The Villain’s Den was packed this time of day. We didn’t have much time to hang there, but Ivy had asked us to show him where it was, so it wasn’t much to swing by. Ivy took in the recreation room with interest, surveying the crowd like he was sizing each person up.
There were a couple of loud shouts on the other side of the room. Chancey was playing a dice game with a few guys in the corner. The group around him let out a couple yells when Chancey tossed the dice and got snake eyes. As his angel wings fluttered, I saw Ivy eyeing him up and down.
“Who’s the tall cannoli over there?” Ivy leaned in and asked me.
I made apshingnoise. “Him? Oh, that’s just Chancey. He’s nothing special.”
Ivy’s eyes glinted. “I think I need to introduce myself.”
Ivy sauntered across the room, weaving his hips in a way even I was jealous of. He planted himself into the group of guys like he’d always been standing there, placing himself right next to Chancey.
Chancey gave a double take when he saw Ivy. He immediately abandoned the game he was playing and looped his arm around Ivy’s hips.
“Where’d you come from, kitten?” Chancey asked, his tone full of excitement.
“I’m new around here,” Ivy said, batting his eyelashes. “I was thinking a big, strong angel like you could show me around.”
“Gladly.” Ivy and Chancey left together. Looks like Ivy had gotten his first new client. Kallie gave me a dumbfounded expression.
Good. Maybe Ivy could keep Chancey distracted long enough that the angel would keep his hands off Charlie for a while. Or permanently, hopefully.
“Ivy can charm anyone he wants! What the hell?” Kallie shouted. “Why can’t it be that easy for us?”
“That means he knows what he’s doing. It’s good he’s giving us tips,” I said.
Opal was quiet. I nudged her and asked, “What’s wrong?”
She frowned. “I love Ivy. He’s my favorite cousin, and he’s family. But I’ve been worried about him for a while now. He’s a good person. But he doesn’t make good choices.”
That bothered me to hear, but Kallie shrugged it off. “Hey, he’s at the Institute now, which means he can’t fuck up that badly, right? Everything’s regulated.”
“I don’t know…” Opal’s tone was wary. “There are still plenty of ways to get into trouble here.”
We didn’t discuss it further, because Ezekiel entered the room. He saw me and gave a wave. He was carrying a load of papers, which he almost dropped. He scrambled to pick them up and bumped into a vampire, who sneered at him. Ezekiel gave a hurried apology and stumbled toward us.
Opal stiffened as he approached. Her green eyes got wide as she looked my brother up and down. It was like a freight train had fallen out of the sky and slammed into her as she watched my brother get closer and closer.
“Hey, Ava,” Ezekiel said breathlessly. “You know, there was a gang fight by the angel cellblock, and I didn’t really know what to do about it—”
“Yeah, just ignore it,” I told him. I hadn’t missed the way Opal was trying to hide herself behind me, and I wasn’t about to have that. I grabbed her by the arms and steered her in front of me. “Opal, this is my little brother, Ezekiel. We call him Ez. Ez, this is Opal. She’s a mermaid here at the Institute.”
“Oh, hi!” Ezekiel gave Opal a bright smile, like he’d just noticed her standing there. “I like your hair. Blue’s my favorite color.”
Opal touched the strands of her hair delicately, like Ez had just told her they were made of gold. “H-hi.”
Ezekiel sighed. “Ava, could you take me to Professor Ellender’s office? It’s not on the map the office gave me, and I have no idea where it is.”
“I wish, but I actually have a counseling session,” I said. “It’s on the other side of the prison. Oh, but you have a class that way,don’t you, Opal? You could show him.”
Opal squeaked, “I—”
“I’d appreciate it,” Ezekiel said, turning to her. “I’m totally lost around here.”
Opal’s look was pleading, but I wasn’t about to save her, and she knew it. She caved, her shoulders falling slightly. “Professor Ellender’s one of my teachers. I can take you there.”
“Really? Gee, thanks. You’re thebest,” Ezekiel said. Opal let out a soft squeak.
“Well, no use in standing around,” I said, putting a hand on each of their backs and pushing them out the door. “Better get to it.”
