Rhys made a quick stop at R&V bar. He hadn’t planned on going there, but the events from minutes ago made him need a drink. The woman behind the counter froze mid-pour when she looked up and saw him.“No way.” She breathed.“Hey, Priya.” Rhys said.Priya set the bottle down slowly.Her eyes swept over him, the suit, the posture, the sheer presence of him now compared to whatever ghost of a man had gone to prison five years ago.“Last I heard, you were still in prison.” She said. “And now you walk in here looking like you own a bank.”“Things changed.” Rhys replied while taking a seat.“No kidding.” She leaned over the bar, studying his face like she was checking for a trick. “You look good, Rhys. Like really good. Prison usually wrecks people. You came out looking like you upgraded.”Rhys laughed softly. “Depends on who you ask.”She laughed back.“Sit. Drinks are on the house tonight.”She bit her lips and exhaled.“I heard what happened with Alisha. How she betrayed you. That sn

“Please young master, let me go.” The girl begged. Rhys didn’t move his grip. “Not until you answer the question.” And why was she calling him young master? “Mera.” She said finally. “My name is Mera.” “That’s not an answer.” “It’s a start.” She pulled against his hold, testing it, and when it didn’t budge, she exhaled sharply instead. “I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here to talk.” Something about the certainty in her voice made him loosen his grip, just slightly, enough to let her breathe without letting her run. “Then talk.” “I’m part of an order. Older than any government you’ve ever heard of. We are Mages, hidden in plain sight, pulling strings behind the world your kind thinks it controls.” “My kind?” Rhys asked. “The ones who don’t know what they’re looking at. Which, until recently, included you.” She said. Rhys chuckled. “This is bullshit.” Rhys said, releasing her wrist entirely and stepping back. “A secret order? Only a handful of people possess m

By the time Rhys woke up, Anna was already out.Rhys sighed as he remembered the events of the previous night. A lot had happened.As Rhys was pulling on his jacket, a text jumped into his phone.[Rhys. Please come see me today. It’s important.]: Mom.There was simething quietly alarming in the text. Coupled with the fact that she was hiding something, Rhys’s curiosity peaked. He was halfway to the door when it opened without a knock.Sera Longwater stood in the frame, dressed in a simple green flowery dress. She smiled at him.“Leaving already?” She asked, stepping inside before he could answer, closing the door softly behind her.He fixed his eyes on her.“I have something to attend to.” He replied to her.She smiled again. “Of course.” Sera moved closer.There was something careful and deliberate in the way she crossed the room, the way her fingers found his beard and stroked it gently.What the fuck was happening? “You’ve done so much for this family already. For Anna…”“I was

The estate sat at the end of a quiet, tree-lined road, iron gates swinging open before the car even came to a full stop.Gloria pressed her face to the window like a kid. “Rhys, is this it? Is this where we’re staying?”“Looks like it.” Rhys said, though even he hadn’t fully processed the scale of the place yet, the manicured lawn, the stone fountain out front, the house itself rising two full stories with windows that caught the afternoon light like something out of a magazine.Anna was already waiting on the front steps when they pulled up, arms crossed loosely, a small, satisfied smile on her face.“Well?” She said, as the family spilled out of the car, Luke’s jaw actually dropping, their mother gripping the doorframe of the car for support, overwhelmed.“This is incredible, Anna, but…” Rhys trailed off, doing the math on monthly rent for a place like this, numbers that didn’t make sense for any kind of lease he’d been expecting. “What’s the actual arrangement here?”“There isn’t o

By morning, the study had been scrubbed clean of blood. Rhys sat across from the head of Longwater security, a tired, thorough man named Okafor who’d clearly been awake all night going through files. “Her name was Delia Marsh.” Okafor said, sliding a folder across the table. “Hired fourteen months ago. References checked out. Background clean. On paper, she was nobody.” “And off paper?” “Off paper, we found this.” Okafor pulled a small burner phone from an evidence bag, the screen cracked but intact. “Wiped clean, mostly. Except for one number she called twice in the last week. Both times after midnight.” “Did you trace it?” “Dead end. Prepaid, untraceable, purchased in cash.” Okafor rubbed his eyes. Rhys could see he was tired. “Whoever’s behind this isn’t sloppy, sir. They vetted an employee for over a year just to get one shot at Mr Longwater. That’s not improvisation. That’s a carefully planned attack.” Rhys turned the phone over in his hands, something cold settlin