“When the time comes, she could teach Daisy things I can’t,” Zorn said, and it was entirely clear these guys would do whatever was best for Kieran and the group as a whole. They would shove aside their egos for a stronger team.

The way Jerry was analyzing the others said he recognized it, too.

“Fuck.” Henry blew out a breath. “Highest offer is Magnus.”

The air in my lungs dried up.

“You’re sure she didn’t construct that board to get what she wants?” Kieran asked, leaning back in his chair.

“Checking on that now. It is possible, but…given her talent, unlikely. She wasn’t kidding—she could work for anyone she wanted to. There are a lot of players on this board, only a few throwing around big money. Magnus looks like he has a few posts, each increasing in amount. I’m just checking who else is represented here. Bidders are anonymous, so I have to hack into each account…”

“Magnus is in it to win it,” Thane said, coming back for more plates. “She’d know we can’t allow Magnus to get her. That dame is good.”

“Yes, she is,” Henry murmured. “The fifth highest offer is from Demigod Aaron. Looks like that was as high as he could go.”

“Hence the kidnapping attempt,” Red said, helping Thane and now Boman clear dishes. Jerry stood with his own plate, looked around at the others, and then skulked toward the sink without them. He clearly didn’t feel like a part of the group yet.

“Demigod Zander of London is number two.” Henry’s brow furrowed. “Demigod Elise of France, Demigod Ruby of South Africa… All the big-money players are in.”

“It bodes well that she wants to work with you, Kieran,” Bria said, leaning on the island.

“Except for the fact that she likes a challenge,” Donovan said. “Her interest in working with Kieran means she thinks keeping Alexis alive will be more of a challenge than helping Magnus kill her.”

Everyone around the table nodded.

Kieran blew out a breath. “She is probably wondering if I’ll go with what I want, which is to turn her away, or go with what is best for this outfit.”

“And what will you do?” I asked.

His gaze on me was steady. “I will protect you at all costs. I’ll need to bring her on. I can’t risk Magnus getting his hands on her. She’s been watching me, as she said. She’ll already know a few of my weaknesses. She also did help design some of my training, so she’ll know how to work around some of my strengths, too. She’d be Magnus’s ace in the hole, and he probably knows it.”

I nodded, feeling the anxiety pooling in him. His greatest fear was turning into his father, and he worried that accepting someone his father had trusted into his fold was a step in that direction.

“Okay, then. Besides that, what’s next?” I asked.

“We reconvene at home, figure out where this Lightning Rod is hiding, and decide if we go after him or not. After that…we meet Demigod Lydia. It’s time to edge into the dark waters of Hades,” Kieran said, and a wave of foreboding rolled over me. “It’s time to stick our necks out a little and see if she is friend or foe.”

10

Kieran

Kieran stood at the window in the living room, looking out over the beautiful, sparkling water of the Pacific Ocean, tired down to his bones. It had been two weeks since they’d left Montana, and those two weeks had been a whirlwind of power and information. He’d accepted Amber into the fold the day she’d come by, settling on the same salary she had been getting from Kieran’s father—considerably less than Magnus’s offer—with the same bonus structure bent on performance. It was a system that she said kept her hungry.

She’d barely walked away with the blood oath—executed in Montana before the ink had dried on her contract—and she was already performing. She’d sent Henry a list of her five nominees for additions to Kieran’s team, all of whom had been on the list compiled by Bria and Red. But Bria and Red hadn’t detailed the candidates’ hideouts, complete with the traps they’d laid to protect themselves, or devised incredibly clever plans to infiltrate said hideouts. Amber had even suggested which talking points might hit the hardest.

Kieran had told her that he would not, under any circumstances, force anyone to accept a blood bond. If he’d expected a nod to his morality, or perhaps frustration that his way made things harder, he didn’t get either reaction. She took in the information and altered her strategies accordingly, without delay or emotion. She was a machine, a highly effective, incredibly intelligent machine, and Daisy had started watching everything she did. It remained unclear if that was good or bad.

Kieran had waited until they were back in San Francisco to give Jerry the blood oath. The giant had taken the whole situation stoically, barely speaking, and when it was over, he’d made his way to the back porch, sat, and looked out over the ocean.

Alexis walked in behind Kieran and slid her arms around his waist. He relished the feel of her warmth as she leaned against his back.

“Whatcha thinkin’ about?” she asked.

“The calm before the storm. Amber and Henry think they have a location for the Lightning Rod.” He heard Alexis’s release of breath and turned so he could fold her into his arms. “They are doing some risk assessment.”

“They work well together.”

“Very well. Amber pushes Henry to get better, and Henry has no problem stepping aside if she wants to take the lead. From a few remarks I’ve overheard in passing, Henry gets the feeling that she’s used to getting pushback from male colleagues.”

“Your guys aren’t like that.”

“I know. And I think it’s thawing Amber just a little. There might be a human in there yet.”

She braced her chin on his chest and looked up at him. “Did you set up the meeting with Demigod Lydia?”

He rubbed her back and kissed her forehead. Then, because he couldn’t stop himself, he kissed the tip of her nose and her full lips. “I’ve given her a tentative time period and laid down some ground rules. Obviously your safety is the most important consideration. I’m hoping she’s trying to set up an alliance against the other Hades Demigods. While most people in their right minds wouldn’t go in with her on it, most people aren’t hoping to marry the daughter of a kid killer.”

A flurry of excitement and nervousness bled through the soul link. A sweet smile curved her lips. She was trying to play it cool, but her emotions didn’t lie. Hope flowed like a spring within him. He had the ring, he had a plan, but he really, really didn’t want to get a no this time.

“And if your hope of an alliance is in vain?”

“My next best guess is that she’s luring us in to trap us, with the intention of delivering us to Magnus and gaining his favor. Either play would be a strong one. From our talks, it’s clear she is intelligent enough to think of, and plan for, either approach. I’m preparing for both.”

“Is Lydia the least politically powerful of the Hades Demigods?” she asked, gliding her palms over his chest.

“She and Aaron have about the same amount of territory and holdings. Magnus is one of the more powerful Demigods in the world. They have a subtle kind of feud, from what I’ve heard, but I couldn’t get any additional information on it. She would never want to take him on alone, but she might want to do it with help.” He kissed her again, flitting his tongue between her lips.