A knock sounded against my driver side window. I jumped.
“I didn’t mean to startle you.” Julian chuckled. He leaned close to my window. “Are you coming inside, or planning to sit out here for the duration of the meeting?”
I reached for the handle of my door and swung it open to step out.
“I heard about what happened at the diner today, about Lucy Appleton. I can’t believe Roman went after her so soon,” Julian said. “Are you okay?”
I slammed my car door shut and locked eyes with him. “It was all in an effort to get to me. I’m the one he wants. You know that as well as I do.” I started toward the trailer.
When I opened the front door and stepped inside, hot air moved across my skin. There were too many bodies crammed inside our trailer. Eli stood in the kitchen. I could feel his eyes on me the instant I walked in. I maneuvered my way to him. While his face looked stern, he still wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into him.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “I tried to text you. I tried to call. Why didn’t you answer?”
“I wish everyone would stop asking me if I’m okay. I’m not fragile.” My words came out harsher than I’d intended, but it was because there was truth behind them.
Why did everyone suddenly think I was so damn breakable?
“No one thinks that, least of all me. You’ve been through a lot lately. People want to make sure you’re okay. That’s all.” Eli released me. His eyes sought out mine.
Hadn’t we all been through a lot? Eli especially.
I licked my lips. “I know. I’m fine. Really.”
I contemplated telling him about Roman trying to run me off the road but thought better of it. Now wasn’t the time.
“Good.” Eli shifted his attention to look at the others. “Can I have everybody’s attention please?” His voice echoed through our tiny trailer. Murmurs from everyone silenced and all eyes fell to him. “I gathered you all here tonight so we could form a plan of action against Roman. He’s become a menace to Mirror Lake.”
Agreement flowed through the crowd. My gaze drifted to Julian who seemed to shift on his feet.
“I need to remind you—as well as myself—that we agreed to help capture Roman, not kill him. This version of him we’ve been privy to is not the true Roman,” Eli insisted.
I could feel the pack’s skepticism flow through the thick air.
“There’s also another larger issue at play. The Caraway witches have stated if we don’t get Roman under control like we agreed, they’ll retract their ability to spell the area we run. It’s imperative we craft a plan today that will be successful. The full moon is quickly approaching. We have to toss away any grievances or flares of anger toward one another and focus on the task at hand,” Eli said. “If you have a suggestion on how to capture Roman without harming him, I’m all ears.”
Silence filled the room. My heart pounded because I’d been hoping someone else would have something to offer up. That didn’t seem to be the case. No one said anything.
Except me.
“I think I should be used as bait,” I said loud enough for everyone to hear.
Eli’s gaze snapped to me. A coldness entered his eyes. There was no way in hell he was going to agree to what I wanted to do.
His face said as much.
11
“Not happening,” Eli insisted.
I held up a hand. “Just think about it.”
“No. Absolutely not.” He shook his head. His gaze never wavered from me. “He’s too strong.”
“I’m stronger than you give me credit for,” I snapped, feeling as though he was calling me weak in front of everyone.
“That’s not what I meant.” Eli’s eyes softened but his features pinched tighter. “I know you’re strong. I’ve told you time and time again you’re a tough as nails kind of girl. That’s one of the things I love about you. I guess what I meant to say is I’m not strong. I’m not strong enough to hand you over to Roman. You asked me to do something similar once before, and I refuse to do it again. I’m not strong enough to go through that particular type of torment right now. Handing you over to Regina’s goons was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.”
My heart clenched. I understood where he was coming from. I knew that moment had been hard for him. I remembered having a taste of it the night we rescued Violet from Drew Hopkins’s basement. I’d been forced to leave him to go against Drew alone. It had nearly broke me.
“Funny, I don’t remember you handing me over to anyone,” I said with a smirk. It was all in an effort to break the tension filling the trailer up. “That’s not how I remember it at all.”
I’d had to bash him over the head hard enough to knock him out so I could leave with Neo.
Eli chuckled and scratched at the back of his neck. “You have a good memory, then. So, maybe that’s not how it happened but still...don’t ask me to watch you be used in that way again. I thought I lost you last time. I can’t handle going through that again.”
“I know,” I said. “But, what other option do we have?”
“I hate to say it, but she’s right,” Dorian insisted. I had a feeling he’d come to my aid on this. “Roman is coming after her anyway, right? Might as well use that to our advantage.”
