"You make your decision and then stick with it," he answered.

I decided then to tell him everything I knew-everything about the Draoidheil, my father's dreams for absolute rule, my plan to visit Caressa, everything. If Bram had the "ear of The Resistance" even though they weren't yet prepared to trust me, he could be my vehicle to reach them. That's all there was to it. So I spilled my guts about everything, naming names, places, events. I must have blabbed for a good ten minutes straight before I had to come up for air.

"I see," Bram said at last. With a single nod, he let it be known that he'd digested everything I'd just regurgitated.

"Can you tell them everything for me?" I asked, perched on the edge of my seat.

But he shook his head. "There is no guarantee that they would trust me with such information."

My heart dropped and I clenched my eyes shut tightly as I rubbed my temples, wondering why I'd bothered explaining everything if he wasn't going to do anything with the information.

"You must stick to your plan and visit Caressa," Bram said firmly.

"Is Caressa in The Resistance?" I asked, my eyes going wide.

Bram simply shook his head. "No, but her word is valued much more highly than mine. If I were to deliver your information, it would only be as good as an anonymous note."

"They would doubt its validity?" I asked, although I saw the truth in his words. Anything that came from Caressa, a highly ranked officer of the ANC, would never be questioned. And I was sure whoever comprised this Resistance was well aware that Caressa detested my father. Even though she'd never said as much, it was obvious. Which meant she must have a friend in The Resistance. Yep, I was spot on when I'd decided to talk to Caressa. She really was the only person left capable of preventing the Draoidheil delivery from going as Melchior planned.

"Very good, Dulcie sweet," Bram said as he stood up, indicating that our meeting was over.

"Thanks," I said, eyeing the bookshelf, trying to decipher where the doorway was. "How the h.e.l.l am I supposed to find my way out of here?"

Bram smiled and then shook his head. "You may use the front entrance. I was unaware of your altered appearance," he finished, with a dismayed glance at my hair again. "You look nothing like Dulcie O'Neil."

I just shook my head and rolled my eyes, inwardly pleased that I wouldn't have to retrace my steps through the maze again with Igor. "I'll be swift and discreet," I said.

"I will instruct Harper to pick you up at the front door," Bram continued.

"Harper?" I couldn't help but laugh.

Bram didn't share my amus.e.m.e.nt as he held the door to his office open for me. Before I could take a step forward, I suddenly felt Bram right next to me, his arms around me. He leaned over and placed a kiss on my cheek, dangerously close to my lips.

"We shall be in touch," he said with a suggestive smile.

I raised my brows, lacking the energy to b.i.t.c.h at him for stealing a kiss. Instead, I turned around to face No Regrets, only to find Knight sitting at the end of the bar, staring at me.

Fifteen.

I must have stopped breathing for at least a few seconds; and in those seconds, I simply watched Knight glare at me and shake his head angrily, his jaw so tight it looked like it might snap right off his face. He glanced from me to Bram, who I guessed was still standing behind me, and then simply downed his drink, dropping a twenty on the bar before standing up and leaving.

I didn't go after him because I knew better. There wasn't anything I could say-I mean, yes, I could have run after him and sworn it wasn't what I was sure he thought it was. But to what end? It wasn't like I could get back together with Knight, well, not anytime soon anyway. I still had to figure out everything with my father and Caressa, not to mention The Resistance. I could only hope that once the dust settled (if it ever did settle), Knight and I could work things out because the truth of the matter was that I was absolutely in love with him and hated every second of this game I had to play.

But saving his life was worth playing it, I had to remind myself.

After leaving Bram, I went home, but I couldn't sleep all night. I just tossed and turned as I imagined what Knight must be thinking. With me leaving Bram's office, him leaning down and kissing me and me not attempting to b.i.t.c.h slap him, it had to look like there was something between us. Throw in the fact that I wasn't currently working on any cases at the ANC which meant I really had no reason to visit Bram and I must have looked guilty as charged. And the icing on the cake? The Rolex my father had given me, which I'd failed to convince Knight had been my purchase. If anyone had the kind of money for such an extravagant gift, it was Bram. Yep, I could only imagine Knight thought there was a whole lot more going on between Bram and me than there was. And that made me sick to my stomach.

