The Darkest of Dreams

by Emigh Cannaday

  “No.”

  “Did he say he was going to cut you off financially?”

  “No. He said the opposite.”

  “Did he say he never wanted to see you again?”

  “No,” she admitted with a soft smile.

  “Then how can you think for a second that being friends is a bad thing? Seriously—you’ve got to start somewhere! If he wants to be friends with you after everything that’s happened, that’s a fucking miracle,” James replied. “What are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know. I have to do something.” Annika picked up her hummus wrap and set it back down. Her appetite was suddenly gone. “I offered to go to London and see him, even if it was only to have dinner, but he said it wasn’t a good time. It sounds like he’s really busy with work.”

  “Maybe he is.” James wiped up the last of the crumbs and tossed the paper towel into the trash can. “Or maybe he’s not.” Annika eyed him curiously.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  James shrugged.

  “It means that you won’t know for sure unless you go there and find out for yourself. But I’m not the one who talked to him, honey. All I know is that he just extended a huge olive branch by calling you after all this time and saying that he wants to be friends. I think the ball’s officially in your court. It sounds like you want to hand-deliver it back to him. Why not do it?”

  Annika was thoughtful for a moment.

  “He did say he was really happy to hear I was doing well,” she thought out loud. Then she adopted his English accent. “Immensely glad…that’s how he put it. Maybe I can surprise him, even if it’s just to grab a quick drink after work. I could bring him lunch if he’s stuck at the office. There’s no rule against trying to do something like that, is there?”

  “You brought me lunch today,” James pointed out.

  “I did, didn’t I?” Annika beamed. “And friends visit friends who live in other countries all the time, don’t they?”

  “When they can afford it, they certainly do,” he agreed. He watched as Annika went over to his office computer and opened a travel website to compare airline tickets.

  “I suppose the worst thing that could happen is I show up and he’s actually too busy to have dinner,” she mused. Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she selected a flight. “I could still make it a tough decision for him. At least he’d know I’m serious about trying to make things work.”

  “Whatever you do, don’t try to force anything to happen right away,” James advised. “You’re just hanging out as friends, remember? Let him make up his own mind about being more than that. Try taking it slow for once.”

  Annika laughed to herself at hearing this advice.

  “You want me to take it slow with Talvi? That’s not his style.”

  “Okay…then make sure whatever you present him with is exactly his style,” said James, who then pointed at a couple of the paintings hanging up in the gallery’s office. “You’re doing low-pressure sales here, so find out what he wants and then show him what you’ve got. Tell him where to find you if he has any questions and then walk the fuck away.”

  “I will,” Annika assured him as she booked three flights to London. “I’ve already got a plan.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  Annika turned around in her chair and rubbed her hands together like an evil villain. But the smile on her face wasn’t evil at all.

  “I’m going to take your advice and present him with something that’s exactly his style. Then I’ll walk away.”

  20

  East End Boys

  When Annika and her security detail arrived in the heart of London two weeks later, she was less dazzled by the architecture of the financial district and more concerned about her red-feathered shoes getting ruined by the early February drizzle. Thankfully Adams had dropped them off less than half a block from their destination, which meant less time in the miserable weather.

  “Remember what I said about interacting with him,” Tripp advised Annika as he helped her out of their sleek black car. “You need to keep your energy level stable and calm. He might not have had more than a handshake since he’s been let out, so don’t overdo it straight away. The last thing you should do is run up to him and throw yourself at him.”

  “Yeah, yeah…I know,” Annika said dismissively as they bustled along the sidewalk. “Trust me…throwing myself at my estranged husband isn’t part of my plan.”

  Her friend and bodyguard shot her a skeptical glance.

  “It isn’t? Could’ve fooled me, with that outfit.”

  “That’s the whole point of my outfit,” she explained, and ran her hands modestly over the curves of her glamorous blue coat. “I’m showing him the merchandise. Then I’ll present him with my offer. And then I’m leaving. I’m not giving him access to all this while I’m here…otherwise my plan goes right out the window.”

  “That’s the thing about plans—they only work if you stick to them,” Tripp reminded her.

  “I know the plan. Don’t be all up in his grill, don’t ask him about prison unless he brings it up first. Be a good listener but know when it’s time to change the subject,” she recited. “I’ll wait for the right moment to present my offer and then I’ll leave it up to him to take me up on it. Don’t worry, Tripp. I’ve got this.”

  “Yeah, you think you do,” he said with a grin. “Time to put your money where your mouth is.” He waited for a response, but Annika was distracted by a thirteen-story building looming in front of them.

  The London embassy of the Estellian Empire was more imposing than she remembered it being the last time she’d hiked up those numerous steps, stood at those formidable doors, or passed through those hallowed halls. She wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that the last time she’d been there, it was in jeans and sneakers. Now she was in high heels and a short dress. Even with Tripp by her side, the stately grandeur of the building and all its magical mysteriousness left her feeling like she was out of her league. Still, she put on a brave face; the same face she put on before every performance until the nerves wore off. They always did, just like they did that late afternoon. She discreetly adjusted her push-up bra while Tripp’s massive fist knocked on the doors. Then Gerald appeared. The elderly wizard immediately recognized Annika and put her at ease.

