“Which is why, when we needed someone to infiltrate Arabesque’s army of rogues, he was our first call,” Casimir added.
The mention of my stepmother’s name sent a chill down my spine. I wrapped my arms around myself, fighting the tremor that traveled through me. Three weeks free from her, and still, the mere sound of her name turned my blood to ice.
“She’s building anarmy?” My voice emerged smaller than I intended. “I knew there were a lot, but a wholearmy?”
“More like a ragtag collection of exiles and outcasts at this point,” Zane scoffed. “Rogues, lone wolves, a few low-level witches with questionable morals. Nothing we can’t handle.”
“After we took care of Claudio Kane,” Koa was obviously picking his words with care, “Arabesque needed a new enforcer. Foster was the next most dominant wolf in her little group, so she promoted him.”
Claudio Kane.
The name conjured flashes of a towering man with wolf-lit eyes and a vicious scar across his throat. I’d only seen him a handful of times at the Bell homestead, and each time, he’d looked at me like I was something to devour. Not in the playful, heated way my husbands sometimes did, but in a way that made me feel like prey.
And once Iwashis prey.
“Look at those pretty eyes. Like a cornered doe. Makes a man hungry. Cribs make good coffins, little dove.”
My hands shook at the memory.
“Seri?” Zane stood and came over to kneel next to my chair. “Brumous showed me Arabesque talking to Claudio, then you crawling back to the house with your arm bleeding. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out who hurt you.”
“I’m not keeping it secret because Iwantto.” I wound my arms around his neck and pulled him closer, laying my head on his shoulder.
“The silence shackle?”
“Yes, but even if I could tell you, I wouldn’t right now. You three would…”
“Lose our shit? Destroy more topiaries?”
“Ilikedthat elephant. I don’t want to risk the hippo or the giraffe. Do you think the garden man will create a lion one if I ask?”
“Darling, give him a pretty please with a flutter of those eyelashes, and he’ll carve you an entire zoo,” he cooed, lifting me out of my chair and carrying me around the table.
“And if he doesn’t, we’ll carvehim,” Koa snickered, making me frown.
“Seri, you only need to say what you want.” Casimir shot Koa a look. “You are the queen here. You rule.”
“Yeah, sweetheart. Tell your peasants what you want.” Zane hooked his boot around the front leg of Casimir’s chair and jerked it around before lowering me onto Casimir’s lap. “Here, grind that sweetlittle ass on the husband who would massacre more than a hedge maze.”
“Seri?” One of Casimir’s arms went around my waist as his other hand cupped my chin and turned me to look at him. His eyes blazed with concern. “What is it?”
“What do I need to know about this call tonight?” I deflected.
“Foster was on scene before you left your home, although we didn’t know that until the day we all arrived here,” Casimir said. “In case you recognize him, we didn’t want you to be caught off guard.”
Ah. The reason for their caution. They were worried that seeing someone from my old life might trigger another panic attack. But this was different. This was work.Seriouswork that might keep us safe from Arabesque.
“I’ll be fine,” I said, my voice steadier than I expected. “I’m not… I wasn’t as afraid of the rogues as I was of…her.” I couldn’t say my stepmother’s name again. “They were just her tools. She was the real monster.”
Zane reached over, taking my hand in his. His fingers were warm against mine, a tangible reminder that I wasn’t alone anymore.
“Look at you, being all brave and shit.”
I ducked my head, unused to praise, but hungry for it all the same.
“I’mtryingto be. Brave, I mean. Like you three.”
“Seri,” Koa’s voice was gentle as summer rain, “you’re the bravest person at this table.”