I tried to push the thoughts from my mind in favor of sleeping. I even downed two Tylenol PMs around one a.m., but by the time eight a.m. rolled by, I was still wide awake and hadn't managed to get a wink of sleep all night. Finally abandoning it as a lost cause, I got up, fed Blue and started the coffee. I thought I should eat something, but my nerves were on full speed ahead and food would only disagree with my stomach. Instead, I started fretting over my plan to visit Caressa today-well, Hades willing, anyway. I'd already rehea.r.s.ed the plan repeatedly through my mind, trying to imagine any and every obstacle that might possibly arise as well as a solution to them.

By the time nine o'clock rolled by, I'd dressed in my flower delivery costume, curled my hair into a frizzy mess and painted my face full of makeup, even indulging myself with a beauty mark just below my right nostril. I definitely didn't look like me, which was exactly the point.

Glancing down at my portal compa.s.s watch for the tenth time since getting up this morning, I made sure I remembered Quill's instructions on how to use it, and outlined each step in my head. After that little task, I looked at the vials of antidote that stood on my kitchen table, where I'd placed them the previous night with the express purpose of not forgetting them this morning. Next to the vials was a long piece of white ribbon and a pair of scissors, which would come in handy later on.

Checking the clock, I realized it was nearly nine thirty and time for me to go. The flower shop opened at ten a.m. and was located in the city center so it would take me a good twenty minutes to get there. I'd already called in sick this morning to the ANC, even though I didn't expect Knight to care. He'd probably be glad not to have to see me, if he were even there today.

Pushing thoughts of Knight from my mind, I grabbed my helmet and the keys to my bike, throwing the vials, ribbon, scissors and the letter to Caressa into my backpack. I supposed I could have taken the Mercedes, but the truth of the matter was that I wanted nothing to do with my father. Not when I was about to rat his a.s.s out. Instead, I took a deep breath, remembered that in two days time, the Draoidheil was scheduled for delivery, and headed for the door.

The drive to the florist took exactly twenty minutes, just according to plan. And because I was their first customer of the day, I was in and out in another thirty minutes, sans forty dollars, but with a large bouquet of Casablanca lilies and red roses. I crammed the arrangement in my backpack, making sure it fit snugly and only zipped it up on one side, allowing the lilies and roses to poke out of the top. Then I started for the freeway that would take me out of Splendor toward Estuary.

I was going after the most remote portal, one which was located off an old, single lane, fire road with nothing but cows and trees nearby. Once I hit the street, aptly t.i.tled FireHouse Road, I searched for the telltale sign of a white picket fence on one side, denoting a nearby farm, and an open lake on the other. I found it without issue and pulled to the side of the road, steering the Ducati behind a large tree beside the lake. After I felt confident I was alone, I looked down at my portal watch.

The dial was spinning in circles, which meant it had picked up on the portal's energy. Now it was just a matter of dialing into the right location and then specifying the area in the Netherworld in which I wanted to arrive. I took a few steps toward the lake and noticed the dial starting to slow down, still making large loops around the face of the watch, but not nearly as quickly as it had before. I was on the right track. I continued forward, and the dial on my watch continued to slow. Once it stopped, so did I as I found myself facing the lake, the water's edge only about two feet from mine.

The portal I wanted to connect with in the Netherworld was located on the third floor of the ANC building, down the hallway from Caressa's office. It was supposed to be located in the women's restroom, which seemed the perfect site, considering I'd have to adjust my wardrobe before delivering the arrangement.

I checked my watch again and took a step to the right, noticing the hour hand moving from twelve o'clock to one o'clock. I was almost there. It needed to be aligned with two o'clock. I took another step and the hand paused as the minute hand indicated thirty minutes. One-thirty. Another mini step brought the placement to one-forty-five. Another mini step and I was at two o'clock.

I reached my hand forward and felt the difference in the air immediately. The air in the portal was viscous, gel-like to the touch and balmy. Now was the moment of reckoning. I put my backpack on the ground, pulled my T-shirt over my head until I was standing in just my jeans, sneakers and bra. Then clutching the backpack in one hand and my T-shirt in the other, I leaped forward.

