by Maria Dean
***
"You blew up my daughter's what?"
"I'm sorry, Aaron, but what else was I supposed to do? She evaded capture the first time, not to mention the fact that she was with a dragon then. We can't risk exposing ourselves again like that. It was the only thing that made sense."
The alchemic priest twitched. "Daniel?" Aaron called in one of his associates. "Bring Sean over here down to the workshop. I'd like him to learn what happens when he directly endangers my daughter."
The bomber, Sean, tried to bolt. "You can't do this, Aaron! You're letting your soft spot impede our mission!"
"I'm being a responsible leader," Aaron Pfeiffer corrected him. "And responsible leaders don't blow up human apartment buildings with alchemic fire. Have fun explaining that one to the police."
With Sean carted off to the workshop, another alchemist entered the room. "What are you going to do now?" He asked Aaron.
"I guess I need to go pay my daughter a visit. I'll take a detour to talk to some of her friends, though," he mused.
"Which one?"
"Good question."
CHAPTER 3
Astrid's next decision was to send out a mass text to every Russo she knew. The text detailed what happened to her apartment. What her role in the hunter/slayer community was. She also included that none of them should panic about the fact she and her aunt would stay with Zion Wells.
"I don't care how many of you think you can protect me," she said in one firm text. "The alchemists caught Christian on their own. If they're hunting me down, there's no reason to risk all of your lives too."
Beatrice's response was a clipped but trusting, "Call me if you require support." Nicole responded, giving her full support to Astrid's decisions. Lorenzo and Christian both asked her to reconsider and come stay with them. Astrid ignored both of their texts.
Irene called her. "I know you're taking care of yourself," she said, "but are you sure there isn't anything I can do? There's a flat above the shelter I rent out sometimes as an Airbnb. No one would suspect you and your aunt were there."
"Thanks," Astrid said, "but I don't want to risk your animals either."
A fair statement, though Irene was still disappointed.
The only two Russos to not respond were Giovanni and Matilde. Giovanni hadn't responded to her last text, either. It was probably because he was done with her. Astrid kicked herself for not replying to him earlier. She had waited too long. He must've moved on to another woman, or just another stage in his life. If Astrid had really cared about him, she would've done something sooner.
If you're wasting that much time thinking about a man, you're really an idiot, her inner monologue groaned.
"Shut up," Astrid said aloud.
Nova and Zion both turned to her. "I beg your pardon?" The stern slayer said, scrutinizing her. "I did not realize you weren't interested in our plan to take out the alchemists. Is this too boring for you?"
Astrid deflated. "I'm sorry, I'm just distracted."
"Clearly." Zion narrowed his eyes at her. "You're stressed, too, which will not help us at all. Go get some rest and return when you have a grip on your psyche."
If it meant leaving her aunt alone to get some, Astrid didn't care. She stood up, stretched, and wandered out of Zion's living room. His house was modest, located in the northern part of Minneapolis. Astrid could see the house's various cracks and tears, damage from years of neglect and places where Zion had tried to make a quick fix. Astrid and her aunt were staying upstairs in the guest room, which was really a small office with a futon mattress. Given the size of the bed, Astrid began to consider whether she wanted to take one of the Russos up on their offer.
Her hand hovered over Irene's number. About to call them, Astrid's phone buzzed with a text.
We should talk, it said.
There were only a few guesses as to who that was.
Astrid swiped up to respond to the text, mentally scolding herself for caring so much about a man's opinion. It wasn't like Giovanni had given her a long, heartfelt text that required an immediate reply. It was short and to the point. Nothing that required a lengthy or thought out reply.
Probably a good idea, she responded.
He was a fast texter. Come to my house.
When?
As soon as possible.
Astrid tensed. She wanted to meet with him, sure, but something didn't seem right about the meeting. Giovanni wasn't a rash person, nor would he want to have a heavy conversation on his own terms. So far, he'd given thought to Astrid's personal comfort when she needed it.
But he also wanted to meet with her again. Which meant he knew she was sorry.
