Sucking in all the strength I could, I leaned forward in my seat.
“I know you didn’t kidnap me because you thought after five years of my father being dead, this was a good time to start playing uncle to an orphan.” I clapped my hands on my lap. “So, let’s cut the bullshit and get to the real reason I’m here and how you want to use me.”
“Use you?”
“Everyone has so far.” I tilted my head. “I’m not going to believe you are any different. You said so earlier.”
He leaned back in his chair, an amused expression in his eyes, a smile twitching under his beard. “Blunt and to the point.” He dipped his head.
“We don’t have the luxury in this country to be anything else.”
Mykel’s eyebrows danced up his forehead, his head bobbing.
“Definitely your father’s daughter.” He tapped his lips. “Benet always wanted to cut the bullshit, act instead of talk. It’s a Kovacs trait, but I’ve had to learn to curb my impulses. I would not have gotten this far if I hadn’t taken time to research my enemy and plan for every outcome.”
That was why Andris and my father worked well together. One was the planner, the other ready to put those plans in action.
“Are you studying me then?” I challenged.
“As you are me.” He laid his wrists down on the armrests. “Like you said, I didn’t take you because I was ready to raise a full-grown child now.”
“Why not? I’m potty trained and everything.”
Mykel smirked. “Sarcasm.Nota Kovacs trait.”
He was right. My father was kind and strong, but he didn’t really have a sense of humor. He was serious and guarded most of the time. Maybe because of his job, losing my mother, or because of me, but he didn’t laugh or tease a lot.
“Get to the point, Mykel.”
“You may call me that only in private.” He sat up with a snap. “Otherwise, I amKaptain.”
I understood. His name, if leaked or overheard outside the barracks, could end everything.
Just like Andris.
“After the explosion at Halálház, I lost your whereabouts. Kek was sure you survived, but it took me a while to locate you. Track you. I thought when you got back to HDF, it was over. You were home. But I should have known better. You disappeared again, but then out of the blue, you popped up on my radar at a place I wasn’t expecting. It gave me hope for you.”
I kept my expression blank, not wanting to give him anything until he said it first. I had no idea who I could trust inside or outside these walls.
“Sarkis’s army.” His fingers drummed against the metal of the chair. “Your father’s best friend, who faked his own death to live with his fae lover, then became a revolutionist himself.”
I sat still, saying nothing. If it came down to my “uncles,” I had no doubt who I’d pick.
“Cautious.” He nodded. “That’s a good quality.”
Silence.
“We might share the same blood, but it doesn’t mean I trust you either.” He sat up. “I know about your stay with the fae leader, Killian.”
Heat rushed up my neck, and I had to force myself to not react in any way.
“You grew up in HDF, survived Halálház, been inside Killian’s palace.”
“How do any of those things help you here in Prague?”
His gaze met mine.
“If we hurt Budapest, Prague suffers as well. Our city benefits from many imports from you guys, both fae and human. Weapons, fae drugs, human trafficking.”