I was starting to get used to the feeling of portal travel, sort of like landing in a gigantic, warm gummy bear. But only a second later, you get shot out into a much colder atmosphere and have to take a deep breath to get your bearings straight. After experiencing exactly that, I took another big breath and found myself standing in the middle of a restroom.

Portal travel? No problem.

I could feel my idiotic wings sprouting from my back, only to begin frantically beating as I started to rise into the air. I lurched forward and grabbed hold of the sink with the hand that was also still clutching onto my T-shirt. I managed to station myself in place as I put the backpack in the basin before me. Then, while holding onto the sink with my other hand, I unzipped my backpack all the way and pulled out the bouquet. I propped it between the mirror and the faucet. Then I unzipped the backpack, taking out the scissors and the ribbon. My wings had started to calm down so I carefully released the sink, testing myself to see if I was going to start floating again. Luckily for me, it seemed I was finally earthbound, my wings only beating every few seconds.

I continued to breathe in and breathe out slowly, trying to calm my wings to make them stop flapping entirely. After a few minutes, it seemed they got the point and lay dormant against my back. That was my cue. I picked up the ribbon and holding each end between my fingers, draped it over my neck, and pulled it down until it rested against my back at chest level. I pulled the ribbon tight against my wings, then I looped it over my neck again and tightened it a bit lower, making a crisscross sort of pattern along my back. Once I was convinced my wings couldn't break free of the pseudo prison, I tied the ribbon in a knot right above my b.r.e.a.s.t.s and trimmed the excess with the scissors. Then I pulled my T-shirt back over my head and carefully smoothed it down over my wings. Turning to glance at my profile in the mirror, my wings were small enough that they folded nicely beneath my shirt. Granted, they still appeared slightly lumpy, but lumpy I could handle. It was the flying I couldn't.

I grabbed the bouquet and retrieved the note from the backpack, folding it in half and then half again so it just fit in my palm. Then I wadded my backpack up into as tight a bundle as I could and jammed it into the corner of the restroom, pulling the silver trash bin in front to conceal it. Yes, I was concerned about leaving the vials of antidote in the restroom unattended, but I was more concerned with being caught and as part of that, being questioned and detained. I mean, I had bypa.s.sed the whole front desk, sign-in procedure so it wasn't a stretch to imagine someone might have questions for me if I were caught.

Steeling my courage with a big breath, I pulled the restroom door open and started down the hallway, pleased that no one else seemed to be out and about. I held the bouquet up high, so that it partially concealed my face and started scouting the nameplates along the walls outside each office. I wasn't sure if Caressa's a.s.sistant, Alex, would be stationed outside Caressa's office, but I hoped she wasn't. I was afraid that Alex might recognize me, even through my clown makeup. And if Alex did recognize me, I wasn't sure what she'd do.

When I was halfway down the hall, I noticed Caressa's nameplate on the wall, outside of an undersized office, the walls made of gla.s.s. She was sitting at her desk, eating lunch as far as I could tell. No one else was with her. I felt my heart start beating hopefully.

You're going to be fine, Dulcie, I told myself. It's now or never.

I knocked on the gla.s.s door and when Caressa glanced up from where she'd been poring over a magazine, she nodded her head, giving me silent affirmation to enter. I did and swallowed hard as I closed the door behind me.

"I've gotta delivery for Caressa Brandenburg," I said, making my voice sound high pitched and nasally. "Are you she?"

She placed what looked like a PB&J sandwich back on the brown paper sack beside the magazine and studied me suspiciously. "No one from the lobby alerted me that I had any deliveries. They just let you up here?"

"No one was there," I said, shrinking beneath her stringent gaze. "So I just let myself in." I frowned and offered her an apologetic smile. "Maybe whoever was manning the desk had to go to the bathroom," I added.

She shrugged and eyed the bouquet with unconcealed interest as I watched her. Caressa was a shape-shifter; she could shift into a cheetah, and overall had the look of a cat; it was evident in her eyes and high cheekbones. She was tall, probably five foot eight, with long brown, wavy hair and blond highlights. Her eyes were nearly the same shade of blue as Knight's. All told, Caressa Brandenburg was beautiful and intimidating as s.h.i.t.

