SILVER
Iglared at the door as the broad-shouldered asshole took his leave after the flimsy excuse. If he was concerned about the snake, he wouldn’t have accompanied me to the manor in the first place.
“Don’t be mad at Cas,” Kleos said—to Lucian, I assumed, but when I brought my attention to her, I saw she was staring at me instead. “I’m certain if I’d told him I could keep my mouth shut, he would have shared at the time. He’s not an enemy. In fact, I think he could be a really good friend if we give him a chance.”
I sighed, annoyed all the same.
While not an enemy, Cas wasn’t truly one of our allies either, and that was the crux of my issue with him. I wanted him wholly on my team, even before knowing his identity, certainly more so now. Considering what had happened during Zeus’s attack, which lasted less than an hour, we desperately needed allies. Cas-Ares-Thor, whatever name I used, could be the difference between life and death when he wanted to act. He proved it by saving me when I was so certain of death. But Cas remained firmly on Cas’s side.
That wasn’t quite true, though, was it? He was pretending to help Zeus for Hestia’s sake, because she’d been kind to him. Once someone earned his loyalty, there wasn’t much he wouldn’t do for them.
Kleos was right. We needed him on our side. Badly.
And he wasn’t.
“I’m always mad at him,” I replied.Not wanting to get into it with Kleos, who’d continue to berate me for my suspicion of strangers, I changed the subject. “How’s the new job?”
She started at Night Academy this week, teaching core magic at the college level.
“Amazing,” she gushed. “I mean, some of my students are around my age, so I worried it could be a bit awkward, but they’ve been respectful so far. I think Zazel staring down at them like he’s considering eating them makes everyone behave. And Ronan’s given me time for my own studies, so I’m working toward a second master’s degree.”
We kept chatting about her schedule, classes, pay—a hundred gold a day for four classes!—sitting together in the kitchen, with tea and cupcakes.
I was watching her cat Zazel switch between his bear size to his little housecat form as he tussled with Amavi, bumping against the table and chairs, when I noted neither Phobos nor Lucian were around.
“Where’s your husband?” I asked warily, half wondering if he’d followed after Cas for some reprisal.
He hadn’t seemed any more impressed than me about Kleos’s enchantment.
“Right here,” Lucian replied from the corridor, his night fox by his heels and a dark bag in hand.
He tossed it my way, and I caught it by reflex.
“A present?” I mused. “It’s not Christmas yet.”
Lucian grimaced. “Well you can have this one a few weeks early. It’s apparently a necessity.”
Intrigued, I opened the package, finding something black inside. Unfolding it, I discovered a jacket of a slightly shimmery fabric, soft to the touch, and faintly humming with magic. The second item was pants, with many pockets and little nooks to hide flasks and blades. It was very similar to the standard issue protector uniforms no one really wore outside of missions, but a million times better.
It all seemed close to my size, too.
“Daddy!” I squealed.
He groaned. “Must you?”
I ignored him. If he didn’t want me to call him that, he could at least try to stop taking care of everyone around him. Even then, I’d probably continue simply because it was fun.
“Try it on now to see if it fits. I’ve crafted a spell to adjust it if necessary.”
I ducked into Kleos’s old room, glad to finally shed the torn, bloodstained, sweaty dress I’d worn since last night. Rather than jumping right into the new clothes, I opted to take a shower, washing the events of the last day away.
I borrowed panties and a pink tank top from the guest wardrobe, and tried on Lucian’s fighting gear.
The fabric fit like a second skin and was cut in sharp, elegant angles. It shouldn’t have been a surprise, given Lucian’s fashion sense. This likely came from his store, Styles.
I came back to the kitchen, beaming when Kleos whistled. She reeled towards her husband. “Why can’t I have a sexy suit like that?”
“Because you don’t run around and let yourself get impaled for a living.” He turned to me. “I developed the fabric while working in the guard last year. It should serve as well as any ironarmor—and offer a small degree of protection against magical attacks, too.”
