Obie’s jaw tightens. He doesn’t answer.
“Speaking of which,” Ez says, and her glare swings back to Roma. “How do we even knowthisone is telling the truth?”
“Oh, lovely,” Roma deadpans. “I was worried you’d forgotten about me.”
Ez doesn’t back down. “You show up unannounced with exactly what we need, but only on your terms—your specific date, your specific time. How do we know you’re not leading Cass straight into a trap?”
Roma squints back. “Why would I even bother? The Sanctum is already on high alert since JJ defected. I don’tneedto spring a trap to make it more dangerous. And—” She scowls. “And if that ‘specific date and time’ bothers you so much, then we can go right now. There’ll be more interrogators to fight through, but it’s no skin off my back.”
“It might actually be better to go now,” Obie says quietly. “If they’re interrogating JJ as we speak, there’s a chance that he’ll break and compromise Cass and Desi. Better to get him out sooner rather than later.”
Cass shakes his head tiredly. “He won’t break.”
Obie’s eyebrows furrow. Roma doesn’t look convinced, either. “The interrogators treat dissidents the same way they treat demons,” she says. “It’s not pretty.”
“Doesn’t matter. He still won’t break,” Cass says, and his eyes find Desi’s sleeping form on the couch before he can stop them.
He knows JJ. He knows how much JJ loves and adores andcherishesDesi. If it were just Cass’s life on the line, thenmaybeJJ would talk, but with Desi’s safety at risk?
Not a chance.
Roma follows his gaze. “That’s the little demon?” she asks, and Cass stiffens. “The four-year-old who likes dragons?”
“None of your business,” Ez bites out.
Roma’s jaw twitches. “You know what? Sure. The less I know about whateverthingChin has going on with JJ, the better.”
“And what’sthatsupposed to mean?” Ez hisses, taking a threatening step forward.
Without missing a beat, Obie grabs her arm and hauls her back. “She means that she doesn’t want to know if her friend was sleeping with a demon,” he says wearily. “Come on, Ez. Can’t we play nice for another five minutes?”
Ez scowls at him. Obie gives her a long-suffering look back.
Cass ignores both of them. “We still need to map out a more detailed strategy,” he says, “and that’ll be easier if we’re closer to our target. Gutierrez, are you good to post up in the forest outside the Sanctum for a few hours?”
“Ready when you are,” she says. “Let’s go.”
“In a minute,” Cass says, and awkwardly, he gestures towards the living room. “I just, um. Need to say goodbye to the little one.”
Roma’s eyes dart back to Desi. “Oh,” she says, and she edges towards the door. “Do you, uh, want me to wait outside?”
“No,” Ez says immediately. “I want you where I can see you, lackey.”
Roma glares at her, Ez glares back, and Obie glares up at the ceiling like he’s praying for patience. Fighting back a grimace, Cass slips over to the couch and gently runs his hand over Desi’s hair. “Desi? Sweetheart?”
Desi’s eyelids twitch. Slowly, she wriggles out of her ball to peek over the covers at him. “Cass?”
“Hey,” Cass says hoarsely, and he swallows past the dryness in his throat. “I’m going to get JJ and bring him home now, okay? I’ll be gone until around lunchtime, but Auntie Ez and Uncle Obie will stay with you.”
Even half-asleep, her eyes brighten a little. “Okay.”
Cass raises his arms. “Hug?”
Yawning, Desi fumbles past the blankets and throws her arms around his neck. “Love you,” she mumbles into his shoulder.
Cass’s eyes sting. “I love you, too,” he whispers into her hair, and he holds on tightly until she drifts back to sleep. “I love you, too.”
Taking care not to wake her again, he eases her back onto the couch, tucks her wyverns into her arms, and pulls the covers back up to her chin. Desi curls up into her little ball, her breathing soft and easy, and Cass?—