"Who are the flowers from?" she demanded, suspiciously.

I shook my head to say I didn't know and walked right up to her, handing her the arrangement. She studied me for a second or two and I could see recognition in her eyes, although it was clouded with confusion. She was trying to place me.

"I'm not at liberty to say," I replied, sounding like Mickey Mouse. Then I handed her the note.

She watched me curiously, but accepted the letter and unfolded it, honing in on the words. Her eyes twitched as she read it. Immediately, her expression dropped and she gulped hard. Then she suddenly seemed to recognize me. She said nothing, but simply looked down at the letter again and her expression changed from one of shock to appreciation. A huge smile plastered itself across her lips and she shook her head in apparent amus.e.m.e.nt.

"Wow, how sweet of him," she said, smiling up at me. "They're from the guy I'm seeing."

Immediately, I caught on to her. Obviously, it wasn't safe to talk in her office and she was playing into my game to throw off anyone who could be listening or watching us via a surveillance system. She apparently finished reading the letter because in a matter of seconds, she reached over and fed it into a paper shredder below her desk, destroying it per my request.

"Thank you for the delivery, they are lovely," she said, with an artificial smile. "I need to get some water for them," she added as she reached for a vase in the hutch behind her desk. When she stood up, I noticed the cast on her foot and then the crutches leaning against the wall behind her.

"Allow me," I said, reaching for the bouquet, but with my eyes, I asked her: Where can we talk in private?

She handed me the vase and smiled appreciatively. "Thank you, we can fill it in the restroom just down the hall."

I simply nodded, figuring it made sense that the only place where cameras wouldn't be allowed would be the restroom. Apparently, there was a certain level of respect for privacy even in the Netherworld. I turned around, and with Caressa by my side, headed back down the hallway. When we reached the restroom, I held the door open for her and followed her inside. Before either of us said a word, I bent over and scanned under each stall for feet. There weren't any. We were alone.

Caressa reached over and turned on the water.

"Did you memorize the drop-off locations and times?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

She simply nodded. "I made sure I had everything stored in my mind before I destroyed your letter. Lucky for you I've got a photographic memory." She paused and took a deep breath, obviously displeased with the information. "Where did you get ..." she started.

I shook my head. "We don't have time, and even if we did, I can't tell you. All I can tell you is that this is a dire situation. You need to get every ANC person you have in the know and at least three in each of the locations I specified in that letter. And ..." I reached for the backpack which was still behind the trashcan. I fished inside it until I found the two vials of antidote and handed them to her. "Make sure everyone takes one of these prior to arriving at each destination. Otherwise they'll become addicts within seconds of the stuff being released into the air."

"How long will the antidote last?" she asked.

I wasn't exactly sure, so I just answered, "Long enough."

She nodded and accepted both vials, opening her jacket and placing them in a pocket beside her Op 6 which was holstered across her chest. "Are you sure that's the extent of the traffickers who will be at each location?" she asked. "I don't want to set my people up to be outmanned."

I shook my head. "As far as I know, but it would probably behoove you to plan for more, rather than less."

"And the Dryads? They can't survive for more than a few hours outside of the forest."

I nodded and sighed deeply. "That will also have to be part of the ANC's job-to get the Dryads back safely."

She said nothing, but breathed in deeply and then nodded, as if approving of my plan to ensure the safety of the Dryads. Thank G.o.d. "He's responsible for this, isn't he?" she asked. It didn't take a genius to figure out she was referring to Melchior.

I didn't deny it, but neither did I confirm it; instead, I raised a subject far more important. "I need you to make sure Knight is as far away from Splendor as possible," I continued. "Once the Draoidheil comes through, his life will be in danger."

She glanced down at me with concern in her eyes. "Why?"

I shook my head. "I can't get into it. I've already stayed here too long. You just need to ensure that Knight is elsewhere-wherever he's least likely to be found. And give him orders to leave Splendor today." After all, there were only two days remaining before the Draoidheil was scheduled to arrive, only two days remaining before the s.h.i.t was really going to hit the fan.

"Okay," she said and then paused, studying me intently. "Are you in trouble?"

