more of his prizes. A higher shadowkind was about as “potent” as you could get. I might be able to get my black-market contacts to trace the other side of that conversation.
“Thanks,” I said. “That could be just what I need.”
“Just what you need for what?” The bright voice came with a skinny arm slung across my shoulders. Vivi leaned in beside me, shooting a grin at Jade. “Hey, Jade. Looks like you two are having a good chat. Anything interesting come up, Sorsh?”
I caught Jade’s gaze for just a second with a twitch of my mouth I hoped she’d recognize as a plea to keep quiet about my inquiries. “Nothing major,” I said. “But I’m glad I checked.” I took a swig from my Jack and Coke. “What are you having? First one’s on me.”
“Well, now, that’s an offer I can’t refuse.” My bestie laughed and drummed her hands on the counter. “One Cosmo, please, with extra lime.”
As Jade went off to assemble the drink, Vivi tipped her head close to mine. “Come on now. It sounded like she said something you thought was worth pursuing. Is there a big bad hunter for us to sic the gangs on—if any of them will go for it? An illicit auction we could crash?”
I shook my head, shrugging her off as lightly as I could. I had to tell her something, but in a way that wouldn’t invite her to join in. Going with a sliver of the truth seemed like the best tactic.
“It wasn’t anything for the Fund,” I said. “Just a bit of info that might help me find out a little more about Luna’s life in general.”
“Oh, hey! I’ve been dying to know more about her. Shadowkind woman takes in a mortal toddler and raises her for years—that’s not your typical story.”
My throat tightened. It was partly because of that attitude that I didn’t feel totally comfortable getting into the details I did have about Luna with my best friend. To Vivi, it was a fantastic story. To me, it was the only life I’d known.
Vivi’s childhood hadn’t exactly been normal either, growing up with both parents already in the Fund and bringing her into that world, but she had two human parents still living—just enjoying a surprisingly ordinary retirement in Florida as of two years back—and never interacted with the higher shadowkind except for briefly.
In some ways, she probably hoped my weird history would bring some spice into her life the same way I’d been drawn to her relative normalcy.
“I’d like to look into this stuff on my own, at least to begin with,” I said, as gently as I could manage. “It’s pretty personal, and when I don’t know exactly what I’ll stumble on…”
“Oh, sure, of course.” Vivi patted me on the shoulder as she grabbed her drink from Jade, but she didn’t quite suppress her wince at my brush-off. Guilt twisted my stomach, knowing I was doing more than brushing her off—I was outright lying. Even if she couldn’t totally understand where I came from, she was a good friend. And when I’d first come to the Fund, I’d needed that more than anything.
“How’d your date go?” I asked, switching to a safer topic.
Vivi pulled a face before sipping her drink. “Like watching paint dry while his grass grows. Why do they all turn out to be so boring when I actually get to know them?”
“Maybe because you’ve got a more unusual life than most people even know is possible?”
“I’m not asking that much.” She sighed. “And it’s not like the stuff we get up to is all that exciting most of the time. Fundraising and passing on anonymous tips—so thrilling! You know, my parents went busting up hunter clubhouses and all that when they were young.”
The corner of my lips quirked up. “I’m pretty sure they only did that once—they just like telling the story an awful lot. I must have heard it about a hundred times while I was crashing at your place.”
“Maybe so. But seriously. I’m going to be thirty in a few months, and I’ve never pulled off anything like that.” She rested her elbow next to mine companionably. “You remember all the plans we dreamed up back then—epic rescue missions to free the shadowkind, sabotaging the hunters left and right?”
It’d be hard to forget those long-ago nights staying up in Vivi’s room, chatting away until one of her parents had knocked on the door and told us to get to