Page 84 of Twist of Fate

They found the others waiting in a small receiving chamber near the edge of the castle. Zer stood beside Keir with Avaneel settled in his hair. Asterius paced near the wall, apparently incapable of preparing for danger without making everyone else watch him move. Tyson waited at the center of the room.

“The property is an office maintained through one of the crown’s human intermediaries,” Tyson explained. “It has no connection to Hale, Luke, or either exchange location. My contacts have searched the building and found no unexpected surveillance or signs of intrusion.”

“They know what to look for?” Luke asked.

“They know how to identify human surveillance. Connal will need to examine the location for magic once we arrive.”

Luke nodded. That was the best they could do without exposing the site by sending someone magical ahead of them.

“How many ways out?”

“Two stairwells, a bank of elevators, and access to an attached parking structure. The office occupies one end of the floor, so no one can approach without crossing a monitored corridor.”

“Building security?”

“Under our control.”

That earned Tyson a longer look. Luke still didn’t know precisely what the fae did in the human realm or how much influence Silenus maintained there, but Tyson had secured an anonymous office, cleared the building, and taken control of its surveillance in less time than most people needed to arrange lunch.

“You do this often?” Luke asked.

“Not this specifically.”

Asterius smiled. “He enjoys being mysterious.”

“I enjoy completing necessary tasks without explaining each one to you.”

“That too.”

Zer interrupted before Asterius could continue. “Who enters the office?”

“All of us,” Luke said. “Until Connal checks it, we don’t know whether the location is as clean magically as it is electronically. Once we’re inside, Tyson and I will determine how to contact Hale. The rest of you can secure the approaches.”

Connal moved to Luke’s side. “I remain with you.”

Luke had expected nothing else. “You remain with me.”

Tyson gave Connal the location, along with a description of the office and the room where they needed to arrive. Connal raised one hand. Magic gathered beneath his palm, spreading outward until the air opened before them.

Connal stepped through before Luke could move. He stopped on the other side, his head tilted slightly as he examined something Luke couldn’t see.

“Well?” Luke asked.

“No magic beyond my own. No containment structure.”

Only then did Luke cross.

The portal opened into a windowless conference room. Gray carpet replaced the stone beneath Luke’s feet, and the sudden scent of stale coffee assured him they had returned to the human realm. A long table occupied the center of the room, surrounded by rolling chairs that had seen better days. Someone had left a stack of legal pads and cheap pens beneath a wall-mounted screen.

Boring. Forgettable. Exactly what they needed.

Keir entered behind Luke and moved immediately toward the conference-room door. Tyson followed, then Zer with Avaneel tucked into his hair. Asterius came through last, waiting until everyone else had cleared the threshold before joining them.

The portal closed behind him without disturbing so much as a scrap of paper.

Luke assessed the threats he understood.

The conference room had one door leading into the main office suite. Beyond it, a central workspace divided several private offices from a small reception area. Late-afternoon sunlight angled through the windows overlooking the attached parking structure. The elevators opened at the opposite end of the floor and an illuminated exit sign marked the nearest stairwell.