She read the message on the torso, cut into his flesh and wiped enough so she could read the bloody letters:My pleasure.
“Unless you’d like me to kill him for you?”the fae had said.“It would be my pleasure. Just say the word.”
Everyone’s faces turned toward her. Henry’s eyes flicked up from his phone.
“What’s that?” Kieran faced her full-on, dressed in sweatpants with no shirt or shoes. He was no less ready for battle.
Lexi’s eyes tightened, and a pang of guilt hit Daisy’s gut. This would worry Lexi. Daisy hated doing that.
“He doesn’t correlate to any of the other murders,” she repeated, pulling the ponytail holder off her wrist where she kept it and tying her hair back. “He’s the bartender at the hotel where the charity event was held.”
Thane, his hands on his hips, narrowed his eyes. “The Chester-killer you saw last night?”
“Yep,” she drawled, nodding. “One and the same.”
The sky darkened with clouds above them, Kieranaffecting the weather unconsciously while very likely trying to control his turbulent emotions. Finally, Amber broke the silence, asking what they were probably all thinking.
“It has the dove feather. Was it done by the fae who’s been plaguing this realm?”
A nervous flutter stirred in Daisy’s stomach. “Almost certainly, yes,” she said, pulling her lips to the side and looking on the ground. She turned slightly toward Zorn but didn’t dare look at him. She needed to know what and how much to say, but she didn’t want them to know he was keeping secrets for her.
“And so…” Amber hesitated. “Why would the fae kill this person? The one you saw last night. If it doesn’t relate to the other deaths, I mean.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Daisy saw Zorn’s very slight head tilt. A nod, of sorts. He was telling her to spill a little info.
Kieran’s eyes flashed that way, noticing Zorn. A peal of thunder rolled across the sky.Shit.Worrying Lexi was one thing, but going head to head with Kieran was entirely another.
“Short story?—”
“I’d like the longer version,” Kieran growled. Lexi put a hand on his forearm.
“Short story,” Daisy repeated, “is that he made an appearance at the charity event the other night and informed me that the bartender was a Chester-killer. I hadn’t known. He offered to…dispose of said bartender for me. That it would be his pleasure. I declined.” A few mouths dropped open incredulously. “I didn’t mention it because I’ve been told not to say anything. By the fae. I’ve been told to keep his business private.”
“Since when do you do what other people tell you to do?” Jack asked in a rough voice, his customary good humor utterly absent.
“Since it would put my family in jeopardy,” Daisy replied sternly. “You know all you need to know already. Hopefully whatever is on that computer will help you learn more. The other stuff isn’t relevant.”
“Isn’t relevant—” Lexi rubbed a hand down her face and slumped. Knowing her, her ire was rising fast and the need to do something violent to protect her “kid” was boiling her blood.
Kieran stared at Daisy, those blue eyes stormier than she had seen them in a long time, not since they’d found a moment of peace from the world of Demigods.
“Just to be absolutely clear”—Amber put out her hands, probably to forestall Kieran from blowing up—“this death has absolutelynothingto do with the other deaths within this realm. Zero to do with them. Even though it carries the dove feather…”
Her voice trailed off suspiciously, and her look was poignant. The eyebrow quirk was to clue everyone else in, and her glimmering eyes said she’d figured out what no one else had thought of. Despite deaths cropping up in this realm from as far back as four years ago, the feather hadn’t started turning up until six months ago.That had been directly after the situation with Mordecai’s ex-woman, Mr. Bathtub, and Kieran’s need to mess with the winds to ensure no Celestials changed their minds and decided to pay Daisy a house call. It had been right after they’d learned of the fae’s plans and what magical item they sought.
Amber had probably been toiling away on that talisman, the feather, all this time, wondering why it had started showing up—if it was someone new killing people or another reason. This incident had supplied the missing piece and clicked everything else into place, clear as day. Damn it, that bitch was much too smart. This was why Daisy’s girl crush on Amber never, ever waned.
She ground her teeth in frustration, though a smirk of respect slipped into her expression.
The other woman’s lips tweaked slightly as well. This was payback for sneaking past Amber's radar the other week. Just wait until Daisy used that info. She’d regain the upper hand in their friendly battle yet.
“Nothing to do with each other except for the dove feather, yes,” Daisy said, pausing before the part Amber was prodding her into revealing. “The dove feather has always been for my benefit.” She took a deep breath. “You call me gremlin. He calls medove.”
Someone sucked in an audible breath of surprise, though she couldn’t identify who. Magic raked through Daisy’s middle, like it was trying to rip out her verysoul. She winced in pain—they all did. Lexi’s slip of control, no matter how minor, was terrible.
Amber nodded slightly. She’d been right. That fae had a personal connection to Daisy. Now they all knew it.
“Inside,now,” Kieran said as a thunderclap shook the ground. Dark clouds rolled toward the city. The weather would not be great for Magical San Francisco today. “You’re keeping information from us. I don’t give two shits why. That ends now. Someone get rid of that body. He got what was coming to him.”
