JJ’s eyes flicker down to his own hands, clearly checking that his gloves are still intact, before he reaches back. “Hi. I’m JJ.” He winces. “You… already knew that.”
“Uh-huh.”
Ez flounces up next to Obie, presenting her hand like a queen expecting a kiss from her subject. “AndI’mEsmeralda. You’re not allowed to call me ‘Ez’ yet.”
JJ blinks back at her. “Okay,” he says, and he carefully shakes her hand, as well. “Hello.”
“Hi.”
“Are, um,” JJ asks, and he takes a deep breath. “Are you two, uh, coming with us to the Courtyard today?”
Cass wheels around to stare at him, bewildered. The question is logical enough, of course—after all, there are only so many reasons why Cass would be introducing them—but JJ’s tone doesn’t sound like he’s just asking for clarification.
No, it almost sounds like he’sinvitingthem.
Predictably enough, Ez pounces. “Depends,” she says, batting her eyes at him. “What’s on the menu for today?”
JJ looks faintly uncomfortable. “Well, Desi wanted hummus fries. So that means Falafel Express.”
“Falafel Express soundsgreat,”Ez says, giving him a predatory smile. “I’m in.”
Obie cuts in before Cass can indignantly uninvite her. “But we already have plans,” he says pointedly, clapping a hand on her shoulder. “Five’s a crowd, after all. But have a good time.”
JJ waves awkwardly. “Thanks. You, too.”
“Later.” Obie shoots Cass an indecipherable look as Ez peels open a rift, and Cass squints back at him in confusion until it closes behind them.
When JJ speaks next, his voice is strained. “Trying to give me a heart attack?”
He does look a little shaky on his feet. Cass feels a pang of guilt and actively forces it down. “Don’t mind them. They’re just nosy. Wanted to know what all the fuss is about with my shiny new hunter co-parent.”
“And…” JJ hesitates, his shoulders hunching. “And we can trust them?”
JJ’s phrasing makes Cass’s heart do something funny. Because he’s not asking “doyoutrust them,” not asking “canItrust them”—
No, he’s asking whether“we”can trust them. Whether Cass and JJtogethercan trust Ez and Obie to keep Desi safe from the Chain and the Sanctum, whether Cass and JJtogethercan trust them to keep JJ’s identity a secret.
Apparently, there’s a “we” now. An “us.”
Cass is surprised to find that he doesn’t hate the idea as much as he thought he would. “Yes,” he says quietly. “I’ve known them for over two hundred years. They’d never do anything to put Desi at risk.”
Eventually, JJ nods. “Okay.”
“Speaking of which,” Cass adds, eyes narrowing, “where in Nostringvadha’s name are you stashing that escrima? I thought humans couldn’t make pocket dimensions.”
A hint of interest flashes over JJ’s face. “Generally speaking, we can’t. Instead of a full pocket dimension, it’s a small gap in spacetime just large enough for my weapons, attached to me with a leash spell and a hair-trigger summoning spell.”
Cass almost starts with surprise. Ez is the best spellcaster in their group, of course, but Cass is no stranger to pocket dimensions, using them for everything from his weapons arsenal to extra closet space. JJ’s jury-rigged system actually sounds like a fascinating workaround. “Is that standard in the Sanctum? Or did you think it up yourself?”
“Not quite standard, but—” JJ’s smile wavers. “The, uh, hunter who trained me taught me the principles when I was a teenager.”
Sawyer Solomon. The one who defected. Slowly, Cass nods. “Interesting,” he says, and before he can be tempted into a conversation about the finer points of magic and weaponry with JJ, he takes a decisive step back. “I should, um, get Desi. She’s busy with Kira and Hana right now.”
JJ’s lips twitch. “A very important pastime,” he agrees, and as Cass carefully lifts Obie’s soundproofing spell, he’s suddenly struck by the bizarre thought that he actually wouldn’t mind talking with the hunter more often.
9
All I’m saying,” Bryant insists, stabbing her spicy tuna roll with a chopstick for emphasis, “is that I think I have an objectively good chance of getting hitched to Kenneth Long.”
