Page 31

Kierse had to jog to get to the M platform right as the train was about to pull away.

She jumped on before the doors closed and settled into an open corner.

A group of elementary-aged children in blue-and-white plaid uniforms jostled each other while two teachers tried to cajole them to behave.

A pair of goblins were reading a book together in a corner.

A man in a suit had earbuds in and was talking unnecessarily loudly.

A mer and a vampire were discussing business and laughing.

Humans, monsters. Monsters, humans. All together. The life the Treaty wanted for all of them, one Kierse had been certain was impossible.

If she couldn’t still feel the undercurrents of the Third Floor deep beneath their feet, she’d think all was well in her city. But there were always those who didn’t agree with the tenuous peace.

The M train took her across the East River and into Brooklyn.

She’d so rarely left Manhattan before meeting Graves that it was still strange to step into Druid territory.

Back then, she had just thought they were an Irish gang who helped humans on this side of the river during the war.

It turned out they were actual Druids with magic and a long-held feud with Graves that she’d gotten in the middle of.

Now that she’d uncovered that memory, she was starting to think that she’d always been stuck between these two powerful forces. Even as a child.

She got off at the Marcy Ave stop and jogged down the stairs onto Broadway.

Brooklyn was much the same as her last visit here, when Lorcan had kidnapped her and brought her to his restaurant, Equinox, for dinner.

A delightful interrogation where Kierse thought she’d gotten more out of him than vice versa, but she was never sure with Lorcan.

Kierse had texted Niamh as her train approached and been given a rendezvous location in South Williamsburg.

She liked having someone on the inside of the Druids even if the rest of them made her apprehensive.

As soon as Kierse entered Druid territory, passing people on the quiet streets lined with large, red-brick buildings, she could tell she was being watched.

She ducked her head and tried to look unobtrusive, lingering in the shadows and wishing she’d come at night.

She was two blocks from her meet up with Niamh when a door creaked open next to her, and she felt the barrel of a gun, leveled at her head.

Kierse froze to stone. Out of the corner of her eye, she searched for the face beyond the weapon at her temple.

She recognized the bright green eyes and crooked smile—Declan.

This was Lorcan’s second. He had chased her and her friends through Little Italy at gunpoint.

She could see the acorn tattoo confirming his allegiance to the Druids.

“Look what we have here,” Declan said. “The boss will want to see our trespasser.”

“I’m not trespassing,” Kierse snapped.

“Inside,” he growled.

“You’re making a mistake. Lorcan is going to think you’re incompetent.”

“I’m the one with the gun,” he reminded her.

“I can see that.” Kierse snorted. “Not sure how you made second. Niamh probably runs circles around you.”

“ Niamh isn’t in charge here,” Declan said. “Now get the feck inside.”

Kierse shrugged. Perhaps this would get her to where she was going faster, anyway.

She stepped inside the cool interior, which opened into a long hallway.

As she walked in front of Declan, gun still at her back, she glanced into the rooms that opened off the hallway.

They almost looked like barracks, as if the Druids were sleeping like little soldiers in a sardine tin.

Kierse wondered if Ethan was one of them in these little rooms.

She rubbed her hand over her chest at the thought. It was probably just stress. She couldn’t endure two heists, magic drain, and the goblin market without some tension. Add Graves and jet lag and it was a recipe for disaster. Yet…

She shook her head, uncertain.

“Through here,” Declan growled.

Declan reached around her to open a door connecting this building to another.

She walked from barracks to office space.

The Druid property must have been larger than even she had envisioned.

If all of these buildings connected, one after the other, then it could be the entire block. Or multiple blocks.

They crossed the offices to an elevator bank that was vaguely familiar. Was this the back way to Equinox? Would this take them up to Lorcan?

The elevator dinged open.

Declan took a step forward and then froze. Standing in their path was none other than Niamh in a caramel crop top, high-waisted olive pants, and a gray blazer. Her burgundy hair was up in a high ponytail. She looked almost business professional compared to her femme fatale style in Dublin.

“Declan,” she crooned.

“Niamh,” he grunted. “Just bringing Lorcan a trespasser.”

“Great!” she said cheerfully. “I’ll take it from here.”

“I…”

“After all, she’s really a guest . My guest, actually.” She pressed a button to stall the elevator. “I don’t like when people hold my friends at gunpoint.”

“Friends.” Declan chewed on that word as if it was a piece of gristle.

“Yeah, Declan. Friends.” Niamh shot him a bemused smile. “I’ve been gone too long and this place has gone to hell.”

“You can stay gone,” he mumbled.

Niamh straightened at that. “Excuse me?” Niamh was by no means a short person, and as she came to her full height and looked eye to eye with Declan, she seemed twice as formidable. Kierse could make out a golden glow flickering at the edges of her. As if her magic took insult to Declan’s defiance.

“Nothing.”

“If you’re upset by my return because you’ve been knocked down a peg, Declan,” Niamh said threateningly, “then you know how to correct it.”

Declan’s eyes blazed. “Is that a challenge?”

Niamh crossed her arms. “If you think it is. I’m fine seeing you in the ring.”

“Feck off.” Declan must have known that Niamh could wipe the floor with him, because he promptly stomped away.

Niamh kept her eyes on him until he disappeared behind a door.

“What just happened?” Kierse asked as she got in the elevator.

“Something that he can’t back up.” Niamh winked. “That’s why he didn’t accept. But I should probably tell Lorcan about it anyway.”

