Page 2

“Martin.” Keir’s low, chastising voice filled the room. “Mr. Delarue is an invited guest.”

Martin’s lips twisted into a grimace. “Apologies, Keir. I will attempt to contain my…misgivings.”

Oh, that so wasn’t what Martin wanted to say. I genuinely grinned. This job was looking increasingly interesting by the second. While I wanted to play with Martin a little more, I needed to get down to business. Turning my attention to Keir, I said, “You’ve got an interesting bit of a mess here.”

Keir’s shoulders rose, stiffening his slightly slumped back. I could see it now, just how exhausted this gryphon was. It took more energy than it should to concentrate on me. “Could you elaborate?”

I shrugged. “I could. Maybe.”

“Typical,” Martin huffed, clearly ignoring Keir’s request to be civil. “Will-o’-the-wisps live to be cryptic.”

The dryad wasn’t exactly wrong. “I won’t argue that.” Martin seemed taken aback at my admission. “But in this case, it’s not so much that I’m trying to be cryptic as I’m not exactly certain what’s here, only that there’s a lot.”

“How much is a lot?” Keir asked.

I hummed while tapping a finger along my chin. “Well,” I drawled, “let’s just say it’ll take a while.”

“That didn’t clear up anything,” Martin protested.

“It wasn’t meant to,” I answered. “I don’t know how long. A week, two…months…possibly a year or more.” I shrugged again. “It’s hard to tell. It will take as long as it takes. Take it or leave it.”

I could see the protest on Martin’s lips. Those protests died a quick death when Keir answered, “We’ll take it. When can you start?”

Two

Martin

Sweet Gaia. I had no wish to challenge Keir’s judgment, but in this case, it was difficult containing my protests. The battle was most likely lost before it began. “He’s probably lying,” I flatly stated. “Grayson will⁠—”

“Gray,” the will-o’-the-wisp interrupted. “You can call me, Gray. All my friends do.” He followed that statement with a cheeky wink that had me seeing red.

“Grayson,” I ground out, barely containing my leaves, “is only saying that because he wants unlimited access to the compound. Will-o’-the-wisps don’t give up what they find. They keep it and hoard their findings.”

Grayson had the audacity to waggle a finger my direction. “Not true. Or, at least, not completely true. It depends on what we find. I mean, if I find a dead body, I’ve no use for that.” He visibly shuddered. “No use at all. I’d give that up in a heartbeat.”

Keir laid a hand on my shoulder, squeezing tight. I took the hint and snapped my mouth shut, my teeth clacking with the force. “If you agree to work for this institution, you must hand over anything and everything you find, Mr. Delarue. That is nonnegotiable. If that is not possible, then I must thank you for your time and kindly ask you to leave.”

I swear, Grayson Delarue had two facial expressions—mischievous grin and smirk. “That’s a harsh request.”

“Not a request,” Keir said, shaking his head. “That’s a hard and fast rule. There are concerns regarding what Tenzen Huxley might have left behind, what he hid within these walls and beyond.”

“I’d say that concern is valid,” Grayson answered, adding another facial expression into the mix—concern. “I did a quick survey while I was waiting.” Elvira was right to come and get Keir and me as quickly as she did. Who knew what this will-o’-the-wisp could have done if left alone longer? “I stand by what I said. There is a lot here. How much of it is tied to Huxley and how much of it belongs to those still living within these walls is difficult to say.”

Understanding hit me like a sledgehammer. I could see the same reaction in Keir when he asked, “You cannot distinguish between the two?”

“Maybe?”

Oh, this creature…

“Don’t get your bark in a bunch. Honestly.” Grayson rolled his eyes. “Obviously, the two of you have no idea how this works. I can’t exactly tell who’s hiding the treasure. Now, with that said, different desires give off varying songs.”

“Songs?” Keir asked.

Grayson nodded. “That’s the best way to explain it. Given time, I’ll probably be able to home in on Huxley’s specific melody. If that’s the case, then I’ll be able to be a bit more exact. I doubt that will be the case in the beginning. Your staff will need to understand that. I’m not a malicious creature, but I won’t deny taking pleasure in the hunt and their ensuing reactions.”

Branches sprouted from my fingers. “In other words, he won’t apologize if he discovers something another would rather keep hidden.”

Grayson snapped his fingers. “Exactly! You’re smarter than you look.”