The cat looked insulted. “I‘m a ferocious guard. No one gets past me. Oh, and don‘t step on my tail, please.”

“Then maybe you need to move your furry little butt out of the way.”

The cat hissed at him. “My beautiful, elegant butt is staying right where it is.”

Impasse. Dacian was looking forward to picking up the cat and depositing her in a nearby trash bin when she uncurled herself, stood, stretched, and yawned.

“On second thought, I‘m tired of sleeping on the floor when I have a nice soft bed waiting for me. Sparkle can hire another intelligence agent to work the night shift.”

“Intelligence agent?” This place got more bizarre by the minute.

“Sparkle wanted me to keep an eye on Cinn to make sure she didn‘t sneak offwith her plants in the dead of night. But I think my shift is finished.” She glanced at him over her shoulder. “Who are you?”

“Dacian.”

Her eyes widened. “Taurin‘s brother?”

He nodded.

“What an intriguing reunion that will be. I mustn‘t miss it.”

“Whatever.” If he were lucky, he‘d have Taurin out of here before any of them knew what was happening.

“Did Sparkle send you?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. You can take the next shift.” She padded toward the stairs, her tail waving in the air.

“And you are?”

“Asima. I hope you like sleeping on the floor. Cinn threatened me with violence if I tried to come into her room.”

Before he could ask her anything else, the cat disappeared. Frustrated, he turned back to the door. Threatened her with violence, huh? His smile returned. He‘d just see about that. He pounded on the door.

No answer. Even if she were sleeping, she would‘ve heard his knock. He glanced around. It was late. He didn‘t want to call attention to himself by shouting through the door at her. Sure, he could get inside in a number of other ways, but he didn‘t want her screaming the place down.

He snarled his frustration. Dacian liked the direct approach. But in this case he‘d go the kinder and gentler route. Focusing, he reached into her mind. “Open the damn door before I blow it off its freaking hinges.”

He felt her horrified reaction right through the door. Okay, maybe he needed to tone it down a little. “Please.”

All he could sense from her was panicked indecision. When in doubt, lie. “Sparkle sent me. She has info about your plants that you need to know.”

Evidently mentioning her plants did the trick, because a few seconds later she flung open the door.

“What about my plants? What has she done to them?” Her eyes were wide and fearful. But the fear was for her plants.