“We agree,” I said. “For three months, Jacob and Justice will be part of your secret service. But—” I said, when he opened his mouth. “They will be free to leave in reasonably regular intervals. Both of them have lives and responsibilities in our world, and sometimes that will have to take precedence.”
His jaw clenched again. “Fine. I agree. Now can you lower the barrier?”
His people had stopped shooting at us some time ago, all of them clearly able to see that he was okay. I dropped my magic and wasn’t at all surprised by the hostility that was being directed my way.
“I expect you to report to work this afternoon,” the president said. He then turned and jerked his head at one of the men closest to him.
“Marcus will show you the ropes.” He waved the man over. “He’s a highly skilled soldier, and has saved my life more than once.”
Marcus looked like he’d rather be doing anything other than assisting supernaturals, but he was a good soldier and didn’t argue with the president. Lowering his gun, he saluted his boss before turning cold gray eyes on Jacob. “Come with me. We need to outfit you in our suits so that you blend in.”
Jacob just nodded.
“What the fuck am I? Chopped liver?” Justice asked, hands on her hips. “I’m gonna need a suit too, asshole.”
He snapped her a hard look, only backing down when Jacob stepped in front of Justice. Who immediately pushed him out of the way so she could eyeball the human. It was clear that Marcus wasn’t a fan of women soldiers, which was probably going to lead to some epic showdowns. Clearly, he’d never met a supernatural woman, because if he had he would not be discounting Justice. Not for a moment.
“We probably have something for you too,” he said reluctantly, seeming to want to keep the peace.
The president looked at me then, and he betrayed his nerves by quickly shooting another glance at my hands, like he was waiting for my power to appear again. “I’m hoping we can make this work,” he said slowly. “Our peoples coexisting.”
I smiled, and I knew it wasn’t a nice smile, because he flinched. “Here’s something you need to understand, Mr. President. We’re not people. We’re supernaturals. And we don’t need you. We have existed outside of human control and rule for longer than you’ve been a civilized nation. Keep that in mind the next time you try to negotiate with us.”
I dismissed him then, turning to Jacob and Justice. “Report back in relation to your treatment here. I’d hate to think someone was taking it upon themselves to try to break one of us.”
I said this loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. Jacob just laughed. “I’m looking forward to their attempts,” he said, and I met his grin with one of my own. Yes, he was going to teach them a thing or two. Of that I had no doubt.
26
Elizabeth Teresa Montgomery II
Outside of my small community in Alaska, I hadn’t had much experience with humans. Not in the last twenty years anyway. The human president was no doubt a scary man in his world, but compared to most of the supes I’d met he seemed weak and … small. I could have taken him down so easily, and he was all bluster until Louis released just a tiny fraction of his power.
“I don’t like leaving them there,” I said as we left the building. We were trailed by dozens of armed guards, and I felt the energy of many more on the buildings around us. “I’m not sure I trust that man, even if we do have him scared right now.”
Louis kept me close to his side, and while his face was the picture of relaxed calm, there was turmoil inside of him. Our bond was thrumming with his energy, and the darkness was pushing forward.
“We have no choice right now. I can’t go to war with the humans, not without speaking to the rest of the elders and council leaders. The situation has changed. My timeline shift did delay this knowledge to the wider population, but apparently fate has decided this is going to happen. One way or another.”
“Maybe we figure out the best way to reveal ourselves? A way that will make the humans less fearful of us.”
He shot me a slow smile. “Like we turn into superheroes and start trying to save them?”
I snorted. “Imagine Braxton in tights and a cape.”
Louis laughed out loud. “He would shift into a dragon and chargrill anyone who suggested that.”
We were outside of the imposing fences now, and I couldn’t help but turn back and stare into the huge white building. The armed forces were still lined up across the grass, watching us, waiting for us to completely leave. They were drawing a lot of attention from the humans walking past and gawking through the fence. We were getting just as many looks, and I knew they were wondering who the hell we were to require such a strong armed presence.
Louis and I walked away casually, not doing anything to draw more attention to ourselves, and thankfully by the time we got a few blocks away no one was looking at us. Well, women were looking at Louis, but that was in the normal “there’s a six and a half foot supermodel dude with purple eyes”way, not in the “they’re terrorists” way.
Louis made sure that we were completely out of sight before he opened the step-through back to Stratford. When we arrived, we went straight to the Compasses’ place. “Are they going to be angry?” I asked, already thinking of them as friends and family.
Louis’ jaw tightened. “They won’t be angry, but they don’t like members of their family to be missing. They’ll want Jacob and Justice back.”
When we got there, the others were waiting, and I knew Louis had called them. “Where’s Jake and Justice?” Jessa demanded as soon as we walked into their main living area. “Your message was confusing.”
Louis told them everything, including the thinly veiled threats to use and abuse supernaturals to win human wars. I could feel the growing unease amongst them all.
