The Curse (Belador #3)(63)

“You may not think of me as a friend anymore, but I still see you that way. I meant it when I said I didn’t come here to cause you any problems, only to get a weapon to use against the trolls.”

“What trolls?” Kit asked. “Why are you fighting trolls and demons?”

Evalle took a step to the side and turned so that she could keep both opponents in view when she spoke to Kit. VIPER might fry her over saying any more than she already had, but Kit and Isak knew about nonhumans. Continuing to lie to them would only turn their operation into a more dangerous enemy of the Coalition. Maybe, with a little luck, Evalle could show Kit and Isak the value of nonhumans.

“I’m part of an international coalition of unusual beings that protects humans from supernatural predators … like trolls.”

Isak made a nasty scoffing sound.

“It’s true,” Evalle argued. She looked to Kit. “I’ve been doing this since I was eighteen, and the group I’m a member of is sworn to uphold a vow of honor under penalty of death. That includes protecting humans.”

Kit tapped her fingers against each other. “This isn’t the first time you’ve fought trolls, right?”

“No.”

“What’s different now? Why do you need a Nyght weapon?”

Evalle had been right to tell Kit the truth about what she did. The woman was too sharp to play games with and had been fair so far. “There’s a special group of trolls called Svarts that are far more dangerous than regular ones. They’re out of Switzerland. We’re trying to figure out what they’re doing here and protect humans without exposing ourselves.”

“Why do you hide from humans?”

Had that been a trick question? The woman had to know how dangerous it would be to expose nonhumans to their world. Evalle said, “If humans knew about us, then they’d have to know about the nonhuman predators, which would create mass chaos. At that point, the good guys would be hunted along with the deadly ones, and you would end up with no one capable of protecting humans.”

Isak interjected, “We’ve been doing a pretty damned good job.”

Evalle rounded on him. “You have no idea of all the things out there. That Rías in your lockup is just one of many, and humans like your forklift driver don’t even know they can turn into a beast. At least with Alterants we have bright green eyes, but there’s no indication of a human who can shift into a Rías.”

“We can produce plenty of weapons to take those things down.”

Evalle ignored the dark way he’d said “things,” determined to get her point across. “You don’t understand. The Svart trolls are only one of the problems we face every day. The Svarts are a deadly black-ops group with different powers and abilities, plus they can glamour themselves so that you can’t tell one from a human. I fought a Svart last night that was so dangerous it almost killed me.”

Concern flickered in Isak’s gaze for a second, then he shut it down, but that tiny moment of emotion warmed Evalle’s heart. Gave her hope that he might stop hating her someday.

She swung her gaze to Kit, who had a warm, feminine version of Isak’s blue eyes when Kit studied her son, but that same gaze turned back into all-business when Kit looked at Evalle. Kit asked in a pointed tone, “Who will be responsible for this weapon?”

That got a rise out of Isak, stoking his anger back to full force. “There’s no way in hell I’m giving it a weapon—”

A snarl crawled up Evalle’s throat at being called it again, but Kit stood with the speed of a bullet and spoke first.

“Has Evalle ever presented a danger to humans that you know of, Isak?”

Evalle held her breath. Could this mean what she thought? That she might really get out of this alive and walk away with a weapon?

One look at Isak diminished that hope.

A ball of fury wrapped in corded muscle fumed at her. His words rolled out like thunder. “That’s not the point, Kit.”

Evalle frowned at him. “You keep calling your mother Kit. That’s not right.”

Isak broke off the tense glaring match with Kit and stared at Evalle as if she’d spoken another language. “What’d you say?”

Kit chuckled softly. “He’s been calling me that since before he got his driver’s license.”

Heat brushed Evalle’s cheeks. She muttered around the foot she’d stuck in her mouth. “Oh, well, that just didn’t sound right to me.”

“Didn’t you tell me you never knew your parents?” Isak ground out, still not willing to let go of his righteous anger.

“Yes.”

“Then how would you know what was right or not?”

Evalle lifted her shoulders, cutting her eyes to Kit, judging his mother’s reaction—amused?—before she answered him. “It’s what I’ve seen on television and read in books. I thought calling her mom, mother, ma or something equivalent was a term of endearment and respect. I haven’t heard anyone call their parent by a first name.”

Kit walked around her desk, chuckling over something that entertained only her. “I listen to my instincts, and mine are telling me I can believe you, Evalle.” Kit extended her hand again. “Good to meet you. We’ll loan you a weapon—”

Isak growled loud as a grizzly awakened in winter hibernation, but he couldn’t dampen Evalle’s growing enthusiasm over the way this had turned out.