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“Thank you, Ember. That means a lot coming from you.” Casey grinned at me.
“My dear, do you mind if I abandon you for a couple of hours this evening? Ember, Geraint, and I need to have a business meeting.”
“Oh, not at all. There’s a buffet calling my name. And remember, you’re always welcome to tell me I can’t tag along,” she said. “I’m not trying to take advantage of you.”
“Casey,” I replied with as reassuring a voice as I could manage through my worry for Nic. “You’re very welcome to travel with us. It might even make sense for us to join our acts more formally. We can see how the next few months go. Our meeting is just something we do every now and again. I’m sure Robby will fill you in on the pertinent details.”
Casey twisted around in her seat, eyes wide. “Really?”
“Yeah, Casey. We think you’re great.”
“Wow, okay.”
I just hoped we could keep her safe until things settled, because I did enjoy her company. We fell quiet, lost in our own thoughts, while Robby drove.
It didn’t take long to reach the parking garage for our hotel. Robby found a spot, and we all piled out. Robby took the lead and Geraint fell behind, keeping the three of us women between them. I wasn’t sure if Casey noticed, but Ash did. Fortunately, we made it to the elevator with no issues and crowded inside.
I hated being on edge like this. Robby scanned his key card, and the car went up to our floor. When we made it off the elevator with no incident, I took a deep breath. I wasn’t sure why I’d been worried about that, but if the enemy could drop a power pole on our van, chances were, they could mess with the elevator, too. I wondered if Nic had gotten Dio’s essence.
Ash made like she was heading to her room but gave me a quick look over her shoulder. She’d be back as soon as Casey was out of sight.
Robby gave the lyrist a steamy kiss while Geraint and I rolled our eyes, then we went into our room.
“Nic?” I called, already knowing he wasn’t here.
“Where is our Nightmare Prince?” Robby asked.
“Uh.” I spun in a circle until the connection between us strengthened. “That way.”
Robby’s eyebrows rose. Someone knocked on the door before he could ask me any other questions.
Geraint went to let Ash in.
“Okay, where’s shadow boy?” She looked around.
“We’re not sure.” I hugged myself.
“They didn’t, like, take him, did they?” Ash sank down into one of the chairs.
“I don’t think so. He doesn’t feel distressed, not that I’m very good at this. I just know he’s not here, and he’s getting farther away.”
“I doubt Nic is in trouble. The real question is, why hasn’t he simply slipped through the shadows to meet us here?” Robby replied. “If we need to go to him, I’m going to have to come up with a better excuse for Casey.”
We all stared at Robby for a few seconds. “Why did you bring her?” I blurted.
The jester shrugged. “She asked nicely.”
“Don’t get me wrong. I really like Casey, and I meant everything I said earlier.” I ran my hand through my hair and sighed. “I just don’t want her getting hurt because she got tangled up in our mess. It’s bad enough that Ash is in danger because of us.”
My cousin shrugged, not acting concerned. “I’m happy to help.”
Just then Nic stepped out of the shadows, interrupting anything else I might have to say on the matter.
“Did you get it?” I sprang to my feet and wrapped my prince in a hug.
“No.”
“Why ever not?” Robby asked.
