Page 92 of Magic Claimed
He appeared to be in his mid-forties, with thick dark hair turning gray at the temples. Broad shoulders, stern face, commanding posture—I’d never seen him before, and yet he seemed instantly familiar.
“I’d say you must be Callum’s watchdog, but you don’t smell right for a shifter,” the man observed, shrugging into his long, dark coat as if he perceived no threat from my presence. “Is he here?”
“Not to trespassers,” I said coolly. “What do you want with him?”
The man smiled slightly. “It’s urgent, and confidential.”
“Then, like I said, you can go around to the front door.”
He shrugged. “I don’t really want anyone else to know I’m here.”
“Guess it’s not your lucky day.”
He paused. “You’re not going to stand aside, are you?”
I grinned. “What was your first clue?”
The man regarded me for a moment, amber eyes sharp and assessing and so very, very familiar. “You’re clearly loyal to him, which I appreciate. But I don’t have time to argue, and I don’t trust any of his court enough to give my news to anyone else.”
“Funny, but you look like a member of his court to me,” I retorted. “So you’ll have to forgive me if I don’t trust you either. Can you give me any reason why I ought to consider letting you leave this roof in one piece?”
He let out a sigh before reaching under his jacket and pulling out… a badge?
“I’m a senior agent with the Bureau of Idrian Affairs.”
Well, that was unexpected. For some reason, I’d expected them to send a human. And how had he known where to find Callum?
“Do you have a name, Senior Agent of the Bureau?”
His lips twisted wryly. “I do,” he told me quietly. “My name is Deverin. Deverin-ro-Finnbar. And I would very much like to speak with my son.”
TWENTY-TWO
It tookme a few moments to recover from being utterly and completely gobsmacked by his request.
But now that I knew the intruder’s identity, it was easy to understand the sense of familiarity. His build, his expressions, his way of carrying himself… all Callum.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t sure whether that made him more or less trustworthy under the current circumstances.
“I see.”
His head tilted curiously. “You do, don’t you?”
“Changes nothing,” I assured him. “I still don’t trust you.”
He shrugged. “Fair enough. But I still need to deliver a message, and I don’t want to hurt you. Perhaps you’d be willing to call Callum and tell him I’m here?”
“Can’t,” I said blandly. “My phone is dead.”
After only a moment’s hesitation, he reached into his pocket and offered me his own.
When I couldn’t come up with a reason to refuse, I held out a hand. “I don’t think you need to get any closer, so toss it here.”
He grinned and complied.
I couldn’t quite recall Callum’s number, but I did remember Kira’s, from back before I’d had my own phone.
The first attempt went to voicemail. So did the second, but on the third, she finally answered.
