Page 45 of Blood on the Ice

Holy shit. He’s probably right.

My guardian lets out a strangled grunt as he paces. “The question is: were you targeted or merely a bystander? Yes, framing you would hurt your family and the school. But also, a prominent name found misbehaving in the a sports program already in trouble would hurt Morgana. You could be an acceptable loss in their eyes.”

“What do your instincts tell you, Kas?” I open one eye to look at him seriously, letting him know I want him to be baldly honest.

He shrugs and shakes his head. “This isn’t enough information to determine what I think is most probable. I will need access to everything these half-assed Nancy Drews have on the situation before I can give you an accurate answer, Liam.”

Morgana sighs, but finally nods. “Go into the living room. Once Iggy and Slade arrive, send one here with the plants for the Prince and inform the others to lift the magic so you can witness him working.”

I smile to myself as I go back to focusing on my work.

This is not the visit I expected when we came over, but I’ll be damned if I’m not enjoying myself immensely.

double, double

Convincing Kimiko that Iggy was truly repentant wasn’t easy. She’s not stupid; in fact, her IQ is genius level and if she were human, they’d label her some type of neurodiverse. That meant appealing to her empathy wasn’t an option—she’s not great with emotions and the one she’s beenholding was hard to overcome. With a few funding promises, I convinced her to work with us.

I think the Wolfenberg name helped, too. Their foundations control a lot of grant money.

“I still think we should have pulled rank rather than let her believe she won,” Iggy grumbles as he turns the car into Morgana’s driveway.

I hold up the two pouches of ingredients the Prince told Morgana we needed. “Do you honestly think we would have gotten all this without her? I don’t. And making an enemy of her doesn’t benefit Morgana. Sheneedsmore staff on her side, in case you forgot.”

He rolls his eyes and gets out of the car, leaving me to hope his typical bristly arrogance doesn’t end up pissing off a Fae Royal. Grabbing the bags of our stuff, I made him stop to pick up in case this takes longer than we expect; I jump out and follow him up the steps. Iggy doesn’t knock. He opens the door and strides in like he owns the place. It makes me cringe a little, but I let him lead because his confidence eases my worry. Channing’s call included the information that Lucas’s lawyer, the great Jackson Thorne, will be here soon as well.

If we fuck this up, we’re all going to be in the shit. Knowing my dad, this could start a minor war.

“Who the hell are you to walk in here unannounced?”

The growl has the timbre of a dragon—a powerful one—and I realize this must be the Prince’s Guardian. Iggy snorts and crosses his arms over his chest, taking an aggressive stance. I watch as the dragon balls his fists and the swell of power in the air makes me shiver. This is going to go bad quickly if?—

“What the fuck are you knuckleheads doing in here?” Morgana stomps in from the back of the house, her eyes glowing bright blue. “I told you to work with Iggy and Slade, you overgrown gecko, not threaten them!”

I smile sheepishly, rubbing the back of my neck as Morgana’s eyes light on the spell pouches in my hand. “We’ve got what we need, though I may have made deals you’ll regret later.”

She shrugs. “I’ll deal with the Professor when Lucas is safe and healed. Whatever you did was worth it to save my mate.”

Her conviction makes my heart thud a little—will she ever feel that strongly about me? Will anyone?

“You say thatnow,” Ignatius grumbles as his shoulders relax. “I’m not convinced of this Fae shit, either.”

The dark, glowering dragon snorts at him, his lips curled in a sneer. “In our lands, you could be imprisoned for doubting the future king of the Daybreak Court.”

“Thanks for the travel advice, but you’reherein the human realm. Your Prince has political clout, but he’s also held toourlaws, as are you.”

Ignoring their posturing, I walk over to Morgana. The strife is upsetting her; one of her snakes is hissing just shy of her ear. I know little about gorgons, but they’re typically very good at keeping themselves under control. If they aren’t, the rules say they have to wear eye covers. Morgana hasn’t, so I know she’s usually under control, and this entire situation is pushing her limits.

“Hey. Let’s take this stuff back to the Prince and see what he needs Iggy to do with it. Would that make you feel less edgy?”

Her face brightens at my muted question, and she tosses a last glare at the two assholes. “Yes, it would. I’d prefer not to reconsider who I’m allowing in my circle because they can’t behave likeadults.”

Iggy pales and I grin a little—hell, even the dragon snickers. I enjoy her putting everyone in their places more than I expected. Taking her hand, I let her lead me out into the garden where it appears a tall, beautiful Fae is manipulating strands of dark energy as they exit Lucas’s body. His face is twisted in a grimace; that has to mean this is bad. My expression turns to concern as we come closer and I can see Lucas writhing in pain.

“Uh, are wesureabout this?” I ask, my voice full of uncertainty.

There’s so damn much at risk here, and I doubt any of them have considered it. But I was raised by a chess master who ran his gang with an iron fist and was always five moves ahead of the other factions. Looking at the larger picture is in my blood, so I have to wonder if involving the Daybreak Royal, a mobster’s kid, two members of major supe families, and a convicted murderer is a smart plan. Not to mention the damn lawyer—he’s also way up the food chain. This is a disaster waiting to happen.

Supes have started major wars all throughout history for much less.

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