The deep rumble of his displeasure at her back, a big, dangerous presence that made her feel deeply safe, she cleared them into her apartment. The door slid back to reveal a room full of natural light. Greenery cascaded beyond the windows, while she knew from her orientation that the roof was a living carpet.
“I see you went wild with the décor, Starlight.” The affectionate words had her looking at the apartment through his eyes; light and spacious, it was fitted out with modern furniture covered in oat-colored fabric.
That, however, was how it had come. Silver had added nothing to it, simply putting her clothes in the bedroom closet. Which was why she looked askance at the giant pink teddy bear sitting on her couch. “How did you manage that?” she demanded. “It wasn’t there when we left.”
“Don’t look at me.” His expression was affronted. “I would’ve gotten you a brown teddy bear.” Folding his arms, he curled his lip. “There are no such things as pink bears.”
Walking over, Silver looked at the furry thing. “Who does it smell like?”
Valentin looked pained but drew in a breath. “Yasha and Stasya.”
Spotting the little bag that hung from the bear’s neck, Silver tugged it off. Inside was a handwritten note folded into a small square.
We all thought you might be missing your bear, so we got you a substitute. (Honestly, he’s probably just as good to cuddle up with in bed. Plus, his feet aren’t boats and he doesn’t snore.)
Valentin, who’d come to read over her shoulder, made a loud noise and, picking up the bear, went as if to tear it limb from limb. She touched her hand to his arm. And he stopped.
“It’s a gift. Don’t ruin it.”
“It’s pink.” His chest rumbled. “And it is not as good as me.”
She tried to pull the bear from his grasp. He held on. “Valentin.” She tugged again.
The stubborn bear refused to let go. “Release this now, or you’ll be facing Kaleb and Grandmother while holding a pink teddy bear.”
“So?” he said, but released his hostage at last. “I’m going to dye that bear brown when you’re not looking.”
Leaving him scowling in the living area, Silver managed to get the plush toy into her bedroom and return right before her grandmother and Kaleb teleported in. Valentin still had a glare on his face, but he inclined his head respectfully at Ena. “Grandmother.”
His greeting to Kaleb was a curt nod. “Krychek.”
“Nikolaev,” Kaleb responded in the same vein, sliding his hands into the pockets of his black suit pants, his shirt a simple white.
“Grandmother, please sit,” Silver said, only taking her own seat once Ena was seated.
Valentin came down on the couch beside her, while Kaleb took a seat across from them. Ena sat to their right. They looked at her as one, waiting to hear what she had to say.
“I have,” she began, “completed my meeting with Akshay Patel.”
“I think you meant to use the word ‘interrogation.’”
Ena gave Valentin a speaking look. “A meeting is far more civilized.”
“My apologies,” Valentin said with such perfect politeness, Silver had to check he was the one who’d spoken.
Then, as they listened, Ena told them what the CEO had confessed—and what he’d betrayed. “The Consortium did have a role to play in this,” Ena said toward the end of her briefing, “but only in the sense it gave Akshay Patel tools to pull off actions he already wanted to take. The Bowen Knight incident was wholly Akshay and his brother-in-law—he didn’t want to involve outsiders in human matters.”
Valentin’s claws had slid out long ago. When he spoke, his voice was gravel. “Tell me he’s dead.”
“No. He’s more useful to us alive.”
Chapter 49
SILVER STARED AT Ena. “Grandmother, you’re not known for mercy.”
“A slight understatement,” Kaleb said in his usual emotionless way, which terrified people with its very calmness. “For many, the name Ena Mercant is synonymous with the words ‘cold-blooded’ and ‘ruthless shark.’”
“I believe your picture would also suffice for that dictionary entry,” Ena said without missing a beat.
Kaleb’s smile was faint but real.
“Grandmother,” Valentin said, his body a storm of turbulent energy barely contained, “I respect you, but that bastard tried to murder my mate. He needs to die.”
“He might be able to give us the Consortium.”
Her words filled the room with a potent silence . . . broken only by the noise of play from outside. The apartment was fully soundproofed, but that soundproofing wasn’t a default, had to be switched on, since most changelings preferred to live in proximity to others.
Silver had never turned it on.
“I’ve had the briefing.” Valentin flexed, then fisted his hands after retracting his claws. “Those bastards don’t show each other their faces.”
“Akshay Patel is extremely paranoid and distrustful. He’s done everything in his power to discover the identity of the individual behind the creation of the Consortium. Already he’s told me that the one who sits at the center—the spider in control of the web—is a woman.”
“Interesting.” Kaleb leaned back. “You believe him?”
“A man will do many things to protect his children.” Her words were arctic. “Whatever his faults, Akshay loves his son and daughter.”
Kaleb didn’t move. “How will you control him once he’s with his children and able to spirit them into hiding?”
“Our family’s greatest strength is our intelligence network.” Ena’s words were directed at all of them. “Akshay is well aware that wherever he goes, it will never be far enough—and I have given my word that his children will be safe so long as he cooperates with us.”
Silver could feel Valentin’s body vibrating next to her, his shoulders knotted and thighs rigid against the denim of his jeans. “Patel’s a murdering bastard,” he said in a voice so deep it echoed inside her. “But it’s not right to make a man’s children pay the price for his crimes.”
“If he does what we want, that will never be an issue.” Ena’s eyes were ice when they met Valentin’s. “He has willingly bargained his freedom for their lives. He’s the one who will pay.” A pause. “You would’ve taken his life, and the children would’ve lost their father. Our moral compasses are not so different, Valentin Nikolaev.”
Hands fisted, Valentin nodded at last. “You’re right. But I wouldn’t have won his compliance by threatening his children.” He held Ena’s gaze with the wild amber of his own. “That line should never be crossed.”
Silver had never seen her grandmother back down against anyone. She didn’t today, either, but Ena also did not stare Valentin down in the way she did those who didn’t have her respect. “We have different lines, Valentin, but we both protect those who are our own.”
Valentin nodded slowly. “I don’t like leaving him alive—a man who uses poison, he’s not the straight-up kind.”
“He’s broken,” Ena said flatly. “I made sure of it. He is my puppet.”
Kaleb tapped a finger on his knee, his voice flawless midnight when he spoke. If Silver hadn’t seen him with Sahara, and if she didn’t know the other woman well enough to understand the passionate way Sahara embraced life, she, too, would’ve believed him wholly without heart. “Can he actually be useful to us?” Kaleb’s cardinal eyes were unreadable. “If he starts betraying Consortium plans, they’ll know they have a mole.”