Page 23

KLEOS

O n my last visit, Lucian greeted us half asleep, his dressing gown open at the chest—an image that remained anchored in my mind for a long, long time.It still made the occasional appearance in naughty dreams.

Today, he was sadly fully dressed, but the sharp cut of his dark, slightly asymmetric suit with a subtle sheen, like a blend of silk, wool, and magic, was no less attractive than a glimpse of his abs.

It felt different from seeing him in the Guard. Maybe because his clothes, rather than being more casual when he was at home, seemed, well, for lack of a better word, regal . He must have made an attempt to blend in with simpler outfits at the Guard.

“Gideon. Kleos.” Lucian stepped aside to let us into the humongous, bright hall. "Come in if you dare."

My cousin laughed as we walked into the grand mansion. So tall and wide it felt more like a cathedral than the entryway to someone’s home, it had clearly been designed to make any guest feel about half an inch tall.

The first thing I noticed was the brightness. It kept surprising me because my brain understood that I was underground. My eyes said something else entirely.

Gideon had been right about the house adapting to its master, there was no doubt.

A year ago, it had been so dark, all curtains drawn, and no light to speak of inside.

Today, the velvet drapery was pulled back by golden knots, and all that eerie light emanated from the garden—not daylight, but just as bright and warm, if a little more blue than yellow—bathing the arches, columns, and smooth checkered floor.

“I prepared tea if you'd like,” Lucian offered, leading the wayto a sitting room.

Where the entryway had been white, other than the greenish marbled tiles on the floor and the great columns supporting the structure, this room felt less impersonal. Like an actual living, breathing being might reside here.

It was the size of all twelve rooms in my attic with ocean-blue walls, and light, gauzy curtains with a delicate damask pattern billowed at the open floor-to-ceiling windows.

The space seemed to serve as both a study and a sitting room, one of the walls covered by many shelves full of strange books without any title on the spine. But the other end was about entertaining: a comfortable lounge, if a little formal.

Heading there, Lucian chose a wide green armchair with a high back, so elaborate it instantly made me think of a throne, and indicated a comfortable-looking sofa to Gideon and me.“Please.”

As promised, he had tea ready for us. I should have known he didn’t mean a quick breakfast cuppa.

The set on the oddly modern coffee—a metallic base with a marble top reminiscent of the hall, and complementing the grandeur of the rest of the decor—was ten times more impressive than the one he’d used at the Guard.

This was a silver-gilt service that I was certain belonged in a museum, or at the very least, in the Archives.

It looked as pristine as if it had been made yesterday, but I would have sworn this was an antique. I opted not to ask if it was an original. I refused to knowingly drink from a Qing dynasty heirloom.

The only other thing on the table was a book, left open. Too curious to stop myself, I glanced and caught some…

I'll be damned.

Runes.

Lucian was reading a book fully written in ancient Norse runes.

The kind I could decipher easily enough, not the nonsense on my skin.

We had definitely come to the right place, if that was what he read in his free time.

I tried to catch Gideon's eyes, but failed.

My cousin was already in the middle of the sofa, sipping his cup of tea like a normal person.

Right. I was still standing uselessly in the middle of the room.

Ridiculously intimidated, I tiptoed to Lucian and wordlessly offered the box in my hand before backstepping to the sofa.

Lucian opened the lid, eyes growing wide. He immediately picked out a cupcake, and took a bite. I watched as his eyes closed.

“Oh, sweet Circe, witch amongst witches.”He made a noise that made my insides tingle .

Just as I willed my damn body to get a grip, our host redirected those eyes to me, the silver gray within dancing with mirth. “I know a bribe when I see one, Valesco. But it worked. I won’t get your friend fired.”

Some of my tension evaporating, I grinned back.

I thought I’d have to make a case for Silver, vouch for her character, promise to hold her back. All it took was cupcakes.

“Mostly because I’m too lazy to call a meeting," Lucian went on. "Besides, it would mean admitting a girl the size of a ten-year-old got a punch in. My brother would never let me forget it.”

