“I shall do that, Scion. Thank you.”
Sallie went to touch her throat and instead stuck her hand out to shake Odilon’s. He held on an extra beat before letting her go. “Ms. Flechette.”
“Mr. Vigne. My parents throttled my magic and I will not live that way ever again. I want you to know that not all Flechettes have evil intentions.”
“And what are your intentions? I take it you have something in mind?”
“I do.” Sallie sucked in a deep breath. “I have been offered an apprenticeship with the sorcerer, Malvyn Brodeur.”
Odilon looked startled. “Aren’t you rather young for entering the Enforcement’s Academy?”
It was Sallie’s turn to look confused. Then she grinned. “He’s going to teach me how to make jewelry,” she said, lifting her new collar away from her throat, “like this.” Odilon bent from the waist for a closer look at the cast pieces and their mirrorlike sheen. He went to touch the metal and jerked his hand away.
“Your necklace has been spelled.”
“Yes, it has. At my request. Until I’m ready to embrace the Fae magic I inherited.”
“You’re afraid there’s a chance you might follow your parents’ example,” Odilon stated, nodding his head when Sallie answered with her silence. “I carry that same fear.”
He gripped the side of my niece’s shoulder. “Thank you for updating me on your circumstances, Ms. Flechette. Perhaps I should have told you earlier that a fund has been created to assist you with living expenses, should you need the help.”
Leilani was the last of the teens to speak. “Last weekend was the first meeting of the mentoring program for magical youth.” She pointed to Sallie and Azura. “These two girls were the only Fae there—unless the being who took the pictures you showed to Calliope is also Fae with a really good disguise.”
Odilon crossed his arms. His face remained impassive. “Go on,” he said.
“We five would like to propose that more Fae teenagers be allowed to join us every month. This program could go a long way toward improving relations among different factions of Magicals.” She mimicked his pose. “You know, like not having to live under the weight of our parents’ biases and misguided notions of who should come in contact with whom.”
“I will think about it. In the meantime, I will also inform a certain being on my payroll that their services are no longer needed. That will have to do for now.”
“That’s a start,” Leilani said, before returning to her seat.
Odilon turned to me. “Calliope, do you think we might have a few minutes alone?”
“Are you okay waiting for me in the lobby?” Thatcher gave me the signal we’d worked out. Odilon stood by the door and shook hands with each of the five teenagers as they left the room.
“That was unexpected.” Odilon closed his door and took a breath before he turned to face me. He gestured to one of the leather chairs. “Please, sit.”
I nudged the chair with my knee—I wanted to face the door—and placed Tanner’s bag on my lap. I extracted the papers I’d brought while Odilon took his seat behind the desk. “I have some information you might be interested in,” I said, showing him the enlarged image of my replacement at the Agricultural Commission’s office. I had cropped out Kerry’s face. “Do you know this man?”
Odilon studied the page. “I believe I have seen him before, but I don’t think I know his name.”
“His name is Hosea Brooks. He is related to Lolly Brooks, who owns Brooks Family Farm. Hosea and Lolly are cousins to my ex-husband, Douglas Flechette—whom I assume you know—and his twin brother, Roger.”
“And why should I care about this?”
“Because Hosea used deceptive tactics to finagle his way into being appointed my replacement at the Agricultural Commission’s office. Using his new authority, he has been harassing local farm and orchard owners to the point where some of them are considering selling off their properties because they cannot fix what Hosea says they must or pay the fines he professes to have the authority to levy.”
“I take it these farms and orchards are in fine working order and this Hosea has manufactured false claims in order to—”
“In order to make a land grab for places that are suspected of having, or are known to have, magical beings tending to the land or to possible portals, or any number of things.” I took a deep breath and continued. “There’s more. A lot more. The owners of Brooks Family Farm began an aquaculture project last month. They’ve begun to dig two ponds on a section of the property that is now fenced off, electrified, and guarded.”
Odilon’s jawline tightened. “Roger planned to take the Melusine from me.”
“That would be my guess. We also uncovered further evidence of collusion between him and Hosea. Roger sees this as a perfect time to take over his family’s business.”
“But I already purchased the family business.”
“Did you read the fine print?”
“Roger assured me—”
“Wait, you had Roger broker the deal for you? Odilon, pardon my disbelief, but didn’t you take a hard look at the fine print before you took over?”
Odilon glared at me. “I was blinded by lust,” he said.
I tried not to laugh. “I would make you a different offer.”
“And what is that?”
“Let me have the Melusine ova. They are my inheritance, though I can see how you could make a case that possession is nine-tenths of the law, even for Magicals.”
He lifted his chin. “Convince me.”
“I think you can understand when I would also point out that sometimes the sins of the fathers must be rectified by the actions of their offspring.”
“Are you referring to my father, or yours?”
“Perhaps both,” I said. “I’ve seen
