“Um, I wanted to update you on my current bodyguarding job. I emailed you last week about the two dwarves I’m protecting,” Val reminded her.

“Uh-huh. That couple who makes the amazing beer. How are they?” Julie asked.

Val grimaced. “Not great. This thing runs deeper than we expected. The corporation that threatens them seems to have ties to organized crime in the city.”

“Oh? Hold on one second.” The queen’s words got muffled again. “Don’t put the fire out, T. Natural consequences, remember? Lilli, use your water magic, honey.”

A heavy rush of water preceded the clatter of falling cutlery.

“Nooooo!” Taylor wailed.

“Do you need to deal with that?” Val asked nervously.

“Oh, no. Taylor’s got it handled. Anyway, organized crime, right? Are there any paranormal threats?” the queen asked. “Do you need OPMA backup?”

“No, but thank you. I can handle it myself.” Val thought about the armband shield she was working on. “What worries me is that I will be busy watching over these guys longer than expected. I have to be available for assignments from the Eternity Throne. These dwarves aren’t under threat from paranormals but rather from humans. I can put them in touch with other bodyguards if you’d prefer.”

“That isn’t necessary,” the queen told her firmly. “Blair and Yuka might not be VIPs in the conventional sense, but they’re my people. They’re no less worthy of your protection than a princess or councilor.”

“I know your objective is for me to keep the peace.” Val paused. “That’s why I’m asking.”

“It’s imperative that we keep the peace between humans and the para world, too, Val. That was what made Anne’s mission to the vampires so important. In that case, we protected humans from paras,” the queen told her. “Now, we need to protect paras from humans. Keep doing what you’re doing.”

“Thank you. I appreciate it.” Val’s knotted shoulders relaxed.

“No worries. How’s your pet, by the way?” the queen asked.

Val frowned, thinking about the dog. “How do you know about him?”

“Him? Did you order Fourth to turn into a dude?” Julie squawked.

“What? No!” Heat flooded Val’s cheeks. “Sorry. I, uh, was thinking about something else.” Val cleared her throat. “Tetra’s great. Tetra Dupont…that’s the alias she chose.”

“I’m impressed you got her to choose an alias,” the queen admitted.

“Maybe she’s doing better than expected. She works as a bartender at the Iron Fist and mostly behaves herself.” Val smiled. “Honestly, she hasn’t put a foot wrong. She backed me up in a fight the other day as well, and I didn’t order her to.”

“Excellent.” Relief filled the queen’s tone. “Not gonna lie. The council had plenty of opinions about reintroducing vassalship as a sentence. It would be great if Tetra could be a poster child for my crazy idea.”

Val smiled. “I think it’s going to work out, Your Majesty.”

The queen’s voice bubbled. “It will change the criminal justice system across all realms if it does.”

The queen’s words echoed in Val’s mind that evening. She sat in the office at the Iron Fist, squinting at their new website as she read the content their copywriter had recently emailed to the bar’s official address.

“‘Hip?’” she muttered, highlighting the word. “Who says that anymore?”

She typed a feedback comment, then took a break to stretch her aching neck. Two hours at a desk had given her a sore back.

“Stupid thing,” she grumbled.

She gazed through the open door, watching the bustling trade her business enjoyed tonight. Only a few seats at the bar were unoccupied. Enzo and Tetra hurried from the dishwasher to the bar and back. Jeff stood at the door, hands folded, impassive despite his watchful gaze.

Val tilted her head, her attention piqued. Jeff usually sat at the bar with a club soda, a solid but inconspicuous presence. Has he caught a vibe from this crowd?

She scanned the bar again, looking for a potential threat, and spotted potential victims instead. Three girls sat separately at the bar, drooping over the polished wood with the characteristic floppiness of the inebriated. They giggled through their smudged makeup. Val couldn’t see below their ribs, but their bare shoulders and daring necklines were evident.

Enzo stormed into the office. “Val!” He stopped. “What?”

“Those girls at the bar.” Val nodded toward them. “I was thinking that this world is screwed up.”

“Why?” Enzo asked.

“Because being a skimpily dressed drunk girl out in public shouldn’t make you a target,” Val muttered, “but they are.”

Enzo sighed. “I know. That’s what Jeff’s here for, though. You are here to get that website live.”

“I know, I know.” Val returned her attention to the screen. “Did you come in here to yell that at me?”

“I wanted to know if you’d like a cold beer,” Enzo muttered reproachfully.

“Sorry. Sleep deprivation makes me cranky. I’d love one,” Val told him.

Enzo yelled a suggestion over his shoulder as he left the office. “You should form a team to help you on assignments like this one.”

I work alone, Val thought, then chided herself for being a drama queen.

Movement caught the edge of her vision, and she raised her chin to watch the bar again. A guy wearing a gray hoodie despite the roaring fire moved past one of the three girls, slipping something into his pocket.

Val frowned. “What are you up to, dude?”

She watched as the guy kept moving, sliding through the thick crowd around the bar. No one in the throng noticed him—especially not the next girl, who gleefully grabbed a large beer from Enzo’s tray. She gulped, dropping the fluid in the glass a few inches, then set it on the bar at her elbow.

Gray Hoodie ducked past so quickly that Val barely saw the movement of his hand—a swift dart from his pocket to her glass.

Val tensed, then rose so quickly that the desk chair slammed into the back wall. Jeff raised his chin, trying to see over the crowd. The girl raised the beer to her lips again.

“Hey!” Tetra’s strident tone cut through the clamor. “Asshole!”

The faerie strode to the drunk girl and snatched the beer glass from her hand.

“Yeah, you in the gray hoodie!” Tetra barked. “I’m talking to you.”

Gray Hoodie froze. Val moved to the door, one hand near her dagger, and waited to see how the scene would play out.

“No one at the bar should take a single sip of your drinks!” Tetra thundered, jabbing a finger in the asshole’s direction. “He’s spiking them!”