Which would be a lot more than fifty crystals.
The woman straightened her spine. “I do not appreciate threats.”
“And here I thought you were the kind of woman who valued directness,” Cas said smoothly, offering her his panty-melting grin.
I didn’t like that at all.
Sandra thought for a moment. “Fifteen.”
“Fifteen it is.”
He summoned a hefty bag of gold, weighing it before putting it on the table.
“One moment, please.”
As she left, I whispered, “There’s no way the Guard will repay you over seven hundred golds.”
He rolled his eyes. “Have you seen my vault?”
There I went again, forgetting the fact that we were both loaded. “Why did you bother haggling, then?”
“It’s fun.”
Sandra came back with the crystals in an iron box. I frowned as she opened it. There was no doubt that it was Kleos’s energy, but it felt different. Wrong, somehow.
“Lovely doing business with you, Miss Wong.”
18
SILVER
Gideon, Cas, and I made our way down to the manor after work, and only partially because Lucian informed us via group chat that he intended to make a lasagna.
The official reason for the visit was the crystal. Gideon transported one in a small iron box, nullifying its power.
The huge house was busier than usual today. Ronan Nachtigall had brought his newfound little brother Adrian Night, Elias, and his family’s ward, Lucky, so rather than squeezing the whole party in the kitchen, Lucian opened up his formal dining room, which was only ever so slightly less regal than Versailles. We were still in his wing, which meant the walls were red, but silver filigrees danced over them, shaping leaves and roses, crescent moons, cats, and foxes. An enormous crystal chandelier high up on the ceiling and two fireplaces illuminated the room with soft warm light.
“By the gods, have you ever seen anything this precious!” Lucky cried, practically skipping to greet Amavi.
Predictably, given her general lack of coordination, she groaning was on the marble floor within seconds.
At least Amavi hopped over to lick her face, so that wasn’t a total loss.
“Why aren’t we always eating here!” Gideon said, looking around at the grand hall. “I feel fancy as fuck.”
“Because a table seating fifty guests is overkill for a handful of us,” Lucian retorted, accepting the bottle Cas offered him. His eyebrows hiked up a little. “Someone knows his wine.”
Cas shrugged. “I just walked into a little wine store on Life Avenue asked for the best.”
Ronan whistled, offering Cas a hand. “Morvan’s Cup? Good tasteanddeep pockets, then. We absolutely must be friends. Ronan Night.”
“I could use a friend of two. Cas.”
I smiled as Ronan wrapped his arm around the shoulders of the awkward sullen kid chatting with Elias. “And this is my half brother, Adrian,” he announced proudly.
Since figuring out that Adrian, who’d saved Kleos when her mother tried to abduct her, was his father’s illegitimate child, he’d made a point of introducing him to every single person he came across, proud as a punch. Poor Adrian didn’t know what to make of it. I smiled at the cute pair, something inside me softening at the sudden, unequivocal acceptance from his family. While he visibly didn’t know what to make of it, I knew Adrian had to appreciate it.
And I couldn’t deny a little pang of sadness at the thought. I would have loved a brother as a teenager.
