“Mathias helped design their security system. There’s no way we’ll get in and out without them catching us on camera. Not without a magic user.”
She shrugs. “Not everybody has magic. I do have some nifty gadgets I’ve collected over the years.”
Her lack of concern makes the tic in my jaw dance. “Let me think.” Pacing the length of the hallway outside her bedroom, I try to think of a way to get the piece without resorting to theft.“What about that society of yours? The keepers or whatever? I’m sure they’d be thrilled to help you.”
She mulls it over for a second, then shakes her head. “If I was borrowing the crown, they could easily assist me. I’m not. Once I give it to Hera, it’s hers forever. It’s better if we steal it. The museum can file with the human insurance companies and move on.”
She scans the room and adds a few more items, including a pair of familiar boots. “Just in case we get separated, I’m taking the boots with the tracker in them.”
Her words make me grit my teeth, and I huff out a breath. “We’re not getting separated.”
She briefly glances in my direction and shrugs. “Never hurts to be prepared.” She ticks off her fingers. “I think that’s it. Are you packed?” She grabs the handle of the duffel and lifts it off the bed.
“Seriously? I’ve spent the last fifteen minutes trying to talk you out of this hare-brained scheme,” I return, my voice rising with every word. Stalking over to her, I grab the handle and carry the duffel downstairs to the front door.
“Fifteen minutes shouting at me, you mean,” she corrects me in an amused tone.
What’s so damn amusing? “I rarely shout. Or lose my cool. Although you drive me to both.” I thrust a hand through my long hair and tie it back in a bun. “You haven’t even found the fifth item. Where are you going to get the scepter? Or do you plan to steal that too?” As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I could kick myself. Damn it.
She narrows her eyes at me. “If I need to steal it, I will. We’re trying to stop a war, remember?” Her reminder of the stakes calms me down a bit.
She’s right. I don’t like it, though. There are two of us, and I’m lacking the one person who usually pulls the schematics. Maybe I can find a few friends to help us on this mission.
“And I don’t know where to get the scepter. The Minoan Ivory scepter is more of a staff. The Scepter of Agamemnon is more like a spear. Neither onefeelslike the right one.” She blows out a breath.
Feeling guilty that I’m adding to her stress, I rub a hand down my face. “Sorry. You’re right. I don’t handle surprises very well. And I definitely don’t like the idea of exposing ourselves to humans. We could trigger the same war we’re trying to avoid.”
She bites the inside of her cheek as she thinks about it. “I know. Usually, one call to Mercer would get me supplies and backdoor access, but I don’t think we can go that route this time.”
“Hell no. The last time we contacted her you were stabbed at the damn airport,” I spit out in a hard tone. “Let me call Jamison. See who he thinks I can safely reach out to for help.”
Her lips curl into a smile as she reaches out to pat my arm. “See, we can work together. I’ll call Maverick and ask him to have my plane ready. Wouldn’t hurt to ask him for help too.”
It takes everything in my willpower not to grimace. The last time I saw that damn demon, he refused to give me one fucking clue where I could find her. Asshole is on my shit list. I don’t tell her that. Instead, I grunt an agreement and reach for my phone.
“I’ll talk to Jamison while I pack,” I tell her, taking the stairs two at a time to get my stuff.
When I first got here, the only room that had anything beyond the most basic of furniture in it was hers. All the others were sparsely decorated. A clear indication of her lack of visitors. Since it didn’t seem to matter which one I chose, I picked the one closest to hers. Although she has yet to spend much time in it. The last two nights, she fell asleep at her desk, surrounded bynotes filled with her neat handwriting. Not wanting her to get a crick in her shoulder, I usually check on her around two a.m. and find her at her desk, then carry her over to the couch, hoping she’ll get a few hours of sleep.
Strangely enough, it’s become the highlight of my night. The second I pick her up, she curls into my chest, her expression soft and relaxed, unlike the guarded expression she wears like a mask. I never realized it until I saw her asleep.
I call, but Jamison doesn’t answer. That’s odd. Come to think of it, I think the last time I talked to him was the night she returned. It’s not like him to be out of touch for this long. I quickly scan through my texts. The last one came in two days ago. A brief confirmation that he’s still at Lady Catherine’s. Nothing else, not even a mention of Phaedra. Something’s wrong.Damn it. How did I miss this?
I hang up and dial Hawthorne. When he doesn’t answer, I leave him a message, telling him to drop whatever he’s doing and go check on Jamison. I end the call and stare at my phone. I’m tempted to call Mathias, but we all agreed he would contact us when he could safely get away.Damn it.This is why I hate splitting up. I don’t know where the hell everyone is or if they’re in trouble.
It takes little time to pack, and a few minutes later, I’m heading down the stairs to meet Phaedra. “I couldn’t get a hold of Jamison. Did Maverick have anyone we can contact?”
Her eyes sweep over me. “What’s wrong? You look worried.”
Surprised, I raise an eyebrow. It’s not often someone can read me. “It’s probably nothing. Jamison tells me I worry too much.” I reach down and grab her duffle. “Is this it?”
She nods. “The rest of my gear is on the plane.” Her hand reaches out. I look down as her delicate fingers wrap around my wrist. “Tell me.” She nibbles on her bottom lip as she stares up at me, waiting for an answer.
Unable to help myself, I reach out and gently tug on her lip until she releases it. “Jamison went to see his father. I haven’t spoken to him since you returned five days ago. It’s not like him.” When her eyes widen, I hurry to reassure her. “I told Hawthorne to go check on him.”
Her brow furrows, and I realize all I’ve done is make her worried too.
“Let’s go,” I tell her. “Once we have the crown, we can figure out whether we need to hop over to England. Let me worry about them. You need to concentrate on figuring out a plan to get us into the museum and safely out again without tripping any alarms or getting us caught on camera.”
