“I only met him once.He seemed nice enough, not that outward appearances matter much.But more importantly, he loves Jeremy.”
What would it be like to love a Caido?The idea was oddly intriguing.Fire and ice.She thought of a clip she’d seen on television where lava flowed onto the snowy ground in Russia, sending steam gushing up.“Who’s the woman?”
“I only know her first name, Kye.She’s apparently some kind of sexual Deuce.”
“What’s that, a hooker?Were they into something weird?”
“According to Jeremy, she’s a sex therapist, somebody Marik knows.”
“So is Marik a Deuce, too?”Whoa.She’d never heard of a Caido hooking up with a Deuce or a Dragon.
Disapproval reflected on Archer’s face.“Jeremy foolishly put himself in a situation where he consorts with Crescents.And he fell in love with one.”
“Oh, so he doesn’t disdain us like the rest of you do?”
“Curiously, no.”
Well, that was enlightening.“I know it’s frowned upon when the different classes of Crescents hook up, but…wait, it’s more of a ‘gods forbid a Caido would fall for a lower class of Crescent’ thing, isn’t it?Oh, and you don’t consider yourselves Crescents—at least that’s what I’ve heard.But guess what?We lump you right in with all of us bastard offspring of gods.”Neither Deuces nor Dragons liked each other much, but they weren’t quite as elitist as Caidos.
Archer’s jaw ticked.She was annoying him.Good.Mr.Stoneface could use some annoyance in his life.
And more…
She squelched the desire to make him smile instead, or even get him so pissed off that he’d grab her by the shoulders and?—
He said, “Don’t judge what you don’t understand.”
She gazed up at him, tilting her head.“You could help me understand.”
Uh, where were these breathy words coming from?Oh, the Thrall.She had to stop looking into those eyes, at that chiseled face at odds with his lush mouth.She turned back to the pictures, trying to figure out if this scenario played into her father’s disappearance.
“Marik’s wearing a different outfit in each picture, which means these were taken on separate nights.Which means they hang out there a lot.Where are they?”
“Witch’s Brew.”
She tapped her mouth as that sank in.“A Caido who hangs out at a Deuce nightclub.Interesting.”
“It’s too bad you can’t get into that club.It’s Deuce only.”
“But you’re going, aren’t you?”
He shook his head.“I’d no sooner go to a place like that than visit the Everglades.”
But he would go there, she was sure, and question Kye.Look for Marik.
She started to turn away.“Okay, I’m leaving.”
He gave her a skeptical look.“Just like that?”
“Yep.You don’t want to figure this out together, which is what intelligent people with a common and urgent goal would do.Fine.You’re obviously repulsed by me, so I will investigate on my own.”
“Repulsed?”He looked genuinely puzzled, even though he clearly wanted nothing to do with her.Which hurt a tiny little bit.“I’m not repulsed by you.”
She waited for him to elaborate just a bit, then put her hand over her heart.“Wow, that just warms my heart.”Despite her sarcasm, it did soften the tight knot in her chest.Not repulsed.It was something anyway.“Well…good luck then, finding your brother.”
He nodded.“Good luck finding your father.”
She held his gaze for a moment, not enough for the Thrall to set in, then headed out the door.
