Hi people who read the new October Daye, Be The Serpent. I just finished it. i’ll like someone to scream about this book with me please.
Each time I think “Okay, Seanan McGuire can’t blow up my mind more” she does it, the mad woman. I screamed into my pillow, spent a lot of time starring at the ceiling and now, I am screaming on Tumblr.
summary: Detective Roy takes on a challenging task… To find Olivier Armstrong’s sword. However, he has a beautiful woman to distract him along the way. Will he, Jean, and Ed be able to find the sword in time, or will they succumb to the conspiracy?
warning: graphic depictions of violence
tags: conspiracy, pining, unresolved sexual tension, private detective au, royai, havolina, mystery, violence, modern au, coffee shops
rated: m | words: 2738
read on ao3
Roy wasn’t fully awake when he felt something poking at his cheek. His mouth twitched upwards at the contact and there was a muffled gasp, but he couldn’t quite open his eyes just yet. A weak groan left his throat, and he tried to move his head away from whatever was irritating him, but he couldn’t go far. He didn’t manage more than a slight twitch.
“Oh my God,” someone breathed. “He moved!”
“Let him rest,” someone else admonished.
“I just wanted to know if he could feel his face,” the first voice argued petulantly.
“Shut up! Leave his face alone!”
Roy’s eyes blinked open but they were completely unfocused. Everything was just a blurry blob. There were shapes and colours blended together, but nothing concrete. His eyes drooped closed, not ready to awaken. With a groan, he tried to roll over, away from the voices. They were too loud. He was so tired. He wanted to sleep. It was tugging at him, trying to convince him to ignore whoever was trying to annoy him, and Roy sighed heavily. His body relaxed and he felt himself drifting.
“Come on, Roy,” a man’s voice beckoned cheerily. He recognized it, but couldn’t put a name to it. “It didn’t take me this long to wake up after mine,” he joked.
“You weren’t shot twice,” a female voice replied dryly.
“You always have to put me down, don’t you?” he sighed.
“Of course, Honey,” the woman replied sweetly.
“We should call you Sleeping Beauty,” the man snickered. “You were always desperate for a napping room at the office.”
“Wha…” Roy’s eyes batted open groggily. His mouth felt stiff as he tried to form a word, but it was a struggle. Every movement was sluggish, not that there were many. His head could only turn a tiny degree left and right, and all he could do was make his fingers and his toes twitch.
“There he is!” Jean grinned.
Roy moved his eyes to his right, blinking a few times to allow Jean Havoc to come into view. “Jean,” he breathed, but failed to finish the end of his partner’s name. It trailed off as his throat cramped. His eyes fluttered closed once more.
“Are you really going to leave us hanging with a greeting like that?” Jean jested. “Come on, Roy, you can do better!”
“Tired,” he mumbled. God, his throat hurt. It was scratchy and kept cramping. He needed it to relax. He needed a drink of water.
“Shut up, Jean,” the woman from before barked. There was a muffled sound of someone hitting fabric with their hands, while Jean protested loudly, sounding pained. “Get out of the way,” she scolded. “Roy?” Her call was soft and welcoming.
His eyes batted open, seeing… Rebecca in his line of vision.
“Hey,” she smiled broadly. “You’re awake! Thank God,” she laughed in relief, her eyes bright and shining in the harsh lights above him. They made Roy squint and close his eyes against them.
“I’m… awake,” he sighed heavily. His eyes stayed closed. The lights of the room were too bright.
“How do you feel?”
“Thirsty,” he croaked.
“Okay, here.” Something cool and hard was pressed to his lips. Opening his mouth, Roy welcomed the sip of water that soothed his aching throat. Some of it dribbled down his chin and onto his chest, but a soft towel was quickly in place to wipe it away. No one commented on it either.
“How are you feeling now?” Rebecca asked.
“Sore,” he groaned. When he’d first awoke his body was entirely numb. Now, as more time was progressing, there was an uncomfortable pressure on his side and a sharp bite of pain every time he inhaled. “Tired.”
“It’s good to have you back,” Rebecca replied. “We’re all here, and we’ll wait until you feel a bit better before talking again, if you want?”
“All?” he asked blearily, his eyes opening.
He watched as Rebecca nodded. To his right, he managed to make out Jean, Rebecca, and Ed, all with relieved smiles on their faces. “We’ll wait for you to feel better, then -”
“Riza?” he croaked as his eyes fought to remain open. “Maes?”
The room was silent, but Roy only realized it after a few moments had passed. His eyes opened and he looked up at Rebecca.
“They... okay?”
“Maes is fine, I promise.”
“And?”
Rebecca wasn’t looking at him, though. Her head had turned to the side, looking away. She jerked her head towards him, then she moved away from his side.
