“Corvane?” Asmodiel asked, looking a touch nervous. “You, uh, looking to expand into Noctis?”
My dad shook his head. “Not exactly. I just want to know… whatyouknow. What makes the vamp tick, what the public isn’t aware of… that sort of thing.”
“Um, well, let me think,” he responded, sitting back a bit. He squirmed slightly in his seat, and my dad and I swiveled our eyes towards each other for a moment.
Asmodiel was worried, as he probably should be.
“I mean, you heard the news about his mate, right?”
The growl in my chest came through unimpeded, and Asmodiel shot me a questioning look before continuing. “I should have guessed he had one. He’s been a raging asshole the past few years, more so than usual. Definitely weird to stay married, though.”
“We know all this, Hellmora,” my dad replied.
Uh oh, he used his last name. A sure sign his patience was wearing thin, and Asmodiel knew it.
“Don’t you have anything on him that hasn’t already been widely publicized throughout all of Lundaria?”
A drop of sweat formed right beneath the horn over his temple. “I mean, I’m sure I know a lot. Is there something specific you’re trying to find out?”
“Here’s the thing,” my dad started. He sat back, draping an arm over the edge of the booth and crossing his legs. “Corvane’s a fucking liar. That witch isn’t his mate, she’s my son’s.”
Asmodiel whipped his head towards me in shock. “Wait. Really? But why…”
I rolled out my shoulders, leaning back like my dad and speaking for the first time that evening. “It’s complicated. Sufficeto say, we’re getting her back. And anything you can do to make that easier, well, let’s just say it certainly wouldn’t hurt to have the Oniguros owe you one.”
At this, his eyes widened in understanding. “I see.” He pursed his lips in thought. “You know, I was thinking of paying our fanged friend a visit soon to discuss our joint operation in the Godscar Basin for those missing students. Perhaps I need some help filling out my security detail.”
My dad and I exchanged glances again, and he gave the smallest of nods.
“I think we could assist you with that,” I replied. “Send us the date, and we’ll do the rest.”
* * *
All that stood between me and Sage now was the third task, my third “show of loyalty.”
A third kraken shit hoop to jump through and show my dad I was serious.
Tonight, my target was Ramiel Fontaine, the son of a wealthy seraph businessman who was in town with his friends for his bachelor party. I was supposed to take compromising pictures of him with a stripper for blackmail, threatening to send them to his fiancée if he didn’t pay up.
It was better than slinging sindr, and besides, I couldn’t exactly feel bad for a guy who’d cheat on the woman he was about to marry.
Fontaine’s friend had rented them a private room atRose Gold Chains, which meant the only way I was getting the shot without him spotting me was to blend into the background and act like I was supposed to be there.
Not that I suspected Fontaine would be on the lookout. The easy thing about seraphim was that they never expected to bescammed, since they’d never scam anyone themselves. Made them incredibly easy marks.
Although that high moral code didn’t extend to fidelity, apparently.
Maia came into my room, leaning against the door frame leading into my bathroom as she watched me oil my horns. “You look a lot like mom, you know.”
I paused, my eyes darting between hers and my own in the mirror. I could kind of see it—the shape of her nose, her V-shaped jawline hidden under the beard I was keeping for Sage.
“Yeah?”
She nodded, her focus now landing on her reflection as she studied her own face and fixed her hair. “While I’m over here looking like dad’s fucking clone.
I chuckled, washing my hands. “That’s a good thing, you know. Don’t they say girls who look like their dads tend to be more beautiful?”
Her expression lightened at this, amusement curling her lips. “I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
