The Black Tide (Outcast 3)

He shrugged. “A lot of talking, drinking, and eating. There’s one section where I’m formally introduced and the family’s seal is passed to me, but after that, just dancing and fun.”

I raised my eyebrows at the anticipation in his voice. “What sort of fun?”

“The decadent kind.” He pointed his fork at me, expression serious but a glint in his eyes. “I will remind you, however, that no matter who you might choose to play with, you’re to come home with me.”

Meaning the ball devolved into some sort of sexual free-for-all? That certainly wasn’t something I’d been expecting. While male shifters didn’t mind healthy competition for a female’s attention, they did not like to share once they’d won it. Ménages à trois and orgies generally weren’t something they participated in or even approved of.

Of course, over a hundred years had passed since I’d spent any time amongst shifter camps, so things certainly could have changed. And it wasn’t as if I’d spent any time amongst Central’s elite.

“I might,” I teased, “if you promise to order me another of these most excellent breakfasts.”

“Deal.” He glanced at the time and sighed. “Time for me to go. I’ll pick you up at eight this evening. Don’t be late—or overdressed.”

I followed him across to the door and tried not to let either relief or tiredness show in my expression as I kissed him goodbye. Jonas had been right—I wasn’t fully recovered, and even though I had managed to catch some sleep last night, I needed a whole lot more.

But that wasn’t on my immediate agenda. Not only did I have to head out to the bunker to both see my little ghosts and update Jonas, I also needed to buy something suitable to wear for tonight. The clothes Nuri had arranged for Catherine’s use were rather exotic compared to my usual wardrobe of military garb, but I doubted they were—in any way—up to the standard Charles expected tonight.

I called to Cat and Bear and then went upstairs for a shower. They arrived just as I was getting dressed. As usual, they danced around me happily, but this time, their sheer exuberance made me feel old.

The little ones wanted us to tell you that they miss you, Cat said, when they finally calmed down. But Jonas is managing to keep them amused.

Meaning, I thought in amusement, he was probably being inundated twenty-four seven with their happy chatter and little pranks.

And Jonas said not to come back for a day or so, Bear added. The museum is being watched.

Unease stirred and my smile faded. “That's not exactly a new development.”

In fact, we’d been working on that very assumption ever since he'd moved into the museum.

Yes, Cat said. But yesterday Nuri was handed a hunt-and-kill order to contract out, and it was for someone fitting your description.

The unease deepened to dread. “My actual description or one of my false identities?”

Both, she replied. But not this one.

I guess that was at least something. I wearily rubbed a hand across my eyes. While it was a rather logical step for Dream to take, it did mean the identity she’d stolen was someone with the contacts and the power to get such an order approved.

And it also meant I'd have to disappear behind a light shield whenever I wanted to go to the bunker and maintain this identity while I was within Central. And though I'd gone for months wearing a visage other than my own during the war, I knew from experience that the longer I was forced to maintain it, the more unsettling it became. It was almost as if my body started rejecting my altered form.

“That doesn't explain why Jonas wants me to keep away from the museum,” I said. “He knows I can get there unseen.”

Yes, but there's more. While Nuri refused to distribute the contract to interested parties, someone outside her network has accepted it. He paused. And Branna has disappeared.

It didn’t take a mathematician to put those two things together and come up with a possible answer.

I should have hit him harder in Chaos, Bear added fiercely.

“It's never a good thing to kill without provocation, Bear.” Even if I had done it, both in the past and more recently. But at least I did have a reason for my more recent kills.

I think Branna is an exception to that rule, he replied.

I smiled. While he often acted and sounded like the teenager he was, there were moments like this when he—and Cat for that matter—sounded so much older.

“I gather Nuri is attempting to find him?”

Yes, but Jonas said he's been working with the group for a long time, and he knows their contacts and methods well. They do not expect him to be found for a few days, hence the warning to stay away. Cat's energy patted my arm. We’ll act as go-betweens until Branna is caught.

“Good idea.” I paused, and frowned. “But that still doesn't explain why I should stay away. Branna's not magic or psi sensitive. Like everyone else, he wouldn't see me if I was using a light shield.”