getting caught to getting a gilded invitation?”
My turn to laugh. “I did learn a few useful things from my family before I cut ties with them. And I’m not afraid to fight smart and dirty at the same time.”
“Smart and dirty, huh?” The suggestive note that crept into his voice sent a flicker of heat to my core. But it fell away a moment later in the wake of his responsible almost-baron side. “How exactly are they bringing you in on the conspiracy?”
“I’m not sure yet, but there’s some meeting tonight I’m getting to attend. They’re picking me up and everything.”
“You’re sure it’s all, well, as safe as anything is with these people.”
I flopped down on the bed. “It’s probably dangerous. But they should also be more convinced than ever now that I’m committed to crushing the new barons, so as long as I don’t slip up, I’m golden.”
I felt golden, like I was glowing from the inside. This was why I’d taken the risks in the first place, why I’d forced myself to come out here and face the reaper families. Soon their traitorous plot would come tumbling down, and maybe when I got back to Blood U, the glances aimed my way would be enthusiastic instead of wary.
“I’d tell you to be careful, but I know you already know that.” Noah sighed. “Next time we do this, you have to play handler and I’ll be the super spy.”
I snorted. “I’m putting my ass on the line so that there won’t need to be a next time. I’ll come by for a late dinner after the meeting. Wait up.”
“Happily,” Noah said, and I hung up with a smile that might have been a little giddy.
With most of the afternoon to kill, I took a stroll in the park Emeric had shown me the other day, finding a secluded enough spot that Percy could join me and show off his latest kill without drawing any stares. On the way back to the hotel, I grabbed a burger to hold me over until that promised late dinner.
Then I surfed through the TV stations for a while before settling on a movie that didn’t look totally absurd. In it, a bunch of Naries were trying to assassinate the Nary president, and some others were trying to stop them. I guessed that came with the territory when you had a lot of power, whether there was magic involved or not.
After the movie wrapped up, I took advantage of the last half hour before eight to change into clothes a little more elegant, to remind everyone at this meeting what sort of family I belonged to, even if my parents had disowned me. I’d just finished tidying my braid when the ringtone on my regular phone sounded.
It was Emeric. At the sight of the call display, I tensed and then reluctantly answered, keeping my voice cool. “Hello?”
I could tell he’d read my tone from those two syllables. He hesitated for a second before saying, “Cressida? I—Look, I’m sorry about how things went down the last time I was with you.”
How things “went down”? As if it’d been some kind of environmental catastrophe and not a conscious choice he’d made to snap at me and storm off like I’d hidden that I was carrying some deadly contagious disease?
“That’s all right,” I said, even colder. “I’m sure it won’t happen again.” He didn’t have to worry that I’d taint whatever precious sense of heroism he had for himself with my less-than-worthy presence.
“Anyway, that’s not what I’m calling about. Can I come by—or you can meet me somewhere—we need to talk.”
Oh, he thought we did, did he? I glanced at the hotel clock and stepped to the window. A posh black sedan was just pulling up outside. “Sorry, but I’ve got a more important meeting to get to right now. Whatever you want to talk about can wait.”
“What? Where are you going? Cressida—”
“Maybe I’ll tell you about it later,” I interrupted, and hung up on him with no small bit of satisfaction.
As I headed to the door, stuffing my phone in my purse, it pinged with an incoming text, and then another. I reached in to turn the phone right off. If Emeric was actually committed to making amends somehow or other, he could do it when I wasn’t about to take my mission to an entirely new level.
A man I recognized from the Achelings' staff was standing outside the posh sedan. Its tinted windows gave no