Which means you can get your act together. Astrid's inner monologue was right about that one. If she wasn't dealing with the alchemists, she was fretting over Giovanni texting back. It wasn't something she was proud of. Getting closure was exactly what she needed to clear her mind.
Slipping her shoes on, Astrid crept through the house as to not alert Nova she was leaving. Worrying her aunt was the last thing she needed to do right now. Besides, telling Nova anything meant she'd relay it to Zion, or the mystery person she'd been talking to at the library. When it happened, Astrid suspected it was just the dragon slayer. Nova wasn't dumb enough to get caught talking to the man in front of a Dragonshifter.
However, Nova hadn't acted strangely until she saw Astrid. Whoever she was talking to, she was trying to keep it from her niece. Nova's penchant for secrets was getting on Astrid's nerves. But if the mystery person didn't interfere with Astrid's life, she'd leave it be.
Astrid wasn't planning on being completely irresponsible. As she hopped on a bus downtown, she contacted X to update him on the situation. He was the first person she called after the explosion at her apartment. X offered her a place at his apartment, though she also learned he shared a flat with two other post-grad monster hunters. Hearing about their Monster energy addictions was an instant turn off.
"You think it's safe to go meet a guy you haven't seen in a month when you know the alchemists are coming after you?" X asked her. She'd left out the part about Giovanni being a dragon. It wasn't too essential to the situation, and X only needed to know where she was going, and it could be dangerous. "I mean, I trust you Astrid, but isn't that just asking to get kidnapped?"
"Do I even need to tell you how bad that sounds?" Astrid said.
She could hear him quietly working things out on his end. "Just asking. Oh. Oh. Sorry, Astrid, that's not what I meant." Astrid knew that too. She only wanted it to be a teaching moment. "They're hunting down your every move," he continued. "If you go out in public to answer a text, you've already stated is sketchy, that's a risk. That's a complete risk."
The bus dropped Astrid in downtown Minneapolis. Cradling her phone against her cheek, she sped-walked across the street to the Green Line platform. "I'll be fine. I have that find my friends app on, so you can always track my location."
"Aww," X cooed. "You trust me like that?"
"You and five other people," Astrid muttered. "Nova even made me turn on my Snap Map location. If anyone wants to know where I am, my location is being broadcast to the masses." She snorted, realizing just how troubling that was. "Great. If any of the alchemists wanted to find me, they could just add me on Snapchat."
The Green Line burst into the station and Astrid hopped inside. She took a seat next to the entry and tried not to laugh to herself. Hadn't her journey with the Russos started by getting into a light rail car? A stop on the Blue Line, where Lorenzo stared at her from across the car. Astrid could still remember how annoyed she was with him that day. How bizarre it was they were now on the verge of being in love.
Is that what you're calling it now?
"Hey, I have to go. One of my coworkers called in sick so I'm picking up another shift at the library. You should come by sometime. I found some books you might like." X hung up afterwards, once Astrid bid him farewell, and he stuttered some semi-smooth response.<
br />
What was it Zion had said? Nor do I understand why the librarian is so taken with you. Astrid had thought little of it at the time. Now she considered it, 'taken with you' was one way to put it. If you asked Astrid, she would call it puppy love. X was in a different league to her. That is, she was way out of his. The poor librarian already had several things on his plate anyhow. Flirting with a woman being chased by three other men was never a good idea.
Astrid made her way to roughly the building she remembered as the one she'd portalled into Giovanni's apartment. She had no idea which one was his, outside of remembering part of the address. She shot him a quick text message and waited out front.
He didn't text her back. Astrid frowned. Giovanni was punctual. Her stomach twisted and turned as she thought of what might've happened to him. If the alchemists were behind it, they could've been torturing him. He might be tied down to a pedestal, with chanting alchemists surrounding him. He might be cut into pieces, enough to make him bleed but not enough to kill him.
He might also be completely fine, with his phone turned off.
Astrid checked hers again, but there was nothing. Swearing, she hit her head on a glass window.
"Ma'am." A doorman coughed to get her attention. "Can I help you?"
