“Why not? I’m potty trained and everything.”
Mykel smirked. “Sarcasm. Not a Kovacs trait.”
He was right. My father was kind and strong, but he didn’t really have a sense of humor. He was serious and guarded most of the time. Maybe because of his job, losing my mother, or because of me, but he didn’t laugh or tease a lot.
“Get to the point, Mykel.”
“You may call me that only in private.” He sat up with a snap. “Otherwise, I am Kaptain.”
I understood. His name, if leaked or overheard outside the barracks, could end everything.
Just like Andris.
“After the explosion at Halálház, I lost your whereabouts. Kek was sure you survived, but it took me a while to locate you. Track you. I thought when you got back to HDF, it was over. You were home. But I should have known better. You disappeared again, but then out of the blue, you popped up on my radar at a place I wasn’t expecting. It gave me hope for you.”
I kept my expression blank, not wanting to give him anything until he said it first. I had no idea who I could trust inside or outside these walls.
“Sarkis’s army.” His fingers drummed against the metal of the chair. “Your father’s best friend, who faked his own death to live with his fae lover, then became a revolutionist himself.”
I sat still, saying nothing. If it came down to my “uncles,” I had no doubt who I’d pick.
“Cautious.” He nodded. “That’s a good quality.”
Silence.
“We might share the same blood, but it doesn’t mean I trust you either.” He sat up. “I know about your stay with the fae leader, Killian.”
Heat rushed up my neck, and I had to force myself to not react in any way.
“You grew up in HDF, survived Halálház, been inside Killian’s palace.”
“How do any of those things help you here in Prague?”
His gaze met mine.
“If we hurt Budapest, Prague suffers as well. Our city benefits from many imports from you guys, both fae and human. Weapons, fae drugs, human trafficking.”
“I doubt my knowledge will bring them down.”
“Look at the big picture. Start to cut off the hand that feeds them, and you weaken their hold. Make them desperate. We chip away at their power while we work on the real plan.”
“And that is?”
A knock rapped on the door, and an older man with gray hair stepped into the room with a tray.
“Tea, Kaptain?” The man set down the tray with a chlebíčky, an open-faced mini sandwich, a few cookies, and a teakettle.
“Thank you, Oskar.” He nodded at the man, watching him leave quickly.
Mykel’s hand motioned at the food. “Please eat. You need your energy.”
Refusing would only hurt me. I was almost sliding out of my chair; my body was barely able to move. Picking up a cookie, I shoved it into my mouth. The treat was dry and bland compared to the ones I ate at HDF, but the sugar tasted good on my tongue. I devoured another two before I turned my attention to Mykel.
“What is the real plan?”
The door opened again, and Kek stepped in.
“Kaptain?”
“Kek, take Brexley—”
“X,” I replied, taking Birdie’s nickname for me. I didn’t want my name being used either.
“X.” Mykel dipped his head, repeating it. “Take her to the bunkers. She needs to rest. Room 418 is now vacant.”
“Across from mine.” Kek lifted a blue eyebrow. “What fun.”
I was being dismissed.
Rising from the chair, I grabbed the sandwich, staring at my newly found uncle.
“I gather you aren’t going to tell me the plan,” I said.
“You haven’t earned that yet. The person who attacked me in the elevator was my right-hand man. I don’t have the luxury of trusting anyone, including my own niece. Especially because you were under Istvan’s thumb for so long.”
I could understand and respect that.
Heading for the door, his voice paused me just as I stepped out.
“When the time comes, you will understand your role here.” He stared intently at me, flicking his chin at Kek. “Welcome to Povstat. Do not disappoint me.”
With that, Kek shut the door, leaving me hoping the same thing about him.
The cookies and sandwich must have helped my blood sugar because as Kek and I descended into the belly of the base, I started to feel better. The weight and clawing sensation ebbed slightly, letting me breathe fully and walk on stable legs.
When we reached the bottom level, the demon exited the elevator, strolling down the corridor without a glance back.
“Come on, little lamb. Keep up,” she purred. This time I could feel the power in her, the seduction and command of a demon. Imprisoned fae were blocked from their power in Halálház, so they couldn’t use their “gifts” to escape or kill guards. Humans still weren’t on even ground, and even without their powers, demons had full command and dominance over us.
My gut instinct was to be wary of why a demon helped me when my own human colleagues wanted to destroy me, but after a few weeks, I started to believe she did like me.
I should have trusted my gut.
“Now you are cautious of me?” Her pale navy-blue eyes peered at me from over her shoulder. The color indicated she was powerful, but not the most dominant of demons. Didn’t matter if they were blue, red, yellow, or chartreuse, she was still stronger than me.
“I’ve always been cautious of you.” I stepped out of the elevator, my tone firm. “Now I see I had a reason to be.”
Her bow lips pressed together, her head swinging back. For as petite as she was, she covered ground quickly, rushing after me to keep up.
“There’s the movie slash game room.” She motioned her hand to a large room we passed. I could see a homemade ping-pong table and pool table, raggedy sofas, shelves full of books and board games. A sheet was attached to a far wall to be used as a screen, and an obsolete TV hung on another wall with a stack of dated movies underneath. Food, drinks, and more types of games were shelved on another wall.
Again, nothing that couldn’t be left behind.
My mouth dropped as I saw a few children looking to be around five or six playing, some with games, some with building blocks, and others were coloring.
“There are kids here?” I gawked at the handful squealing and laughing as a few played tag.
“Why wouldn’t there be?” Kek stopped next to me at the doorway, watching the children. “We have a lot of families here. Most of these kids were born here. The older ones are in school upstairs.” She motioned to them. “Though personally, I don’t get why anyone would want something so messy, annoying, and loud. Ick.” She shivered. “But fighting for freedom is our life, not a weekend hobby. This is a home,” she added before starting back down the hallway.
“Most of us share bathrooms. There are ten rooms to every toilet.” She pointed at a community bathroom. “Some people paid to have a private one, but those are limited and only in family-size rooms. People have been on waiting lists for years, so don’t even ask.”
“I wasn’t going to.” I picked up my pace when she turned down another hallway. “How long has this place been here? How has no one found it?”