Great. We’d no doubt get along famously since everyone told me I was just like my father, and I thought the pretes had as much right to a say in magical affairs as the wizards. Well, almost as much. “Does he know about me?”
“Only recently, since the borders dropped in October, and he’s been asking a lot of questions. Willem says he’s curious about you, but thinks it’s awkward. If he becomes an Elder, though, he’ll be here in New Orleans for the council meetings. You’re bound to meet him soon; it’s why Willem wanted you to know. They’re trying to pull another council session together for day after tomorrow.”
I snorted. “Somewhere besides the courthouse, I assume.” According to the news, the trials scheduled for the next six weeks were being rescheduled or moved to other venues, and the building had been closed to repair the water damage. We’d have to find another public building to destroy.
“Dunno.” Alex yawned. “Oh, and Lennox is divorced, but you do have a cousin.”
I sat up. “What? Where? He has a kid?”
Alex smiled. “You’re gonna love this. Her name’s Audrey and she’s twenty-three, with physical magic as her dominant skill set.”
Strange way of putting it unless … “She isn’t Red Congress?”
His smile widened. “She’s flunked the congressional exam twice, and is apparently driving her dad crazy. She has a reputation for being undisciplined.” The sexy crease beside Alex’s mouth appeared. “Willem told him it seems to run in the St. Simon family, and I don’t think he was talking about Gerry.”
I slowly formed a solid fist, made sure Alex saw it, and then punched him in the stomach. “Stop laughing.” Which made him laugh harder. “I am not undisciplined. I’m creative. I’m sure poor Audrey is as well.” I liked her already.
Settling back into the warmth of Alex’s arms, I pondered this newfound family. Uncle Lennox sounded like he’d have a serious stick up his backside, but I liked the idea of a cousin, and she was only five years younger than me.
“Do you think he’ll bring her to New Orleans with him?”
When Alex didn’t answer, I noted his steady breathing and raised my head enough to confirm he’d fallen asleep, so I snuggled in again. I didn’t dare go to sleep because I didn’t want a visit from Rand, but I could close my eyes and listen to Alex’s heart beating beneath my cheek and …
I’m gonna get in trouble; I’m gonna start a fight.
Alex and I both sat up, blinking. “What the hell is that?” His voice creaked with sleep.
I leaned over him, wincing at the pain in my ribs. “It’s my phone.”
“What happened to your Zachary Richard ringtone?”
I finally raked my fingers across the phone and got hold of it before Pink started another fight. “It’s part of my new attitude.” I looked at the caller ID. “Uh-oh.”
Punching the screen to put the call on speaker, I said, “Eugenie, what’s wrong?” The clock on the nightstand read one a.m.
“Rand’s on the porch, banging on my door.” She must have held the phone out because a loud pounding sounded through the speaker, along with a strident male voice. It sounded like Rand was shouting in his guttural elf language. Good Lord. So much for waiting until the two p.m. meeting, although I’m sure it was two o’clock somewhere in the world.
Alex had already rolled out of bed and begun pulling on his boots.
“Say whatever you need to say to keep Rand calm,” I told Eugenie. “Alex and I are on the way.”
I dug under the bed for my own boots and tugged on the ugly coat. “You got a gun on you?”
Alex raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, why?”
“Make sure it’s loaded for elf.”
CHAPTER 12
The two-block walk to Alex’s SUV was treacherous. The Quarter lay deserted, odd even for one a.m. on a weeknight, and we didn’t talk as we trudged through at least a foot of snow that had a layer of ice underneath it. The temperature had dropped, and part of what hit my face stung like pellets of sleet.
Mostly, we kept our eyes on the ground, sticking close to buildings so we wouldn’t accidentally tumble off a curb and break an ankle. The sea of white across Royal Street lay flat from building to building, with no street or sidewalk edges discernible except for snow-covered lumps I could only assume were cars.
My head had begun to pound after the first five minutes, and a couple of waves of dizziness had me wondering if the stress was finally getting to me. Mostly, though, my limbs ached and I had an overwhelming urge to lie down. I blamed it on the physical exertion of trying to walk in this mess, because the other option was an impending case of the flu, and I didn’t have time to be sick.
After almost ten minutes, with the big lump Alex identified as his Range Rover finally in view, I stopped trying to keep up with him. He’d gained a block on me and had begun freeing the SUV’s doors from their prisons of snow and ice by the time I caught up.