Page 57 of Expose Me

We rushed past the bathrooms, and Zey reached for the last door. It opened to a dark sitting room, much more plainly decorated than the rest of the house, but comfortable. There were a few couches, bookshelves, and a dying fire in the hearth between two French doors.

It was probably a staff room, but they were all clearly run off their feet.

We closed the door halfway and waited.

In the next moment, Abraxos came around the same corner gesticulating ostentatiously while “Jadika” looked bored next to him.

I opened the door wider, making sure to remain in the shadows, and he sped up, shuffling her right inside.

I caught a glimpse of several people coming around the corner as I closed the door.

“We don’t have much time.” I turned to find Zey holding the woman by the throat, a zap held to her side. She was beautiful. Her black hair hung down her back in a thick braid and shimmered purple when it shifted, and her warm brown skin looked so smooth and hydrated that it practically glowed. Her dark eyes were wide with fear and shock.

“Won’t need much. Doendru here isn’t going to call out to our friends, telepathically or out loud, are you?” he said menacingly. “As long as the others can feel her and the Onuei close by, they’ll stay where they are.

The other Vuulectian stared at him with a hard expression, but those big, wide eyes still showed her fear.

Abraxos leaned against the wall by the door, looking bored.

I rushed forward, reached under the front of her dress, and yanked the necklace off.

The Vuulectian turned those expressive eyes up to Zey. “You would let a human handle something so precious?” She sounded outraged.

“You would let the ancient magic of the Onuei be perverted like this? Keep them from our one True Leader while our people are lied to? Do not act outraged with me, Doendru.”

“What are you talking about?” Doendru looked confused. “The Lineg Legion are trying to get the Onuei back home to their rightful place.Youare the one trying to steal them for your own benefit.”

Zey laughed darkly. “Is this the lie they’re spreading? And you believe them?”

He sounded a little hurt. I wanted to punch Doendru.

“Why would they lie?” She sounded uncertain.

“Why wouldIlie?” Zey threw back. “You’ve known me your entire life. I swore to protect the True Leader and the Onuei with my own life. I watched Silovisuvinoucraptiles and two of his disgraceful Lineg Legion conspiratorsmurderour beloved Leader. I barely made it out alive.”

“Touching as this family reunion is,” Abraxos drawled from his dark spot by the door. “You have what you were after. My end of the bargain is fulfilled, and I really must be on my way.”

He looked at me expectantly. I wrapped my hand around the necklace tighter.

The door to the sitting room opened, drawing all our eyes as a demon man stepped inside and closed it behind him.

“Sky Serpell.” He gave me a tight smile and glanced at Zey. “And friend. Why am I not surprised?”

I glanced at the door, hoping the Vuulectians on the other side hadn’t seen anything to send them running in here when he’d come in.

Philatanus was a prominent member of the House of Sea and Serpentine, Asbesta’s second. Zey had shifted into him to get past that guard earlier, and it was a little unsettling to see the actual man step into the room with us. Philatanus had been heavily involved with House business for decades before I was even born. We’d met plenty of times; I’d always thought of him as a reserved, if somewhat cold man, more interested in numbers than politics.

I was pretty sure I could take him.

Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he turned his attention to Abraxos. “I suppose this explains your attendance tonight. Working with wanted fugitives.” He shook his head and tsked. “I don’t think Asbesta would want someone she can’t trust in Sea and Serpentine.”

Abraxos chuckled, sauntering forward casually, his magnificent wings shimmering in the light from the fire while Philatanus’s seemed to almost disappear in the shadows.

“Like I give a shit about being in your little Earth club.” Abraxos all but rolled his eyes. “Not like you do. I wonder, can Asbesta trust someone who’s working with the Vuulectians to steal a precious artifact? I’m assuming she’s unaware of this little ...alliance? Otherwise, there’d be no need to place a decoy in its place, would there?”

Philatanus was working with the Vuulectians? I shouldn’t have been surprised—I’d pretty much seen it all when it came to House politics. But why?

The question was at the tip of my tongue, but ultimately it didn’t matter. It was either for personal gain or it was House politics at play. Perhaps he’d struck a deal to help them get the Onuei in exchange for an exclusive alliance with Sea and Serpentine. If he pulled it off, he’d have the favor of Asbesta, more power in the House. But he was doing it secretly because if he failed, no one had to know.

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