Page 109 of Rain of Shadows and Endings

“Fuckwits. The both of you,” Axel grumbled, pulling earbuds from his pocket.

“Have you heard from Cienna?” Theon asked.

Axel flipped him off over his shoulder while fitting the earbuds into his ears.

“Axel,” Theon growled.

“He will tell us when he hears from her,” Luka said. “Let him be.”

Not another word was said the rest of the way to the forgery expert’s house.

When Luka pulled up in front of a two-story house, Tessa was still sleeping against him. He didn’t want to wake her and make her come into the house, but he didn’t want to leave her out in the vehicle either. If she woke and he wasn’t here…

It seemed as though she was finally starting to put a little trust in him, and even if she was keeping secrets, he didn’t want to jeopardize anything if she was starting to give in.

“I will stay out here with her,” Luka said, turning off the vehicle. “You two go in and get this done.”

Theon nodded. “Contact The Palace. We will spend the night if I have to go to a dinner. When we are done here, we can stop and get Tessa a dinner dress, nightclothes, and whatever else we might need.”

Axel didn’t say anything. Just opened the door and slid out, putting his earbuds away as he made his way up to the house.

Theon gently extracted himself from Tessa, prying her fingers from his shirt, and quickly exited the vehicle.

“I want this done as fast as possible,” he snapped at Axel as they made their way up the front walkway.

“I am aware,” Axel replied shortly. “You can tell him what you need and come back out here.”

A moment later, it swung open and a mortal of average height stood before them. He had thick black-rimmed glasses and dirty-blonde hair tied back at the nape of his neck.

“Hey,” he said, reaching out to grasp Axel’s hand. “Long time no see.”

“Tucker,” Axel replied, shaking the guy’s hand. “Thanks for seeing us on such short notice.”

“For the kind of coin you offered, I’d see you in the middle of the night,” he answered with a chuckle.

“This is my brother, Theon,” Axel said with a nod in Theon’s direction.

The mortals knew who the governing Legacy were of their town and knew the names of the ruling families. Other than that, Theon wasn’t sure they could distinguish Fae from Legacy without seeing the Markings the Fae had on their wrists. They both had the arched ears, slightly elongated canines, and a natural grace about them. As long as the mortals took care of the mundane jobs that kept their societies running, the Legacy left them alone. They were more focused on the Fae.

Theon shook the man’s outstretched hand, curious how, exactly, Axel knew this mortal who did not tremble or bow before them.

“I don’t mean to be a dick, but we are in a hurry,” Theon said.

“Of course,” Tucker said, stepping back to let them inside.

Theon looked back over his shoulder at the vehicle before Tucker shut the front door. He led them down a hall to what was apparently his office, and Theon quickly explained what he needed. Tucker took the file and set to work, not asking a single question about what the report said or meant. Theon figured the guy forged documents for a living. He’d probably seen things just as strange if not stranger. Axel plopped onto a sofa sitting off to the side, thumbing through his phone, but Theon paced back and forth while Tucker worked. If it bothered the guy, he didn’t let it show.

Twenty minutes later, Tucker was handing documents across the desk to him for approval. Theon read them over, then passed them to Axel to double check. The man had to make one minor change, and then Theon was out the door, leaving Axel to take care of payment.

“The Palace is making sure the penthouse suite is ready for us,” Luka said when Theon opened the back door. “And rather than stop anywhere else, I placed an order for what we need and am having it delivered there.”

“Good thinking,” Theon replied, tossing the folder to the front seat. “Did she wake?”

Luka shook his head. “Whimpered a couple times in her sleep, but never opened her eyes.”

Theon gently lifted her head so it rested in his lap, letting his fingers move up and down her arm. Luka got them on their way to The Palace when Axel returned. It was the most elite hotel in Rockmoor, and Theon’s family owned the penthouse at the top. His father used it most when he stayed in the city for business, but Theon, Luka, and Axel had spent their fair share of time there as well. Tessa woke when they pulled up at the valet parking.

“Where are we?” she murmured, her voice thick with sleep.

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