Page 63 of A Dagger of Twisted Starlight

“We also aren’t entirely surewhyyour dad is involved,” Blake said. “Things aren’t always what they seem. Maybe he’s got a good reason.”

Cassius shook his head and stood. “I highly doubt it. But I like the optimism. You were always great with that.”

“It’show I keep afloat.”

Cassius’ lower lip twitched. I could tell more tears were on their way, but before they could manifest, he excused himself.

Blake and I stayed outside for a few moments longer, processing everything we’d just heard. After a bit, I stood. “Let’s head back inside,” I said.

Blake nodded and grabbed my hand. I pulled him up onto his feet.

We walked back to my bedroom under a cloak of heavy silence. This was a revelation that none of us were expecting or wanting. Cassius’ own dad? He was working all this alongside his brother? It made sense the more I thought about it. Like one of those logic puzzles on the LSAT I was always so terrible with. It would take me a while to put together the pieces, just how this entire hunt for the dagger had been.

Finally, the pieces were falling into place.

But at what cost?

Once back in the bedroom, Blake closed the door and called his father. He had to be the first to know about this. I stepped into the bathroom, wanting to give him space for the call. It would be difficult for the vice president to reconcile the fact that his best friend had been working against him this entire time. He’d used his power in the government, his access to top secret areas, in order to steal that dagger.

I leaned against the sink. The deep green chevron tiles made the bronze mirror pop. I fixed a rogue curl in my hair, running a hand through the rest of it. We had a long day ahead of us tomorrow.

A knock sounded. I opened the door. Blake smiled, the corners of his lips faltering a bit. “That was interesting.”

“What happened?” I walked out and moved to the bed. Isat on the edge of it. Blake moved to my desk, leaning against it. He crossed his arms. The sleep that had been clouding his gaze was gone. He looked at me with sharp eyes.

“He had a feeling. He said he felt like something was happening on the inside. It’s why he didn’t want to give me a Secret Service detail. He was scared it ran that deep. That he’d be putting me in danger. He just didn’t realize how bad it was.”

“Do they know where Joshua is now?”

Blake shook his head. He came over to the bed and sat at my side. “Nope. He’s gone MIA.”

“Did you tell him we knew where the lab could be?”

“I didn’t… After he said he was scared of an inside job, I got nervous. I don’t know who’s listening to those calls.” Blake rubbed the bridge of his nose. I could almost sense the tension pouring from his tight shoulders and neck. I reached over and gently squeezed his neck. He dropped his head down with a sigh and rolled it.

“You did good. That was a smart decision.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah. The tighter we keep this circle the better, at least for now.”

I moved from his neck to his shoulder, kneading out a knot with my thumb. He groaned and leaned into it. Our legs touched, the hair of his brushing against mine. “I just feel so bad for Cass. I can’t believe it. Just… why? Why would he do this?”

“He must have been corrupted somehow. With one of the locks broken, the Chaos King might be spreading more of his influence. Maybe he got into Joshua’s ear somehow.Lead him astray.”

“Maybe. Or maybe this was just him all along? Everyone has a little chaos inside them. I’ve come to realize that you just never know how that chaos manifests in someone. It’s whether you choose to contain it or release it that matters. It’s what happened with my stalker. I really didn’t expect him to be an unhinged psycho when we first met or the couple dates after. There were no red flags until there were about a dozen all at once.”

“I’m sorry. Trusting anyone after that would be difficult for most people.” It hurt me that Blake had gone through such a traumatizing experience. As a bodyguard, I was naturally predisposed to keeping my suspicions high around others, but Blake didn’t deserve that kind of worry and second-guessing.

“It was hard for a long time. And I still don’t trust all that easy.” He leaned his head on my shoulder as I worked on massaging the other side of his neck. “It really wasn’t until I met you that I found someone new I could fully trust.”

“Really?”

“Mhmm. You’re the first person I’ve opened up to in a really long time.” He lifted his head from my shoulder. I dropped my hand so it rested on his lower back. His heat pushed through the T-shirt, warming my palm.

“I haven’t felt this close to anyone in a while either.”

“Who would have ever guessed a handsome bodyguard would fall for his slightly awkward client?”

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