My hand circled around the doorknob then dropped again. “Wait, what?”

  “You heard me. I’ll not repeat it.” Pint lifted his chin and stared at the door expectantly.

  “Pint, you know you can’t grow any bigger than you are. You’re cursed.”

  “Don’t quash my dreams.”

  I held back a laugh. “Okay. If it helps, I think you have Sybil wrapped around your little talon.”

  “Then my plan is working.” He nodded, and I opened the door.

  As was so often the case, I felt better after talking to Pint. Without him, I’d forget to laugh most days. There was value in slowing down. With my mind clear and the confidence that comes from good friends, I went back to Sybil’s ready to find the monster Nicholas had become.

  40

  Christoff’s contact app sat open in front of me, hopefully for the last time. Like before, I’d take each name and plug it into the Internet and see what I got.

  “Now that you know Nicholas Yusov is behind this, I’m going to take that intelligence back to the Circle,” Alistair said. “There might be some record of what he did after Bernhardt’s death. Once you figure out the human identity he’s assumed, communicate it to me and I’ll see if that name has tripped any wires back at headquarters. Is there anything else you want me to pass along?”

  I remembered the notification from Trevor. “Yes, I have a list of all the Be Your Best Self meetings on Saturday. It was posted right before Sybil texted me. I know it’s too little too late, but see what you can do with it.” I forwarded the schedule to his phone.

  “Excellent. I’ll see if the Circle can send agents to each of these. Pass along anything you get, and I’ll do the same. Good luck.” He formed a portal right there in the living room and stepped through. Under normal circumstances, he didn’t form portals in front of me. He only did it now because of the urgency and probably because we were at Sybil’s. It wouldn’t seem weird to make one in her apartment, but it didn’t make it any less painful for me to see one. A part of me would always long for Elustria. However, part of that longing was for the memory of a place where I could perform magic freely without my cuff. That place didn’t exist anywhere.

  The portal disappeared, and I focused back on the laptop. Every name that I searched produced social media profiles with happy pictures and enthused testimonials about the Be Your Best Self movement. None of them looked remotely like Nicholas. After an hour, I began to wonder if he had altered his appearance in some way.

  “What if he’s using a fake picture?” Deacon asked.

  “No, that would defeat the purpose. All of the social media profiles exist to bring people into the movement. People don’t trust people who put fake pictures on their profiles.” I decided to keep my own doubts to myself. There weren’t any better ideas on offer, so there was no need to lose faith in this one. Some of the names didn’t turn up anything. I flagged those and kept going.

  I searched the last name in his contact app and got an older redheaded gentleman. Not Nicholas. “Shit, it’s got to be one of the names that didn’t turn up anything.”

  “Did you see a picture of a worm? Because that would be our guy,” Pint said.

  “Ha, ha.” Three names from his contacts didn’t turn up a social media profile with a picture. I started searching their contact information. One of the names had a St. Louis phone number. That had to be an alias for Jonathan. I could safely cross that off the list. Only two more names to go. Searching their phone numbers revealed one was in Atlanta and the other was in Olympia, WA. Both of them had emails at the beyourbestself.club domain, so that was no help.

  “Go back and look at their social media profiles again,” Deacon said from over my shoulder.

  I pulled up Ben Greenfeld, the Atlanta phone number. His profile was largely private, so we couldn’t glean much from it. The next profile, Richard Burns, was much the same. The only thing we could see on either profile was their friends list. When I clicked through to see their friends’ profiles, one difference did appear.

  So excited for the party this Saturday at Richard’s house! I’m so blessed he entered my life. #beyourbestself

  Just got an invite to Richard’s this weekend. This is what happens when you stay true to the path. You get to learn from the greats. #beyourbestself

  “Richard has to be Nicholas,” I said. “He’s going to want to make a spectacle tomorrow. The other guy has crickets on his friends list.” My stomach churned at the thought of Nicholas not only perpetrating the attacks but also turning it into a party. The Nicholas I had known was a gentle soul, only wanting peace. Had that front hidden this seed of violence that had grown in him all his life? Or had the seed been planted by me? I shook the thoughts from my head. Pint was right. I wasn’t responsible for his actions. I may be responsible for his pain, but he was the twisted soul who decided to turn that pain into this.

