Juniper had often wondered aloud over drinks or pastries whether that hold was because she’d been the only one in the bomb shelter to demand that they keep the doors open for humans to get in. Had gone hoof-to-toe with some of their wealthiest patrons, thinking nothing of the consequences for her career.
Of what it might mean for the first faun to ever grace the stage of that theater to curse out those patrons, to condemn them to their faces for their cowardice and selfishness.
Well, this was what it meant for her.
June slumped into the stool beside Bryce, stretching out her long legs. Another year of waiting in the wings for her chance to shine.
“So who got your shot at Marceline?” The group of principals and veteran soloists rotated through the main roles each night.
“Korinne,” Juniper said, a shade too neutrally.
Bryce scoffed. “You’re twenty times the dancer she is.”
June laughed softly. “No way.”
“Way,” Fury added.
“Come on,” Bryce said, elbowing Juniper. “No need to be humble.”
June shrugged, then smiled at the barista as she handed over a green tea in a to-go cup. “Okay. Maybe twice the dancer she is.”
Fury said, “There’s my girl.” She nodded her thanks to the barista as her own drink was deposited in a ceramic mug.
Juniper pulled off the lid of her to-go cup and blew on the steaming-hot brew inside.
Bryce asked, “Did you give any thought to that offer from the Heprin Company?”
“Yeah,” June murmured. Fury suddenly became very interested in her drink.
“And?” Bryce pushed. “They’re practically crawling to have you as principal.” And so were about three other smaller dance companies in the city.
“They’re great,” June said quietly. “But they’re still a step down.”
Bryce nodded. She got it. She really did. For a dancer in Valbara, CCB was the pinnacle. The distant star to aspire to. And June had been so close. Close enough to touch that glimmer of principal dancer. Now she was in free fall.
“I want to hold out for another year,” June said, putting the lid on her tea and standing. “Just to see if things change.” Pain gleamed in her friend’s large, beautiful eyes.
“They will,” Bryce assured her, because hope was the only thing she could offer at the moment.
“Thanks,” Juniper said. “I’m off. I’ll see you at home later,” she said to Fury, leaning in to kiss her swiftly. When she made to step away, however, Fury put a hand on her cheek, keeping her there. Deepened the kiss for a few heartbeats.
Then Fury pulled back, holding her girlfriend’s stare, and said, “See you at home.” Sensual promise laced every word.
Juniper was more than a bit breathless, her cheeks flushing, as she turned to Bryce and kissed her cheek. “Bye, B,” she said, then was gone into the sun and dust.
Bryce glanced sidelong at Fury. “You’ve got it bad, huh?”
Fury snorted. “You have no idea.”
“How was date night?” Bryce asked, waggling her eyebrows.
Fury Axtar sipped delicately from her tea. “Exquisite.”
Pleasure and happiness quietly radiated from her friend, and Bryce smiled. “What are you drinking?”
“Chai with almond milk. It’s good. Spicy.”
“You’ve never been here?”
“Do I look like the kind of person who goes to tea bars?”
“Yes …?”
Fury laughed, her dark hair swaying. She wore her usual head-to-toe black, despite the heat. “Fair enough. So, what’s this urgent thing you need to talk to me about?”
Bryce waited until she’d ordered her matcha latte with oat milk before murmuring, “It’s about Danika.” She and Hunt might need to talk things over regarding Emile, but speaking about this with Fury wasn’t a step toward anything, necessarily. She could learn the truth without being dragged into Ophion’s orbit, right?
At this hour, only the barista and one other patron occupied the bar. The street was empty save for a few cats picking through piles of trash. Safe enough to talk without being overheard.
Fury kept her posture casual, uninterested. “Does it have to do with Ithan staying with you?”
“How did you even hear about that?” Fury smiled smugly, but Bryce shook her head. “Never mind. But no, that’s separate.”
“He’s always had a thing for you, you know.”
“Um, Ithan had a thing for Nathalie.”
“Sure.”
“Whatever.” How to phrase any of this? “You knew about Danika and the synth stuff. I was wondering if there was anything else you might have been … keeping secret for her.”
Fury sipped her chai. “Care to explain more?” Bryce made a face. “That wasn’t really a request,” Fury said, her voice lethally soft.
Bryce swallowed. And so quietly only Fury could hear, she told her about Sofie Renast and Tharion and the River Queen and the hunt to find Emile and all the power he possessed. About the abandoned boat in the marshes and Ophion hunting for the boy as well. About the potential meet-up location that Danika had hinted at three years ago and the vague mentions of Project Thurr and Dusk’s Truth in those emails between Danika and Sofie.
When she’d finished, Fury drained her drink and said, “I’m going to need something a lot stronger than chai.”
“I’ve been reeling since Tharion told me,” Bryce admitted, voice still low. “But Danika and Sofie definitely knew each other. Well enough for Sofie to trust Danika to find her a potential place to hide, should she ever need one.”
Fury drummed her fingers on the counter. “I believe you. But Danika never hinted at involvement with the rebels, and I never picked it up on my usual channels.”
Bryce nearly sagged with relief. Maybe it hadn’t gone too far, then. Maybe their acquaintance hadn’t been related to Ophion at all. “Do you think the meeting location is the Bone Quarter?” She prayed it wasn’t.
“Danika wouldn’t have sent a kid there, even with thunderbird power in his veins. And she wouldn’t be so stupid as to make it that obvious.”
Bryce frowned. “Yeah. True.”
“As for Dusk’s Truth and Project Thurr …” Fury shrugged. “No idea. But Danika was always interested in weird, random shit. She could spend hours getting sucked into an interweb research hole.”
Bryce smiled slightly. Also true. “But do you think Danika might have been keeping anything else a secret?”
Fury seemed to consider. Then said, “The only other secret I knew about Danika was that she was a bloodhound.”
Bryce straightened. “A what?”
Fury signaled the barista for another chai. “A bloodhound—she could scent bloodlines, the secrets in them.”
“I knew Danika had an intense sense of smell,” Bryce acknowledged. “But I didn’t realize it was that …” She trailed off, memory surfacing. “When she came home with me over winter break freshman year, she could pick out the family ties of everyone in Nidaros. I thought it was a wolf thing. It’s special?”
“I only know about it because she confronted me when we first met. She scented me, and wanted to understand.” Fury’s eyes darkened. “We sorted our shit out, but Danika knew something dangerous about me, and I knew something dangerous about her.”