Somewhere in the sprawling apartment, a door opened and shut. Silas went on alert, but when none of the elves in the room appeared concerned — or more concerned than they already were — he didn’t immediately reach for the knife in his boot.
He almost wished he had when a familiar green face appeared not a moment later.
Kaz, a hulking orc dressed in a beaten leather jacket and shit-kicker boots, came in like a hurricane. Stomping across the room to point a kohl-darkened finger at Silas, he demanded, “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“I triedto call you,” Silas replied mildly.
“And when I didn’t answer, you knocked out theelectrical grid?”
Silas shrugged. “At least I left a note, right?”
Though they’d never been in the same room before, Silas didn’t need to be familiar with Kaz’s expressions specifically to recognize the look of a man who wanted to hit him. It happened frequently enough for him to know it on sight. He did think it was interesting, however, how very similar Kaz and Theodore’s particular brand of that look was. If he didn’t know better, he might’ve thought they were related.
“What did the note say?” Petra asked, though she didn’t sound particularly eager to hear the answer.
“Coup incoming. Answer your phone,”Kaz told her, “signed,S.”
Rounding on Silas, Petra muttered, “Seriously? I thought you meant an explanation or a warning, notthat.”Petra rubbed her eyes, but he could see the corners of her mouth twitching with anirrepressible smile. “You know what? That’s my bad. I should’ve known better. Sorry, everyone.”
Squinting at Kaz, Theodore asked, “Do you know this guy?”
Kaz ran his tongue over his teeth and glared at Silas for a moment longer before he answered, “This is Shade.”
There was a weighty pause, then, “Thecriminal?”
“Allegedly,” Silas clarified, deeply pleased by the renewed attention, “and if I was, I wouldn’t be anymore. I happen to be engaged to a High Priestess now.”
“That doesn’t make you not a criminal,” Kaz snapped.
“It does if you can never prove I did anything illegal.”
Kaz leaned in close to hiss, “You knocked out our power grid.”
“Only for a minute,” Silas argued. “And the lockdown probably stopped an invasion of the Tower. So you’rewelcome.”
“What do you want?” Theodore demanded.
Petra frowned. “We don’t want anything. We were just?—”
“No offense, Priestess, but your mate here said he would’ve let us all die and not lost any sleep over it. You might not want anything in exchange for this, but forgive me if I don’t believehefeels the same way.”
Silas settled back into the uncomfortably stiff couch cushions with an easy smile. Propping his ankle on his knee, he rubbed soothing circles on the exposed skin of his mate’s arm when he answered, “I want three things: first, to be given a full, blanket pardon for any alleged crimes in my past, no matter how heinous, negligent, or malicious they might’ve been. Second, permanent residency here in the city so I can live with my mate without having to constantly look over my shoulder. And third… a favor.”
Both Kaz and Theodore hadn’t looked tremendously pleased after his first two requests, but it was the third that really set them to scowling.
“What kind of favor?” Theodore asked, suspicion practically dripping from each word.
Silas offered him a benign smile. “The kind we can talk about later, when my mate has had some rest and a hot meal. She’s had a tough day, what with all the saving you and your mate’s lives out of the good of her heart.”
Petra dipped her chin and muttered under her breath, “Laying it on a little thick, demon.”
Across the marble-topped coffee table, the sovereign let out a long, frustrated sigh. “I can grant you the first two, but the third one has to come with conditions. I can’t just?—”
He was interrupted by the buzz of a cellphone. Kaz cursed and pulled it out of his pocket. His brows dropped into a deep furrow as he read whatever message he’d received.
Theodore opened his mouth, probably to ask what was going on, but Kaz barked, “Teddy, where’s Margot?”
Theodore shot to his feet. “She’s in the spare bedroom putting Aman’s arm back together. What’s wrong?”