As he polished off the rest of the treat in two bites, I chuckled, finally at ease, despite the fact that I was still sitting in a parlor fit for a queen.

It was hard to remember, after the trip leading us here, Gideon’s reveals and in this insanely imposing manor house, but Lucian wasn’t the haughty prince one would assume at first glance.

The studied manners, formal wardrobe, and general snobbish vibe were just the outer layer.

Upon acquaintance, he was easy to talk to and charming.

He also wiped his hands on an immaculate monogrammed handkerchief, so he wasn’t wholly normal either.

“Silver will be relieved to hear it. I’m truly sorry about her behavior. We did tell her you had nothing to do with it. She's just...stubborn," I said lamely.

I wanted him to understand my friend wasn't a bad person at heart, but the words failed me, just like they'd failed me when I tried to tell her he wasn't the kind of man who'd curse me without cause. Basically, they both wore cold, impregnable armor, and only removed it when comfortable.

“Nothing to do with what, exactly?” Lucian asked, head tilting to the left.

His box of sweets floated to Gideon, who helped himself to a cookie, then me. I waved it off to send it back to its owner.

Picking a second cupcake—he must truly like those—he said, “I was rather curious about my presumed crime, after all that. I take it whatever happened to you has something to do with Gideon's investigation.”

Thus prompted, I removed my blazer.

Lucian immediately stood, crossing the ten feet separating us faster than logic would deem possible.

“Who did this to you?” he demanded, ice in the threatening lilt of his voice, fire in those eerie eyes.

“I don’t know. That’s why we’re here.”

Gently, as though giving me the opportunity to tell him to back off, he brought a hand to my wrist, his thumb brushing one of the runes.

I shivered.

"Burned?” he checked.

I wondered if it was because he stood so close, but his pale eyes seemed anything but cold now. They flashed with something I couldn’t look away from for long seconds.

I finally made myself blink, look down, and talk. “Yeah. Felt like it, in any case.” The odd phrasing immediately caught his attention. Rather than letting him ask a million questions, I set out to recount the nightmarish event. “It happened last full moon?—”

I quickly ran through the story, hoping it would be the last time I needed to revive the living nightmare.Highly stressed, I couldn’t help myself from braiding my hair as I talked, just for something to do with my hands.

Through it all, Lucian remained towering over me and said nothing. Even as I resolutely fixed my cup of tea, I could feel his probing gaze analyzing every inch of my skin. I might as well have been the open book on the table.

Silence fell after I’d explained how clearing runes, potions, and healing spells failed at removing the damn runes. I was about to grab a muffin, just for something to do, when Lucian lowered himself to one knee in front of me.

Oh, goodie. I was never going to dream about anything else ever again.

He reached out again, his fingers brushing my skin as he looked at each rune, frowning.

My heart was racing. This was no good. He was going to notice; how could he not? My eardrums were full of its erratic beats.

"She researched it herself," Gideon said. "Until this hit my desk last week. Kleos is pretty good at runes, so I had her take a look. It's the same type of runes as the ones on her skin.”

Lucian spun toward my cousin, finally leaving my arm alone. I breathed out, glad I was no longer in danger of a heart attack. At the same time, I hated he was no longer touching me.

Get a hold of yourself, woman!

Lucian all but snatched the file Gideon handed him. I noticed my cousin didn't bother to warn him not to look at all of it, and Lucian paged through it quickly.

He was close enough for me to catch a glimpse of some of the pictures. I grimaced and looked away, my stomach recoiling.

Gods. There were dead people, actual corpses , with those runes. I could have been one of them. What would the attacker have done to me first? What would they have made me do ? I was going to be sick if I let myself think about it any longer.

"Not the same runes," Lucian said, seeming to talk to himself as he returned to his armchair.

I was about to assert that, yes, there had been a great many other runes on the victims, but they seemed to follow the same pattern as mine—an eclectic mix that made no sense—but before I could manage a word, he finished his thought.