"Up to my ears." I took a deep breath. "That's the other thing, do NOT tell anyone that I came here or that I gave you this information. If it gets out that it was me, Knight will be the one to suffer, do you understand?"

She frowned. "Crystal clear."

Sixteen.

The days leading up to the Draoidheil delivery pa.s.sed by in a blur while the moments before we were due at the docks seemed to go by at a snail's pace. For the last twenty-four hours, I was on autopilot, just going through the motions of living my life (including magicking my purple-black hair back to my natural honey gold), fully aware that everything I knew was about to change drastically.

After tonight, when Melchior's plan went awry, my father would be fully aware that something was rotten in the state of Splendor. I had to imagine it wouldn't be a stretch to realize I was the one with the loose lips. As soon as Melchior discovered that Knight was no longer in Splendor and unaccounted for, it would be obvious that I was the mastermind. Yep, I would be the one to destroy my father's dreams of despotism. And what did that mean for me? Well, honestly, I hadn't even thought that far ahead. But considering it now, en route to the loading docks, with Quillan as my only companion, I realized my neck would soon be on the chopping block.

"Are you okay, Dulce?" Quill asked. He was driving the red Mercedes my father lent me. With my current state of nerves and anxiety, I didn't think driving myself was a good idea.

According to plan, it was just going to be Quill and me working on the loading docks. We were supposed to meet up with Baron and Horatio to receive six shipments of Draoidheil. After securing the crates in the Mercedes, we would take them to Ink, where we would store them in the cellar until further word from Melchior. Christina was supposed to do the same at the abandoned railway station, also in Splendor, with three sidekicks provided by my father.

"Yeah, I'm okay," I said with a sigh when I noticed the concerned smile on his handsome face. As I took in the sweet expression in his eyes and the fullness of his lips, I suddenly wished things were completely different. I wished I could rewind time to how things were a year ago, before I discovered my so-called friends were illegal potions importers. And before I'd become one too.

"Do you ever think about how things used to be?" I asked him in a small, wistful voice, the seatbelt across my chest suddenly binding and tight.

He nodded and chewed on his lower lip for a second or two as his eyes seemed to glaze over with something that resembled nostalgia. "I live in my memories, Dulcie," he said softly. "The only way I've been able to survive is to relive the memories I once found so much enjoyment in."

My lips went tight. "You realize that's not living, right, Quill?" When he didn't respond, I continued. "He's reduced us to this." I shook my head, hating my father with every cell in my body.

"We don't have to endure this alone," Quill said, reaching over to pat my knee consolingly. I eyed him with surprise, and when he didn't move his hand, I moved it for him. "You used to care about me, Dulcie," he said, apologetically, his eyes boring into mine.

"Yeah, a long time ago."

"Once you called me your hero," he continued and I couldn't swallow the frog that lodged in my throat. He was referring to the protagonist of a romance novel I'd been writing who had been modeled after him. And, to be fair, once upon a time he had been my hero. But if I'd learned anything in the last year or so, it was that "once upon a time" didn't exist. Fairy tales depicting happily ever afters were just that: tales ... lies ... crocks of total s.h.i.t.

"I could be your hero again, Dulcie."

"Quill," I began, unhappy with the direction this conversation seemed to be headed. Things were as different now as night and day; and the feelings I'd once felt for him had changed.

But Quill shook his head. "I think about you constantly, about us, about what could have been." He hit a red light and used it to his advantage, turning to face me as he spilled the contents of his heart. It made me feel like a total a.s.shole because I didn't want to hear any of it."I've felt your pa.s.sion for me, Dulcie. I've kissed you and I know you enjoyed it. I want to know what it means to taste you again."

I took a deep breath and riveted my attention out the window, knowing that tonight I would not only betray my father but Quillan as well. And what was more, he would remember this exact moment, this conversation, and he'd probably hate me for it.

"We could be happy together," he said, breaking the silence in the car that was now suffocating me. The light changed to green and he started forward. The docks loomed into view.

I faced him, my eyes harsh. "We'll never find happiness doing this," I said acidly. "This is no way to live and you know it."

"I would live my life around you. You're the only thing that brings me any joy anyway."