Page 27

Now that the high of surviving wore off, I got pissed my explosives hadn’t detonated. Would we ever get a strike scenario like that again?

I headed to the back to snag some clothes and a pair of boots for Sol. In the cold air, the tires still smoked. The Beast would need new ones and a whole lot of work.

When I tossed the clothes to Sol, Joules asked in disbelief, “We’re not goin’ to tie him up?”

“Non.”

With a blistering curse, Joules stomped off toward the cave, Gabe and Kentarch following.

Sol quickly got dressed. “Gracias.”

“Any reason you’re wearing a toga in an apocalyptic winter?”

“A Roman toga actually covers the upper . . . never mind. I don’t get cold, plus Richter’s presence heats things up a lot.” He stuffed his feet into the boots. “Zara’s taken to wearing shorts and sleeveless tops. But she still sweats buckets.”

I hoped he had better intel than this or Joules would light his ass up.

Keeping Sol in my field of vision, I strode down the path to the cave. He tromped through the snow behind me.

Inside, I got busy making a fire. Gabe investigated the stockpiled food, tossing Mayday bars to the guys. He hesitated before flinging one to Sol.

Once I’d gotten the fire going, I asked Sol, “What were you saying about Joules pissing in your face?” I shot a glare at the Tower, who was stifling laughter.

Sol sat near the fire. “I was communing with a Bagger, eager to message your alliance. Which Joules knew, because the Bagman signaled him over and over. Instead of responding like a decent person, Joules aimed and took a leak.”

“What can I say, Jackie boy? Everything about the Tower aims true. Even me mickey!”

“Patrick?” Gentlemanly Gabe looked aghast.

“I don’t just rain down lightning, I rain down piss as well!” He burst into laughter.

I’d about had enough of this card. “Why would you do that?”

“Because we can’t trust this fecker. Why don’t we worry less about my stray urine and more about why Sol and his alliance had Calanthe’s chronicles and weapons?”

“We’ll get to that.” To Sol, I said, “I want to know weaknesses.”

“Before we go farther”—he straightened his shoulders—“I would like to formally introduce myself. I am Solomón Heliodoro, the Glorious Illuminator and God of the Sun. Next to me, everything is shadow. You can call me Sol.”

Joules rolled his eyes and paced.

I needed to keep everybody calm and get this guy talking. “Nice to meet you, Sol. You know my name.”

“You go by many. General. Hunter. Cajun. Jack. I have heard a lot about you.” He looked me up and down. “And I must say, the Empress has exquisite taste in men.”

Joules was about to explode.

I frowned at Sol. “Is this some kind of game to you?”

“Isn’t that exactly what it is?”

“Not tonight, not in this cave. You’re supposed to convince us to keep you alive.” Not that I could kill him after learning why he’d attacked Joules—and that he wasn’t in league with Richter and Zara.

Sol raised his chin. “The Empress, my pequeña, would never forgive you if you murdered me.”

Evie would, in fact, have my head if we did away with him now. “She’d forgive me if I put my boot in your face.”

His eyes smoldered. “There’s a body part of yours I’d like in my face. But it’s not covered by your boot. And speaking of hot sex”—he turned to Joules—“if you wanted to experiment with me piss-wise, you should have let me know in advance. We could’ve worked out our boundaries and a safe word.”

Joules grew bright red and sputtered, “Y-you fecker!”

The look on his face was so priceless I had to give Sol that one. In Jubilee, Evie had described the Sun Card as “effortlessly charming” and “infuriatingly endearing.” I understood where she was coming from.

Didn’t mean I’d let my guard down. “What were you trying to message Joules about?”

Sol faced me again. “That Richter and Zara believed I knew the location of Death’s lair. I feared they’d soon try to torture me for it, and I was right—you interrupted a session tonight.”

“What happened?”

“Zara and I were eating dinner, Richter working out. A normal night. Then, out of the blue, she asked me why I hadn’t told them Death’s location. The more I swore I didn’t know the more furious she got. She said she had a way to force the truth out of me. Richter emerged from the back with my two Baggers, the ones I never separated from.”

“Evie told me they were your loved ones.”

“Bea and Joe, sí.” His breezy flirtatiousness flicked off like a light switch. “Richter tortured them for information I could never tell him.”

An uneasy feeling nagged at me. Sol hadn’t outright denied that knowledge just now. “Do you know the location?”

“Sí. Of course. But I couldn’t betray Evie. I’ve known since you drove to the castle from Jubilee.”