  “All right, so how do we find him?” Sybil asked. “I’ll port us there, and we’ll get his detonator.”

  I did a quick search of his name but didn’t come up with any addresses for a Richard Burns in Washington. Between his phone number and the fact that all the people we’d found who were going to his house lived in the Olympia area, it was safe to assume that’s where he lived. A look at the property records for the area covered by his phone number didn’t produce anything. He was either renting or had purchased a property with a corporation to protect his privacy. I couldn’t imagine that given what he had planned he’d risk renting. A landlord was a liability. “I can’t find an address for him. He’s not going to make that information publicly available.”

  “Maybe you can get it from one of the people going,” Deacon said.

  “I can try, but I doubt it’ll work.” I made a profile under a fake name with a cartoon avatar. I doubted anyone would accept my friend request, but it was worth a shot. I made a few posts about the Be Your Best Self movement and then clicked through Richard’s friends list sending out requests. One of the friends stood out. Bianca Klein, a real estate agent. She was the only one who didn’t post about the movement. I scoured her profile until I found it: one line thanking Richard for his business. “She’s our way in.”

  “Do you think you can get her to tell us which house she sold him?” Sybil asked. “We could always coerce her then have me erase her memory.” She held her hands up, drumming her fingers together like a TV villain. I’d created a monster in St. Louis.

  “No extreme tactics necessary. We don’t harm innocent humans, even if they don’t remember it. She didn’t do anything wrong by selling him a house.” I turned to Deacon. “We’re going to go house hunting tomorrow morning.”

  “That seems like an awfully long, roundabout way to get what we need. We’re on a clock here,” he said.

  I didn’t need reminding. Years on the job had taught me trying to hurry almost always led to failure. Sticking with a solid plan, even if it seemed to take longer, was often the quickest route to success. “This is our best option. Even if we do get one of Richard’s friends to bite, which isn’t likely, I don’t want to risk throwing up red flags unless it’s a last resort. We can do this.”

  Deacon searched my eyes for something, probably a sign that I lied. He wouldn’t find it. One, I was an excellent liar. Two, I wasn’t lying. We could do this. I let him take as long as he needed and didn’t turn away from his green eyes that somehow always seemed to see me better than anyone else. He nodded. “Then set it up.”

  41

  The green surrounding Olympia was stunning after the Arizona desert. This was a natural green, not the color from manmade lawns and carefully manicured golf courses. Between the majestic mountains and the colors of life all around, it reminded me of where Nicholas lived in Elustria. I could understand why he chose to settle here.

  Deacon and I stood outside a multimillion-dollar home waiting for Bianca. She only dealt in high-end real estate. To secure a showing, I sent her a forged pre-approval letter. I was betting she wouldn’t verify it. All things considered, humans were terribly trusting.

  The house had a cobblestone driveway and immaculate yard with bushes trimmed into absurd shapes. Cobblestones always struck me as a ridiculous rich-person thing. What sensible person wants their car bouncing on the way to and from home? What possible function did it serve? The house itself was blue with white trim and a huge wraparound porch, the kind people dreamed of. Even now I could picture myself sitting on a rocking chair watching the sunset over the pines that surrounded the home.

  “Now remember, don’t feel like you have to do any talking. You can just stand there and look pretty and leave this one to me,” I told Deacon. “And stop fidgeting with your ring.”

  He dropped his hands to his side. The wedding ring was a new addition to his wardrobe for our cover. I had one too, as well as an engagement ring. They weren’t strictly necessary, but given Deacon’s skills in deception, we could use all the help we could get.

