Her gaze flicked to the men behind me, taking them in with the quick assessment of someone who survived by knowing exactly what she was dealing with.
“You’ve brought some new faces with you this time. A whole pack, as it were,” she observed.
Elias stepped forward half a pace, keeping calm. “My name is Elias Kade.”
Mirae’s eyes lingered on him. “You have a commanding voice.”
He didn’t react. “So do you.”
Her mouth curved. “I practice.”
“So do I,” he replied with a smirk.
Nox moved a fraction, positioning himself where he could see the doors. Bishop stayed near the wall, staying quiet. Griff stood at my shoulder like a bodyguard. Eamon hovered slightly behind, watching Mirae with a doctor’s wariness, like she was a substance that could be poison if mishandled even just the slightest bit.
Mirae gestured toward chairs. “Sit. If you’re comfortable. Or don’t.”
I sat because I wasn’t here to posture. I was here to get what I needed.
The girl with the inked arms stayed by the door, arms folded, eyes on my men like she was memorizing them in case she needed to fight them later.
“I’m guessing that you didn’t come here for tea.”
“No.”
Mirae tilted her head. “Then tell me what you want.”
I didn’t waste time.
“London has a feral stimulant,” I said. “An inhalant. They’re using it to push wolves into madness and then pointing to the results as proof that wolves can’t coexist with humans.”
Mirae’s expression didn’t change.
“You already knew that,” I observed.
She shrugged lightly. “I know many things.”
“Then you know why I’m here,” I said. “I need where they keep their stocks. Who moves it. Who distributes it. And I need a way into the city that doesn’t end with us getting shot on sight.”
Mirae considered me for a long moment, eyes calm and unreadable.
“I admire you,” she said finally. “Truly. You keep choosing hard problems and somehow, you don’t die while you’re solving them.”
“Truthfully, I’m just tired of burying people,” I replied.
Her gaze softened for half a second. Then her eyes narrowed again.
“I can give you locations. Names. Timelines. I can tell you which docks are watched, and which guards can be bribed. I can tell you which ministers quietly drink themselves to sleep every night because of the guilt they feel over the laws they’ve signed.”
Bishop shifted slightly, interest tightening his posture.
“And?” I asked.
Mirae smiled.
“There’s always an ‘and.’”
I didn’t pretend to be surprised. “What’s the price.”
