12

Nero spent the next hour showing me what it meant to have no mercy or humanity. His argument was a convincing one. I certainly believed in his merciless inhumanity while he was adding fresh injuries to the ones Jace had inflicted on me, but then he healed me at the end. The cynic in me told me that he just wanted me to live to fight another day. That small, hopeful voice disagreed; it decided he wanted to spare me the pain of bruised bones. This time, my cynical side won the argument. He’d kicked my ass so thoroughly that the memories of the pain lingered on long after his magic had healed my body.

When I got back to my apartment, Ivy was bustling around the living room, clearly agitated. Her mood was in stark opposition to her very put-together outfit: a green short-sleeved sweater dress paired with brown leather boots and a matching belt.

“What’s wrong?” I asked her.

She spun around to face me as I closed the door behind me. “Have you seen my brown purse? I can’t find it anywhere, and I’m late.”

“Did you look in the refrigerator?”

“The refrigerator?” she asked, her red eyebrows drawing together as she power-walked to Drake’s mini fridge. “Why would it be…” Her confusion only deepened when she found her purse inside. “This is weird. How did it get in there? And how did you know it was in there?”

“Drake was experimenting this morning,” I told her. “I guess he forgot to take it out.”

Ivy shook her head. “Do I want to know what this experiment was and why he needed my purse for it?”

“I don’t even know what he was doing.”

Ivy peeked inside her purse. “Well, it looks the same as before.” With that said, her usual smile returned. “Ok, I am—” She froze, her eyes panning up and down me. “What happened to you?”

“We almost got blown up by witches, then I trained with Jace for four hours until Nero came back to further kick my ass.”

“You’re bleeding!”

“Not anymore. It’s old blood. It’s all dry by now.”

Rather than appeasing her, my words only seemed to make things worse. “Your day sucked.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “It really did.”

“Well, don’t just stand there. We’re going to turn it right around. Get cleaned up and changed, and then you’re coming with me to Three Wishes.”

“Three Wishes?”

“It’s a club,” she said. “There’s a party going on tonight, and I’m bringing you.”

“I thought you were late.”

“Fashionably late, and we both are,” she said, nudging me toward my room. “Come on.”

“Is this a Legion club?” I asked her as I began to put on the clothes she was pulling out of my closet.

“No, it’s a fairy club.”

“Good.”

“Good?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Ah.” Her eyes lit up in understanding. “You’re not avoiding a certain angel, are you?”

Yes. “I just thought it would be nice to get away from the rigidity of the Legion for a bit.”

“Uh-huh.” I could tell she wasn’t fooled. “Well, it’s just a small group of us going to Three Wishes. There shouldn’t be anyone else from the Legion. A few of the Legion clubs are having a party tonight, so everyone will be at those, not where we’re going.”

Thank goodness. I finished dressing in record time, then said, “Ok. Show me to this angel-free party zone.”

* * *

Three Wishes wasn’t as extravagant as the Legion clubs. It didn’t have marble floors, diamond sculptures, or fancy light shows. The club was rather rustic actually. The wood floor creaked, and the furniture was etched with the chips and scratches of time. And rather than a high-end, Magitech-powered stereo system, a live band played on the raised stage.

In one word, the fairy club was perfect.

Ivy had been right. Except for her date, the now-Captain Diaz, and half a dozen others she’d invited, there wasn’t a single Legion soldier to be found inside Three Wishes. After a round of sparkling shots, we played our way through the game stations all around the club. There was pool and air hockey and darts. For a dollar, we could even arm-wrestle a werewolf. A muscular man with chin-length hair and a two-day beard, the werewolf grinned at me when I sat down opposite him, but his smile faded the moment he realized I wasn’t as weak as he’d thought.

“You’re pretty strong for a little girl,” he said through clenched teeth as I slowly forced his arm toward the table. He inhaled deeply, drinking in my scent. “You’re not a fairy. What are you?”

“You’re wrestling a soldier of the Legion,” Ivy told him with a bright smile.

“Hmm.” He took another whiff.

“Do you mind?” I said. “That’s kind of creepy.”

“It’s how I sense magic, sweetness.” His voice was as rough as sandpaper. “What level are you?”

“Two.”

He sniffed me again. “You smell like angel.”

“That’s her boyfriend you’re smelling,” Ivy said.

“Boyfriend?”

Surprise froze him, and I took advantage. I pushed harder, slamming his arm against the table.

