A scrunched expression of confusion wrinkled his face. “My...” His eyes opened wider. “Here?”
“Yes. Do it now.”
He licked his lips and then let out a short series of whistles. She brushed her thumb over Hero’s forehead.
Please wake up, little Hero.
He didn’t stir.
The air shifted, as though someone had cracked a window and let in a draft.
In a flash, she released her daggers. She slammed Kirk against the hearth, pinning him between her thin ironwood blade and the deadly curve of the mermaid.
His arms splayed out against the stone, her daggers grazing his neck. His eyes rounded.
“What—?”
“I’m sure you thought I was too slow these days to move faster than a brownie,” she said. “But I think I’m getting my prowess back. What do you think?”
“I think you are a fool to call me here,” he said, holding his chin away from the ironwood, but the mermaid shone sharp and deadly on the other side of his neck. All she had to do was twitch and his head would come off.
“Or are you the fool to come when called?” she asked. “Are we being listened to?”
“Not any longer,” he said, gulping. “What do you want?”
Despite his claim they were no longer being eavesdropped upon, she chose her words with care. “You took something from me once. Do you know where it is now?”
“Something? I don’t under—” His eyes bulged with comprehension. “You mean you don’t have it?”
“Can you help me discover who does?” she asked.
“Why should I?”
“Your cause has a stake in this, do they not?”
“Are you saying that you share our interests?”
“No,” she said. “But I may be more receptive than others. If you help me, I won’t forget. I may even forgive your earlier betrayal.”
“I could not betray someone to whom I was never loyal,” he said with a sneer.
“No, only pretended to be,” she said. “But thank you for the reminder.” She splayed open her right hand and released her daggers in a flashing arc, holding them up where he could see them clearly. He remained breathlessly still.
“I’ll see what I can find out,” he murmured.
“Thank you. I meet with the Crown in the morning.”
Slowly, she retracted her knives. The moment they were clear, Kirk vanished. She wasn’t sure if she’d see him again or not, but she had to trust her gut that he’d been genuinely shocked by the news that she no longer had the Enneahedron. Almost as shocked as she was.
“THAT WAS DRAMATIC,”Kaelan said with a sigh.
Meer suddenly popped in, standing near the door. “Is everything—?”
“Get out,” Magda said. “And don’t come back unless called.”
Meer sucked in her cheeks, hesitating a moment too long for Magda’s liking before disappearing again.
Sinking again to the floor next to Hero, she dropped her head back against the bed. Kaelan, seated on the edge, folded over, resting his arms across his knees.
