the power to reach out with her ‘antennae’ and identify him.
Priceless.
Quicksilver decided that he needed to make a move before another two revolutions of the sun. The idea of a timetable was foreign, but oddly exhilarating. The very things he craved above all else, something different.
In terms of her development, Shivaun was in her infancy. But she was learning fast. If her education outpaced his schedule, no worries. He had a Plan B.
CHAPTER ELEVEN Magic Man
“Can I get you something?” Rosie sat behind her desk watching Lyric as he prowled around the room studying every framed thing on the walls.
After nodding hello, he’d been occupying himself thus ever since.
Slowly he turned and gave her a smirk. “Out of here fast.”
She cocked her head and smiled. “So you have a sense of humor.”
“Don’t you find most demons have a sense of humor…? Um. How did you say you want to be addressed?”
“I didn’t. Rosie’s okay. I don’t impose unnecessary formalities.”
“Well.” He shrugged. “They have their place I suppose.”
She steepled her fingers, as Glen often did when he was in the Sovereign’s chair, as she assessed. In less than a minute she’d discovered that he could be funny and was argumentative about little things he didn’t care about. Like formalities.
“Want to tell me why I’m here?” he asked.
“Sure. Want to have a seat so we can talk like two civilized persons?”
“Not really. Why don’t we go for a walk outside? What’s the point of having gardens and gardeners if you’re not going to spend time in there?”
She nodded as she rose. “Let’s make a spectacle and walk down the grand staircase.”
Lyric had to grin at that even though he’d made up his mind ahead of time that he would not like Commander Storm. At all. He reclaimed a blank expression, but not until after Rosie’d noticed the initial reaction.
She led the way out of the office, down the hall, and to the top of the stairs. “So. You have a preference for outdoors.”
“Sometimes,” he said noncommittally.
“You’re right about the fact that I get so caught up in work that I forget to smell the lilies.”
He gave her a sideways look. “You like the way lilies smell?”
She barked out a laugh. “Come to think of it, I hate the way lilies smell. I just used that expression because it’s a thing people say.”
“By people, you mean human.”
“In this case, yeah.”
Everyone present on the lower level of the Abbey stopped to stare at Rosie and Lyric. The trainees were coming into their demonic abilities at different rates. Some far ahead. Some far behind. Those who were further along knew instantly that Lyric wasn’t just a good-looking guy. He was demon. Like them, but not. A natural-born.
A caretaker opened one of the massive double doors as they approached.
“Your doormen could dress better,” Lyric said, not caring that the old man could hear.
Rosie laughed again. “He’s not a doorman. Although he did just do a pretty good impression. Minus the ‘have a nice walk’.” She looked out at the grass training field. A couple of her students were lying down in the sun. “I don’t care how he dresses. We rarely have guests,” she said pointedly, “but when we do, we’re not trying to impress.” Glancing at Lyric. “So tell me, would you be impressed if my caretakers were dressed in striped pants, top coats, and tails?”
It was Lyric’s turn to chuckle. “I only wish I could be impressed so easily.”
Rosie nodded, looking down at the pink crushed granite that crunched beneath two pairs of boots.
From time to time she’d considered what it might mean to live abnormally long. She had no idea what her constitution had in store and would only find out by letting her life play out. There was a distinct possibility there would come a time when she would face each day alone. Without Glen, her father, Ram and Elora, Helm and maybe her mother as well. Impossible to say.
“What made you sad?” Lyric asked. Of course, he couldn’t care less personally, but he was curious how his comment had evoked melancholy.
She jerked her head toward him. Not being accustomed to one-on-one conversations with full-blooded, natural-born demons and unerring ability to read others, she hadn’t been consciously guarding her emotions. She was behaving like a walking tell-all.
“I was considering extraordinary long life. Extraordinary for humans that is. My future is a blank landscape. No idea what to expect because, so far as I know, there aren’t others with my exact makeup.”