She nodded.
“Wait, you know each other?” Antoinette asked. “How?”
Griffin grimaced. “This is the waitress who I caused to spill those drinks last night.”
Sofia groaned. “Man, rumors spread quickly in this place.”
“Actually, I just told them,” Griffin explained. “I take it you know Antoinette and Ketu.”
She waved at the two dragons. “Yes, Antoinette and I know each other. I don’t know Ketu, though. Nice to meet you.”
She did not know the reeve’s mate? What was her connection to Antoinette then?
He must have looked confused, because Antoinette said, “Ketu lived in Detroit for the past decade. He only moved back here in January.” She frowned. “This is probably the first time we’ve seen each other since then, isn’t it?”
Sofia nodded.
Antoinette said to Griffin, “I used to bartend here until I became reeve. Although even then Sofia and I didn’t see each other all that often. I worked days, and she usually works nights and weekends. Are you on tonight?”
Sofia shook her head. “I was supposed to be, but I asked Mitch to find someone to cover for me. I, uh, I need to take care of some things.”
As far as excuses went, it was pretty lame.
“We need to go talk to the gargoyles because I’m a god,” Penelope announced.
Sofia gasped. “Penelope, baby, we aren’t supposed to tell people that.”
“Why not?” the little girl asked.
“It’s, ah…”
“She’s a god?” Antoinette asked, peering at the child. Her eyes widened and she darted a glance at Ketu. “Gods above, Ketu, is she another Daughter of Light?”
Ketu studied the little girl. “I don’t know how to tell. We’d have to ask Argyle, except he’s in Asia with Becca right now. That would be pretty cool, though, because I’m sure they could use the help destroying those warlocks.”
“You’ve met another Daughter of Light?” Griffin asked.
“Yeah, we have,” Ketu said, but before he could say any more, Antoinette started directing questions at Sofia.
“Your adopted daughter is a Daughter of Light? Did you know this?”
Sofia shook her head. “I…I didn’t know what she was at all. I actually thought she was a gargoyle.”
Griffin tensed, waiting for the accusatory looks, but none came. Apparently, she hadn’t told them that she’d believed Penelope was his child. Or, if she had, Antoinette and Ketu hadn’t made the connection that he was that gargoyle.
Antoinette jumped out of her seat and hurried over, reaching out and grabbing Sofia’s arm. “This is serious, Sofia. She could be in grave danger. If any warlocks find out about her existence, they will come after her.”
“I know. Well, I do now. That’s why we’re—”
“You need to come stay at the mansion, where I can ensure you are both protected.”
Griffin hadn’t seen that one coming. And yet it was the perfect solution, dropped right into his lap. He wouldn’t have to go to Oliver after all; he wouldn’t have to admit that he was in over his head and couldn’t handle his first assignment.
He wouldn’t be a failure.
Chapter Eight
Antoinette wouldn’t take no for an answer, no matter how much Sofia insisted she was fine. And Sofia couldn’t very well tell the reeve that going to her mansion would break the rules of the contract she signed with Darius.
Even Griffin was on Antoinette’s side. “It’s a good idea,” he said. “The two of you will be safe there.”
The first time her mother had moved without Sofia letting Darius know in advance, he’d shown up in their new living room while Sofia was home alone. She was fourteen and he’d already been bullying her for years.
He’d informed her that they weren’t allowed to make decisions without running them past him first, and then he’d shifted, right there in the middle of the house, his wings shattering windows and crashing through plaster and brick, the horns curled over his head pressing against the ceiling until the rafters cracked.
He’d returned to his human form, swiped plaster dust from his shirt, and meandered out the front door without so much as a backward glance.
The house had been rendered uninhabitable, and Sofia had been too afraid to tell her mother the truth, that the brother she wasn’t supposed to know about had paid a visit, and she’d been grounded for the entire summer because Mom had believed she’d been the one to change forms inside the house.
“Are you still planning to speak to Oliver?” she asked Griffin. Gods, she sounded like a frightened woman, which she hated, but she was also honest enough to admit that Darius scared her. That demonstration when he’d destroyed her mother’s house wasn’t the only time he’d tormented her because he didn’t like something she or her mother did—or didn’t do.
During her junior year in high school, he’d decided he wanted Sofia to help expand his dragon’s blood trade. He figured getting a bunch of teenagers addicted was a surefire way to ensure he had lifetime customers.
When she refused, he’d left without arguing or threatening her, but then, over the course of the next several weeks, he’d snuck into her bedroom and shredded all of her posters of her favorite boy bands, added something to her shampoo so that her hair started to fall out, somehow managed to download a virus onto her school-assigned laptop, which then spread throughout the building’s infrastructure, and started rumors about her sexual preferences, making sure all of her classmates were informed.
And she hadn’t even had sex yet!
Finally, she’d had enough, and, in a fit of fury, she threatened to go to Trennon Redd if he didn’t leave her alone.
He backed off and didn’t press her about dealing drugs again, but he still continued to torment her, and she’d been too