  “Director Sinclair’s already approved your visit today,” he said as he let them. He gave Tripp a brief security check before letting him help Annika out of her coat.

  “What about Talvi?” Annika asked. She reached into her purse and pulled out a compact to make sure her artfully applied makeup was absolutely perfect. It was just fine, but that didn’t stop her from adding another small dab of tinted gloss to her lower lip. “Does he know that we’re here to see him?”

  “If agent Marinossian doesn’t know you’re here, he’ll certainly be informed about it soon enough,” Gerald snickered. He tried not to grin at the little black dress she was wearing, but it was impossible. There was just enough flounce in the skirt to cover her ass, but not nearly enough fabric to allow Annika to pick up her lip gloss if she accidentally dropped it.

  “He’s teaching a class up on the seventh floor,” Gerald went on, and unlocked a second set of doors. Then he pointed towards a glass elevator at the far end of the building. It appeared to ascend through the ceiling of skylights that made up the central atrium before shooting straight into the clouds. “It might be best if you wait for him down on the main level and have someone fetch him for you,” he added after another discreet glance at Annika’s outfit.

  “Thanks, but I really want to surprise him if I can.”

  Stifling a laugh, Gerald nodded.

  “I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that you’ll succeed in your mission,” he said good-naturedly, although it was obvious that he didn’t agree with her plan. His demeanor conveyed a wise man who was smarter than to argue with younger people who thought they knew everything. “Suit
yourself. Once you reach the seventh floor, take a left at the end of the hall and he’ll be in one of the laboratories on the right. I can’t rightly say which one.”

  “Wait—he’s teaching in a lab?” Annika blurted out.

  “Of course,” Gerald replied. “He certainly can’t be teaching his classes in a lecture hall, now can he?”

  Annika wrinkled her nose in confusion but said no more. She didn’t want to appear any more out of place than she already was.

  “I know exactly where he is,” Tripp told the wizard with a polite nod, and urged Annika to follow him down the hall.

  “Slow down!” she hissed when she’d fallen more than a few steps behind. “Why are you walking so fast?”

  “I’m not walking any faster than I usually do. Why are you walking so slow?”

  “I can’t run in these heels,” she explained, and stretched out a smooth and toned bare leg to show off a red peep-toe heel accented with long, elegant feathers. “And even if I could run in them, I don’t want to be huffing and puffing and covered in sweat when we get there…I want to make an entrance.”

  Tripp took a good, hard look at her outfit and snorted back an amused laugh. But he did slow down his pace considerably.

  “Hon, you’re definitely going to make an entrance, but you’re going to make one hell of an exit,” he said, observing how the short hemline of her dress made her petite legs appear longer than usual. “Maybe you should put your coat back on…at least while we’re in the elevator. Or is part of your plan to knock some guys into next Tuesday? It is, isn’t it?”

  Annika grinned so wide that Tripp didn’t bother waiting for a reply. Rolling his eyes, he simply turned and ambled leisurely through the foyer towards one of two elevators. Annika strutted along beside him, proud as a peacock in her red-feathered shoes.

  Fairies buzzed across each level of the open atrium high over their heads, leaving brief streaks of color in their wake. The scent of tens of thousands of ancient books and the sight of state-of-the-art electronics surrounded their senses. Elven and human employees shuffled past them as if half asleep; many of whom were staring intently at their phones. Most of them walked with purpose and avoided making eye contact, but quite a few stared at her in surprise. Annika had grown skilled at picking through unchecked private thoughts, and today was no exception. She knew that her name had been dragged through the mud before being splashed across the front page of every newspaper, but that was months ago. Surely the scandal surrounding her was old news by now. But then again, maybe it was all relative in the grand scheme of things. The pace of Annika’s bold stride began to slow down as she realized that what qualified as old news was probably a lot different when one’s life span stretched ten times as long as a human’s. She swallowed hard as her mind began to pick up the uncensored thought fragments from the people walking past her. Then she put on a brave smile to face them head-on.

  Oh my gods, is that Marinossian’s wife? She’s smaller than I imagined, said one of them.

  She looks like trouble, that one. I wouldn’t doubt it if she really did shag his brother. Never trust a human, I say…and a modern one at that! noted another.

  I wonder if she’ll autograph my ledger? Damn it…I should find something better for her to sign!

  Annika’s face was starting to grow tired from wearing that mask of false confidence plastered upon it. She didn’t realize how much effort it was taking to maintain until they finally arrived at the elevators. One was enclosed, with brass doors while the other was entirely made of glass.

  “Why are the elevators different?” she asked when Tripp led her into the glass elevator. He waited until the doors shut and then inserted a small access key into the corresponding lock box.

  “It’s for security purposes,” he explained while turning the key. “Lower level employees and visitors are restricted to the glass one. The top brass take the other lift all the way to the top.”

  “You’d think they’d want to have the better view,” she mused as she gazed across the open atrium and up at the skylights. Tripp shook his head.