She pushed off the window, straightening herself off. "Yes. I'm here to see Giovanni Russo. I'm a work associate, running a case with him against the pharmaceutical company VidaCo." She fished out a business card Tom insisted she carry around. "Attorney Astrid Pfeiffer."
The weathered old doorman took her card, pulling it close to his face so he could read the small print. "Ah, I think I've heard of you," he said. "Mr. Russo often chats with me on his way into the building. You must be the woman who's captured his heart."
Flustered, Astrid took a step back. "I wouldn't say that," she replied quickly. "We're working together on a case. And we're friends. Just friends."
"As long as you're keeping him company, I wouldn't care less if you were his cousin. He needs some friends in that lonely apartment of his," He chuckled, letting her into the entryway. "Take care, ma'am. Russo lives up on the seventh floor. 701. I think I saw him heading upstairs an hour ago."
She thanked him and took a step into the elevator. What was this strange feeling coming over her? Sweat beat down her brow and Astrid wiped it away, using the elevator's reflective interior as a makeshift mirror. She wasn't nervous in the slightest. She couldn't be. What had Winston said before? Astrid had been threatened more times than she could count. There was no reason that meeting with someone to hash out their apologies would cause her to be this anxious.
But she had to remind herself that this wasn't just someone. It was Giovanni.
When the elevator doors opened, Astrid took a slow, deep breath, and stepped out into the hall. It was so quiet inside the hallway she felt uncomfortable. The minimalist design of the apartment building didn't help her discomfort, either. 701 was the closest door to the elevator. There would be no walk of shame to the end of the hallway. Astrid had to face her fears, now.
Standing in front of door 701, Astrid straightened herself and knocked. "Gio?" She called. "It's me."
No answer. Astrid's heart dropped as she waited in silence. He could be asleep, she reasoned, or in the bathroom. Both reasons he wouldn't have texted back when she asked for his apartment number. But when Astrid knocked again, her sense something was wrong increase. She waited for five minutes and he still didn't answer. "Gio?" She said again, quieter than the first time.
When she pulled her hand away from the door, Astrid squinted at her knuckles. They were covered in white dust. Whipping her head back to the door, Astrid discovered there was a small indent in the wood where she had knocked.
Her eyes drifted down to the handle. Squatting down, Astrid ran her finger over the knob. The silver door handle was clean and showed no signs of tampering. It was too clean. Her gaze drifted to the wood surrounding the knob. She frowned, rubbing away a thick layer of white dust on the wood. The more she rubbed the dust, the more of the wood was worn away. Astrid's thumb cracked a veneer hiding evidence the door had been burned through creating a hole. Someone had broken in, leaving just enough wood for the doorknob to stay up.
Astrid pushed her hand through the tightly packed dust, reaching through to open the door from the inside. The door swung open to Gio's dark, empty apartment. Astrid flipped the light on and frowned. If it weren't for the false door, she wouldn't have known someone had been there. Everything was in its place, every piece of wood dusted and every surface polished. The only thing slightly out of place was Gio's phone, which lay cracked on the floor.
Leaning down, Astrid discovered that while the screen was damaged, the rest of the phone was still intact. Her text message was still on the screen, unread.
"Oh, Gio," she whispered. "What happened to you?"
To be sure he wasn't hurt somewhere else in the building, Astrid searched every inch of his apartment. She ducked under tables and stood on her tip toes, checking any place that looked like in could hold a 6 foot dragon.
When she was sure he wasn't there, Astrid collapsed on the love seat. She could still feel Giovanni's heat radiating off the couch.
"Can I cry now? Is it okay to cry?" She asked the empty room.
"Your suffering amuses me, so I'd say go for it."
Astrid jumped a foot off the couch and readied herself to portal. Teetering off the leather seat, she fell face first on the ground and groaned. "Goddamnit," she muttered. "Is this a coincidence, or did you follow me so you could gloat about being 'right'?"
