The Roth family had steered clear of Keeper politics, focusing on the economic strings their kind liked to pull. Montauk’s distance from any of the sacred sites also kept the Roths out of the bloodier side of Keeper affairs. Logan hoped that meant this place and its inhabitants weren’t on the Searchers’ radar. He felt safe enough to stay in Montauk. For now.
The waterfront estate was too modern for Logan’s taste. He preferred residences that recalled the grandeur of Europe, and a time when the notion that all people are created equal was known to be hogwash. He couldn’t deny, however, that the mansion and guesthouses offered every comfort and were architecturally stunning, with their clean lines and airy rooms.
Though they’d elected to receive their education via private tutors rather than enroll at the Mountain School—the Roth twins subscribed to the popular East Coast idea that the world ended west of the Mississippi—Chase and Audrey had long been friends with Logan. Their father, Weston Roth, had partnered in investments with Efron Bane for over a century. And Logan and Efron had visited the Roths’ Montauk home often.
The two men had a natural affinity that Logan supposed was due to their shared origin story. Both originally human, Efron and Weston had been elevated by their wives to join the ranks of the Keepers. Though his father was too powerful for any of his peers to publicly disparage him, Logan knew that an elevated Keeper was considered somehow lesser than those who could claim the birthright.
Logan half agreed with that sentiment. Though he was happy to be his father’s heir, Logan’s pride derived from his mother’s ancestry. Her bloodline could be traced back to Eira: the first Keeper.
Not that it mattered. Now that the Rift was closed, there was no such thing as a Keeper. Logan looked at his smooth, unlined hand and slender fingers holding his cigarette. He sighed, wondering how soon he’d show signs of age.
“Still melancholy?” Chase offered a lazy smile. “How can I cheer you up?”
Logan looked away from Chase, ignoring the flirtatious curve of his lips. With silky black hair and olive eyes, Chase would have been a welcome distraction. But Logan couldn’t afford distraction right now. Logan’s gaze flicked back to Chase.
“I’ll think of something,” he answered. Logan didn’t want to fan flames, but neither did he want to smother any spark Chase might be kindling.
Logan supposed that might be the one good thing about having the elder generation of Keepers gone: no more antiquated rules about sexuality. No more lying about who he was. And from the sly gleam in Chase’s eyes, it was clear he counted that fact as a silver lining too.
Pushing her lip into a pout at being ignored by the boys, Audrey said, “I miss Joel.”
Chase groaned, throwing his arm over his eyes. “Not again.”
“Who’s Joel?” Logan asked.
“Her wolf pet,” Chase answered. “Efron sent him to Father to be our bodyguard, remember?”
“Ah, that’s right.” Logan recalled that Joel had been a brawny wolf of the Bane pack. One of the youngest, but still a decade older than the wolves Logan had been set to inherit.
Audrey threw a silk pillow at him. “He was not my pet. Joel adored me.”
“He had to adore you,” Chase replied. “You just chose to believe his sentiments were genuine.”
“How do you know they weren’t?” She flipped her glossy raven ringlets as if to prove a point.
“Because he was a Guardian,” Chase said. He lifted his arm to look at Logan. “Am I right?”
Logan shuddered, remembered the gurgles coming from his father’s throat after Sabine tore it to shreds. He hadn’t revealed the truth of Efron’s demise. It was too horrible to repeat. If there were still Guardians around, representing a similar threat, Logan might have felt compelled to warn his peers. But just as there were no more Keepers, there were no more Guardians.
“Even if you’re right,” Audrey said, sulking, “it was still awful that we had to shoot him.”
“There was a wolf running wild through the house,” Chase countered. “It’s not like we could have released him into the Hamptons.”
“Don’t mock me.” Audrey glared at her brother. “I liked Joel. He was lovely.”
“We could have made him into a rug.” Chase grinned wickedly. “Or stuffed him. You could still have cuddled him in bed every night.”
Audrey jumped up. “That’s vile. I was sleeping with the boy, not the wolf.”
“I certainly hope so. Though if you’re that kinky, I’m kind of impressed.” Chase laughed, nonplussed by Audrey’s sudden pummeling of his chest. Logan began to laugh too. Audrey was neither kinky nor did she know how to throw a punch.
Finally shoving Audrey back onto the divan, Chase asked Logan, “What’s really bothering you?” He paused, drawing a breath. “Money trouble?”
Audrey gasped, narrowing her eyes in warning at Chase.
“No, no,” Logan said quickly, and was rewarded by the tension going out of the room. “Money is never an issue.”
He wasn’t deceiving them. Logan had problems, but none of them were financial. The Keepers were bereft of their magic, but worldly assets they still held in spades. And in terms of net worth, Logan remained among the wealthiest of Keepers. Efron Bane had been shrewd in his investments and solicitous of all the right relationships: finance, politics, entertainment—there wasn’t a place Efron was without connections. Now those strings had been placed in Logan’s hand to pull as he wanted.
“When you called, we thought”—Audrey threw Logan an apologetic glance—“you might need help.”
Logan took a long pull from his cigarette. “I do need help. Just not that kind.”
He didn’t know if Chase and Audrey would understand, even if they were sympathetic to him. It would be easier if his aim was vengeance or sheer hatred. But neither of those motivations matched the stirring in his blood. The sense of loss that followed him no matter where he went.
“Two things,” Logan said. “I need access to your father’s library.”
“You shouldn’t have trouble finding it,” Chase remarked. “It takes up half of the east wing.”
“His private library,” Logan said, tapping ash from the cigarette’s glowing tip.