I close my eyes, relief already trickling through me. “Football.”
“Yep, right. So … point is, I suspect I’ll need to see what you are seeing. And once I’m in your phone, I can’t be easily removed. No matter how skilled your techs are.”
“I understand. The second thing?”
The keyboard tapping intensifies. “Let’s track where your kids went after the game. Then we’ll figure out where to go from there.”
I wait. The darkness and the tap of Coda’s fingers on their keyboards is a comforting cocoon. But just a gossamer layer, easily torn through when I need to move again.
“So … seems no one knows exactly what you can do, Princess. But an awry’s eyes don’t get much lighter than yours without that awry being able to take care of themselves.”
“Is that pertinent?” Yes, I’m peeved that the tech awry is apparently researching me when they should be solely focused on the kids.
Coda chuckles smugly. As if they can read my mind. I glance at the phone screen still glowing that neon black. The tech isn’t a mind reader, but no matter how level I’ve kept my tone, I’m not guarding my expressions.
Coda huffs, amused. Presumably at me just catching on that they’re already tapped into my camera. “It’s pertinent if you’re going to need to ditch your guard.”
“Am I ditching my guard?”
There’s a long beat, more keyboard tapping, then a quietly murmured, “Fuck. Give me a moment …”
My stomach twists. But I grab my phone, and I’m already moving, away from the comforting darkness, back through the apartment, across the hall and into my own main living space.
Elias, Sully, and Bolan are deep into a quiet conversation near the couch, their phones in hand like they’re coordinating something. Presumably the plan to head out themselves. They all look up as I enter.
“Miller?” Elias asks, quietly frowning. “Again?”
I shake my head. Holding my phone in my palm before me, I don’t pause to fill them in. “Am I ditching my guard?” I repeat, speaking to Coda.
I don’t wait for a reaction from the others, crossing through to my bedroom.
Elias and Sully take off toward the other apartment, but Bolan follows me, keeping close enough that I can feel the heat of his body.
I push into my walk-in closet, not bothering with the lights to grab a pair of well-worn gray sneakers. Instead of stepping back to the built-in bench, I sit down on the floor right where I am, setting my phone beside me to pull on the shoes.
Bolan crouches beside me, eyes narrowed on the phone.
“Hello, rock star. I’m Coda,” the tech says, clearly able to see my wolf shifter through the camera on the phone. “Do you belong to the princess?”
“I do.”
“And the two mages in the other room?”
“Them as well,” Bolan growls.
Coda laughs quietly. “Well, this is going to be a fun friendship, Mirth. Normally, I don’t play well with strangers. But you already come with the best party favors.”
“The kids?” I prompt, catching sight of myself in the mirror as I grab the phone and stand. Except for the sneakers, I’ve dressed all in black without realizing it.
Stepping back into my bedroom to grab his boots, Bolan is swathed in black as well. “We’re going after the kids? Together?” he asks. He’s clearly confused but also clearly standing at my side, not in my way. “Without the guards?”
“They draw too much attention,” I say grimly. “Right, Coda?”
“Oh, yeah, we’re definitely about to break some … societal rules.”
Elias’s cool voice comes from the closet doorway. “How do you propose we get past them?”
The earl is now wearing a long black wool coat over his already dark suit— something from Armin’s closet that my brother never actually wore. At his side, Sully has swapped his suit jacket for a black peacoat.
