“So what happened?” Kieran must’ve had a million things to do, but he sat down beside me, his fingers still entwined with mine. “The dresses were too flashy?”
I glanced at the doorway, wondering if Daisy would come in to defend her case, but no one had followed us. They were giving us some alone time, something we didn’t get enough of as we prepared for the Summit.
“If I’m being honest, they looked like a cheaper rendition of something Lydia would wear,” I said. I dropped my head onto his hard shoulder. “They were really nice on their own, and I’d probably look the part, but Daisy thinks I need to look more natural. A less is more kind of situation.” I ran my lip over my teeth. “Like Magnus.”
Kieran tensed for a moment, his uncertainty filtering through the links we shared. “What about Magnus?”
I went over what Daisy and the others had said, and outlined Daisy’s plan for me. At the end, Kieran was nodding, his eyes far away. “She’s exactly right about Magnus. That’s an interesting take.”
“Jerry helped make her case.”
“Jerry?” Kieran was back to smiling. “Hidden talents, Jerry,” he said softly, mimicking the accusatory tone the guys used when they picked on him.
Harding popped up outside the window, hovering in midair. My spirit-repellent magic kept him from getting too close to the glass. He could have found a new cat to host his spirit, which was, in a roundabout way, how we’d ended up with Chaos and Havoc, but instead he’d resorted to this kind of behavior.
“I think Daisy has the right approach,” Kieran said, noticing Harding. “You’re gorgeous in anything you put on, or nothing at all”—he turned his head my way, and desire pooled in my core—“but if I were forced to choose, I’d pick your natural beauty. I’d choose you just how you are, sweet and sensual and fierce and powerful. You don’t need glitter or gold to stand out. You just need to show up.”
I laid my free hand against his strong jaw and pulled his face closer so I could kiss him again, letting my desire flower and grow. Letting heat sizzle across my skin.
“We can’t right now,” he said against my lips, his breathing uneven. “You need Harding’s training. But the second he leaves…”
I smiled, stealing another kiss. “I’ll dress down to my birthday suit and climb you like a tree.”
“Yes, please.” He chuckled. “I love you. Everything is going to be okay next month, you’ll see. We’ll be ready.”
I stood from him and headed out to Harding, who wore a firm mask of uncharacteristic seriousness. He looked this way more and more when we trained. I had a feeling Kieran wasn’t going to be as ready as he thought.
I didn’t think any of us were prepared for what was coming.
2
Alexis
Our train of limos wound along the gorgeous coastline of the remote tropical island that housed the Magical Summit. The small landing strip that played host to the various officials’ private jets lay behind us. Each jet was allowed a certain amount of time to land, unload its cargo, and leave again. With no boats in the harbor, we were, in essence, trapped here with the most metaphysically powerful people in the world.
“No one told me about the island situation,” I murmured, seeing something emerge from the sparkling blue waters. A tentacle? It slapped down, spraying water into the air before the swell of a wave covered it.
“This location has been used for hundreds of years.” Kieran sipped his whiskey. The kids sat at the other end of the limo, dressed nicely, as befitted people of their status within Kieran’s company. The rest of the team, including the cats, followed in the other limos. It seemed wasteful, but I knew it was the first of many shows of strength. “It is large enough for all the gathered leaders and most if not all of their magical crew, it has access to all the elements, and there’s ample space for any visiting magical beasts to roam, which matters in the offseason when they have the magical beast convention.”
“There’s also no way in or out.”
“Thus ensuring our privacy.”
“Thus ensuring our vulnerability. If this situation goes tits up, we’ve got nowhere to go.”
Kieran took my hand, entwining our fingers. “Don’t think that hasn’t been brought up multiple times, especially by the non-Demigod leaders. We’re all in the same boat, though. No one can easily come and go. Greed and alliances keep people safe here. Everyone watches everyone else to make sure no one steps over the line. The art is in walking the line, and my father was one of those who did it exceedingly well.”
I chewed my lip, seeing another tentacle splash down—clearly someone was watching the coastline—and prevented myself from pointing out the obvious: Kieran didn’t have any alliances, and he was short on greed. While everyone had to start somewhere, most people came to the Summit for the first time with tiny territories and budding teams. Not Kieran. He had a prosperous territory that he’d taken by force, a Spirit Walker by his side, and a team with some serious power players. We would stand out, and we had no one to guard our backs.
“It’ll be okay,” Kieran said softly, and squeezed my hand. The kids looked my way, and I could see the uncertainty on their faces. Zorn and the guys had trained them well—they knew the challenges that lay ahead as well as I did. “I’m sure I can get Dara. A handful of others have been watching me—they want to see if I’m as good as they hear. They’ll see that I am better. By the time we walk out of here, we’ll be in good shape.”
“Just like you thought Lydia would be an ally?” Daisy murmured.
“I’m not one to ignore my mistakes,” Kieran replied, a note of gruff disapproval in his voice.
“Doesn’t matter,” Mordecai said, his body tense and his hands clasped in his lap. “We have all week as the new kids on the block. We’ll take a beating. The other teams will want a go at us.”
“Today we’ll set up the lodge and take a stroll as a unit.” Kieran checked his watch. “It’s standard protocol. The crew will be with you the whole time. All of them.”
The crew was what we’d taken to calling the Six (minus Jack, who’d stayed home, like Harding) and Bria, plus the new additions who hung around as family. Jerry and Dylan had become part of our unit, eating with us, helping to cook and clean up, and training the kids. Amber hung around, too, but there was a certain awkwardness to her involvement. She kept silent more often than not. At first we’d tried to weave her in more, but everyone had accepted her as a living ghost around the house, there to help Daisy and soak in the community but not quite comfortable enough to blend in. Unbeknownst to her, she was usually close to Jack, who also hung out on the outskirts of the party.
“I’ll take the new people you guys don’t know very well,” Kieran went on, stroking my hand with his thumb. It wasn’t just for my benefit—I could feel the turmoil rolling through him like a brewing storm.
“If you don’t take any of the crew, you’ll look as green as you are,” Daisy said. “The other Demigods might send most of their best people off to challenge the other crews, but you can be sure they keep a few for themselves.”