Page 92 of Love & Heart Braking

“Good.” Fenton clapped his hands. “Which brings us to the last item on the agenda. Each season, the Arbintos hold a fashion show to reveal their latest clothing shit. The spring show is coming up, and all twelve families attend. The shows are held on the edge of Lake Neptune to cater to their water-faring clientele—and the Dethnels are in that number. I believe this is our opportunity to strike.”

Gug gripped her armrests. “To save Maligni?”

The goblin looked to be in danger of fainting, the rest of her in a state of disbelief. She must’ve waited for this moment for a long time.

“They won’t leave their estate unprotected,” Fenton said. “Angry man, Soleil, and I will do regular stakeouts between now and Saturday to see what happens when the families are called out to functions.”

“The youngest slime bags stay behind,” Soleil said in a bored tone. “The twins.”

Fenton stopped talking. “They do?”

“Imosae and Develin Dethnel,” Devereaux clarified. “Develin is the stronger of them.”

They may be the youngest krakens, but there was no way I wanted to come up against their tentacles or teeth in that murky water. I shivered.

“Even so.” The vampire regarded us. “We need to gather as much information as possible.”

“If that’s necessary, then why the rush?” Bain said.

I agreed. We had one chance here. If we screwed up, they’d move Maligni, and Gug would be in danger as well as other members of this alliance.

Fenton exchanged a look with the goblin.

“I’ve been summoned by the Hucses,” she admitted. “I’ve managed to put off the meeting until Sunday, but you’re all aware of the danger from that quarter.” She cast a dark look at Soleil.

“Soleil is not one of them any longer,” Bain snapped. “She doesn’t pry into the thoughts and secrets of others. You’d do well not to judge her by their low standard.”

The goblin didn’t appear fazed. “Is that what you are doing, prince of the old herds? Not judging her by her family?”

Ooo, ouch. And deserved.

Fenton blurted, “Let’s get back on track. Devereaux—shit, I mean Angry Man.” The vampire stopped and rubbed his temples.

“You aren’t great at this,” Lerome remarked.

Devereaux’s growl filled the room. Fair enough. He had his own investigation going that could be impacted by his identity getting out.

Fenton backed away from the growling berserker. “Sorry, really. A slip.”

“Devereaux Vincori?” Gug asked. “You’ve got an impressive track record at the station.”

Fenton squeaked as the growling ramped up.

Lerome already knew who Devereaux was, but Gug hadn’t.

Devereaux stopped growling and sighed. “Take the blur charm off.”

Fenton practically tripped over himself to do so.

Time for the real leader to step in. I cleared my throat. “We’ll gather again on Friday evening to touch base and finalize our approach. In the meantime, Fenton, I’m assigning you the job of gathering the necessary equipment for a mission into the Dethnels’ estate. Everyone else? Take a load off!”

Even Gug smiled when Fenton glowered.

“Why don’t you do it?” he said.

I’d be poring over A Manual to Venus’s Power. “Bit busy.” I waited a beat. “Meeting adjourned. That’s a wrap.”

Fenton boomed. “Hold on one minute.” When everyone paused, his face worked until he heaved a sigh. “Dammit. That’s all.”

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