“If you think that’s best.”

“I think he’s been dying to see you,” Niamh admitted. “Let’s not insult him.”

“No, let’s.”

Niamh laughed and pressed the elevator button to take them upstairs.

When the doors opened, it was to an immaculate, open-air office that blended together the historic charm of the old brick building and a functional workspace.

The hardwood flooring looked original, as did the large, arched windows along one wall with fluttering cream curtains.

A light oak desk sat heavy at the center of the space, polished to gleam against the crimson rug.

Behind the desk were shelves laden with books.

A robin fluttered in a cage next to the desk.

And sitting behind the desk, his dark hair hanging loose in his eyes as he typed away at a computer, was the head Druid himself.

Lorcan glanced up at their entrance. His blue eyes were the cerulean of a clear spring afternoon. They flicked to Niamh and dismissed her as soon as they landed on Kierse. It was like feeling the sun peek out from behind a cloud to alight on her face.

“Little songbird,” he purred.

She’d forgotten his magnetism. Even when she had been playing him in a web of her own creation, she hadn’t been able to completely pull away from the vortex he’d swirled her into.

He’d been charming and genuine. A smile that lit up his eyes like he hadn’t known torment.

A hero hiding in the cloaks of a villain.

Especially dangerous because he didn’t care who got in the crossfire and believed the ends justified the means.

She’d seen him for who and what he was, not what he wanted others to believe, but she’d had to work at it.

Even when he’d sent people to kill her, kidnapped her, and held her friends at gunpoint, the edges were blurry.

And with Colette’s words ringing in her ears about using her wiles to get information from him… the lines were twice as blurry.

“Lorcan,” Kierse said, keeping her voice steady and her head high.

“What a pleasant surprise,” he said in his soft Irish accent.

Niamh snorted as she sauntered into the office and went to feed the bird, her namesake. “You knew she was coming a mile off.”

Lorcan grinned, a bright blinding thing. “I’m still glad to see you regardless.”

“I bet,” Kierse said.

“I see you still haven’t forgiven me for what happened last year.” He swept a hand through his dark hair, brushing it back off of his face. His high cheekbones were accented by the quick movement. His eyes raking over her. “That’s understandable.”

“So glad to have your approval.”

He laughed, leaning back in his chair and resting his arms on the brown leather.

His white button-up was crisp, the sleeves rolled to his elbows, muscular forearms on display with just a hint of biceps.

He wasn’t bulky by any means, but fit. Like he could take down a grown man without even reaching for his magic.

Kierse averted her gaze, taking a few controlled steps into his office. She ran her hand along a hardened oak bookshelf, across a small stack of books. Her fingers closed around a gold letter opener before continuing her perusal.

“And all I want is your approval,” he countered.

“Do you think it will be that easy to achieve?” she asked, skimming the titles and avoiding his predatory gaze.

“I’m afraid that I’ll have to earn it,” he said with a softness to his voice.

“Just tell her you’re not going to try to kill her or her friends,” Niamh said with a sigh.

“I did tell her that last time.”

“And then held them at gunpoint,” Niamh reminded him. She swatted at the back of his head, and he shot her a quick glare. “Maybe try to be nice.”

Lorcan pushed his chair back against the plush rug and stood. “Thank you for that insight, Niamh,” he all but growled. “I will be very nice.” She finally lifted her eyes to meet his and stilled under his heated gaze.

Niamh cleared her throat. “Declan doesn’t like that I’m back.”

Lorcan severed the look to draw his attention back to his second. “I’m sure he doesn’t.”

“He almost offered a challenge, and this is only my second day.”

The muscles in his jaw twitched. He was clearly annoyed Niamh was still here. “Don’t be so infuriating, then.”

“Can’t help it,” she said, swinging up onto his desk and letting her long legs dangle.

“She really can’t,” Kierse added. “It’s why she’s so wonderful.”

Niamh beamed under the praise. “So glad you sent me to check in on her.”

Lorcan’s gaze swept between the women in his office. For a second, Kierse almost saw that anger swimming in those bright blue irises, but then it was gone. “How good it is that my girls are friendly.”

“Like the good old days,” Niamh said. She jumped down and headed toward the door before Lorcan could respond.

“I’m going to check in with Maeve. You should take her to Ethan.

That’s what she wants, after all. She’s going to sneak off if you don’t do it yourself.

So be nice and show the girl some Druid hospitality.

Not whatever shit you’ve been getting into since I’ve been away. ”

Lorcan growled under his breath, but Niamh blew Kierse a kiss and disappeared. Now she was completely and utterly alone with her enemy. No, Graves’s enemy. They weren’t the same thing.

“I am glad that you’re home,” he said as he walked around the desk.

“I’m glad to be home.”

He held his hand out. “Though I forgot your proclivity for stealing my possessions.”

She huffed and placed the letter opener in his hand. “How’d you guess this time?”

He flipped it around to point at her chest. “Your heart skipped a beat. Was it joy or fear?”

“Neither,” she said. “You can’t sense my heartbeat.”

He shrugged. “Perhaps not. Perhaps I’m just that good.” His smile was swift and heart stopping. “Now, allow me to demonstrate the Druid hospitality that Niamh mistakenly thinks I haven’t shown you. We did have a wonderful dinner once before.”

“I was kidnapped that night,” she reminded him.

He laughed. “You like that sort of thing.” She opened her mouth to protest, but he gestured to the door. “Come on. Unless you don’t want to see Ethan.”