Viktor asked.
Herne shrugged. “That I don’t know. All right, people. Let’s get to work. Ember, how’s your side?”
“Sore, but manageable. It shouldn’t take long to heal. I think the bruises will last longer than the cut, so I’m going to look pretty beat up for a while.”
My legs and arms were covered with bruises, as was most of my body. When the Reaver had thrown me across the room, I landed against the edge of the table. Added to the bruises I had from the fight in the graveyard, and I was one walking shiner.
“Take it easy. Hopefully we’ll be able to avoid another fight today. I don’t think any of us are up to it, to be honest,” Herne said. “Physically, I can handle it, but I’m really tired of beating dead bodies over the head. After a while, the gore gets to you, you know?”
“Boy, do I know,” I muttered, with Viktor and Yutani seconding me.
We broke up and I headed to my office, where I opened the window to let in the fresh air. My office was four stories above the dumpsters, but that wasn’t far enough to avoid the stench of garbage. However, the trucks had been through two days ago, and the air was still relatively fresh. I eased into my chair and turned my attention to the paperwork, sighing.
This was my least favorite part of the job. I flipped open the first file and glanced through it, looking for sections that needed documentation. The “Actions Taken” box was empty. I was supposed to fill out all of the forms the day after we went out on a case, but that seldom happened for any of us. We were just too busy. Rafé could fill in most of the information, but he wasn’t there for the fights, and so that was up to each of us.
As a crow cawed outside, followed by the screech of a seagull, I picked up a pen, sighed, and began to jot down what I could remember for the archives.
I had been filling out paperwork for almost two hours when my work phone rang. I pulled it out and glanced at the caller ID, raising my eyebrows when I saw Eldris’s name. So he was actually calling back, was he?
“Ember Kearney speaking,” I said as I punched the speaker button.
“Hello, Ember,” Eldris said, his voice smooth and sensuous. He was definitely a pretty-boy, charming in a way that was hard to ignore.
“Hey, Eldris, I’m glad you called back. Do you have good news for me, I hope?”
I had already resolved that I wasn’t about to strike a bargain with him. I wasn’t putting myself in his debt, or within arm’s reach of him without a guarantee he’d keep his fangs to himself. Vampires were almost always out for their own agendas.
“That depends. I suppose it could be considered good news, but I’m not envying you the privilege. Dormant Reins, the regent, will see you tonight at ten p.m. in the Catacombs. I’ll text you the directions. You and two other members of the Wild Hunt may come, but only the three of you. Dormant will guarantee your safety if you meet me at Wager Chance’s office at nine forty-five. I’ll escort you to the regent’s chamber. No silver. No stakes. No pointy daggers that could double as a stake. You bring any one of those and you lose the chance. And I guarantee you, he won’t reconsider once he’s closed the door. You will be patted down.” He made it sound like an invitation.
I cleared my throat, trying to focus on what I was saying. “As I figured. All right, we’ll be there. Are you coming with us?”
Eldris sniggered. “Me? I’ll escort you from Wager’s office, but once we’re at the regent’s door, you go dancing down the yellow brick road on your own, girl. I’ll wait and escort you out, but I’m not hitching myself to your star.” Even when he was being snarky, he sounded sexy. I hated that I responded to even his voice, but I kept telling myself it was because he was a vampire, and the vamp glamour affected just about anybody.
“All right. See you at Wager’s at a quarter to ten. Sans pointy objects and silver.” I hung up before he could say anything else. Staring at my phone for a moment until the pull of Eldris’s glamour faded, I went to tell Herne.
“Who’s going with us?” I asked.
“You’re not going.” Herne shook his