  “I’ll be fine,” Deacon said, his tone reassuring. “You just focus on getting the information we need. I won’t blow our cover. Pretending to be your husband is one of the easier assignments I’ve had.”

  I didn’t dwell on that or the little half smile he gave me. Instead I took his hand in mine and started walking around the property, pointing out different features of the house. I had chosen this listing because it came with a lot of land, and land meant privacy. We wouldn’t have to worry about any snooping neighbors wondering who we might be.

  A BMW bounced into the drive precisely at ten. Bianca stepped out, hair expertly coiffed, heavy jewelry perfectly complementing her suit despite the early hour, and wearing high heels that made my feet hurt just looking at them. She strode to us with the confidence of a woman who expected to land a commission on a three-million-dollar home by lunch. She reached out a hand and introduced herself first to Deacon then to me. I returned her handshake firmly, pulling her slightly to me as I turned and walked to the house, making it clear that I was the one she needed to speak to.

  “Nadiya, what attracted you and your husband to this area?” Bianca asked as she opened the lockbox on the door.

  “We wanted something with a lot of space. Privacy is very important to us.”

  “I understand. I have a lot of clients who feel the same way. You’ll certainly have lots of privacy with this property. The house is completely hidden from the main road. But wait until you see the view out the back.” She slipped the door open and gestured for me and Deacon to precede her into the foyer.

  “Look, honey, it has a marble entryway.” I oohed at the floor. In reality, marble was another thing I found strange. It was hard and unforgiving on the feet, not to mention cold, but I knew humans expected me to be impressed by it.

  “Yes, very nice.” Deacon nodded as he looked around.

  Bianca led us from room to room, pointing out all the expensive details like the crown molding, the chair rails, the elaborate fixtures. The kitchen could easily be used to cook for a party of twenty. White granite shined under the bright lights. Not a speck of dust could be found anywhere. The master bedroom had his and hers closets that my apartment could easily fit inside.

  Then she took us out back, and I gasped at the view. White-capped mountains punctuated the clear blue sky and vivid green grass carpeted the ground. All things considered, there were worse ways to spend three million dollars. Beside me, Deacon was as awed by the sight as I was. I could see in his eyes a desire that matched mine. How easy it would be to buy this house, settle down, pretend like the world around us didn’t exist. Rest.

  But it was ten thirty now, and we had an attack to thwart and people to save. “Bianca, if we were to get this house, we’d want security. Do you have a company you recommend?”

  “Of course. Mountain Shield Security is my go-to.” She pulled their card out of her planner and handed it to me.

  “What kind of security do they provide?” I asked, looking over the card.

  “They have full twenty-four seven monitoring, video surveillance, motion detectors, alarms, the whole package.” She rattled this off, intending for their offering to sound impressive.

  I sucked in a breath, as if I were considering how to let her down gently. “That’s not quite at the level I was looking for.” Bianca’s eyes widened slightly and she looked at us differently, as if we were those type of people: paranoid with more money than sense. “No.” I shook my head and laughed. “It’s not what you think. Yes, we want security, but I’m also asking for professional reasons. I used to be in the security business, and I’m hoping to find a company here to work with.”

  Bianca’s eyes relaxed, and she nodded knowingly. “I understand. Well, they did a rather large job for one my clients a little over a year ago. He was quite insistent on going over the top. We’re talking an electric fence, a safe room, all of his doors and windows were blast resistant, everything you can think of.”

  “Wow. That’s quite a home setup. You’d think someone like that would just get a place in the middle of nowhere.”

  “Oh, he did. Bought a house surrounded by three hundred acres. The commission off his sale was more than I usually make in a year.”

  I sidled up next to her now, as if we were cohorts. “So tell me, was he famous?”

  She sighed and shook her head. “No, I wish. That would have at least made dealing with him interesting. He was just some type of motivational speaker who is really paranoid about his privacy.”