“Becca,” he groaned. He needed to know if Riza was alright. His head turned to his left, beginning his search to see if ‘all’ of them included her.
He didn’t have to look far. Riza was frozen in the doorway. She was apart from the rest of them, clutching the strap of her purse tightly. If she gripped any harder, the strap may be torn in half. She blinked at him. The room wasn’t large, and his vision was still a little foggy after waking up, but he noticed she looked like she was going to cry.
A calm washed over his body and he felt his limbs relaxing further into the bed. She was okay. She was safe. A sliver of relief was snaking through his heart and settling there.
“Hey,” he greeted weakly.
Riza walked over to him. She’d taken a deep breath before moving, and let it out as she moved. She paused at his bedside, looking slightly unsure of herself, but extremely worried as her eyes danced over his body inside the bed. “Are you okay?” she breathed. He could barely hear her.
“I’m awake,” he offered, unable to croak out a reply any louder than a whisper. All he knew was the numbness was present, but slowly lessening. He could sleep for a week with how relaxed his body felt at that moment. Everyone was safe and accounted for.
She met his gaze sharply. Relief washed over her expression. Mindful of all the wires on his bed, and his injured body, she placed her hands on the mattress and leaned down, brushing her lips against his. It wasn’t too deep, just a light peck, but Roy groaned into it. He wanted more, needed more, especially as emotions burst from his chest so quickly, it left him reeling. He wanted to cup her cheek, but all his arms could manage were a tiny shift by his sides.
As she pulled away, Roy saw that her eyes were shining. Her beautiful face blocked out the harsh lights from above, allowing him to look upon her features for longer. He was thankful for that.
“Everyone has gone,” she whispered.
Glancing to his right, Roy saw that the room was indeed empty.
“How long?” He still couldn’t speak much, but she understood what he meant.
“You’ve been unconscious for two days,” she revealed. Pulling away further, Riza sat on the chair by his bedside. He whined when she did so, but he didn’t care that she heard him. Her hand lifted back onto the bed, grasping his hand tightly. He felt the pressure there, but could only make his fingers twitch in response. He wanted to return the gesture, but his body wouldn’t let him. “Do you remember what happened?”
“Shot,” he replied slowly, trying to recall what had happened to him. He grimaced. This was a less than ideal situation to be in. “Did… Kimblee…?”
“He shot you,” she swallowed. “But I don’t know much about that side of things,” Riza revealed. “I don’t know what happened to him. I’ll let the others go into that with you.”
Roy nodded. It was a tiny movement, but he understood. Slowly, his fingers moved further, shakily gripping her hand. He grunted with the effort, finally giving Riza's hand a slight squeeze.
“I… I heard it on the news.” She bit her lip and inhaled deeply. “There was a shooting at the Senate. They mentioned you by name,” she whispered. Roy watched as she told him what had happened. “I called Rebecca and she told me you were already in surgery here.”
He wanted to ask her proper questions, form full sentences, but he couldn’t. Roy wanted to squeeze and hold her body close in a hug, as he apologized for breaking his promise to her. But he couldn’t.
“Two days.”
Riza nodded, lifting her eyes to meet his. “Yes.”
“Sorry.”
This time, she frowned. “What for?”
“Broke promise,” he croaked.
Standing from her chair, Riza perched on the edge of his bed. She placed a hand by his hip and leaned forward, stopping with her face about a foot from his. A smile crossed her face as she lifted her fingers to brush his fringe off his face. “You didn’t break it,” she assured him gently.
“Did,” he pouted.
Riza shook her head, closing her eyes briefly. “You didn’t.” Her tone was firm, her smile fond. “You’re back, aren’t you?”
Roy huffed at his inability to argue further. He did break that promise, and he’d been unconscious for two days. She’d seen what had happened pop up on the news. She’d said she cared about him that morning in her apartment, so Roy had caused her two days worth of worry, wondering if he was going to wake up.
“You didn’t break anything,” she promised. Riza leaned forward, pressing a kiss to his forehead. Roy whined again. If he wasn’t so out of it he would have been embarrassed. “You came back, and that’s all that matters.” Lightly, her forehead grazed against his and she remained there. Roy watched as her face became slightly pained while her eyes closed, but then relaxed as she exhaled. “I was worried about you regardless of what was said,” she whispered. “After you walked out of my door. I had so much I wanted to say, but… I felt it was too soon.”
“What?” he croaked. Anticipation was creeping over his chest. It lifted the hairs on his forearms.
Riza hummed. “Well, you already know I care about you. I was worried about you going off on this adventure,” she smirked. “I knew you could handle yourself. Still, I worried. Of course, I did.” She took a deep breath. “Because I love you.”
