“That makes sense. How do I know which path is the right one? How do I know what they want when they won’t speak to me?” I added a bit of a whine to my voice, hoping I sounded hopeless. Like someone who needed guidance.
Just as she was about to talk, Desi shouted our way. “Commander!”
Commander Maitoza looked away just long enough for me to dump the small bag of powder into her tea, stirring it with my finger and wincing at the burn.
“I’m so, so sorry Nova. Can we discuss this later? It seems Desi needs my attention right now.” Nodding, I sighed deeply. Her face held a soft smile, the expression seemingly genuine.Her hand reached out to grip my shoulder, her eyes wide and brows knitted together. “We’re going to figure this out, okay?”
“Okay,” I said. “Thank you.”
“No, thank you for coming to me with this. It means everything to me.”
Smiling, I tapped her hand on my shoulder and stood, dusting off my training leathers. “Better join the others. I’ll see you at fifteen hundred. We can talk after, right?”
As she stood, the commander grabbed her mug, taking a hefty sip before saying, “Of course.”
When I turned, I let my hesitant smile rise into a wicked grin.Show time.
By the time training was over, Desi was called away to help a very sick commander.
Chapter Forty
Azazel
“Caleb snuck into an eadi district today. He said they have dead, rotting bodies hanging from gallows.”
-From the journal of Azazel Altair, 9238 AS
Turns out, it wasn’t that hard to find Maitoza’s office, because it was the only door being guarded.
“Shit,” Quinn whispered. “What do we do now?”
“Does the man guarding the door have magic? Check.”
Quinn’s gaze moved from me to the man at the door, his eyes closing. The group of us watched as he silently worked, a strained look appearing on his face.
“He’s a shaytan.”
“Does he like men, women, or both?”
“What? Why does that matter?” Zura asked.
Ignoring her, I stared at Quinn, waiting for a response.
“Men.”
“Cal, you’re up.”
“Yes, captain,” Cal said, saluting me with his middle finger before straightening up and shaking his hair. He leaned down to Zura and Nova, whispering, “Watch daddy work.”
Then he was walking down the hall, pretending to head for the door to the right of the one being guarded. He feigned a double take at the man, rubbing his hands together in whatlooked like nerves. The guard caught sight of Cal immediately, his body shifting.
“Is he into him?” Nova asked.
“Everyone is into Cal,” Pri whispered, rolling her eyes as Cal turned and faced the guard.
We all watched in what could only be described as awe as Caleb walked up to the man, tucked a barely long enough curl behind his ear, and began talking. In seconds, the guard was smiling, his dark skin hiding the blush that I knew would otherwise be there. Nova held back a snort at my side when Cal reached forward and pulled the man in for a kiss.
A second later, the guard was dragging Caleb into the other room.
