I didn’t need to hear the other person’s voice to guess who it was. Anger and hurt licked at me. If Lukas was concerned about me, why didn’t he call me instead of Faolin? Was the thought of talking to me that abhorrent to him now?
Faolin ended the call and looked at me. “One of us will bring the ward to you later today. It will most likely be a bracelet or something to wear around your neck. Try not to go outside until then.”
“I won’t. Thanks.”
“Thank you for your help,” Dad said, rejoining us.
We said our goodbyes again, and Faolin left for the second time today. Dad and I went downstairs to check on Mrs. Russo and the other residents who were shaken by the storm. As scary as it had been, it was nothing compared to the violent one I’d experienced on the ferry two months ago. I was more rattled by the whole floating thing than the storm itself.
I was unnerved when we checked the news reports an hour later and learned Los Angeles, London, Hong Kong, and Tokyo had all experienced similar storms around the same time. It was no coincidence that these five cities were the most popular in the world for faerie portals. Our storm had set off a citywide panic that had prompted both the mayor and the governor to go on the air to reassure people they were safe.
Two hours after the storm, the White House and the Agency did a joint press conference. Without going into too much detail, they informed the country about an artifact that had been brought here from Faerie, causing some instability in the barrier between the two realms. After telling viewers the object was safely back in Faerie, they assured people the barrier was healing, but there could be more storms until the damage was repaired.
“The worst is over,” said the national head of the Agency during the barrage of questions fired at them by reporters.
I looked over at my father. “Do you believe that?”
“No.”
I rubbed my suddenly cold arms. “Me either.”
* * *
“Are you ready for this?” Dad asked as he reached for the door handle.
I smiled at him. “Are you?”
“Guess we’ll find out.” Grinning, he opened the door, and we stepped into the lobby of the Plaza. It felt like it had been a lot longer than three weeks since the last time I’d been here. I couldn’t imagine what it was like for him coming back after a four-month absence.
There were at least a dozen hunters in the lobby, and all heads turned in our direction. It surprised me to realize I knew everyone there. So much had changed since the first time I’d set foot in this building all those months ago.
A cheer went up, and some of the hunters clapped as they called out to Dad. In the next instant, we were surrounded by his old friends clamoring to welcome him back.
Warmth filled me as I watched him talking and laughing and looking more like his old self than he had since he’d come home. I’d been a little worried it was too soon for him to come here with me today, but this was exactly what he needed.
I spotted Maurice, Bruce, and Trey standing on one side of the room, and I walked over to join them. Maurice dropped by our apartment every day, but I hadn’t seen Bruce or Trey since before the day I’d nearly died from a bullet to the chest. As far as they and the other bounty hunters were concerned, I had been shot in the arm and had taken time off to heal. Outside of my family, the only humans who knew the real story were Maurice, Violet, and the Agency.
“Jesse, good to have you back,” Bruce said as Maurice gave me a one-armed hug.
“It’s good to be back,” I replied lightly. I had been practically floating since I got a call from the Agency this morning letting me know my license had been reinstated. I’d immediately called Levi, who told me to drop by this afternoon.
Trey pushed away from the wall he was leaning against. “How’s the arm?”
“Like it was never shot.”
He gave a slow shake of his head. “I can’t believe you were shot by Davian Woods, of all people.”
My jaw went slack. “How do you know about Davian?” I was under the impression the Agency hadn’t released any details of that day.
Trey smirked. “You should know by now that word travels around here. We heard you found the ke’tain, and Woods tried to take it from you.”
The rumor was close enough to the truth, so I nodded. “Good thing he’s a lousy shot.”
Trey’s eyes widened. “It’s true? You were the one who found the ke’tain?” He whistled. “A hundred thousand dollars. What are you going to do with all that money?”
A hand came to rest on my shoulder, and Dad said, “She’s going to college.”
He moved to stand beside me, and we shared a smile. In the week since his life-changing revelation that Caleb was alive, Dad and I had spent a lot of time talking about the future and making plans. He’d insisted I use the ke’tain bounty for school, which meant I had enough to start college in the fall. Come September, I would be a fulltime student at Harvard University.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about leaving my family after all that had happened. Every time I brought it up, Dad said college was months away and everything would be back to normal by then. I wanted to believe that more than anything.
Trey made a face. “College? I thought you were going to hunt from now on.”
“Harvard,” Dad corrected him proudly. “She’ll keep hunting until the fall.”
Maurice beamed at me. “Harvard? That’s wonderful!”
“You don’t mind her hunting alone?” Trey asked.
“I wouldn’t say that.” Dad smiled at me. “But Jesse’s proven more than capable of taking care of herself. And things seem to have calmed down here now that the ke’tain is back in Faerie.”
“If by normal you mean except for the storms.” Bruce’s voice was laced with resentment. “How could they have kept that from us?”
His anger was justified. Maurice had told Dad and me the bounty hunters were furious they had been left in the dark. They understood why the Agency wanted to keep it from the general public, but this vital information should have been shared with the hunters. The Agency’s actions had created a layer of tension between them and the hunters, who now viewed them with distrust.
Guilt gnawed at me. I’d learned the truth about the storms from Lukas, but I hadn’t told anyone. Thinking back, I wasn’t sure why I’d kept it to myself. And now the Agency and I were keeping another secret from my fellow bounty hunters. How would they react when the news of my conversion came out?
The elevator dinged, and I looked over to see the Mercer twins walk out. When Adrian saw us, he poked his brother, and the two of them headed our way.
“Are those Joe and Leah Mercer’s boys?” Maurice asked. “I think the last time I saw them, they were in middle school.”
Dad nodded. “They’ve been hunting for two years.”
“Lord, I feel old.” Maurice rubbed the back of his neck. Dad and Bruce laughed.
Aaron and Adrian exchanged hellos with us, and then Adrian grinned. “We just landed our first Four from Silas.”
“That’s awesome!” I fist-bumped him.
“We did a few Fours with Mom and Dad, but this is our first since we went on our own,” Aaron said.