else into Phoenix.”
“Yeah, I would give it a couple of weeks,” I said quietly, rubbing my face. Until some of the escapees started showing up around the world, I had to assume they were in my region.
“Well, let me get a few things clear before I leave you. Good work on this so far. Your response has been quick and effective in managing this crisis, and we of the Tribunal are lucky to have someone with such dedication. Second, good luck with the rest of this. Don’t make one of us have to call Adhar and tell him we got the last female naga killed. Last, get back to work.”
“Yes, sir, and thank you, sir,” I said. I heard a satisfied huff, then the call ended.
I looked at the phone in my hand and sighed.
Get back to work, Kaliya. This isn’t done yet.
23
Chapter Twenty-Three
I leaned on the table and considered my next move.
I had to talk to Nakul.
Part of me wanted to go out and kill another inmate. I would rather spend the next week fighting more like Levi than have a full, open conversation with my uncle.
To avoid it, I pulled my phone closer again and looked through my contacts. First, I went to the local coven leader. With the fae mostly MIA, the witches were who I had to go to about Nakul’s memory problem. I sent a quick text, explaining I had someone with possible information important to me and the Tribunal, but his memories had been tampered with. Whatever they could do to help would be appreciated. A reply came quickly.
Monica: Bring the subject to my home in three hours. We’re willing to help the Tribunal and you further, of course, but we need time to prepare.
Kaliya: Thank you.
I continued scrolling, now with three hours to kill. I slowed every time I passed a naga name until I finally found the one I wanted. It wasn’t Adhar. Talking to the male leader of the nagas wasn’t on my agenda and hadn’t been since he was an absolute asshole four months ago. He sent emails and texts, all news about the nagas, like the announcement that one of the babies was going to be a girl, but I never replied.
There was another name, a naga I hadn’t spoken to since I was a child. I kept up with all of them, getting news from Adhar, but I hadn’t spoken to any of the other surviving nagas in over a century. Adhar gave me their numbers and mine to them, but nothing came of it.
One of them was Nakul’s brother.
I hit his name and let it ring. He was twelve hours and thirty minutes ahead of me because of course India Standard Time had to be one of those times that fell on the half an hour. It was nearly nine for me, which meant it was definitely time for him to be awake.
“Kaliya?” The deep confusion and disbelief on the other end of the line didn’t surprise me.
“That’s me,” I said. “Hello, Mahavir.”
“Why are you calling me?” His voice was thick with an accent I didn’t hear often. I avoided mortals who hailed from India, avoided celebrations and ceremonies—avoided most things that reminded me of home.
“First, let me say congratulations on your son. I bet you and your wife are very happy. He’s fifteen now, isn’t he?” I didn’t want to jump into talking about Nakul without care. It would have been cruel. Mahavir was one of the few lucky nagas with a human mate, and they had a fifteen-year-old son I had never met. I didn’t even know if the boy knew my name.
“He is.” Mahavir chuckled, sounding like every bit a proud father. “You sound very American, did you know that?”
“I do. I live in Arizona. Sounding American helps me blend in.”
“Why are you calling?”
“Maybe I’m just—”
“Don’t lie to me, Kaliya Sahni. Don’t disrespect your parents’ memories or me like that.”
I sighed and leaned back in my seat. Looking at the door to the kitchen, Raphael was standing there, waiting quietly, watching me with his warm chocolate eyes I wanted to fall into.
“Nakul,” I said simply. “I’m calling you about Nakul. I wanted to ease the blow before we got to that.”
“What could you possibly want from me about my brother? Wasn’t the last century enough? He’s locked away—”
“He’s escaped, and I wanted to ask you some questions—”
“No, absolutely not. The last time you asked me some questions about my brother, you caught him and