“I suppose that depends.” His voice was tight, as though he were holding on to his emotions by a thread. “Do you consider being named the new Master of the Libra Guild a good enough explanation?”
Silence filled the room, seemingly pushing every bit of oxygen from the enclosed space. Mind racing a million miles a minute, Mina tried to pin down which of the dozens of questions she wanted to ask first.
Maggie beat her to it. “You’re the new Libra Master?”
“Yes.” The short, clipped answer did nothing to reveal how he felt about this sudden turn of events.
“Well.” Sitting back in her chair, Maggie tapped a finger on the top of her desk. “That is a good explanation, indeed.”
“When?” The question burst out of Mina, and once it did, the dam was broken. Twisting around in her chair so she could look in his face, the questions came pouring out of her. “How? Was there some kind of test? Did you know before this morning?”
“It’s…complicated.”
“We have time.” She grinned up at him. “And you owe me for making me worry myself sick over you all morning.”
Regret flickered across his features as he took her hand and lifted it to his lips. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I honestly thought I’d only be there a few minutes and by the time I realized what was going on…”
“Wait, so did they like, trick you into this? What happened? Wait, let me record this.” Swiping up to unlock her phone, she opened her recording app and placed it on Maggie’s desk before pulling her notepad out of her bag. When she glanced up and found him still standing off to the side, staring at her, she gestured to the second, still-empty visitor’s chair. “Sit, so the recorder can hear you.”
One of his eyebrows kicked upward, but he moved toward the chair without protest. Pausing beside her, he leaned down and whispered for only her to hear. “You’ll be having lunch with me, at my house, little girl. Someone needs to be reminded that she isn’t in charge.”
Straightening, he settled in the chair beside her, his expression calm and serene as if he hadn’t just threatened to…well, she wasn’t sure exactly what hehadthreatened to do, but she had a feeling it didn’t bode well for her backside.
With a quick, silent prayer that her cheeks weren’t reflecting the embarrassment and the arousal coursing through her body, Mina cleared her throat and leaned over to hit the button to record. After a quick introduction and the obligatory request for consent, she dove right in.
“All right, Mr. Banks. You recently learned you have been chosen as the new Master of the Libra Guild. When were you notified of your new role?”
“It was confirmed this morning, when I visited the Guild headquarters for what I thought was a simple interview.”
Cyrus made a habit of choosing his words carefully, and her brain latched onto one in particular. “Confirmed? Was there some indication before this morning that you might be chosen?”
Other than a slight frown, he didn’t give any indication the question bothered him. “Yes.”
Shoving down the anger threatening to boil over again, she pushed. “What kind of indicators were there?”
“I received an email yesterday asking me to come in for an interview. The way the email was worded, it seemed as though they were simply interviewing all the Supremes to see who had been chosen.”
“And that was it?” Her reporter gut was telling her there was more. “There were no other hints? Signs from the gods?”
As soon as the words left her mouth, his cheeks darkened and he shifted in his chair.Gotcha.
“I would prefer to keep the details to myself, Ms. Ouranos.”
“Come on, Cyrus.” Putting some cajoling in her voice, she leaned forward. “There’s so much mystery around how the Masters are chosen. Give us a little peek.”
“Off the record.”
It was more statement than question, but she nodded anyway and leaned over to pause the recording. “Off the record.”
“The night before we all learned of Zora’s passing, I had an… I’m not sure exactly what it would be called.”
Excitement buzzed along her veins. “Describe it for us.”
“I was walking back to the office after our dinner, and I passed the courthouse. I’m not even sure why I stopped, really.”
“But you did,” she prompted, impatient for him to get on with it. “And then?”
“The scales. The ones Lady Justice is holding?” At her nod, he continued. “They started…glowing.”