I laughed out loud, surprising myself. ‘I’ve missed you, too.’
He seemed to remember himself and stood back, clearing his throat. ‘Yeah, well. People round here never stop talking about you,’ he said with a tinge of his old gruffness. ‘Makes it hard to forget all the trouble you cause.’
I found it hard to forget, too.
‘When did you come to New York? What happened to Hades?’ I asked. His old bar back in our home city had been his pride and joy.
Dapper grabbed my bag and started to walk me towards a narrow staircase behind the bar. ‘Come on, let’s get you settled in.’
Gray and I followed Dapper past the bar, where Onyx was sitting with a large glass of something toxic-looking in front of him. He raised it as we went by.
‘Anyone tried to kill you?’ he asked.
I rolled my eyes. ‘Not yet,’ I replied.
He shrugged. ‘Blow anything up?’
‘Not yet,’ I said again, fighting the urge to smile.
‘Eh. Still early days.’
I shook my head and kept walking.
‘Think I might stay down here for a drink,’ Gray said, eyeing the pretty blonde bartender as he pulled out the stool beside Onyx and dumped his bag.
‘Suit yourself, but be ready to go first thing,’ I said, knowing I probably wouldn’t see him again before morning.
He gave me a salute and picked up the drink Onyx poured him.
‘So?’ I tried again, walking into the apartment with Dapper. ‘Why the move?’
Dapper flicked on lights as we walked through. The apartment was different from his one above Hades, but it once again showcased his outstanding flair for interior design and love of Italian furniture.
‘I’ve still got Hades,’ Dapper said, taking my bag into a stylish bedroom, decorated in a cream palette with splashes of chocolate and lime. He opened a door to show me the neat en suite bathroom and took two folded white towels from the cabinet below the sink, resting them on the vanity unit.
‘I’ll head back there one day. But I decided to give New York a try for a while. Someone had to watch the girl,’ he continued. ‘Plus, she tried to steal half my books when she left. I figured it was easier to bring the whole lot.’
I smiled to hear Dapper speak so lovingly of Steph. ‘So, you just bought Ascension?’
‘I saw the opportunity.’ He winked. ‘Near-immortal regulars who can seriously hold their liquor make for good repeat business.’ Then, before he seemed to realise it, he had enveloped me in another hug. ‘It’s good to see you, kid. Things just aren’t the same.’
I wriggled free of Dapper’s arms, overwhelmed by the emotion behind his words but also annoyed with myself for my reaction.
Get a grip, Vi.
Dapper gave a small nod as if he understood. ‘You need anything, just yell out. Kitchen’s down the hall if you’re hungry, though don’t get your hopes up. Onyx’s idea of shopping consists of bourbon and Pop-Tarts.’
Actually, a Pop-Tart sounded kind of delicious.
‘So, you and Onyx? You’re happy?’ I asked, surprising myself. Generally, I avoided these types of conversations and I knew Dapper wasn’t a big sharer of personal information, but there was a part of me that was desperate to know.
Dapper stared into space for a time before a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. ‘It hasn’t all been a yellow brick road, if you get my drift, but yes,’ his eyes softened. ‘We’re happy.’
I nodded, pleased that they had one another.
He waited a beat before asking, ‘Do you want to talk about it?’
I knew ‘it’ translated to ‘Lincoln’, and to how I’d run away.
I looked down and unfastened the belt holding my sheathed dagger, setting it on the bedside table before looking back at Dapper. ‘I’d really rather not.’
I sensed Phoenix in my room that night as I tried to sleep. I couldn’t see him. I didn’t need to. I could feel his anxiety but I was already on absolute overload and it was taking all my energy to hold back the cold and constantly keep my walls up.
I could feel his sadness eating away at him and it only intensified my own soul-deep pain. I wondered if we were doomed to feel each other’s agony for all eternity. What a way to live.
‘Just give me tonight, Phoenix. I can’t deal with any more right now,’ I whispered shakily to the empty room.
His presence faded away. Unfortunately the dreams, just like the one I’d had on the plane, did not.
The infirmary was on the level below the main operations, which occupied the top floors of the Academy skyscrapers, and was not far from where Josephine had once held my parents prisoner. It was early and Steph – dressed in a killer pair of apricot skinny jeans and an off-white peasant-style shirt – had met me outside the Academy first thing with a couple of to-go coffees.
God, I’ve missed my best friend.