by Eve, Jaymin
Louis shook his head. “No, you four don’t need to go. I’ll take Elizabeth. He asked for a few supernatural representatives, so I’ll bring Jake and Justice too, for the fey contingent. The rest of you stay here, look after those babies, and we’ll keep you updated.”
No one argued, even though I could tell they were all uneasy.
Tyson especially looked like he wanted to protest, but we definitely didn’t need another sorcerer. Louis and I had that covered.
Jessa hurried over and hugged Louis, and then me, very tightly. “Stay safe. Don’t let those humans force you into anything. They don’t control us, even if they think they do.”
Louis’s smile was tight. There was a reason the president didn’t know about us, and it had everything to do with keeping our freedoms. I hoped he hadn’t risked his life in the timeline jump only for us to find ourselves in a similar or worse position in this new future.
When it was just Jacob, Justice, Louis, and me standing there, everything felt a little lonelier and a lot heavier. “We’re going to take a step-through to a friend near the White House,” Louis explained. “We’ll wait there until we know what time the meeting is.”
“I thought the president already requested it?” Jacob asked. “What’s the delay about?”
Louis rubbed at his eyes tiredly. “The president has a lot of requirements and information he wants before we’re allowed to see him. Among that is our names, a list of our abilities, and our guarantee that we will not use any of our gifts on him.”
Justice snorted. “What the fuck is our word worth to him? I always knew he was a dumbass, but this is next level. Even for him.”
Jacob’s lips twitched, but he refrained from smiling. She definitely amused him though.
“He might pull out of this meeting when he sees your list of abilities,” I joked to Louis, who actually shot me a slow smile.
“I wasn’t planning on listing them all. Wouldn’t want to scare the poor human.”
Because we all knew that this meeting was going to be critical to the future of supernaturals in America. Would the president insist on regulating us, bringing us out into the open? Would he try to control us?
Or would he realize the futility of that and accept that we were beyond his power?
We were going to find out soon.
25
Louis
There was something the others in the group were not aware of: this was not my first meeting with a president of America. The last one, though, was close to fifty years ago, and he had become a very good friend of mine. He helped establish closer ties with guilds, and especially with placing guilds in positions of power through the US government. The current president, from what I had seen, was definitely not as lenient with his power. He would not be impressed that we had been existing outside of his rule for so long. We did not pay taxes, as we did not use any of the facilities in this country. We were separate, but we did own property and such, so there was some crossover. Again, this was where our guilds came into use, and they smoothed all of the legal stuff that was required.
Blending was definitely growing more difficult as technology improved. These days computers kept track of everything, so we were having to be more careful about covering up our existence.
I had no idea what to expect of this meeting. My timeline shift, which I’d almost not made it back from, had managed to keep most of the world from knowing about us. But did any of that matter if the most powerful and influential man in the country, if not the world, now knew? What the hell would he do with this knowledge?
What price was he going to extract from me?
My eyes rested on Tee, who was chatting to Justice about Faerie. I’d forgotten how many times we used to sneak in there as young adults. It had been forbidden then, and the moment anyone said the word “forbidden,” Tee was all over it. She’d hated rules. Still did, I could tell, even though she was much better at faking it now.
“Are you ready to go?” I hated to interrupt her; I loved watching her face so animated as she laughed and talked, but we were on limited time.
She smiled at me, and just like the last time she did, it felt like something slammed into my chest. “I’m ready.” She slid closer to me and I wrapped her up. I had to touch her. It was a need now, and one I expected would only get worse as time went on.
Jacob and Justice studiously ignored each other as they moved closer. The silent feud they had going on was probably going to explode in their faces sometime soon, but for now they were perfecting the ignoring each other thing.
Opening the step-through, I quickly ushered the others in before I followed. On the other side was an empty white room. “Take your shoes off,” I warned before I quickly shed my boots, dropping them against the wall in what was clearly a designated shoe section.
“What is this room?” Tee asked, looking around. Her eyes were wide as she took in the starkness.
I shrugged. “Brady is a bit of a germaphobe, mainly with shoes. He doesn’t trust where you’ve walked. Or that’s at least what he says. Try not to touch anything, and we’ll be all good.”
She attempted to cut off her grin, but I saw it. Tee would probably be internally laughing the entire time she was around the fey, but I understood that his obsession was out of his control, and I accepted him for what he was: a loyal-to-the-death friend that I could always rely on. If having that sort of friendship meant putting up with some quirks, I would gladly accept that.
“Brady,” I called, and a door appeared in the previously doorless room.
I went through first, because it was in my nature to want to assess danger before my friends or family faced it. That urge was especially strong now that I had a true mate.
Brady waited on the other side, shifting from foot to foot, his hands wringing in front of him. His smile was strong and genuine though. “Louis!” he said with force, rushing forward to me. He stopped himself just before touching me though, because he didn’t like to touch. “I’m so happy to see you.”
