Seir leaned forward and looked at me with excitement, and Tap squeezed my fingers encouragingly.
“Okay.”
Meg clapped her hands. “I’m so happy! Thank you, Phin, I’m excited to talk with you.”
“Perfect. Next order of business…” Keplar spoke about a few more things, most to do with the new distribution of management for the portals and other agreements between demons, angels, mages, and stone kin, but I couldn’t hear aword. Blood rushed in my ears as I processed what had just happened.
“Thank you all for coming,” Keplar said finally. “We’ll set something up in a few weeks to check in.” Goodbyes were said, and he tapped the orb, closing all the windows of light. “Good to meet you,” he said, raising his hand to Tap and I. “Seir, come see me tomorrow, yes?”
“Yes sir.”
“Good. I’m off to fill out Rune’s forms.” He sighed and wasted no time leaving and we were not far behind him.
“Come on, I’ll take you to Rune,” Seir said. “Meg’s really nice, you’ll like working with her.”
“Am I accepting?” I said, heart pounding out of nervousness.
“Why wouldn’t you?” Tap asked. “It sounds perfect for you.”
“Don’t I already have a job?”
He smiled and kissed my forehead. “No, beloved. You have a project. One that will wait until you streamline everything that’s wrong with the rest of the system. Everything I should have questioned this entire time.” He smiled. “A wise woman once suggested it might have been simpler if I had.”
I just chuckled, pleased I didn’t have to be the one to mention it.
“Storage, she said. I’ve brought down so. Many. Crates.” Seir groaned. “They could have told me!”
As we turned the third corner in the labyrinthine halls, both Tap and Seir stopped, staring at another man who was walking toward us. Part of Seir’s cookie even fell out of his mouth, landing on the floor in a pile of crumbs.
“I’ll be double damned,” Tap swore.
“Triple for me,” Seir muttered.
The man was built larger than either Tap or Seir and wore leather armor that covered his shoulders and torso as well as wrist bracers. He carried two large swords, both slung across hisback in a scabbard that had seen better days. The sides of his head were shaved almost to the skin up to the tops of his ears, but the rest of his dark-blond hair was long and wound up in a messy knot atop his head. There were at least as many rings in his ears as in Tap’s, and small letter tattoos ran in a thin line down the side of his neck.
“What in Hell’s pits areyoudoing here?” Seir chuckled as he threw his arms around the newcomer, their hands thumping along one another’s shoulders heavily. “It’s been an age, brother.”
“Only since Rylan’s wedding, but I agree, it’s always too long between visits. Though I’m nearly done with my contract, finally, so perhaps that will change.” He turned to Tap. “I didn’t know you ever left the crossroads. You’re as tied to that place as I’m beholden to the training grounds.”
“Things change, Ipos.” Tap smiled, and the pair embraced.
“And thank the Fates they do.”
“Cookie?” Seir offered the nearly empty plate.
“Don’t mind if I do,” he said, eyes closing as he savored the first bite. “Hellfire. There’s very little flavor in anything served at the grounds. These are fantastic.” The two battled for the last cookies on the plate, but in the end Seir lost. Though it might have been fairer to say the cookies lost, as they were little more than a pile of dust by the end. Ipos didn’t seem to mind, though, he just dumped the contents of the plate into his mouth. “My compliments.”
“I can’t take credit; Phin made them.”
Ipos turned his eyes to me as Tap threaded his fingers through mine and squeezed. His dark eyebrows raised, golden gaze curious. “I assume that’s you?”
“Yes, hello. I’m glad you like them.”
“Beloved, this is our brother, Ipos. Ipos, this is my mate, Phin. ”
“Pleasure to meet you, Phin.” He stepped forward to shake my hand. I was surprised to find that his grip was gentle despite how thoroughly his hand enveloped mine.
“And you.”
