He suspected she’d requested this meeting on someone else’s behalf. She’d been told to suss things out. She was clearly inferior to her benefactor, but her choice of seating was her way of telling Kieran she did not feel inferior to him.

She and her benefactor had likely believed all this would go over his head, given his age and relative lack of experience. They hadn’t given Valens enough credit for training his son.

So who was her benefactor?

Kieran reviewed her known alliances in the nearly silent room while they waited for Lexi to arrive. Nancy had made it quite clear she had no interest in idle chitchat, which had further driven home her pompous self-regard. But it was impossible to home in on any one ally. Being a mid-lister in the magical political world, above stronger level fives but nearly at the bottom of the Demigod hierarchy, she’d bowed and bent her way to obscurity in the Magical Summits, never standing firm on any issue. Never giving alliances a chance to blossom and fruit. Her vote, at this point, could be bought by the highest bidder. Heavens knew, with the way she was mishandling Ontario, she needed it. Anyone could be her benefactor. Anyone at all.

The person who had sent her surely knew that. Kieran was potentially dealing with a powerhouse, which could be any of the three active Demigods of Hades. Magnus might know Alexis was his just as easily as Aaron might think she was his. The third, Lydia, knew she hadn’t sired her, but that wouldn’t stop her from making a play to get someone so powerful in her Demigod line. Kieran needed to find out who it was, and where their interests lay.

The door swung open, admitting Red with the grim look she was known for. A warrior in assistant’s clothing. That fact would likely be lost on Nancy.

“Miss Price, sir,” she said, stepping aside.

Alexis glided into the room with slightly mussed hair. The cream dress he’d chosen for her swirled elegantly around her legs and plunged low at the neck, showcasing her perfect breasts and the sparkling diamond and sapphire necklace that dipped between them. The matching bracelet encircled her dainty wrist. He’d had the jewelry made to denote both of their magics, and he wished he could’ve watched her open the boxes. But he couldn’t have given them to her this morning or she would’ve known he’d reorganized her schedule to make sure she attended this meeting.

The mark he’d given her—announcing her as his chosen partner—enhanced her natural loveliness until she just about glowed from within.

He stood, speechless. Everyone else but Nancy stood with him, and he barely contained his surprise. This was an acknowledgement of status. Nancy clearly thought Alexis was more important than the staff she’d brought, all experienced level fives, and had prepped them beforehand.

A suspicion began to take form.

“Alexis, welcome,” Kieran managed, stepping away from his seat and holding out his hand.

Boman, at Kieran’s immediate left, stepped around him to pull out a chair for her.

“Greetings,” she said, then her face scrunched up and turned red. He couldn’t contain his smile. “Hi, I mean. Hello.”

“Miss Alexis Price, I presume?” Nancy said, resting her elbows on the table and smiling pleasantly.

Bria waltzed in behind Alexis and peeled off to stand at the wall. If she felt underdressed in a room full of people dressed in tailored suits and high fashion, she didn’t show it.

“Yes. Hi—llo. Hello.” Alexis bustled toward Nancy, her movements graceful despite her flustered state. That was from her physical training, something Nancy surely hadn’t done in over a hundred years.

She bent to take Nancy’s hand, obviously confused as to why Nancy had stayed seated. He purposely hadn’t told her anything about the constant, covert one-upmanship of Demigods. It had been a risk, but now he was damned glad. Alexis’s slip of unchecked confusion made it seem like she thought Nancy didn’t have enough status to continue sitting. Not while Kieran was standing, at any rate.

The way Nancy’s lips curved downward said she’d caught the meaning.

“This is Demigod Nancy of Ontario,” Kieran said to cover the moment. “She’s gracing us with her presence. You’ll remember, of course, that Nancy is a Demigod of Hermes.”

“Ah. Yes, of course.” Alexis took her seat, allowing the rest of the table to sit after her. Her blank face said she didn’t have a clue what Hermes was known for. She was the most unknowledgeable magical person he’d ever met. At the moment, it was hilarious, but it would be a problem if they were ever in a more powerful person’s presence. He’d need to help her work on that.

“Her line knows their way around the spirit world,” he went on.

“Oh, awesome,” she said, nodding, a sparkle in her eyes. “So you share that with the Hades Demigods, then.”

Thunderclouds rolled across Nancy’s face.

“Forgive her, Your Excellency,” Bria said with a placating smile. “I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but her mother raised her in the dual-society zone to protect her. Thank God, am I right? But she wasn’t given much of a magical education. I’ll just give her a little history so we’re all on the same page, shall I?” Without waiting for the go-ahead, Bria edged down the wall so she could better see Alexis. “Hermes isn’t as strong as the top three gods—Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. So while she is topnotch at zipping through the spirit world on an errand of some kind, she doesn’t have as much control or power as someone from Hades’s line.” Bria shrugged, and Kieran knew she understood every ounce of the shade she was throwing Nancy’s way. “But wow would she be useful training you up. All you need is a nudge, after all, and she could definitely provide that.”