“It’s good,” Jess assured her.
Val sighed as she straightened. Jess slammed the cage door, and the dog raised his head as Val stepped back. He only gave one quiet whine, but the sound followed her into bed that night.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Val put her tired legs on the couch and raised her coffee mug to her lips. It was extra strong. She’d returned home at midnight, and it was seven-thirty now. She had to leave soon if she was going to get Blair and Yuka to work by nine.
Val sipped the coffee, relishing the bitter kick on the back of her tongue, then picked up her phone and dialed the number labeled HRM Queen Julia.
The queen picked up on the second ring. “Hello?”
Someone screamed their lungs out in the background—likely a tiny princess with a penchant for setting herself and her surroundings on fire.
“Uh, is this a bad time?” Val asked.
“My toddler just caused a small earthquake, and the breakfast table fell into the resulting chasm,” the queen informed her calmly.
“Oh, shit,” Val observed.
“I’ve had worse mornings.” Julie laughed.
“I’ll call you back,” Val offered.
The queen snorted. “Trust me, my day seldom gets less chaotic as it goes on. Hold on a second.” Her words grew muffled. “T? Taylor! Watch out. She’s going for my coffee again. You know how that ended last time.”
“Lilli!” King Taylor groaned in the background.
“Okay, it’s cool. The husband is wrangling the toddler. What do you need, Val?” Julie asked.
Val cleared her throat. “Nothing, Your Majesty. The question is more about what you need from me.”
“That babysitter from The Incredibles. I’d like to hire her.” Julie sighed.
Val blinked. “What?”
“You haven’t seen it? Make the time, and watch the second movie, too. I feel so seen.” The queen sighed. “Wait, you were asking me something. Sorry. I haven’t had coffee yet. T! Honey! Watch the curtains!”
Flames whooshed in the background, followed by the frantic hiss of a fire extinguisher.
“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.”
