“What the hell?” Petra said. “Do they not have enough going on? That’s such an asshole move.”

Theo leaned forward. “Want me to have Gwen pull her over for bad plates or something?”

“No,” I said with a smile. “But I appreciate the gesture. You’re the best coworkers a girl could have.” I sat down at my workstation, shoulders slumped. “Sometimes it feels like we’re pieces on a chessboard. People using us to get to our parents. To get revenge on our parents. To take the place of our parents.”

Petra made a sound of agreement, and I looked at her. “Did you have drama, too?” I asked.

“Well, sure. I love my parents, but they both have magic. There were plenty of expectations about what I should be able to do. And how much control I should have.”

“ ‘Should’ can do a lot of damage,” I said, thinking of what Breonna had said. You should step aside.

“So,” Theo said, “are all kids of powerful parents or grandparents just destined to have supernatural drama?”

“You mean, did our parents screw us up?” I asked with a smile. “Or did we do it to ourselves?”

Petra snorted. “Objection. I’m not screwed up. I’m just . . . a Sup.”

Theo snorted. “That sums it up pretty well. So let’s get back to work and prove them all wrong. Who wants what?”

“I’ve got Armin,” Petra said.

“I’ll dig into this ward pattern idea,” Theo said. “Maybe there’s some thread that links them all.”

“I’ll continue the eternal search for the sigil,” I said. And turned back to my screen.

* * *

Two eye-blurringly long hours later, our screens began to ring simultaneously. I got to mine first. nac pack hq. cpd needs assist.

My first reaction was concern about whether Connor was okay. Which Roger anticipated.

connor not involved. no injuries—yet.

That was something. But I had a feeling I knew exactly who was causing the problems.

SIXTEEN

Theo and I drove to Ukrainian Village; Petra would stay at the office and keep working on the demon. Alexei was with Lulu, so I sent Connor a message en route: where are you?

helping with a delivery, he said. driver forgot a pan of beans. where are you?

Catering parties in Chicago was a big part of the Pack’s food business. And it meant Connor wasn’t involved in whatever was going on, which was a relief. Although probably not to him.

on way to nac pack, I messaged. ombuds got call from cpd needing assist. situation unknown.

There was a pause that made me think he was swearing, turning a vehicle around, or hustling to get the job done. twenty minutes, he promised.

It took nearly thirty for us to reach the headquarters building, and we hit a standstill two blocks away. We could hear the noise from there, and found its source to be a two-block-long morass of shifters and magic leading back to HQ.

We don’t have time for this, I thought, fury rising, and knew Connor was being played. Again.