  “I think they prefer not being monitored everywhere they go,” he said. “We’ve got the better view, but we’re also on display for everyone to see…including the guards.” He nodded towards a couple of elven men who were dressed in crisp uniforms, yet standing at ease. When Annika turned to look at them, one quickly glanced away while the other sent her a flirtatious wave.

  The elevator began to rise gently, and Annika breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn’t hear a single word coming from anyone; neither spoken or unspoken. She leaned against the wall of thick glass and sighed while trying to fan herself discreetly. Nervous sweat had broken out in all the wrong places, which wasn’t part of her elaborate plan. She looked over her shoulder and watched as she was lifted story after story above the atrium on the main floor. Taking Tripp’s cue, she turned left at the end of the hall and saw a sign on the right. It was written in Karsikko and mounted next to a set of double doors.

  “Are we getting close?” she asked. Her nerves were suddenly tingling with anticipation. “I was hoping to find a bathroom so I could freshen up really quick.”

  “I don’t know if you’ll have time for that. I think we’re here,” Tripp said, tapping the Karsikko letters on the sign. “This says Advanced H2H, so I’m guessing this is the lab we’re looking for.”

  “It is?” Annika groaned, feeling her palms get sweaty and warm all over again. Finding him so soon wasn’t part of her plan, either. “What does H2H stand for?”

  “Hand-to-hand combat,” Tripp explained. He took a few steps down the hall and stopped in front of a long wall of glass. Then he grinned. “There’s Talvi. Looks like he’s in the middle of a class, though.”

  Annika squeezed past her bodyguard and walked up to the shatterproof glass partition that separated them from about twenty students dressed in white t-shirts and white sweatpants. There in the center of the room with his back to them both was a tall, slender figure in a black t-shirt and black loose-fitting pants. If his outfit didn’t give him away, his messy black hair certainly did. He was running a drill that required every student to face off with one another and then move on to their neighbor before confronting their teacher. Like an elaborate ballroom dance, the movements were practiced and fluid…for about ten seconds. Two of the students finished their routine early and approached their master at the same time. He sent one flying over his back before landing a kick into the other student’s upper thigh.

  “I did you a favor just now, Tha-tsi-koah! That could’ve been your stones!” he yelled to his student, who was still lying on the ground. “You forget that there’s no honor in a street fight! And remember what I said about paying attention to your surroundings! You need to know who’s standing in front of you and behind you at all times. Anyone around you could be a potential threat!”

  Still grimacing from the blow to his thigh, Tha-tsi-koah pulled himself up to his hands and knees and glanced through the glass at Annika.

  “What about her?” he challenged before pulling himself to his feet. “Could she be a threat?” Talvi whipped his head around to see Annika standing in the hall with a demure grin on her glossy pink lips. His eyes widened as he lifted a curious black eyebrow.

  “Her? A threat?” he smirked. “Oh…without a shred of doubt in my—”

  His comment was cut short by Tha-tsi-koah’s roundabout kick to the side of his chest, which sent him tumbling to the ground. Annika’s hand flew to her mouth as she gasped, but her husband was far from mortally wounded. He tapped on the mat twice with his left hand and lay there for a brief moment before crawling back onto his feet. Quiet snickers and smothered laughs rose from his students until they eventually resumed their lesson without him. Rather than shoot her a glare, he merely shook his finger at her in reprimand, then stopped to get his water bottle on his way towards the doors.

  Tripp let out a chuckle from his place behind Annika.

  “
I guess your plan worked, because you just knocked him right into next Tuesday. Want me to stick around or take a hike?”

  “You don’t have to stay,” she said, grinning up at him. “I’ve got this.”

  “I hope you do,” he grinned back. “I won’t be far away. Scream like hell if you need me.”

  “I will,” she smiled as he turned to leave. Meanwhile, a tall, shadowy figure had appeared in the doorway, cutting a perfect silhouette of Talvi’s body. When Annika turned to face him she saw that he’d yanked up the bottom of his shirt to wipe away the sweat on his forehead. Her grin faded as she took in the sight of the lithe, lean torso on display before her. He seemed harder than she remembered…cut sharper with more detail than she remembered. Now she couldn’t look away from those defined pectorals, the solid and rippled abdominals, and the ropes of blue veins in his arms as he continued to blot up the sweat from his face. The only thing remotely unyielding about him was the soft black trail of hair that hinted at what lay dormant underneath those loose black pants. She felt her insides stir as her eyes settled on the crotch area below the elastic waistband that hugged his narrow hips. From what she could tell, it didn’t look like he was wearing any sort of athletic cup. Suddenly the shirt fell back into place and a whiff of his clean, masculine sweat hit Annika’s nose. If her knees hadn’t been weak before, they were absolutely wobbling right now.

  “Your hair’s longer,” she said with an uneven voice. Talvi was clearly amused.

  “So is yours.”

  “I see you’re teaching now.”

  “I’m only substituting for a bit…mostly to reassure Cyril that I’m in good health. That was a fine lesson you just taught my students,” he said, shooting them a glance from over his shoulder. They immediately picked up the pace of their routine. “Naturally I’ll have to follow through and prove that you aren’t a threat.” He turned back to face her and revealed a wolfish grin. “Are you a threat? You could certainly do some damage with those heels.”