“You distracted him,” said Captain Diaz. No, Soren. He’d insisted I call him Soren. I wondered if that would change if he ever ended up in charge of training us.

Ivy shrugged. “And? If he got distracted, that’s his problem. Leda won fair and square. Hey, what did she win?” she asked the werewolf.

“What would you like as your prize?” he asked me.

“She’d like to dance with you,” Ivy answered for me.

I turned to glower at her, but the werewolf had already wrapped his arm around my back. I allowed him to lead me to the dance floor. Why not? One dance wouldn’t kill me. Even if he wanted to bite me—which didn’t seem likely from the way he was looking at me—soldiers of the Legion were immune to werewolf venom. And, besides, he was kind of ruggedly handsome. I didn’t mind dancing with him.

“What’s your name?” he asked me, settling his hands on my hips.

“Leda.” I balanced my arms over his shoulders. Where else was I supposed to put them? We were so close that we were practically dancing cheek-to-cheek.

“I’m Stash.” His lips spread into a smile. “Pleased to meet you, Leda.”

“So,” I said. “What is a big bad wolf doing arm-wrestling people inside a fairy club?” His smile vanished, telling me I’d asked the wrong thing. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”

“No, it’s a valid question. I am a sideshow in this fairy carnival because I need the cash, and most shifters outright refuse to hire me ever since my pack kicked me out.”

I didn’t ask why they’d kicked him out. That would definitely be prying. So I was surprised when he told me himself.

“The alpha and I had a difference of opinion. And I don’t know how to keep my mouth shut. I’m not the good, obedient wolf.”

“Neither am I. An obedient soldier, I mean,” I added quickly.

“Is that why you’re here instead of out with Colonel Windstriker?” he asked me.

I looked at him in surprise.

“There’s only one angel living in New York,” he said.

“Nero is not my boyfriend,” I told him.

His mouth lifted in a smile. “It’s only a matter of time, sweetness.”

“Why do people keep saying that?” I growled.

“Your eyes light up and your scent changes when you talk about him.”

“I…” I didn’t know what to say to that. “Let’s just not talk about him, ok?”

“As you wish.”

A new song started, this one peppier than the last, and then a loud, off-key voice belted out the lyrics to Supernatural Fever over the microphone. I turned my head toward the stage, where Lyle, one of our Legion buddies, was singing karaoke to the amusement of our entire group.

“Apparently, singing isn’t one of the gods’ gifts to the Legion,” Stash commented.

I snorted. “Definitely not.”

“Thank you for the dance,” he said. “And now I must get back to work.”

“Try not to lose to anyone else. Or you’ll be dancing all night.” I glanced at the long line of women waiting in front of his table. They were all staring across the dance floor at him, starry-eyed expressions on their faces as they jiggled one-dollar bills at him. It appeared the werewolf had a fan club.

Stash winked at me, then headed over to greet his adoring fans. I found Ivy upstairs sitting on a sofa that overlooked the club’s lower floor. As soon as Lyle had finished singing, he joined us. We were soon all sore with laughter thanks to the cheesy comedy skits the fairies were acting out on the stage. One skit ended, and the lights dimmed. Too men stepped onto the stage—one in torn jeans and a dirty t-shirt, the other in a suit of shiny black leather.

“Who are you?” the ragged man asked the other.

“How can you not know me, mortal?” The man in the leather bodysuit straightened with indignation, and paper wings burst out of his back. “I am the great and powerful Nero Windstriker, angel of New York, the gods’ hand of justice.” His wings retracted, then burst out again, exploding into confetti.

The other man looked Fake Nero up and down, then declared, “I thought you’d be taller.”

“Height matters not. Only the power of the gods. I could kill you where you stand without lifting a finger.”

“Except he’d never do that, would he, Leda?” Ivy whispered to me. “He prefers to use his hands.” She wiggled her eyebrows up and down.

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” Soren told her. “Or see that.” He made a point of looking away from the stage. His expression was masked, but I could tell he was laughing inside. The rest of us didn’t bother to contain the chuckles—more at the ludicrousness of the skit than at anything else.

“Tell me of your great deeds, oh powerful one,” Mere Mortal said down on the stage. “Is it true you can move objects with your mind?”

“Of course.” Fake Nero lifted his hands, and the rocks on the stage rose into the air. I could see the shimmer of the transparent wires, but that didn’t detract from the fun.

