Chapter Seven
Rogue
A t least we know the men are no longer following us. Unfortunately, two more safe houses produce no results. It’s frustrating, and I’m tired.
I glance at the clock on the dash of Cohen’s car. It’s just after three in the morning, but I’m more rundown than normal. Although I’m accustomed to working until the sun comes up, the visions and all the siphoning I did with Gemma to start the night hit me harder than I was expecting.
“Calyx will pop in to check on me,” Cohen says, pulling out of the driveway of the last house we visited. “Or he’ll track down Lorcan and Anders, and they’ll tell him to find me.”
We’ve chatted on and off while searching, and I appreciate him filling me in.
It’s just hard to believe Ember has multiple mates.
Ember and Veryn have been end-game goals for as long as I can remember.
It’s a well-known fact that they’re fated to be together, and I can’t imagine what a shock it was to Veryn for him to learn he would have to share his mate.
Then again, there have been whispers for years of omegas coming back to the monster community, and I’ve seen it firsthand in Haven. With Ember’s mom being an omega, it’s not impossible to imagine that she took after Emerson, but Ember’s wolf is an alpha.
It’s a known fact.
It’s confusing when I think about it for too long, but Cohen seems to believe Ember’s wolf is an alpha. It’s just her human side that is an omega. I honestly can’t imagine how complicated that would be to deal with. Each designation comes with its own personality traits—strengths and weaknesses.
“D-Did you want me to drop you off at your house?” Cohen asks, dragging me out of my thoughts. “Or are we headed somewhere else?”
My forehead wrinkles.
Normally, I have Gemma and Ember to bounce ideas off of.
Ember has always been more of the unofficial leader of our group. Only, she has her own shit to deal with at the moment. She just became prime alpha of the biggest pack in North America, meaning she won’t be coming back to work at Owen’s anytime soon.
If ever .
I could talk to Gemma, and I will as soon as I see her… It’s complicated.
I love my sister.
She’s amazing and supportive. And I still feel like everyone either does one of two things—they lump us together as one entity or they compare our gifts.
I’d also really like to figure this out on my own. If I can break this case, maybe Owen will start treating me like an actual employee.
“Would you mind taking me to the office?” I twist to face Cohen. “My job, I mean.”
“Are you going to turn me in?” he asks, cutting his eyes to the side.
Shit.
I bet it does look like that.
“I wasn’t planning on it, but I understand why you would be uncomfortable.”
“What percentage of fae are you, Rogue?”
“My mother and father are both fae. My mother is Unseelie, and my father is Seelie.” I leave out that my mother is one of the heirs to the Throne of Faere.
My father was the Spring Prince before he stepped down, handing the throne to his younger brother.
“Which parent would you say you take after?” he asks with a lilt to his tone that I think speaks to humor.
“I’m a soothsayer like my father.” I grimace, realizing I just told him all he needs to know. All Seelie fae are unable to lie, and to have my father’s magic means I also inherited his inability to lie. I have a smidgen of my mother’s magic, too, but I don’t share that with the world.
“And you have no intention of turning me into the council?” Cohen asks flat out.
“Not tonight, anyway,” I say coolly.
“Fair enough, but I’d like to hear more about your assignment on the drive.” He turns on his blinker, glances both ways, and pulls out onto the highway.
I don’t know him well enough to make the assumption, but he seems levelheaded. Even his energy seems to calm mine, or maybe his magic soothes my own.
“Owen—my boss—works with the paranormal council. He takes contracts for suspects they want brought in,” I say, trying to determine how much is safe to share.
“A case came down for the Market Heist Crew. They’re robbing human establishments on the edges of sanctuary towns, and they seem to be hunkered down near Haven. ”
“I see,” Cohen says simply.
I swivel my head, waiting for him to go on, but he doesn’t.
“The same night, my boss gave Ember, Gemma, and me your friend’s file.” I study his profile, waiting for a physical reaction. None comes, and for some reason, I go on. “The Plague Doctor, seriously? What kind of nickname is that?”
“It’s not a chosen name,” Cohen says. “I can assure you of that. Calyx hates it. It was his profession at one time, and it just so happened to be when he first found his way onto the council’s radar. Although, that was hundreds of years ago.”
“It felt implied they were connected in some way. The Plague Doctor and the Market Heist Crew. I mean, that’s how I took it.”
“Calyx would have no reason to rob human establishments,” Cohen says. “When you live for as long as he has, you amass ridiculous amounts of wealth. It’s impossible not to.”
“And he just bounces around dilapidated mansions for fun?” I ask, trying to hold back a laugh.
“This is going to sound rude, but please don’t take it that way.” He gives a tight smile before refocusing on the road. “You saw what Calyx wanted you and everyone else who stumbles across his hideouts to see.”
I settle back against the seat, crossing my arms over my chest. That does make sense, and it’s a little intimidating to realize he has so much power that my magic never realized the glamor until Cohen gave me access to what was really there…
If Calyx is that powerful, what would he have to gain from robbing human businesses?
Nothing is adding up.
Cohen pulls into the parking lot for Owen’s and glances around as he puts the vehicle in park. He doesn’t seem overly concerned, which could speak to his confidence in his own power, or it could be that he trusts in my inability to lie.
Not that I intend to turn him in, but he should know better than to rely on the second. At any point, I could simply change my mind.
He glances over, nodding to my pocket. “How about we exchange phone numbers in case we get separated?”
“Planning to ditch me?” I ask, because it’s a legitimate option.
He shoves his thick black glasses back up his nose. “No, but if we do have to go our separate ways, it would make sense to have a backup plan to reconvene.”
I nod and pull my phone out.
We swap information, and I shove the device back into my pocket.
Swiveling my head until I can study Cohen once more, I try to parcel out what to say. “I’m not going to rat you out. I think there’s something bigger going on here.”
Cohen nods. “There often is.” He raises a pale hand, tucking my hair behind my ear. “The thing about power is, it garners enemies you may not even know you have. Calyx is…” He frowns, and his shoulders bounce. “He can be hard to deal with, but he’s loyal to a fault?—”
The world tilts, and my eyes widen.
Light, glowing magic fills the car, but it’s not coming from Cohen. He barely has time to grip my shoulder before everything changes.
It takes way too long to realize I’m falling through a portal, which just so happens to be even more disorientating than siphoning.
Siphoning occurs when a being like a demon or a djinn travels through a realm at will. It’s very much like turning to smoke in one spot and appearing in another.
Portals are different. They can be used to travel between realms. My mother can open a portal in the human realm and step through it, only to land in Faere.
Other beings are able to use portals to move through fixed locations in one realm, but I’ve never had someone open a portal and pull other people through it.
Not unless the person who opened the portal was with us here.
Then they could theoretically grab us and pull us through, but it’s clear Cohen didn’t open the portal and I certainly didn’t, either.
I didn’t even know it was possible for someone to do this.
There’s really only one explanation.
Calyx.
Cohen wraps his arms around me while we’re spiraling through the ether, and he’s the only thing that keeps me upright once we land.
We wobble, and Cohen’s hands tighten on my hips.
“I had a feeling that if I called for you, you’d bring a lovely surprise.” The voice is low and gravelly.
My head whips to the side.
Shaggy black hair dances in the wind as the portal folds in on itself, disappearing from view.
The man is covered in those dark runes that I attempted to study at the human bar.
There’s no doubt in my mind.
This has to be Calyx.