Page 18 of Bitter Discord

It was early as hell for a Sunday, but Zuri landed in three hours, with a two-hour drive or more to get there. We had two back-to-back meetings to knock out today, one requiring us to go back to my territory, hence why I’d left my luggage there. It was going to be hell, but I knew we could handle it.

She’s a pro at this. We’ll be fine.

I repeated that like a mantra until she got off the plane.

“Zuri!” I called out, waving over my head frantically as the plane’s crew brought her two suitcases down behind her. We weren’t at normal baggage claim. I was certain no one in the family had used commercial flights in the last decade except me.

I saw her turn, her eyes searching the tarmac. When we made eye contact, her smile grew as she moved in my direction.

“Jacky!”

I wasn’t allowed to head closer, so I waited until she got to me before I threw my arms around her.

“I’ve missed you,” she said, holding me tightly.

“I’ve missed you, too,” I tried to say.

If someone had told me a decade ago that my closest sibling would be the regal queen, the perfect politician, I would have laughed in disbelief and told them to leave me alone. I would have said there was nothing that could bring Zuri and me together. We were too different.

It had taken us a decade, but we were both realizing we were more similar than we had initially believed.

As the hug ended, I looked at her. She was wearing the perfect business attire I would never find myself in, ready for meetings. Her pants suit had a wonderful deep-red jacket with matching slacks and an orange-and-yellow patterned top under the jacket. She wore not one but three gold necklaces, each a different length to let them lay perfectly. Tear-drop red gemstones set in gold hung from her ears.

“You’re not cold in that, right?” I asked, hoping I hadn’t wrinkled her crisp look or messed up any of her jewelry.

“I’m fine, but let’s get inside. We’re exposed out here.”

She wrapped her arm in mine, and we walked back toward the building. Behind us, someone rolled her two suitcases and whatever else she might have brought. We were VIPs at the airport. No longer did I deal with the humans and security the way I used to. With Zuri’s arrival for this event, she had reached out to the airport and gotten into contact with a division of its employees I hadn’t known existed. The person who held the door open for us was a fae who worked at the airport. He was one of the small population that lived in Dallas. Dallas didn’t have the most diverse supernatural community and most of it had been werewolves for a long time.

After him, another fae put drinks in a small lounge in case we wanted to sit for a moment. Zuri picked up one of the drinks, sniffing it before she handed it to me and picked up the other. Seemingly satisfied, she snapped her fingers, and a clutch was held out by the baggage guy. He was the only human in the room, but he worked with the family. He would stay with the plane while Zuri was visiting me.

“Zuri?” I tilted my head to the side, holding the drink she’d given me.

“It’s not poisoned. You can drink it,” she said, revealing the cash in her clutch. I didn’t see how much she pulled out, but she handed it all to the small fae woman who put our drinks out, whose eyes gave away just how surprising that amount must have been. “Thank you. I didn’t believe you would poison me or my sister, but precautions must be taken equally and without discrimination. This should also cover replacing the glassware. We won’t be staying, but the drink is certainly appreciated.”

“Yes, ma’am. This is wonderful. Thank you so much,” the fae said, bowing quickly.

“I hope my arrival didn’t impose too much on you or the rest of your team,” she said with a smile. I watched my sister wrap the woman around her finger. She was the embodiment of charm and poise, with an air of gentleness like a benevolent queen. She knew she was wealthy and powerful, so she showed a moment of appreciation to those who might have been inconvenienced by her. “It’s an important visit, you see, so I needed the red carpet rolled out. Thank you for understanding my concerns and helping me arrive in Dallas.”

“We were worried about your arrival as we have lost the majority of our staff in the last few years. I apologize we couldn’t do more.”

“Yes, the Dallas pack would have had at least twenty good werewolves at the airport, wouldn’t they? Oh well, it’s fine. You’ve done more than enough.”

“Well, the pack never provided werewolves, but much of our witch staff has… steadily moved away, with a mass exodus in the last… six months,” she explained, her face flushed. “And when the werecat ruling family has passed through, it’s often been quick. We’re not used to important visitors of your position, ma’am.”

“You would be if my youngest sister remembered who she is a bit more often,” Zuri replied, looking at me with a teasing smile. “We’ll see if we can bring some stability back to the city. Can’t have it losing its vital supernatural community. Maybe the werecat ruling family can settle its affairs, then bring this city back to life.”

Completely charmed, the fae bowed again, and Zuri kept walking, drink in hand, her clutch handed back to the baggage guy. I followed, chuckling softly as we reached my car.

“Welcome to my world,” I said, waving a hand at my subcompact SUV.

“You know, I was expecting a beaten-up pickup truck. I don’t know why. You’ve never driven dirty old pickup trucks. You had that little hot hatch before this… thing, right?”

“My vehicle is not a thing,” I said as I hit unlock on the fob.

“It’s a box,” Zuri replied, sipping her drink. “Not a car.”

“Wow. And I wouldn’t have called the previous hatchback a hot hatch. It was a budget car that did what I needed it to do. You’ve been here for thirty minutes, and you’re already making fun of my rides. Please, sis.” I looked over the hood at her, then I heard snickering.

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