Matilde sauntered into her brother's barren apartment. "Well I was following you, but not because I wanted to rub things in your face." She entered the kitchen and dug through Giovanni's cabinets. "God, I know that smug fucker keeps his alcohol somewhere in here."
"Bottom shelf," Astrid called out from the floor. "Get me a beer while you're at it."
Given the frustrated muttering emanating from the kitchen, it seemed Matilde didn't take to being ordered around. The clinking glasses meant Astrid had been right, too, and she gave herself a high five while she waited for the annoyed Russo to bring her a drink.
Matilde shoved a bottle of Deschutes in Astrid's face. "Come here often?" She said, her snide smirk a rare attempt at humor. "Don't worry, Alice, I'm not going to poison your drink. I wouldn't be here if I was trying to kill you. I'm not going to ruin another apartment."
It took Astrid a solid minute of fiddling with the bottle cap to look up. "You know what happened at my building?"
Matilde took a seat on the floor, spreading her skirt out so she could sit comfortably. "I had some free time. And yes, I was coming over to gloat some more about me being right."
Astrid watched her facial expression change. When she spoke, Matilde wore a neutral expression that bordered on snarky or cruel. When she mentioned stopping by Astrid's apartment, however, Astrid saw neutrality waver in her eyes. She avoided eye contact as her confidence broke. It was only a moment, but it was enough.
"Why do you do this?" Astrid asked. "Why are you so set on proving I'm out to get your family?"
The Dragonshifter snorted, taking a long drink from her glass of rosé. "Why do you think it's an act? I'm protecting my family. You're a threat to their safety."
"But have they always protected you?"
Matilde whipped her head around so fast her hair smacked the glass and fell into her drink. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"I know how it feels," Astrid continued. "To have your family not support you because you're queer. My aunt, even though she loves me, comes from a traditional family in North Carolina. It took her a long time to adjust to me not being straight, let alone being interested in multiple genders. And she's still a piece of work when it comes to setting me up on dates."
Locked in a frown, Matilde said, "So what? Your aunt still loves you. You don't know how it feels to have both of your parents and your grandparents look down on y
ou. They gave every ounce of their being into raising my brothers, but they left me behind every time. Why care about me if I'm giving up my family's legacy?"
Astrid paused, not wanting to overwhelm her potential ally. "My parents were never around either," she said once Matilde calmed down. "I didn't see them at all after I was thirteen. They sent me to live with my aunt, before she sent me to boarding school. I had no one to come home to, no one to tell me they were proud of me when I succeeded. And now I come to find out both of my parents have made careers out of hurting the very people I've come to love and trust."
Matilde let out a soundless laugh, the kind where you let out a breath because you were amused but couldn't be bothered to be any louder. "Well look at you," she said. "The Alice even gets to have a tragic backstory."
"I'm being serious, Matilde," Astrid said. "I just want to understand why you're putting so much time into hunting me when, so far, they haven't treated you well."
She looked away. "If you really care that much," she spoke into the glass, "it's because it's my brothers you're messing with. The 'family' at large can go fuck itself. My brothers were the only ones who took care of me. Even my cousins took a while to get used to it, and that was only after Irene came out as non-binary. It was only okay for me because they did it too." Matilde slammed her wine glass down on the carpet. "Beatrice and Nicole still live in a stuck-up world where it's okay to belittle your cousin because she's the gay one. They think being Minnesota nice makes it okay."
"But it doesn't," Astrid said firmly. "And you don't deserve that."
Matilde snorted. "Thanks for telling me something I already knew," she muttered.
Holding up her beer, Astrid said, "A toast. To the broken motherfuckers of the world who didn't deserve the shit they were given."
To her surprise, Matilde raised her glass. She did it with an eye roll and a heavy, exaggerated sigh, but Astrid still counted it as a win. "So," Matilde said, finishing her rosé, "What were you doing at my brother's apartment?"
"He wanted to meet with me," Astrid explained. "It felt wrong, though. The texts didn't sound like him. Your brother's not vague, nor is he someone who likes to rush things. Asking me to meet here as soon as I could didn't sound like him."