Roy blinked at her. It felt like an eternity passed, because… she loved him? No… Then Roy looked into her eyes, seeing her patiently waiting for him to digest what she’d said. There was a hint of uncertainty there too, as she anticipated his reply. The soft touches, the kiss she’d given him almost as soon as she saw him, and the last kiss they’d shared… They all hit him at once.
“Love you too,” he breathed, forcing it out from his tired throat.
Her shoulders sagged slightly and her hand lifted to cup his cheek. The tips of her fingers brushed his ear and Roy’s body would have jerked if it could move properly. He moaned as she pressed her lips against his, harder this time. Her mouth opened and Roy automatically followed suit. His hands were dying to move, to touch her, but he could do nothing. Next time, he vowed. He’d told her he would show her just how much she meant to him. As soon as he was out of this bed, he would.
* * *
“Kimblee went to prison. Hard to escape that one when a Senator confirms that he openly tried to kill you and him,” Jean snorted.
“So he did target me too, then?” Roy asked. Dread settled inside his gut, knowing that a hitman had been after him.
Jean nodded. “What did I tell you all about them killing you for knowing things you shouldn’t?” he joked. Then, he swallowed and his smile fell, his face turning troubled. “Bradley knew it was you who had stolen the sword, and had begun to wonder if you were poking your nose too far into where it wasn’t supposed to. So, he told Kimblee to take you out as a precaution as well.”
“Wow,” Roy commented. The lack of concern for human life was alarming. “And Bradley?”
“Arrested too. Same with Raven. Our little report exposed them all for the frauds and shady bastards that they are,” Jean grinned, proud of all their work.
Roy leaned back against his pillows, feeling a sense of accomplishment wash over him. They’d done it. They’d managed to put a stop to their plan.
“Marcoh?”
“Alive and well. Sends his regards, by the way,” Jean added. “He was really shaken up about witnessing you being shot.”
“Tell me about it,” Roy muttered.
“He said he will publicly denounce the plans put in place by Raven and Bradley, and the land will be turned over to find a new benefactor. They were built on some dodgy deals, and he wasn’t happy about that. The people of this country wouldn’t be either.”
“Have you been back to the office?” Roy asked.
“A few times. Not full time though,” he added, waggling his arm that was still in a sling. “I can’t write very much and typing takes an age. Rebecca and Ed are doing a hell of a job keeping the place running, though,” Jean replied. “Especially Ed. He’s stepped right up and I’ve got to say… I’m impressed.”
“We always knew he’d go far,” Roy reminded him.
“I know. Still, it’s good to see. He’s a natural when his efforts are applied in the right direction.” Jean snickered. “You could be fighting for your job when you finally go back.”
Roy huffed and looked down at his legs, but grimaced as pain shot through his side at the sudden exhale. “I don’t know how soon that will be. It still hurts like a bitch to move.”
“Take it easy, man,” Jean soothed. “We’ll manage without our fearless leader for now,” he winked. “How’s Riza?”
Roy missed her terribly. He hadn’t seen her in two days because she was working late. After Bradley’s arrest, she’d been ordered to collate all accounts that showed anything suspicious. Two weeks on from the incident, and she was still working on it. He felt guilty for increasing her workload, but she’d just waved him off and told him not to worry so much. “She’s busy, but she seems to be alright.”
“Good. At least you’ll have someone to look after you once you get out of here,” he smirked.
“I don’t know about that,” Roy chuckled with uncertainty. It had never come up.
“Oh, come one,” he prompted. “You both love each other, what more is there to think about?”
“The fact that it's only been a couple of months?” Roy offered with a laugh. “All of our dates have been centered around my work, and I will not rest until I show her a date that doesn’t.” His tone was firm, promising to himself in this mind that he would show Riza that there was more to him than his work.
“At least you know she’ll put up with your shit, then,” Jean responded. “That can be hard to find in our line of work.”
“Yeah, you're right about that,” he mumbled.
Jean sighed, standing from his chair. “I’ve got to go. Lunch break is almost over and my boss is a hardass if I’m late,” he winked with a laugh. “It’s good to see you, Roy. Take care of yourself, alright?”
“You too, Jean,” he called as he left his hospital room with a small wave.
Roy settled back into his pillows. Boredom was a constant companion nowadays as he waited for the days to pass. He willed his side to get better so he could start with harder physical therapy and get back out into the world quicker. He grumped. Most of all, he wanted to see Riza.
Speaking of, his phone buzzed on the side of his bed. Picking it up, he opened the screen to see Riza’s name pop up with a text message for him. She was on her way in, and would he like any lunch brought in for him? Grinning, he texted her back that a pastry from the old haunt would be lovely. Excitement coursed through his body as he waited for her to arrive. It’d only been a day since he last saw her but it had been too long and he couldn’t wait.
