He glanced at me, eyes narrowing at my own wide smile. “Bye, Jake.”
I gave him a little wave, couldn’t help myself. “Bye, Wyn.”
He huffed and disappeared down the corridor.
Chylath watched the doorway long after he’d gone, eventually turning to face me. “Thank you again for letting me join you in your police work. I understand you’ve been without a partner for a while?”
“I work with people when I need to, but yeah, it’s been a few months since I had anyone permanent.”
He gestured between us. “And this is okay? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
“You’re not.” I smiled. “And to be honest, I’m looking forward to working with you.” And I was; that much was true. Maybe I’d been sceptical at first, but it was actually quite nice having company in my office again. “I feel I should warn you in advance, though. I don’t have all that much experience in dealing with the fae. I apologise in advance if I offend you in any way. Don’t hesitate to tell me if I do.”
Chylath laughed. “You’ve met Dathal. If you can handle him, then I don’t believe you have anything to worry about.”
My smile widened. “He certainly makes things interesting.”
“I’m sure he does.”
“So,” I said, sitting forward and resting my arms on the desk. “My caseload is pretty light at the minute, so I thought we could tag along with Max and Gabriel today. They’ve got an interesting day ahead of them, which will give you an idea of some of our procedures and practices.” I went on to explain about Zane, his crimes, and subsequent punishment. A lot of which Chylath already knew, surprisingly.
He frowned. “Is Dathal not joining us? He works alongside Gabriel and Max, does he not?”
“He does. But not today.” I winced. “Zane is not his favourite person. Not after what happened with Axel.”
“Ahh.” Chylath nodded. “Of course. Dathal is fiercely loyal when it comes to the ones he loves. He is not one to forgive and forget.”
“No, he’s not,” I agreed, secretly deciding that based on first impressions, I liked Chylath. It made it easier to share my thoughts on the matter with him. “But I can’t say that I blame him. Axel almost died. That’s a hard thing to get over, especially for someone like Dathal.”
“Does anyone else share Dathal’s feelings? Do you foresee any trouble with Zane Collins’s release from prison?”
He raised a good point, one that had been discussed at length. “He hurt a lot of people, but as I explained, there were extenuating circumstances. I don’t think he’ll be anyone’s favourite person for a long while, but I think most people can, if not forgive, at least understand why he felt he had no choice but to do as Tombs and Yates said.”
“Because they held his family hostage.”
“Exactly.”
He hummed. “It’s a complicated situation.”
I huffed out a laugh. “It certainly is.”
He sat back in his chair, relaxed and comfortable, as though he was already feeling at home in his new role. Which I hoped he was, of course, but he didn’t look like a man with questions, whereas I had a whole queue of them lining up in my head.
Was it rude to ask any of them?
I really should’ve quizzed Max more if there was any etiquette I needed to follow. One thing was for sure though, having Chylath here was doing wonders for keeping my mind off everything else.
Fuck it, I decided.
He could always tell me I was overstepping boundaries if he didn’t want to answer. Before I had chance though, Chylath smirked.
“I feel like you want to ask me something.”
“A few somethings, actually,” I admitted. “But feel free to tell me no.”
He spread his arms wide. “Ask away. If I can’t answer, I will tell you.”
Okay then. “All fae have magic, right?”
