She paused at an open seating area, surveying the crammed array of tables and the diners hunched over them. “Forgive me if I don’t take those half-lifes at their word. Or want to wait around while Declan and Ithan stare at their screens. Jesiba said the coins will arrive tomorrow, so why not look at alternatives in the meantime? What Danika said … Where the weary souls find relief … Couldn’t that be here, too?”
“Why would Danika tell them to lie low in the Meat Market?”
“Why tell them to lie low in the Bone Quarter?” She sniffed and sighed with longing toward a bowl of noodle soup.
Hunt said, “Even if Danika or Sofie told Emile it was safe to hide out, if I were a kid, I wouldn’t have come here.”
“You were a kid, like, a thousand years ago. Forgive me if my childhood is a little more relevant.”
“Two hundred years ago,” he muttered.
“Still old as fuck.”
He pinched her ass and she squeaked, batting him away, drawing more than a few eyes. Not exactly inconspicuous. How long until the Viper Queen heard they were here? Hunt tried not to bristle at the thought. He had zero interest in dealing with the shape-shifter tonight.
Hunt marked the faces that turned their way, the ones who moved off into the stalls and shadows. “And if this is where Sofie told him to hide, Sofie was a fool for listening to Danika. Though I really doubt Danika would have suggested it as a rendezvous point.”
Bryce glared at him over a shoulder. “This kid stole two boats and made it all the way here. I think he can handle the Meat Market.”
“Okay, buying that, you think he’s simply going to be sitting at a table, twiddling his thumbs? You’re no better than Cormac, stomping around the docks for any sign of this kid.” Hunt shook his head. “If you do find Emile, don’t forget you’ll have Tharion and Cormac fighting you for him.”
She patted his cheek. “Then it’s a good thing I have the Umbra Mortis at my side, huh?”
“Bryce,” he growled. “Be reasonable. I mean, look at where we are right now. This market’s huge. Are we going to search through every warehouse ourselves?”
“Nope.” Bryce put her hands on her hips. “That’s why I brought backup.”
Hunt’s brows rose. She lifted her hand, waving at someone across the space. He followed her line of attention. Let out a low growl. “You didn’t.”
“You’re not the only badass I know, Athalar,” she trilled, approaching Fury and Juniper, the former in her usual all black, the latter in tight jeans and a flowing white blouse. “Hi, friends,” Bryce said, smiling. She kissed June’s cheek as if they were meeting for brunch, then gave Fury a once-over. “I said casual clothes.”
“These are her casual clothes,” Juniper said, laughter in her eyes.
Fury crossed her arms, ignoring them as she said to Hunt, “Gym clothes? Really?”
“I thought I was going to the gym,” he grumbled.
Bryce waved him off. “All right. We divide and conquer. Try not to attract too much attention.” The last bit she directed at Hunt and Fury, and the merc glowered with impressive menace. “Don’t ask questions. Just watch—listen. June, you take the east stalls, Fury the west ones, Hunt the south, and me …” Her gaze drifted to the northern wall, where Memento Mori had been painted. The stalls beneath it—beneath the walkway above—lay within range of the door to the Viper Queen’s quarters.
Fury eyed her, but Bryce winked. “I’m a big girl, Fury. I’ll be fine.”
Hunt grunted, but suppressed any hint of objection.
“That’s not what I’m worried about,” Fury said. Then asked quietly, “Who is this kid again?”
“His name is Emile,” Bryce whispered. “He’s from Pangera. Thirteen years old.”
“And possibly very, very dangerous,” Hunt warned, glancing at Juniper. “If you spot him, come find us.”
“I can take care of myself, angel,” Juniper said with impressive cool.
“She’s a big girl, too.” Bryce high-fived her friend. “Right. Meet back here in thirty?”
They parted, and Hunt watched Bryce weave through the tables of the dining area—watched the many patrons note her, but keep well away—before slipping between the stalls. Gazes slid back to him, questioning. Hunt bared his teeth in a silent snarl.
Moving off toward the area she’d ordered him to sweep, Hunt opened his senses, calmed his breathing.
Thirty minutes later, he’d returned to the dining area, Juniper appearing a moment later. “Anything?” he asked the faun, who shook her head.
“Not a whisper.” The dancer frowned. “I really hope that kid isn’t here.” She scowled at the warehouse. “I hate this place.”
“That makes two of us,” Hunt said.
Juniper rubbed at her chest. “You should talk to Celestina about it—the things that happen here. Not only that fighting pit and the warriors the Viper Queen practically enslaves …” The faun shook her head. “The other things, too.”
“Even Micah let the Viper Queen do what she wanted,” Hunt said. “I don’t think the new Governor is going to challenge her anytime soon.”
“Someone should,” she said quietly, eyes drifting to the Memento Mori on the wall. “Someday, someone should.”
Her words were haunted and strained enough that Hunt opened his mouth to ask more, but Fury sauntered up, smooth as a shadow, and said, “No sign of the kid.”
Hunt searched the space for Bryce, and found her at a stall far too close to the Fae-guarded door to the Viper Queen’s private living area. The towering Fae sentries a mere fifty feet from her didn’t so much as blink at her presence, though. She had a bag swinging from her wrist, and she was chatting away.
Bryce finished and walked toward them. Again, too many eyes watched her.
“She’s got some pep in her step,” Juniper observed, chuckling. “She must have gotten a good bargain.”
The tang of blood and bone and meat stuffed itself up Hunt’s nose as Bryce approached. “I got some lamb bones from the butcher for Syrinx. He goes crazy for the marrow.” She added to Juniper, “Sorry.”
Right. The faun was a vegetarian. But Juniper shrugged. “Anything for the little guy.”
Bryce smiled, then surveyed them all. “Nothing?”
“Nothing,” Hunt said.
“Me neither,” Bryce said, sighing.
“What now?” Fury asked, monitoring the crowd.
“Even if Declan and Ithan can’t find any footage of Emile around the Black Dock,” Bryce said, “the fact that there’s no hint of him here at the Meat Market leads us right back to the Bone Quarter again. So it gives us a bit more reason to even ask the Under-King about whether Emile is there.”
Hunt’s blood sparked. When she talked like that, so sure and unflinching … His balls tightened. He couldn’t wait to show her just how insanely that turned him on.
But Juniper whispered, “A little boy in the Bone Quarter …”
“We’ll find him,” Bryce assured her friend, and threw an arm around Juniper’s shoulders, turning them toward the exit. Hunt swapped a look with Fury, and they followed. Hunt let Bryce and Juniper drift ahead a few feet, and then, when he was sure they wouldn’t be overheard, asked Axtar, “Why does your girlfriend hate this place so much?”