"Those on Kleos’s skin are upside down.”

I gaped at him in disbelief.

No. Surely that couldn’t be right. I would have?—

I made myself recall the file. Fuck. He was right, wasn’t he?

How did I miss that? Maybe because when I looked down at myself, they were in the same direction? And I didn’t spend a lot of time with the file on Friday. And I hadn’t looked at the actual corpses, so the direction escaped me.

Any rune could absolutely be written up or down. The meaning could change a little, but it was still the same rune.That didn’t have to be relevant…but since all mine had been inverted, it was likely purposeful.

The better question was, how did he notice so fast?

“What would that mean?” Gideon asked.

“I have several guesses. When were the people killed?” he asked Gideon.

"Not sure. The first body was found about three weeks ago, but it could have been there longer. The dates are on the top left corners of each file.”

Lucian browsed the file again.

“They seem to be preserved,” Gideon continues. “Like they'd just died, even days after sitting in the morgue. The inquisitor in charge of the autopsy was baffled."

"Then he must be an imbecile," Lucian said, shutting the file, and setting it down next to his tea. "May I keep this?"

"Sure. It's a copy. Just don't spread it around. The Guard wants the incidents kept under wraps to avoid mass panic."

His mouth thinned. "Naturally. It wouldn't do to let the general population believe they aren't in charge. Never mind the bodies that will keep piling up until it’s over."

As Lucian shook his head in disbelief, Gideon and I looked at each other.

"It's not over, then?" my cousin guessed. "I mean, I figured as much. Murderers don't stop until they're caught. But what do you think the runes could mean? Is it just some kink?”

"Mm."Lucian looked straight at me, bringing his tea to his mouth.

"Lucian, mate?" Gideon finally prompted. "If you're done eye fucking Kley, I'd love some input.”

The sorcerer snorted, like the very thought was preposterous. Which it was. Lucian Regis did not eye fuck the likes of me.

“I mean, I get you can’t be positive at this stage, but any theory would help.”

“The dates have brought my theories down to two or three, tops. One is by far the best. I was simply trying to decide if Kleos was going to run away screaming once I shared.” He wrinkled his nose. “It's too early for screams, I haven't even finished my first cup of tea."

I bristled. "I'm not that squeamish."

"You practically vomited at a peek at the picture of one dead body, love," he called out.

I was taken by the sudden desire to stick my tongue out at him, and as I didn't have any better reply in mind, I did just that.

Lucian's smile was brief, and didn't quite reach his eyes, but he set down the tea and leaned in.

"Someone attempted an ancient ritual to subjugate you, love. You’re smart enough to have realized as much. It wasn't just hard to move because of the pain—they were trying to force your body into submission.”

I bit my lower lip, and made myself nod. That much had been clear to me. At first, I believed—I wanted to convince myself—that it was just a prank. But they could have made me do anything if it had worked. And after the murders…

“It's a testament of your inner strength that you managed to interrupt it in the first place,” Lucian told me. “That sort of ritual sounds easy enough—a little mark here, and you have a willing puppet. Well, it isn’t. To bind someone’s will to yours, you need to invoke ancient magic, soul magic.

And it has a cost. Typically, you’d find small animals sacrificed for it—birds, rabbits.

But whoever’s behind this knew enough about Kleos to realize she was no weakling.

The cost was the first body found, close to that full moon. ”

Fuck .

Someone died to get to me? That hadn’t crossed my mind, but the horrific, implacable logic behind Lucian’s words made it clear he was right.

“Then why the other bodies?” Gideon asked. “Did they just get a taste for it?”

I was grateful. If I opened my mouth, the only thing that would come out was bile.

“Well, they didn't manage to get to Kleos, did they?” Lucian tilted his chin towards me.

“In time, the residual magic on her arms and neck ought to have reverted. Her runes should have faded. The new bodies, roughly one per week? They're the casualties needed to maintain the connection between the monster behind this and Kleos.” He spoke to me directly, each dreadful word feeling like a dagger. “They’re not done with you.”