“Isn’t it risky for Salvatore to put a casino right in the middle of downtown Chicago, where even the humans can see him?” I asked. “It’s not exactly hidden.”
“The doors of The Devil’s City are open to everyone, even humans,” Dorian said.
“They let humans inside?” Marcus questioned, shocked. “What about magical secrecy?”
“You don’t understand, my boy. They let humansin, but they do not let them out,” Dorian replied.
Ugh. I got it. Any humans who chanced going into The Devil’s City immediately became food or were sold as blood slaves. No need to keep magic a secret when you killed or enslaved everyone who walked in.
“Why hasn’t the United Supernatural Union gotten involved?” Kallie questioned. “That seems like a big violation ofinternational magical law, to let humans into a place for supes, then to sell off said humans to be fed on.”
“The Union tends to look the other way when it comes to Salvatore Bianchi and his dealings,” Dorian said dryly. “Unfortunately, he has a lot of power here, and any attempts the Union has made to arrest him have only led to their own officers being killed. In awful ways, I may add.”
At least we didn’t have to worry about Union reps crawling around Chicago looking to bring us in, but that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. If even the Union was scared of Salvatore, we needed to be more careful than we already were.
“I will not take more of your time,” Dorian said kindly, and he handed Eddie a set of key cards. “The Elvish Associates have been given their own rooms. The prince and his court will stay in the penthouse suite, which is our grandest chamber. I hope you will be comfortable staying with us, and if you need anything, merely ask, and I will run to your aid.”
“We appreciate it,” Charlie said, and he turned back toward the elevators. “Come on, guys. We need to get to bed.”
We took the elevator up. The Associates ducked out on the second to the topmost floor, while we went all the way to the top.
“You know Dorian?” I whispered to Ivy as we headed up.
Ivy dropped their gaze, looking a little ashamed. “He helped Danny and me out when we were down on our luck. I used to bring clients here every now and then when I could manage it, because it was the only place I felt safe doing my job. Dorian didn’t approve, but he gave me a room for free to do my business, and he backed me up when my dad tossed me out of the mob. He kicked me out when he learned I was using in one of the rooms, though. I haven’t been back since.”
“Maybe you can patch things up with him,” I offered.
Ivy shrugged. “Maybe.”
The penthouse really was grand. The suite was massive, with a kitchen and dining room suited for twelve, a widescreen TV placed in front of a large sectional sofa, a balcony that overlooked the city, and a dozen rooms. We had the top floor all to ourselves.
I rolled onto the penthouse’s balcony and looked out. The Devil’s City was only eight blocks away from the Scarlet Grand Hotel. The Scarlet Grand was taller than the buildings surrounding it, so I had a clear view of The Devil’s City. It was a massive, mostly windowless tower, with only a line of windows streaking the outer corners. The building sparkled with colorful spotlights which lured gamblers into the casino. I knew that place was crawling with vampires, strippers and all kinds of illegal activity. It rose into the sky, several stories higher than the Scarlet Grand, and looked absolutely intimidating.
Not to mention phallic. I swear, Salvatore was compensating for something.
Charlie went to take a shower, which left me an opening to speak to Marcus in private. I had to talk to him before we went through with the plan. I quietly approached Marcus, who was rummaging for snacks in the stocked kitchen.
“Did you do what I asked?” I said quietly. Guilt sank like a rock into my stomach, but even so, Ihadto double check.
After the circus, I’d discussed what Danny and Chancey had brought up to me with Marcus, and asked him to use teleinsight to get into Charlie’s head and see if he was keeping any secrets. I really didn’t want to, but Oberi had encouraged me to ask, because she’d thought it was a good idea to have certainty. I despised the thought of rooting around in Charlie’s head without his permission, because he’d made a promise long ago that he’d never do that to me. But Danny’s words kept eating away at my conscience, and I needed to be sure.
Marcus nodded as he took a bag of cookies down from the cabinet. “Yeah. Sorry, Ava, but I didn’t find anything. Everything in his head is stuff we’ve already discussed. As far as I can tell, Charlie isn’t hiding secrets from us. The fact that I could get into his head at all is proof of that, because I shouldn’t be able to access a demigod’s mind without consent, and Charlie’s not blocking me.”
“I thought so.” I dropped my gaze, ashamed that I’d mistrusted my husband.
Now I was sure Charlie wasn’t planning anything devious. And I was angry at Danny for swaying me toward disbelieving Charlie’s promises. “Thanks, Marcus. Ancestors, I feel awful. What kind of a wife am I, to do something like this to him?”
“Hey, don’t feel bad. I’m his best friend, and I said yes,” he said, giving a remorseful frown. “I wouldn’t have agreed if I didn’t wonder that something was up.”
“Did you really think there was?”
He shrugged. “He has been acting kind of…differentlately, and that’s why I agreed to do it. But maybe that’s just the mob boss coming out in him. Cassiel’s been pushing him to be all he can be. I don’t blame him for starting to crack under the pressure.”
That had to be it. If Charlie was stressed out that his grandpa had such high expectations of him, I needed to be here to support him, not judging his every move. I promised myself that I’d trust Charlie fully from now on, no questions asked.
The heist was going to begin at ten, which meant we had to get up early. It was already one o’clock in the morning, so everyone went off to bed without much more than a goodnight. Kallie and Marcus lingered on the living room couch while Charlie and I went off to our bedroom, which obviously was the biggest.
The four-poster bed was almost as soft as the one back in our quarters in Ilamanthe. I sank into it, feeling absolutely luxurious. Oberi was already snoring at my feet. As Charlie waved his hand, the candles in the room that were burning went out, leaving us in darkness.
