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saw that thing fly into the Quad, I had to do something.”
    I froze. “Wait, you saw it fly in? It didn’t materialize until it snatched up Katelyn.”
    Piaras’s brow furrowed in confusion. “I could see it.” He leaned forward and looked around me at Talon. “Could you see it?”
    “I heard it.” The goblin wrinkled his nose. “I sure as hell could smell it. But no, until it popped up over our heads, I couldn’t see it.”
    “Vegard couldn’t even see it,” I told Piaras. “And I could only see it because . . .” I didn’t want to finish that sentence, at least not out loud. I didn’t know it for sure, but I strongly suspected that my demon-sighting ability was the Saghred’s doing. I had a link with the Saghred; Piaras didn’t. So what did Piaras have that a senior Guardian, a highly trained, elite magical warrior, didn’t?
    Piaras turned his face toward me and away from the squad room. “You think you could see it because of the you-know-what?” His voice was barely audible.
    “I suspect so, yes,” I told him. “And you seeing it is probably just another talent you didn’t know you had.” I didn’t believe it for a second, but I didn’t want Piaras thinking otherwise.
    And speaking of manifesting new talents, there was the not-so-small matter of Talon needing to come clean with his father.
    “Does Tam know you can do what you did?”
    Talon winced. “I think he’s starting to suspect there’s more to me than meets the eye. Are you going to tell him what happened?”
    “No, I’m not. Unless you don’t do it first.”
    “But—”
    “Talon, there were witnesses,” I told him point-blank. “Hundreds of them. Tam will find out, if he hasn’t already.”
    Talon was a half-breed, and that was reason enough for the old blood of both races to despise who he was, what he was, and the very fact that he existed. The kind of power he’d thrown around today wasn’t about to change anyone’s mind. Talon was probably in more danger than he’d ever been in his young life—and the kid didn’t have a clue. He had to know there’d be rumblings, but not that some of the Conclave would be calling for his blood—and his head. Especially considering who and what his father was.
    Talon thunked his head against the back of his chair and hissed a chain of obscenities in Goblin. I had to admit, if you needed to do any quality swearing, Goblin was the language to use.
    Then Talon turned on the charm and grinned slyly, fangs peeking into view. “You of all people should know what a burden it is to be gorgeous and a magical prodigy. People just don’t understand.”
    “You didn’t answer my question,” I said blandly. “Are you going to tell Tam?”
    The kid’s grin widened. “I’ll tell him if you’ll give me that big, wet, sloppy kiss.”
    “No kiss, and you’ll tell him anyway.”
    His aqua eyes glittered devilishly. Damn, but he looked like Tam.
    “You’re no fun,” he told me.
    “Yeah, kid, that’s the burden I carry.”
    Phaelan came out of Sedge Rinker’s office then and slouched in a chair next to Piaras. His body language said he was calm and confident. The twitch in his left eyelid said otherwise. My cousin, the scourge of the seas of seven kingdoms, was in the same room with at least fifty sworn officers of the law. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t broken any laws today (at least not that I knew of). When your daily life was steeped in as much criminal activity as Phaelan’s was, there was always someone somewhere who wanted your neck in a noose for something. His eyes flicked to a bulletin board covered with wanted posters. He mouthed an obscenity and quickly looked away.
    I looked at the board. Yep, one of them was Phaelan. I’d seen a lot of wanted posters of my cousin. Unlike most of them, this one actually bore a resemblance. Kind of.
    I chuckled, as did Piaras.
    “Shut up!” Phaelan’s teeth were clenched, his lips didn’t move, and words still came out.