“Sin,” he complained. “Save it for—”
“He quit his job!”
I choked on saliva. “What? You quit the force, Justin?”
He cast a look of smitten exasperation at Sin. “I was going to tell her later when she wasn’t so busy.”
“Pff, she can handle it. Tell her!”
“Yeah,” I added with heavy emphasis. “Tell your sister the big news. I didn’t even know you were thinking of quitting!”
“I got hired at Huginn & Muninn Investigations.”
“At … what?”
“Huginn & Muninn!” Sin exclaimed. “Don’t you know about it? It’s a PI firm that partners with Odin’s Eye. They collaborate on bounties and investigations that cross between mythic and human jurisdictions.”
My eyes popped. “Whoa. Really? I didn’t know that sort of thing existed!”
“Me neither,” Justin laughed. “Lyndon mentioned it to me, and I asked Izzah the next time she was at the pub. She passed on my résumé, and I went in to interview last week.”
“No way!”
“Yeah. I have to get my PI license before I can start any real work, but once I do, they’re partnering me with their most experienced investigator.”
Excitement buzzed through me. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about all this right away!”
“You were busy planning the surprise party of the century,” he teased as he executed a smooth parallel park outside a familiar bakery.
He waited in the car while Sin and I went into confectionary heaven to pick up my massive order of cupcakes. We added them to the trunk, which already contained half a dozen bags of streamers, balloons, banners, and colorful tablecloths.
The drive to the guild took only a few minutes. As the car zoomed through the intersection where the guild sat, seeing repaved asphalt and repaired buildings reminded me what the spot had looked like four months ago.
The search to uncover the Court of the Red Queen’s final sects was ongoing, but with Xanthe in custody, it was steadily progressing. Darius had reported last month that they’d weeded the cult’s remnants out of Vancouver, and guilds from Seattle to San Francisco were hunting for hidden “circles” in their cities. It might take another few months, but the cult was going down for good.
Justin parked in the tiny back lot, and I put all that out of my mind as we carried our haul in through the kitchen.
“You’re here!” The cheery cry came from Sabrina as she rushed around the bar, her pink dress fluttering and her chin-length blond hair styled with salon-perfect beach waves. She helped us stack the cupcakes on the counter, then gave me and Sin hugs, gushing over how pretty we looked.
Kaveri followed more sedately. The witch wore an earthy brown dress that brought out the golden tones in her skin.
“Ready to make this place festive?” she asked me.
“Let’s do it!”
We got to work. Standing on tables, Kaveri and Sin hung blue and white streamers from the ceiling beams while Sabrina arranged the matching tablecloths. Justin sat in the corner, red in the face as he inflated an entire bag of balloons.
I pulled out a shiny banner and, climbing onto the back counter, attached it to the wall so it looped beneath the massive silver war hammer where it rested on its heavy hooks. Jumping down, I checked my work.
“Happy 24th Birthday,” the sign read.
My throat constricted. Twenty-four. The birthday Ezra was never supposed to have. If we hadn’t changed his fate, he would never have survived to this day. Together, we’d saved him.
“Tori?”
I started, then realized tears were about to spill from my eyes. I tilted my head back, blinking furiously before the moisture ruined my makeup.
“You okay?” Sabrina asked softly.
Makeup saved, I examined her concerned expression. “Did you see it coming, Sabrina? Everything that happened?”
“Not even the greatest prophet can see everything,” she replied lightly. “My mother once told me, ‘Most people in this world are carried by the current, but beware the rare few who create waves with every step they take.’”
My forehead crinkled.
“You’re a wave-maker, Tori, and waves are difficult to predict—so maybe you could just coast along for a bit so my tarot cards behave?”
“Uh … I’ll try?” I hesitated. “Your cards were wrong, though, weren’t they? They predicted Ezra would sacrifice himself. The Hanged Man and the Death card, remember? But he didn’t die.”
“The cards weren’t wrong.” She pressed her hands together. “The Death card doesn’t mean literal death. Just like the Devil card doesn’t mean a literal demon … usually.”
My eyes widened.
“The reversed Devil—redemption,” she said softly. “The Hanged Man—sacrifice. Death—endings and beginnings. Do you see?”
Oh.
Yes, I could see it now. The fortune she’d seen had never been about Ezra alone. It’d been about Ezra … and Eterran.
Sabrina watched that sink in, then offered me a hesitant smile. “By the way, are you sure you don’t want a rabbit?”
“A rabbit?”
Her eyes lit up with devoted fervor. “Cinnabunny’s babies are so cute. Rabbits make wonderful pets, you know. Really!”
“I’m good,” I said quickly, shaking off my shock. “Twiggy and Hoshi are enough trouble for me.”
A cheerful jingle rang through the pub, and I spun toward the door, half petrified that Aaron had blown it and Ezra was walking in. But nope—not unless Ezra had developed a new love for leather in the last couple of hours.
A sexy hunk and equally sexy hunkette walked in, both clad in motorcycle leathers with helmets tucked under their arms. Kai’s hair was mussed while Izzah’s raven locks were beautifully wind-swept in a way my curls could never achieve.
“You’re early!” I trotted over for an electramage hug. It was a hug sort of day. “I thought you had a big meeting.”
“Cancelled,” Kai revealed. “Makiko called me ten minutes before I left explaining how the VP we were supposed to meet with got run over by a golf cart during his morning round on the course.”
“How does one get run over by a golf cart?”
“That’s what I asked.” Izzah shrugged airily. “We can only guess.”
“He was probably drunk,” I decided.
Kai set his helmet on a nearby table. “Speaking of drinks, who’s manning the bar today?”
“The big man upstairs
