“Why didn’t you just wake me up?”
“Because things here are escalating quickly. Very quickly. The situation with Hawthorne is more volatile than Rowan might realize. I fear you won’t be safe here once word spreads.”
Quinn’s warning echoed the last message Becka had received from the book, and that gave her pause. “Tell me about your plan.”
He gave a quick nod. “Astrid filed the paperwork declaring you fully trained, so now the human government gets to decide where best to place you for civic service.”
“Sure, I’m familiar with the procedure. I know Astrid and Maura are offering my Nulling services to other houses, possibly before I get called off to do civic duties or between assignments.”
He shook his head. “That’s a dangerous plan. The last thing you need is to be sent into a house that’s sympathetic to Hawthorne and willing to arrange an accident.”
Chills ran down her spine. “And I suppose being sent on any random civic duty assignment carries the same risks?”
“Unfortunately, yes. The fae fear your gift. Humans may fear you, but they are also apt to see you as a tool to use against your own.”
“I hate the idea that other fae see me as something to fear. I’m just me!”
“But you have to think about how everyone else sees you. You must understand their perspective in order to outthink them and protect yourself.”
“I suppose you’re right, but I don’t have to like it. So, what’s the plan, Quinn?”
“My plan was to preempt the normal civic duty system by placing a request before the government even realized you were available.”
“So you knew Astrid filed paperwork yesterday morning, and then what? You magically had a request in for me the same day?” Becka asked.
“It wasn’t magic; it was Chief Elowen. And yes, I had her file the request yesterday afternoon. Hopefully, before anyone else even knew you’d become available.”
Now the timing made sense. “Right after I fell asleep.”
He shrugged. “Yeah.”
Becka rubbed her temples. “Wait, what form of civic service?”
“Serving with the enforcers, specifically as a civilian consultant on certain cold cases the chief thinks your abilities might shed some light on.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “You mean Shadow-Dweller cold cases?”
He nodded. “Do you still hate me? I thought you’d be interested in the opportunity.”
“I’m still upset and emotional,” Becka replied, hands on her hips. “I get to be upset. But I admit the job sounds interesting. Great, actually.”
A weak smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “Do you want another apology?”
Becka pouted. “No, no. I understand your intent and I appreciate your swift action. I get it. But how does moving to the city and working with enforcers make me any safer? Won’t my enemies have better access to me there?”
“Possibly, but it gets you out of fae territory, and when you visit fae, you will always have an escort.”
She pursed her lips. “You mean… you?”
“The enforcers won’t keep you busy all the time. And I won’t necessarily be teamed up with you each case, but mostly. I know you’ve had self-defense training so you’ll be able to take it up a notch with enforcer training, which will also keep you safer.”
Becka groaned and began pacing back and forth. Luce and Lorelai became interested and Becka had to wave them off. It must make all the guards crazy, to see Becka so upset and just stand around, watching and twiddling their thumbs. It was weirder for Becka to know they were all watching, even from a distance.
“Let me get this straight. The fae will have less opportunity to harm me, but what about the Shadow-Dwellers? How would I be safer in human cities from them? There are plenty of fae in the city. I might avoid the political fallout of harming Hanna back in the territories, but there’s nowhere in the world that I’ll be protected from Shadow-Dwellers.”
He flexed his shoulders. “You’d be with me.”
He didn’t even have the decency to blush.
She shook her head and sighed, barking out a single laugh. She loved his humor. “Your opinion of yourself might be just a wee bit overblown.”
He laughed, but quickly sobered. “Look, I’m sorry. And be upset all you want, but think about it. Wouldn’t you rather be out hunting down Shadow-Dwellers instead of sitting through council meetings and fancy dinners day in, day out, waiting for the next assassin to find you?”
She rolled her eyes. “You have a way of making all my options sound so appealing.”
“Look, the letter will arrive shortly. You can talk to Maura and either encourage her to accept the option or protest it with the civic service. I’m guessing she, or the council, will follow your lead.”
“Let me think about it.”
“Thank you,” he replied.
“One more thing,” Becka said, hesitating to ask what had nudged at her thoughts since the beginning of this conversation. But she had to know. “Are you scared of me?” she blurted out. “Of my gift?”
He smiled a sad smile and took a step closer to her. “No, not at all. Why would you think that?”
“You said some fae will be terrified of me and what I might do. What I can do. Aren’t you afraid I’ll destroy your gift?”
“I’m not. If my gift was susceptible to your Nulling, it would have happened the first time I touched you, when we first met, and you ran into me.”
Becka considered for a moment. “But, are you concerned that our more… extended touching… might not damage your gift?”
Humor twinkled in his eyes and he took another step closer to her. “That depends. What depth of contact are you considering?” he asked, a deep rumble in his voice.
Heat flushed her cheeks for the second time that day. She tried to
