Kieran could do little more than blink in amazement.

Sodge had orchestrated the entire situation that had led to this meeting? How could it be?

But there was no denying the truth of what he’d said. Flora had been no match for Kieran and his team, and he did not expect her to stand up to him again. He’d realized that shortly after the end of their battle. He’d even thought, fleetingly, that at least one good had come out of the failed journey to grab the Thunderstroke.

Sodge had set out to get a blood oath from someone he hated but deemed as good as Valens, and in so doing had helped Kieran remove some of his competition. But his genius hadn’t ended there—he’d also bartered for a better deal in the future.

“Did I just get manipulated by a butler?” he asked the quiet room. “I just got manipulated by a butler. And fed a slew of backhanded compliments. What the…”

He let his mind wander. With this taken care of, he was free to spend all his time on the upcoming meeting. He doubted it would be anywhere near as easy as dealing with Flora had been.

He also wondered what Sodge knew about Demigod Lydia. He’d take any information he could get. First, of course, he’d hurry up with that blood oath. He didn’t need Sodge hatching some other elaborate plan without his knowledge.

22

Alexis

A furry head rubbed against my knee. I jerked away, not having expected it, and then stared down at the absolutely enormous snow-white cat that would apparently be staying. Not even six months old, he was as big as a medium-sized dog. His sister was the same size. I wondered if Harding’s possession of the father cat had somehow muddled the DNA of two of the kittens in the litter. Otherwise, it was genes gone wild.

Deep forest-green eyes surveyed me patiently. His tail flicked.

“I suppose we should probably name you now,” I said, leaning forward to run my hand over his fuzzy head. His fur was downy soft and puffy. “Where’s your sister? Tell her we don’t want any more mice left on the white carpet. Sodge will kill you before you can make it outside. I’m not kidding, that guy is grumpy as hell.”

Grumpier than hell, actually. He’d had the blood oath he’d basically orchestrated for two weeks. If anyone had thought that would settle him a little, or diminish the hard scowls, they had been sorely mistaken. His expression nearly put me off the meals he delivered to me. And the guys making dinner? Sodge wouldn’t stop muttering about how unseemly it was. Turned out it was about as unseemly as Bria and I swearing or not sitting with our legs crossed.

“We got one!”

I looked around in confusion. It was Frank’s voice, but I had no idea where it was coming from.

“Watch him, boys, he’s up to no good,” he yelled. “Where’s he going? I said watch him, goddammit! Follow him.”

I set aside my laptop, which I’d been using to study the goings-on in Demigod Lydia’s section of the world, a type of desert oasis within Egypt, mostly removed from any of the larger cities. She’d fashioned herself a large palace in the desert, from which she ruled an area that boasted a few resorts lining the Red Sea. Since the resorts hosted both magicals and non-magicals, it almost seemed like a dual-society zone setup, but unlike the dual-society zone in San Francisco, which was dirty and mostly ignored by both sides of the divide, this one looked busy, with high prices and clean sidewalks. Her territory dollars seemed mostly to come from tourism.

Frank stood with his back to the patio doors, fists on his hips, looking out to the right. “Do you see him? Where’d he go, John?”

“Around to the front,” I heard. “Let Alexis know. He’s not a paparazzo.”

“But he has a camera, John. What else could he be?”

“Tell Alexis to go to the front door!”

My magical awareness always encompassed the house. If someone dared to come inside without permission, I’d feel them. But I’d pulled back from monitoring the yard because of the paparazzi. My spirit sentinels did it for us, saving me from having to jump at every false alarm.

Kieran’s compromise had been a press conference last week, warning everyone that he was beefing up security for the neighborhood, and especially for the house. If someone trespassed, they’d suffer the consequences.

Meaning me.

If this was a paparazzo, he was going to get a punch in the spirit box.

Frank turned around as I pushed out my magical awareness. When he saw me on the other side of the glass, his eyes widened and he screamed. He scrambled backward, flailing his arms.

A soul popped onto my radar, working toward the front, John close behind him. My heart jumped in my throat, and I turned and ran, dodging around Sodge and thundering down the hall.

“I got it,” I yelled, ignoring his grumbling about ladies running in the house.

I reached the front door just as the doorbell rang. I ripped it open, a smile already spreading across my face.

The early afternoon sun beamed down on Dylan’s golden highlights. He wore a plain white T-shirt that hugged his defined, wiry muscles. The look on his face indicated he still wasn’t sure if he should be here. A cheap camera on a canvas strap hung around his neck, not even a good disguise. Though good enough for Frank, clearly.

“Come in,” I said, standing back and waving him in. “Kieran is at the government building with most of the guys.”

“Good news. We can duel in peace without the Demigod altering the outcome.”

“Exactly.”

“And the kids?”

“They’re training. Separately, but they’re both gone. It’s just me and the really old, really ornery butler that will make you feel bad if you ask for anything.”

“Now wait just a minute,” Frank said, having recovered from his scare and followed me to the front. John stood off to the side, keeping an eye on the street. He must’ve recognized Dylan from the battle in the woods. “No, no, no, this is not right, Alexis. You can’t entertain a man like that without a proper chaperone. What would Kieran say?”

Dylan passed into the house, and I put a hand on my hip as I stared Frank down. “A proper chaperone? What would Kieran say? Frank, did the various moves over the last year mess with your mind? Since when do I need a chaperone to invite a man into my house? Kieran’s Six spend more time in this house than they do their own.”

“Kieran’s Six are moral, loyal men. They wouldn’t prey on a young lady like this handsome buck probably will.”

“And what if he does, Frank? You think I’m helpless, do you?”

John huffed out a laugh and shook his head. “I think it’s about time for that old coot to cross the Line,” he said. “He’s lost all his marbles.”

Frank put up a finger, his lips tight. “Alexis Price, don’t you sass me. You can’t just go inviting paparazzi into your house. The handsome ones have a way about them. You don’t want to accidentally slip up. You can’t afford to lose Kieran. He—”

I slammed the door in his face. John could enlighten him about Dylan’s real identity if he saw fit. Not like it would matter. The only thing Frank cared about was getting me to seal the deal with Kieran so I would finally, after all this time, have someone to look after me. His gumdrop dreams were becoming a problem.