His white-blond hair was shaved very close to his head, because he felt the cleanest that way, and he wore loose-fitting white cotton pants with a matching shirt. His startling blue eyes were fixed on mine, and he looked happier than the last time I saw him.
“Brady, I’m so grateful that you allowed me to open a step-through here. The president probably wouldn’t appreciate me opening one into the White House.”
His laugh was nervous, and his words were fast and light when he spoke. “Oh no. No way at all. He would be very angry. I have heard from the interns there that he is in a frenzy learning of supes and everything we entail. This is an important meeting, Louis. So much rests on it.”
I nodded, worry pressing on me. I hated walking into situations where I had no clue what was going to happen. Usually I was prepared for anything, but even my guild contacts had no idea what the president wanted with this meeting. He had not spoken to anyone of his intentions.
“Would you like some refreshments while you wait?” Brady asked, looking between the four of us. He offered out of politeness, but I knew he was stressed that one of us would actually take him up on it.
“No, we’re good,” I answered before anyone else could. I paused then as I received a time for our meeting. When the voice faded from my mind, I straightened. “Looks like he wants us there straight away, so we’ll head out now, Brady. It’s a twenty-minute walk to the White House.”
Brady clasped his hands together tighter, nodding over and over. “Yes. Yes. No worries.”
He led us through a very simple white house. He had only the essentials he needed for survival, and everything was clean enough to eat off. I wasn’t sure the last time Brady had left his house, relying solely on guild members to keep him fed. He waved us off at the door, and we stepped out into a small courtyard garden, which faded away the moment we left his property. All of our shoes were sitting nearby on the pavers, and we pulled them on quickly.
“Holy shit,” Justic
e said when she was done, her eyes darting from the gray sidewalk to where the garden had just been but was now not visible at all.
“He’s a little paranoid,” I said with a chuckle. “But loyal to a fault.”
No one said anything more; we all got the loyal thing. Tee pressed into me, and I imagined the freedom just to haul her into my arms and disappear somewhere. To love her like she deserved, to worship her body in the way I dreamed of, to crush our souls tightly together so both of us could feel the full effects of the mate bond.
But unless I fixed this huge fucking problem, there would be nothing like that in our future. I would be putting out fires and fighting the human government for years.
“So the meeting is when exactly? Who is feeding you information?” Jacob wanted to know.
I met his startling fey eyes. They had changed slightly now that he was dragon as well as fey, but there was no denying the unusual color. “I’ve left open some lines of communication between myself and one of the guilds. He is relaying information to me from the president. Also, the elders are coordinating it all.”
Jacob shook his head. “The power you wield is stupid. I hope you know that.”
I shrugged but didn’t argue. It was stupid, but I was used to it now. As long as I never went dark again, the world should be fine.
The streets grew more crowded the closer we got, and when we saw a small vendor on the side of the road selling hot dogs and a few other items, all of us stopped and grabbed some food. It had been a long time between meals, and we had no idea how long this meeting was going to last.
Justice groaned. “It’s been forever since I ate human food like this. You know, the nasty kind that will probably give you heart disease or cancer.” Another huge bite followed by another groan. “I’ve missed it,” she finished, mumbling around her mouthful.
Jacob raised an eyebrow, watching her with fascination. “You don’t have to worry about heart disease or cancer, and in my opinion, you’re enjoying that far too much to give up junk food now.”
She tried to glare, but her enjoyment was too great, so she settled for flipping him off.
Just when we finished our food, I got another message. It was time to go. “We’re ready,” I told them.
We were about to step into a world I was not sure of, so I tucked my mate under my arm, keeping her close to me. “I think it’s best if we all keep our mouths shut,” Jacob said, when we neared the guarded gates. “Let Louis do the talking.”
Justice glared, and I hid my smile. It had been pretty clear who he was talking about, and she would no doubt get revenge on him sooner or later. When we reached the guards, I explained we had a meeting inside. They asked for our names, and took a long time checking everything before they searched us all thoroughly and allowed us to enter.
“Did he think we were going to sneak in a human weapon?” Justice scoffed under her breath before sneering at Jacob when he mimed a zipped lip at her.
Guards remained with us the entire walk toward the White House, and I wasn’t surprised to find more lingering around the edges, including a few snipers on the roof. I sensed the target on my back, but since I could disable everyone there in a fraction of a second without even breaking a sweat, I allowed them to think they had the upper hand.
The aim was to not start a war, no matter how much they pissed me off.
When we were inside, armed guards surrounded us, and they were not even remotely discreet about it. Tee shot me a small smile, and I knew she was thinking the same thing as me. Humans were always waving their guns around trying to figure out whose was bigger. There were better ways to get what you wanted, but clearly the president was going for the intimidation factor.
“Hurry up,” one snarled near Tee, and my fingers twitched as I thought briefly of sending him flying across the room. If they kept waving guns in my mate’s face, they were soon going to realize how outmanned and outpowered they really were.