  Yep, that was our guy. We wouldn’t get an address from her, but we had enough information to find it. Not many three-hundred-acre residential properties would have sold a year ago. A few minutes on my phone and I’d probably have it. Using human technology was right out of the Directorate playbook. I knew Nicholas wouldn’t have bought a place without making sure he’d be protected from any agents the Circle might send. Sorcerers, even agents from the Circle stationed on Earth, didn’t fully understand humans and their technology. Most sorcerers didn’t even have a desire to. I was the only agent who posed a threat because I was the only one who lived without magic. You couldn’t understand humans when magic literally poured from your fingertips.

  “Honey, don’t we need to leave if we’re going to make brunch?” Deacon asked, coming to my side and placing a hand on my back. We had the intelligence, and now it was time to move.

  “Oh, you’re right.” I reached out to shake Bianca’s hand. “Thank you so much for showing us this property. We’ll definitely be in touch.”

  Deacon ushered me through the house and into the car. We were bouncing down the driveway headed to our rendezvous point with Sybil before Bianca made it out of the house. Less than nine hours remained for us to locate Nicholas’s house, navigate human and magical defenses, retrieve the detonator, and stop the attacks.

  Tonight my people would be decimated or they’d be celebrating the Feast of the Dragon.

  Tonight Nicholas would die or I’d pay the price for my sins.

  Tonight I would be the Dragon Fae or just a Circle assassin.

  Tonight.

  42

  We picked up Sybil from the spot in town we’d chosen earlier, and she had Alistair with her. While we were with Bianca, she was in Elustria trying to convince the fae court to cancel public gatherings. We all hoped for victory, but just in case, we wanted to contain casualties. As we pulled up, I could tell from Alistair’s expression that it hadn’t gone well.

  Sybil sat behind me in the SUV I’d rented and Alistair sat next to her. “How’d it go with the real estate agent?” Sybil asked.

  “Good,” I answered. “We got enough info from her to get an address. What’s the court doing?”

  “The fae court won’t cancel the feast. Their argument is that if they cancel, then the terrorists win.”

  Easy for them to say. The high fae court could retreat to their realm and protect themselves. Regardless of what happened, Queen Malev and her favorites would be safe. If I succeeded, then they’d be glad they didn’t show weakness by cowing to fear. If I failed, they would use the incident to drum up hysteria and bring forth the Dragon Fae for their own political purposes. It was a disgusting game played with actual lives.

  “What about the Circle?” I asked Alistair.

  “Meilin is being just as intransigent as the fae. The deal was you have to stop this attack. She’s not going to help you avoid being the Dragon Fae.” Disappointment colored Alistair’s voice. I knew he wasn’t altruistic. It was impossible to spend as long in the field as he had and hold onto childish notions like altruism, but I could tell this new revelation of the depths of corruption in the Circle hit him hard. If I didn’t have so many walls built around myself after the deaths of partners and the impossible situation Meilin had put me in, it would hit me like a hammer too. I never thought the Circle and I had the same aims, but I had thought we both at least valued the lives of sorcerer civilians.

  “So we’re on our own,” Deacon said. He had the same hint of hurt and betrayal in his voice that Alistair did. I felt bad for him. The Syndicate didn’t provide him with a place or people and now he realized the Circle and the fae court wouldn’t either. All we had was each other.

  “We’ve always been on our own. Now we have the advantage of knowing it,” I said. I had to counteract the hopelessness I saw hanging around them. They had to see this as a good thing. We couldn’t go into a mission with this kind of negativity. We had to have hope. “They’ve done us a favor. We don’t need them. We never did.” I didn’t mention that if we failed, we wouldn’t care because we’d be dead.

  Deacon nodded and his face transformed into the hard exterior of the warrior he’d been his entire life. It made me realize how vulnerable he’d allowed himself to be in the last few moments. “It won’t be a problem.” Confidence imbued his voice. “We have plenty of time. We’ll get to Nicholas’s house and get the detonator before the first human shows up.”

 

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