“You know how she is,” he said with an exaggerated shrug. “She hates when she fucks up.”
“How did she fuck up?”
“She didn’t. Not really.” Blade shifted his weight from one leg to the other as if dancing around the subject. “She was tired and worried about you. That’s all. At times, she struggled to maintain her summoned sword.” He gestured to the stairs. “I’m going to scoot too. See you later.”
“Wait,” Mace said, and Blade froze mid-turn. “Don’t forget Amber’s birthday party tomorrow. The decorators will be here in the morning.”
“The party’s still on?” Blade swung back around. “Even with what’s going on with Eva?”
That had been Mace’s concern as well. “Amber wanted to cancel, but Eva made her swear she wouldn’t. She wants to be there if she can.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Blade said slowly, “butweneed tocancel. They can have the party somewhere else. Your heart rate—”
“Talon says it’ll be back to normal within about twenty-four hours. I’ll be fine by then. And if I’m not, I’ll just hang out in my bedroom. We’re not canceling.”
Blade scowled. “I just don’t know why we’re having it here instead of at Than’s place. Or at any of the Horsemen’s places.”
“Amber wants to swim.”
“Ares and Limos have miles of warm beaches.”
“You know she hates the ocean. And we have an Olympic-sized pool.” He grinned. “Come on, you know you love parties.”
Blade still seemed troubled.
“Okay, man, what’s wrong with you? You’re like Mopey Mike at the HQ café.”
Blade snorted. “I’ve never seen that guy smile. Scotty calls him Eeyore.”
“Yeah, well, you’re not Eeyore. So, spill.”
“Nothing’s wrong,” Blade said, forcefully enough to be convincing. “Just tired. Some of us didn’t get to lie around in bed for a couple of days.”
Mace smiled, relieved to see his buddy back. “Go get some rest. And some Masumi.”
Blade raised his hand in a brief wave and mounted the stairs.
Everything was back to normal.
Chapter 16
Scotty and Aleka didn’t find Harvester’s blood, but theydidfind a secret room beneath the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount that might be where her blood drained. As soon as Aleka deciphered the text on the seal, they’d check it out.
Hopefully, she’d do it within the next couple of hours and give Scotty an excuse to leave Amber’s party.
Not that she didn’t love her cousin or wish her the best, but until she and Blade came clean with Mace, Scotty didn’t want to be around either of them. Keeping her mouth shut was too hard, and the moment it opened, stupid shit fell out.
Like, what the hell was up with the lie about making a date with Skoll? Thankfully, Blade had played along, but shit. Why couldn’t she have come up with something less stupid and less…verifiable?
This day would suck. At least Mace had let them know that Eidolon had given him the all-clear to get back to normal life. Which was fantastic, but it also meant that she and Blade needed to tell him the truth, and soon. Maybe after the party.
Scotty pressed her hand to her queasy stomach as she walked across the expansive grounds on her way to the massive backyard. She could already hear people laughing around the pool and smell a variety of savory meats cooked either in the outdoor wood-fired brick oven, the roasting pit next to it, or the luxury grill area beneath the covered patio.
As the daughter of a Horseman and the niece of three others, she’dgrown up with old-world wealth and extravagance. This, though…she glanced around at the building and the parklike surroundings…this was Stryke’s construct. He hadn’t acquired his wealth over the course of thousands of years. He’d made his billions—some estimated as much as a trillion—practically overnight, and then re-invested in his company and property, such as the modern, outrageously tech-appointed compound his brothers and cousins now called home.
Stryke’s new headquarters, a few miles away in downtown Sydney, made this old one appear tiny.
“Scotty!” Amber waved from the poolside chair where she sat with her ever-present sketchbook and a pencil, her sunglasses uselessly perched atop her curly, dark hair.
