Page 52 of Ballad of Nightmares

Millie squinted at him. “You just said Ironmyer should strike while their guard is down.”

“And you’ve made me reconsider that thought,” he said. “I need to deal with our current threat before thinking about us marching across borders.” He looked up at the clock then, seeing it was past noon, meaning he had a few hours to spare before picking Ana up. He turned back to the television screen once more to watch the fighting in Firemoor.

“Let them tire out,” Sam said. “Our demons in their armies can’t be killed. They’ll be ready when we are. Firemoor can exhaust their supplies, and their soldiers. By the time we’re ready to strike, they’ll be so depleted, they’ll fall to their knees at the very threat of what they would be up against.”

Millie sighed into the chair, swiveling in it as she stared at the ceiling. “Revenge will be so sweet,” she cooed. “You know what’s mine,” she said, looking at him.

Sam smiled. “And you know what’s mine.”

A silent agreement they’d made together the day he shadowed this place.

“This sounds like a lot of plotting,” Rolfe said from the door.

“I knew I smelled wet dog,” Millie muttered as she sat up.

Rolfe ignored her and jerked his chin in Sam’s direction. “Up for a ride this afternoon, boss?”

“I have a date, remember?” Sam announced, rising from his chair.

“Boo—“

“Bullshit—“

Millie threw the stapler at him while Rolfe threw his entire sandwich—which he immediately regretted and began to scramble for the pieces off the floor.

“I can’t wait to see this blow up in your face—Rolfe!” Millie picked her feet up off the floor as Rolfe crawled under her to retrieve his bread.

“You should’ve heard him last night on the phone with her,” Rolfe grunted upon standing again. He grinned at Sam. “No wonder you keep going back with that fucking moan.”

Sam leaned his hips on the desk, crossing his arms. “Groundskeepers numbers,” he said, ignoring Rolfe’s tease.

“All accounted for,” Rolfe said. “Think she’s given up?”

“I’ve been keeping her busy,” Sam said, though he wasn’t sure why he was shifting on his feet. “I was thinking after tonight, I’d leave her alone for a couple of days, see what she does without a distraction.”

“Want me to tail her?” Rolfe asked.

Sam shook his head. “She has me for grounds information, and now Millie for a way into the castle,” he said with a nod to her. “If she’s any good at her job, she’ll start with any journalists that have managed to get inside.”

“I can make a call and have the one at St. Orphs moved,” Millie said.

“Don’t,” Sam said. “I want to see her work.” He glanced down at his buzzing phone, seeing that it was Ana sending him a photo of an art piece they’d gotten in, and he kept a blank face as he picked it up.

“I want to know all she’s capable of,” he said slowly. “And why no one has ever bothered to employ her rather than simply fuck her and try to contain her. I want to know why no one has taken advantage of her chaos.”

“Because the other kings only think about what makes them look powerful,” Millie said, annoyance in her tone. “Beautiful woman like that means maybe they know how to work their cocks. A woman unleashed means they don’t have a handle on their own kingdom.”

“I must be letting everything runrampantthen,” Sam said, smirking at Millie. “I wonder what they say when they see you at the forefront of this empire.”

Millie grinned. “Their dicks shrivel and turn into turtle heads,” she said.

Sam pushed off the desk and grabbed his coffee and phone. “Maybe we should make the Council strip next time they’re on video with you in the room. I’d love to see that.”

“Imagine being so intimidated by a woman’s power that you chose to extinguish it,” Millie added.

Sam considered it, considered the women he’d trusted over the years who had helped him. He wouldn’t be who he was without them, and he certainly wouldn’t be anywhere without Millie.

“Idiots,” he muttered. He started to the door, and Millie stood to collect her things.