Page 63 of Suspicions on the Stage
Iggy holds his hand up, waiting until I nod to speak. “What tipped you off that things had to end?”
“She tried to corner Li and kiss him during a royal ball,” my old friend spits in anger. “I walked up on it and it appeared thathewas in charge of that scene, which led to a stand-off between us that lasted several years.”
“Years?” Morgana says on a wince. “Really? How did you do your job?”
I chuckle. “Very, very quietly, with a lot of pissy glaring, trust me.”
“I couldn’t give up my post,” Kaspar says with a shrug. “I didn’t trust anyone to do my duty as well as me, but I also could barely stand to look at him. So I stayed muted, did my job, and started flying off to mitigate my fury elsewhere. That’s what I did when that fucking drake found me; I needed the space to process my shit in the best way I knew how, since that woman almost destroyed me.”
Slade frowns, looking at the dragon mournfully. “I’m very sorry that you were hurting so badly for so long, Kaspar. You know, taking it out on everyone else was unacceptable, though, right? I’m not the most aggressive one here, but I have to say that I will not be happy if you do that again, especially to Morgana. She’s our mate; we can’t let you treat her like shit.”
Lucas growls softly, his blue flashing as he nods. “Seconded.”
I give my scaly companion a firm look. “Third.”
“For fuck’s sake, you’re all dramatic,” he growls softly. His eyes close for a moment as if he’s gathering his thoughts, and when they open, he looks less irritable. “Look, I’m going to need time to get where you all want me to. This damn demon shit might help that, but I’ve been fucked forcenturies. Patience will be appreciated, as well as your understanding. But Iamgoing to let this final nail in her coffin be the one that buries Angeline for good. Okay?”
We can’t ask for more than that—not really.
“Agreed, old friend,” I murmur as I look him in the eye.
The others seem less certain, but they also nod eventually.
“Dragon, heal thyself, and we’re square,” Morgana whispers as she joins me in holding the storm dragon’s gaze. “I swear, I will give you a chance to earn your place if you can do what you need to so desperately.”
How the fuck did Magnus screw up loving this woman? It’s fucking baffling, but I’m glad he did.
she works hard for the money
MORGANA
The discussion lasted well into the night, and when I woke up this morning between Liam and Lucas, I actually felt completely settled for the first time since I arrived at State U. I don’t know if that’s because we finally got the damned dragon to meet us halfway or because my soul senses that things are coming together as they should be. Whatever it is, it made breakfast and the goodbyes afterward a lot more satisfying. Iggy hugged me, and Kaspar gave me a sharp nod that wasn’t full of disdain.
Today might not be so fucking bad, and that’s a good goddamn thing.
“Channing, I’m here,” I call as I step into the outer office. My closest non-mated ally looks up from the stack of papers she’s already reviewing with a smile. I need to talk with her about not burning herself out simply to get caught up, but now isn’t the time. I’m too calm this morning, and I don’t want to upset the balance of the universe. “How are you this morning?”
Her cheeks flush bright red, and my brows raise. Something is definitely going well for her, and I’m damn glad to see it.Channing clears her throat, then says, “I slept quite well, thank you, Morgana. How are things at home since you’ve returned? You mentioned having much to discuss after the trip.”
I frown a little, the paranoia about surveillance that the guys have drilled into me making me wonder. My eyes dart around the room for a moment, and my assistant grins, holding up a finger. She reaches into her desk, pulling out an innocuous-looking pen and holding it up as she slides a paper towards me. Once I approach, she clicks the top several times in a rhythm, then I feel a noticeable burst of energy spread throughout the space.
“There we go. Jax had Rainier and Kendrick work on this gadget. It’s only effective in averylimited area, but we should be good to speak for the next ten minutes without fear of tech or magic catching our words.”
Damn, I was smart for hooking her up with them; this is excellent.
With an audible sigh of relief, I nod. “Okay, that’s perfect. Tell them thanks. As for the discussion? On a personal level, I think it’s headed in the right direction from top to bottom now, which is an immense relief. In the realm of professional stuff? We may have a shortcut coming for rooting out the shit here with less strain, and if so, I will beinsanelygrateful. Globally? We’ve got major problems and I?—”
My phone buzzes, and I look down at it with a frown. The message there is forwarded from Liam, but it appears as if the demons we met during the orc battle have updates about the rest of their experience at the Apalachin, as well as questions about things up here. I quickly respond to my mate, letting him know I approve of responding, and also that I would be okay withhim sharing my information with the small demon they whisked away for protection. I didn’t get to know him before the fight, but it sounds like he wants to speak to me directly, and I’m curious.
“What was that?” Channing asks as she keeps her eyes on the wall clock.
“When we went to visit Slade’s family, we ended up at this big criminal meeting thing. It was insanely complex and terrifying in scale for one city’s network. We met two other groups of supes that seemed like they could be allies—one from Hell and one from the city we were in—who got our contact info because they’re working on things that connect with shit here. It’s a much bigger problem than we thought, so it seemed prudent to gather more friendlies.”
Her eyes widen as she stares at me in shock. “You made friends withdemons?”
Shrugging as I chuckle, I say, “What can I say? I attract danger like bugs to a zapper. Actually, both groups had demons in them, and both were tied to the highest levels down there. There were also Fae and shifters as far as we could tell, but that’s not the important part. Whatisimportant is that there’s a much larger conspiracy going on that seems to extend to the other realms, including Hell and Faerie and everything in between.”
“Son of a bitch.” My assistant shakes her head, inhaling deeply as if she’s trying to steady her nerves. “I can see why you want to get this State U shakeup done. You need to get it off your plate, so you can focus on the wider picture.”