“And you can control the elements themselves?” asked Mere Mortal.

“Ha! That is child’s play,” Fake Nero said as fake flames burst to life on the chair beside him and the stage floor began to rumble. “Whether fire or ice, air or earth, I am the master of—” He froze, and so did the cheesy effects.

“Don’t stop on my account,” a familiar voice said.

I leaned forward over the banister to see the real Nero walking across the club. People parted before him, a mix of wonder and fear shining in their eyes. He took a seat on the sofa in front of the stage. Captain Somerset sat down beside him. What were they doing here?

“Continue,” Nero told the actors. “Do tell me more about my great and powerful magic.”

The room was so silent I could almost hear the sands of time pouring out. Then the lights over the stage faded out. The two actors shuffled away, and when the lights flared up again, a choir of men and women in long robes were standing in neat rows. They opened their mouths and began to sing. Their song was so eerily beautiful that it took me a few verses to realize it was a hymn from the Book of the Gods—and then I nearly laughed. Their hasty attempt to appease Nero was funnier than all of the comedy skits that had come before it. It was even funnier than Lyle’s karaoke. And it proved that they didn’t understand Nero at all. He wasn’t moved by songs or praise or outward displays of piety. No, if the angel of New York was moved by anything, it was action.

“You sure are a mood killer,” I heard Captain Somerset chuckle during a lull in the hymn.

“I told them to continue,” replied Nero.

“No one is brave enough to make fun of you to your face. Well, except Pandora.”

I leaned back. They hadn’t seen me yet, and I wanted to keep it that way.

“What are they doing here?” I hissed at Ivy. “I thought the officers of the Legion had their own fancy parties going on tonight.”

Ivy glanced at Soren, who said, “We do. I decided to forgo those festivities in favor of sweeter company.” He flashed her a charming smile and wrapped his arm around her.

“Wise man,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder.

“It looks like they had the same idea,” he told me, his eyes flickering to the lower club.

I followed his gaze to the two fairies who’d just stopped in front of Nero’s sofa. One of the fairies was pink—like really pink, from head to toe. Pink hair tied up into a high ponytail. A pink sequin dress with a frilly pink chiffon skirt. Pink gemstones dangling from her bracelets. And pink slippers, of course.

Where Miss Pink was pink, her friend was blue. She had chin-length blue hair, a sequin cocktail dress that shimmered like an undersea light show, and blue slippers with blue ribbons that criss-crossed up her legs, ending in big bows at her knees.

Captain Somerset waved the two fairies forward, and they slid onto the sofa, Miss Blue to her and Miss Pink to Nero. A double date. So that’s why they’d come here. Now, wasn’t that just kill-me-with-a-machete awesome. As Miss Pink climbed onto Nero’s lap, my party high crashed.

“I have to go,” I told Ivy. “Early morning tomorrow.”

I turned away from the pitying look she gave me. There was no reason for her to feel sorry for me. I was an adult. I could handle this. As I walked down the stairs, I concentrated on how early I’d have to wake up tomorrow for training. Suddenly, the prospect of Nero kicking my ass from one end of the gym hall to the other at five in the morning didn’t sound all that appealing.

My path to the exit would bring me right past Nero’s love seat. Luckily for me, right now he was busy looking at the fairy whose hands were all over him. Gritting my teeth, I skirted the edge of the stairs, hoping to avoid notice. Captain Somerset and Miss Blue were making out like there was no tomorrow, but as Miss Pink dipped her mouth to kiss Nero, his head snapped to me. His stare bore into me, his eyes burning with an emerald fire so intense that I felt the temperature in the room rise. Invisible flames licked my skin, enveloping my whole body, drowning me in a fever that just couldn’t break.

His mouth parted, and his tongue flicked out, tracing his lower lip so slowly that time seemed to stop. A warning screamed inside my head, unfreezing me. I turned and ran out of there, not looking back.

Nero’s date shouldn’t bother me. Really it shouldn’t. So why did it? Why did I care? What was wrong with me? I growled in frustration. I really needed to get my mind off that angel. And I had just the trick. I pulled out my phone and called Bella.

“Hey, Leda,” she answered on the first ring. “How are you?”

Crushed. Broken. Furious. “I’m fine,” I told her. “Do you still want to help me get to the bottom of the poisoning at the Brick Palace?”

“Of course. How can I help?”

“We’re going to break into Morgana’s lab.”