‘There he is,’ she purrs.Sitting on the console desk, legs swinging, she has on thosekillerboots today, the ones adorned with thin silver chains and spurs on the thick heel.‘Ça va, mon cœur?’
There’s never any mistaking Céliane Malréve once you’ve seen the weaponised metal wrapping her hands like skeletal gloves, elegant and vicious, the sharpened tips currently retracted into a design beautiful enough to almost disguise what it’s built to do.Her hair is cut into a sleek blood-red bob that frames her face with surgical precision, and she’s dressed entirely in black.She has five or six years on Kade at least, is barely over five feet tall and easy to overlook if you don’t realise you’re staring at death incarnate.
She is the maker of ingenious, impossible things most people couldn’t even imagine and years ago, when Kade had so many ideas for improving the once-outdated high rise of Iron Star, she was the one to provide material application and help make his ideas a reality.
‘Avec toi ici?Toujours, ma cherie,’ he reels off easily in response, taking in her attire (casual) and her stance (friendly) and then studies the other three.Riley’s arms are crossed while Cole and Finn seem vaguely troubled, glancing between the three.Kade doesn’t blame them.
If she’s here, something isup.
Her laugh is soft and small, eyeing him up all over without the slightest hint of apology.They’ve always been reasonably close, as close as anyone gets to Céliane orLeeas Kade is allowed to call her.She’s one of the deadliest people he knows and the most unpredictable.Lee is the head ofLast Light, a shadow syndicate made up entirely of women, highly trained mercenaries specialising in contract killing and little else.They operate worldwide, using Varrow City as one of their primary bases.Lee isn’t part of the Varrow City Accords, but Iron Star maintains good relations.
Lee hops down from the console, switching to accented English, mostly for Riley’s sake.To Kade, there’s nothing quite as melodic as French speakers deciding English is worth the effort.
‘You seem out of sorts, darling.Shall I read the cards for you?’
Kade knows better than to refuse such a generous offer from this woman but it’s not exactly the time.‘Later, if you would?’
‘What have I told you about making mansions of now?’
‘Céliane.’Riley never calls her Lee even though he could.
Lee swipes console screens with lukewarm interest.‘Yes?’
‘We should talk to Kade alone, don’t you think?’
‘But I like your little techs watching me,mon trésor,’ she says to Riley.Lee narrows her eyes at the screen.‘That’s him,’ she confirms and Kade knows instantly who it is she’s talking about.‘Where is he now?’
They all look to Kade, who says, ‘I have no idea.’
Riley asks, ‘When is he coming back?’
‘How should I know?’
Subtle unhappiness clouds Riley’s expression.‘Boys, take five.’Cole and Finn leave the Watch as they rarely do.Lee has grown bored of the console now, so she hops back up to sit where she was before, legs swinging as she looks between them.‘Lying to my face, huh?’
‘I’m not—’ Kade stops himself, jaw tight.Riley’s a human lie detector and Kade knows that better than anyone, but just thisonceit’d be nice to get something past him.He doesn’t want to share his conversation with Lachlan.He switches the focus.‘Is it true what he told me about the perimeter defence?’
Riley doesn’t even flinch.‘We have defensive systems, you know that.’
‘Do we have the sonic disruptor thing?’
‘Oh, you mean theHush Line?’Lee asks innocently.
‘How do you know the name?’
‘I engineered it for Tanner when he asked,’ she explains and his suspicion clicks into place.‘I developed many things from his scribbles back in the day, but this was one he declined to use as it was too extreme by his own calculations.I personally suggested the use of one-way orienting, but he was afraid the old man would weaponise it against his son,’ Lee says, staring at Kade, comfortably intense.
A million new questions bubble up, demandinganswers, but Kade’s voice turns small and hefeelssmall when he asks the thing he needs to know the most, ‘Am I him?Was it me?’
‘I never saw Julian Penhalyx.’
‘That’s not what I asked.’
‘But my sister did.’
‘Your sister?’Kade knows only very little about Lee’s sister, for she is rarely spoken of and personal conversations with Lee require careful footing.
‘She’s the reason I’m here.’
