Minarets jutted into the sky, their spires flying the flags of Y’Elestrial and Queen Lethesanar. Five flights of steps led up to the massive doors guarded by men strong enough to squash a goblin’s head with their bare hands. Paired with wizards, they kept an eye out for magical intruders.

We stopped at the doors to show our credentials, then hurried through the doors toward the wing reserved for the agency. Clerks and scribes scurried every which way, their arms filled with paperwork and scrolls and books. Every now and then another agent would rush by, waving on the fly. We crowded into the briefing room to pick up our notes and assignments for the day.

Menolly grimaced as she was handed a single sheet of paper. “I knew it. Damn it, I wish they’d get off their butts and give me some help.” She glanced around, making sure nobody was within earshot.

“Why bother whispering?” I snorted. “We’re being eavesdropped on anyway. There are plenty of spies around and I have no doubt our supervisors can hear everything we say. Today’s whine is tomorrow’s whipping stick.” I glanced at my own assignment sheet. “Fuck.”

“What’s wrong?” Delilah asked.

“My supervisor wants to see me. Again.” I crumpled the paper.

Menolly shook her head. “Better that than my day. They’ve got me scheduled to sneak directly into the heart of the Elwing Blood Clan’s nest. I’ve been putting it off, hoping they’ll give me some backup. The damned job’s just too dangerous to tackle alone. I think I can wrangle another couple weeks of research but after that…I’ll have to either cave or quit.”

“Maybe they think you’re the best choice for the job,” Delilah said, ever the optimist.

“Don’t bet on it,” I muttered. “I get the feeling they’re deliberately trying to trip us up. You know, force us to screw up so badly they can fire us. That way, we couldn’t lodge a complaint.”

“You really think they’re trying to get rid of us?” Delilah asked.

I shrugged. “Maybe. I do know that the assignment they’ve given me sucks. I’m supposed to find Roche, and all their leads are bogus. If I don’t find him soon, they’ll chalk up another failure on my record and absolve themselves of the problem.”

“You think they might be looking the other way since he’s a member of the Guard? Mother used to call it the good ol’ boy system.” Menolly was even more cynical than I was.

“I have no idea,” I said, stopping as we turned down the hall leading toward the Special Investigations Unit. “Look—what’s that?”

An unused wing of the unit was in the process of being furnished, and the movers were carrying in desks and chairs and an interesting supply of magical instruments. The placard on the wall next to the main office door read OIA.

“What the hell is the OIA?” I asked.

“I dunno,” Menolly said, brushing her hair back behind her ears. “All I know is that I didn’t get enough to eat at breakfast and as soon as we leave here, I’m heading down to the Naori Clipper to snag myself a bowl of chowder and a loaf of bread.”

I came to my stop and blew a kiss to my sisters. “Be good. I’ll see you for dinner. If you get home before I do, tell Cook to start roasting the chickens.” They waved as I opened the door and slipped inside Lathe’s office.

My supervisor was younger than me, and he was on a continual tear because I refused to fuck him. Even though he was cute, work and sex just weren’t a great combo, and besides that, I’d heard about his peculiar habits. I enjoyed kink but I didn’t enjoy pain and humiliation. Apparently, he was adept at both. So I danced around his advances and he kept giving me shit jobs. One of these days, I’d take it over his head, but that would cause a firestorm I just didn’t feel like weathering at this point.

“What the hell’s going on?” I said, marching into his office. He was leaning back in his chair, his feet propped on the walnut desk. His clothing was meticulous, as usual. He narrowed his eyes and slowly lowered his feet, motioning for me to sit opposite him.

“You find Roche yet?” He was mocking me. He knew I hadn’t, and he knew that I wouldn’t be able to without some legitimate help.

“Roche still has friends in the Guard Des’Estar, friends who wouldn’t mind helping him even with the crimes he’s committed. For all I know, you’re in on this sham of an investigation.” I squinted, wondering how far I could push his buttons before he freaked. Not that I really cared, but I didn’t want to disappoint Father by getting myself fired.

Lathe sauntered around the desk, closing the door to the hall. He stood behind my chair and I felt a hand on my shoulder, his fingers gently massaging beneath the straps of my bustier.

“Life could be so much simpler if you’d just learn to compromise,” he whispered, nuzzling my neck. I tried to shake him away but he held my shoulders tightly, squeezing so hard it hurt. “You could go a long ways in the agency, and I’d be a good ally to have.”

“Uh-huh…tell me another one. And my heritage isn’t going to make any difference, as long as I fuck your brains out, right?”

“Little girl, you’ve got a lot to learn,” he said, kissing my ear. “I won’t approve any transfer, promotion, or anything unless you learn to cooperate. And by cooperate, I mean suck my cock. Got it?”

I stared at the floor, cheeks flaming. I loved sex, but this was force coercion. I refused to be pushed. And regardless, I didn’t mix business and pleasure. Father raised us to take pride in our work and do our best. He didn’t raise us to whore ourselves for a promotion.

Shaking off Lathe’s hand, I stood and slowly turned to face him.

“I have an idea.” I slowly jabbed him in the chest with one finger. “Why don’t you go buy a whore down in the Dives? I’m sure you can find someone willing to let you fuck her up the ass or beat her black and blue if you pay her enough. But it’s not going to be me.”

“You’ve just sealed your fate, lovely,” he said, his eyes flashing. For a moment I thought he was going to fire me, or strike me down—he was an accomplished mage—but instead he returned to his seat.

“Either you find Roche in a week, or I’ll make an example of you in front of the whole agency. You’ll be so embarrassed you won’t be able to hold your head up in public after I’m done with you.”

I planted my hands on his desk. “I’ll find Roche, all right. But make no mistake—I’m not doing it because I’m afraid of you. I’ll drag him in because he’s a pervert and a murderer.” And then, because I was my mother’s daughter as well as my father’s, I added, “So take your short, scrawny dick and get it the fuck out of my face.”

As I slammed out of his door, I knew I’d just made one of the worst enemies of my life.

As I headed out of the building, I made my way toward the Collequia. I needed help, and I knew where to get it. Jahn could scare up anyone a girl needed, including spies, wizards, and seers. Until now, I’d been avoiding asking for outside help because of the agency’s privacy policies, but fuck it. Lathe had pushed me too far.

Jahn was behind the bar, dividing packets of opium and kysa—the poor man’s version of the drug. He glanced up as I entered.

“You’re early, girl. Something wrong?”

“My prick of a boss is what’s wrong. You have anything to eat back there?” It was too early for a drink, and my stomach was rumbling.

“Nut bread and cheese okay?”

I nodded and he pulled out a wooden tray that held a loaf of nut bread and a round of cheese.

He tossed me a knife. “Help yourself. I was going to eat that for lunch but I’ll pick up something else.”

I sliced into the fragrant bread, inhaling deeply as the scent of hazelnuts rose in a wisp of steam. The cheese was soft as I sliced into it and spread it on the bread. As I took a bite, the sweetness of the nut meal drizzled down my throat.

“Good.” I licked my fingers. “Who made this? Your wife?”