Leveling my eyes on the one who was still far too close, I stared him down. It took less than a minute before he backed up, and then I pushed down my darkening energy, continuing to walk forward. The president waited for us in the Oval Office, and there were upwards of fifty armed guards there. I could see by the cold and calculating looks in their eyes that these were highly trained in their field. Navy SEALs. SWAT. Special Forces. You named it and the president had it surrounding him right now.
He looked quite nervous behind his desk, fingers steepled in front of him. There was no paperwork or anything else close by, just a cleared desk separating us. I waved a hand, and there were a lot of tense jaws as fingers tightened on their guns.
“There is no need for this,” I assured him, moving much slower now so as to not startle them again. “We’re here to ensure peace remains between our people. Definitely not to start a war.”
A tic began in the president’s jaw as he opened and closed his mouth a few times. Finally he spoke. “You’re the … magic one?”
John Caine was an older man, nearing his late sixties, but he’d stayed trim and fit, with very few lines around his eyes. The fear he was displaying now though spoke of a weakness in his soul, and that never boded well for the leader of people.
“I am a magic user,” I said calmly, leaving my hands where they could see them. I had most of my attention on the man before me; the rest was reserved for Tee. Keeping her safe was my number-one priority. “I’m also the chosen representative for the supernatural people.”
He flinched. Minutely, but it was there. He didn’t like to hear our race spoken about so casually. “I’m surprised you have so many humans in the room. What if they talk about this?” I asked.
He shook his head. “If any of them mention this day, the penalty is death. And not just death for them, but also their families.”
No wonder there were multiple grim faces in here. Tee spoke up, her voice cold as she glared at him. “Because you’re weak, and you fear what you don’t know, you would threaten innocents?”
He looked taken aback, especially when he stared at her beautiful, flawless face. “I … I’m the president. I must ensure my safety. My country’s safety.”
Her glare didn’t falter, and he almost shrank back against it. “What are you?” he whispered.
“Sorceress,” Tee said with pride. “Magic user, just the same as Louis.”
The president’s eyes flicked to me for a moment before they went back to Tee. “You’re very beautiful,” he said slowly, almost mesmerized. “Like an angel, or a fairy. Far more beautiful than a human woman.”
A low growl ripped from me, the darkness pushing my possessiveness up another notch. “Why did you call this meeting? My elders said that there were very few humans who noticed the spell that briefly revealed our existence. We have no reason to be here today.”
Especially since there were now a ton more humans that knew, and no matter the threats, people always talked.
“I need to gain control of this situation,” he muttered, before finally standing. He was half a foot shorter than me, and he didn’t like that, but he held his ground. “I cannot have beings that I cannot control running around my country.”
I let out a low rumble of air. Exactly what I thought was going to happen. It was about to be a pissing contest. “We have existed side by side with you for centuries,” I told him bluntly. “There was never a time humans were here without supernaturals. It started with the ancient Atlanteans, and then it was the fey, when most of us crossed over. You have nothing to fear from us; we aren’t about to start controlling humans now.”
The president seemed to think on those words, watching me closely. As if he needed the distraction, he turned to Jacob and Justice then. “What are you two?”
Jacob grinned, but it wasn’t a nice smile. It was one that promised death if this fucking idiot didn’t rein himself in. I wondered what the protocol would be if Jacob did actually rip the president’s head off.
“We’re fey,” he said shortly, smoothin
g back his blond hair. “Elemental in nature, we can control fire, wind, water, air … among other things.”
Someone close by started murmuring, saying something about movies, but they cut that off as soon as the president glared in their direction. He then faced us again before walking closer, as if to prove his own bravery. He leaned back on the front of his desk, parting his arms. “What would you have me do?” he said softly. “Just allow you all to go back to your lives? To have an entire section of supernaturals living in America, not paying taxes, not participating in our country, not … protecting our country.”
And that’s when I realized what he wanted. What this entire meeting was about.
The president wanted to build an army. He wanted supernaturals to go to war for him.
Before he could say another word, I released Tee and let my power pour from my hands. It arced between my palms in bolts of lightning. Dozens of guns were suddenly firing at us, but a second burst of power shot a shield around us, blocking any attack. The president remained on the inside of our shield, his face drawn in terror as he looked around, realizing the position he’d put himself in.
My magic continued to shoot back and forth, and I had to admit, a lot of it was for dramatic effect. Because I had a fucking huge point to make.
“We will go to war for no one,” I said quietly, stepping closer. He shied back, halfway up his desk now. “If you try to use your influence to make that happen, I will end you where you stand and deal with the consequences of that later.”
He choked. “You’ll be hunted.”
I shrugged. “Right now I’m prepared to negotiate, because I don’t want a war. But I have all the power here; you need to remember that.”
My energy didn’t want to go back inside. Ever since the darkness, it had been so much harder to control, but with a little help from Tee I pushed it down. The four of us were eyeing the president closely; his normal skin color had paled to something almost sickly.