“At ease, boys,” Carina drawls, walking around as if she owns the place. Which, I suppose, she actually might. “Amara isn’t new blood, but she came from the same place as several of the women, and swung by to ensure they were being treated right.”
It isn’t lost on me that she left off name dropping her brother this time when she’s been so quick to do so all morning.
One woman peeks out from behind a guard. “What would you have done if we weren’t?”
––––––––
“Fixed it,” I immediatelyreply without hesitation, not knowing how the hell I’d even pull that off besides being a pain in the guys’ asses until they caved and did something.
A girl on the other side of the hall snorts. She can’t be more than fourteen, and my stomach lurches at the sight of her here. “Oh, it’s that easy, is it?”
Carina offers zero help. Crossing her arms, she leans against the nearest wall, watching me as intently as the dozen people in the hallway.
“Very few things in life are easy, but the things that are worth fighting for are just that; worth the effort. I’m not going to leverage my position to manipulate Raiden into doing what I want, but it’d be a waste if I didn’t use the opportunity to skirt some problems to the front of the line for him to address. This city is his baby. If anything shitty was happening in it, it’s not because he allowed it, it’s because he didn’t know it was happening. So if I told him there was a problem in the transition center, I’ve no doubt he’d drop everything to fix it.”
Crickets surround me, and with the increasingly loud silence, I repeat my words back to myself, realizing how vehemently I defended him. Cringing, I add, “And if he tells me to fuck off and that he has it handled, I’ll at least sneak out to come warn you guys so you can make your own decisions on if you want to stay or not. I can’t really keep your enemies at bay, but I can set something on fire and cause a distraction while you make a break for the hills.”
Another few heavy heartbeats of weighted silence have me questioning everything and scrambling to retract my declarations, but the teenager steps out from behind one of the security behemoths and gapes at me. “Wait a damn minute. Are you Raiden’smate?!”
Sheepishly rubbing the back of my neck, I nod. “Stone and Kodiak’s as well. Maybe it sounds naive, but I really don’t think I’d even have to con them into doing something. From what I’ve observed over the last month, they all care about this place to a degree, but Raiden would sooner slit his own throat than sacrifice what he’s built here. He believes in it so much it’s actually led to some...tensionbetween us. I had a less than stellar experience when I visited Khalida a few years back, and he’s still beating himself up over it. So, you know, if you have any suggestions or complaints please let me know, and I’ll make sure they don’t get lost in the shuffle. Even if I have to resort to taping the notes to my tits to make sure someone notices.”
More silence. Awesome. Not uncomfortable at all.
Another woman has tears streaking down her cheeks as she inches closer, and I immediately retreat a step, but Carina shoves me forward without remorse, then saunters over to stand with the others so I’m not boxed in. “I dreamt of this place for years. It was the only thing that got me through the worst of it; knowing that if I could make a break for it, there was somewhere I could go. I willneverforget that. If you or your legion ever needs anything I’m capable of helping with, please, don’t hesitate to ask.”
The teenager gnaws on her bottom lip for a minute before blurting, “Same. I’ll be here another four years before I can strike out on my own, so I’m practically your corporately-written-off foster child, anyway. If you need something to flip for some quick cash, feel free to hit me up while I can still get off with a slap on the wrist for being underaged. Could come in handy if you need to abandon ship and want some company.”
A warning growl rumbles from the behemoth standing behind her. “Stop trying to con people into running away with you, kid, no one that comes to Khalida is gonna bite. They come here to getawayfrom the rest of the world’s bullshit. Don’t go dragging this poor woman into trouble just ‘cause you’re bored.”
She flips off with a smirk. “That’s where you’re wrong, Jericho. They come here for all kinds of reasons. I distinctly remember you dragging me here kicking and screaming.”
He pales, looking at me nervously and raising his hands in surrender. “I swear, Ms. Garrison, it’s not what it sounds like. Terra’s as bad as Carina and starts shit just for the hell of it. Your mate sent me to bail her out of juvy, but we’re not holding her captive, just trying to keep her off the streets and out of the human’s foster care system. Hoping by the time she hits eighteen she’ll have gained some sense and stop trying to get herself killed by being reckless.”
The more flustered he gets, the more Terra beams, proud of herself. “Besides, this one’s different. She’s mated to the city’s overlord andstillis thinking about ways to escape. For us, too. If anyone was going to take me up on my offer, it’d be her. Isn’t that right, Amara?”
I cock my head, trying to figure out if she’s just a typical teenager talking shit, or actually serious and is being held here against her will. “What kind of shifter are you?”
She grins, the look manic and mildly unhinged.I’m sure she and Carina get along famously.Striding right up to me, she coaxes me down to her level and angles her back to the others to block their view, takes my hand, but says nothing. Seconds later, the black ink of the ouroboros tattoo around her left wrist comes alive, spinning in place as it devours itself on an endless loop before it stills once more. She winks, but there’s a hard glint of warning in her violet eyes.
“Others have been asking the same question for six months now, so I’m afraid you’ll have to be disappointed,” she announces, and I catch the narrowed eyes of Jericho over her shoulder. “Got caught flipping a forged Monet in Tallahassee. Product was good, they couldn’t tell it apart from the original, and it still pisses them off that I never cracked and admitted who I was working for.” Silently, she mouths, ‘It was me. I’m amazing.’ “Buyer was a cop, though; setup. Jericho here came to fetch me before I broke out of juvy and brought even more attention to myself, and has kept me under his annoyingly watchful eye ever since. You?”
––––––––
Swallowing, I lifta palm, praying for Stone’s performance enhancer not to let me down. “Dragon; electricity.” Sparks visibly crackle across my skin like it did when I was a child, blue arcs dancing over my palm and up my forearm, appearing more impressive and dangerous than I actually am.
Her brow furrows. “Why do you say electricity instead of lightning?”
Not sure what to make of the question, I pull a matching face, staring down at my hand. “Aren’t they the same thing?”
Bright violet eyes lock onto my face as she slowly drawls, “Exactly. So why would you try to sound weaker than you are by calling it electricity instead of threatening people with being able to smite them where they stand?”
An ominous sensation grows in the pit of my stomach, but I force a smile, even if I don’t feel it. “Maybe I don’t get off on lording my power over people.”
She narrows her eyes, scrutinizing my face, but doesn’t comment. Instead, she dips her head slowly, almost as if in respect, but with her amethyst gaze cutting into mine like jagged shards, I see it exactly for what it is.
Acknowledgement that we’re both playing a role right now.
Carina chimes in before anyone else has a chance to decipher our silent conversation. “I’ve only got the princess until dusk, and we have a lot of ground to cover before she turns into a pumpkin, so we really should be going.”