“If we crafted a plan that uses her as bait, but in a safe way, like with us waiting in the wings to attack, and we made sure she was never out of our sight, would you agree to it?” Frank asked.
Eli said something in response, but I’d tuned him out. All I could focus on was Ridley and the way Julian leaned toward her with a look of concern etched into his features. It seemed to have Benji on edge too.
“What’s wrong?” I took a step toward them.
“Nothing. It’s just a headache,” Ridley insisted. Her fingers pressed against her temples as she squeezed her eyes shut.
“An intense one from what I can sense,” Julian said.
Ridley swayed on her feet. I reached out to steady her and then led her to the couch to sit.
“Would a glass of water help?” Eli asked.
Ridley winced. “It might.”
“Can you not feel her pain?” Julian asked Eli.
I glanced over my shoulder at him. He was right. Eli didn’t seem to feel Ridley’s pain.
Eli blinked. He closed his eyes as though he was focusing on her. When his eyes opened, they were wide and bright.
“I can’t,” he said. There was a sense of relief reflected in his tone. “The binding to you and your freaky ass power must be gone. It was only temporary.”
Thank goodness.
“I resent that,” Julian muttered. His words clashed with the relieved smirk twisting across his face. “My powers are not freaky ass.”
Ridley made another noise. She leaned her head back against the cushions of the couch and covered her eyes. Benji moved closer.
“Here,” Rowena said. She held out what looked like a glass lip gloss tube she’d fished from in her purse. “Rub this on your temples and wrists, then inhale it.”
“What is it?” I asked as Ridley accepted it without question.
“Peppermint essential oil cut with some grapeseed oil. It’s good for headaches.”
I watched Ridley do as Rowena said. The scent hit my nose. “Oh.”
“Here’s some water too,” Eli said. He held out a glass to Ridley, but Benji grabbed it instead.
I tried to remember if we had anything in our medicine cabinet for headaches. Gran had given me a basket with different homeopathic teas and herbal remedies she’d concocted. There had to be something in there to help.
“I can look through the stuff my Gran gave me. I’m sure there’s something that would help,” I offered.
“No. I’m okay. Really,” Ridley said. Benji handed her the water, and she took a sip. Then, she went back to sniffing the peppermint oil Rowena had given her. Her face was pale, and her eyes watered as though she was fighting to hold back tears. “It will
pass soon. All the others have. This one is just a little more persistent.”
“When did you start having headaches?” Octavia asked.
“Recently.”
“As in, around the time you tapped into the other side for Lilith?”
Ridley’s gaze snapped to Octavia. “Yeah. Come to think of it, it was.”
Goose bumps prickled across my skin. This couldn’t be anything good.
“Does that mean it’s like a side effect?” I asked. “Is that even possible?”
I wasn’t sure why I was asking. Of course it was possible. Anything was in the supernatural world.
“I don’t think it’s a side effect.” Octavia’s perfectly arched brows pinched together. She studied Ridley, skimming over the length of her. “Are you wearing a new talisman to help stabilize the other side since you tore into it untrained?”
While her words seemed harsh, they were also true. I’d never thought of what happened in Lilly Pendergrass’s attic as Ridley tearing into the other side, but now that it had been put that way, it seemed right.
“A new necklace.” Ridley fingered the pendant.
“Then headaches can’t be a side effect. They’re because you’re wearing that talisman,” Octavia insisted. “You’re a doorway to the other side. That’s what an anchor is. That talisman you’re wearing locked your door. The more powerful the talisman, the more powerful the lock. Your headaches mean someone from the other side is knocking. They have something they want to say. They want you to open the door again so they can tell you something.”
A shiver slipped up my spine.
“If you take the necklace off, you’ll be able to find out what they have to say,” Octavia said.
“She can’t do that,” Rowena insisted. She shifted to look at Ridley. “You need to keep the talisman on. It’s the only thing stabilizing the other side for you. You’re not capable of keeping things stable on your own yet. You know what happened last time.”
Ridley capped the glass roll-on tube of peppermint oil and handed it back to Rowena.
“This is different,” Octavia said. “Last time Ridley was forced to open the door before she was ready. That’s why things became unstable. She hadn’t grown into her gift yet. Now that she’s opened it up, now that she’s felt it, she’s wielding it whether she knows it or not. It can never be fully dormant again. It’s been awakened. Ridley holds the power to open the door wide or crack it now. By taking off the talisman, she’s not risking the stability of the other side, she’s cracking the door to listen. There’s a difference.”
“How do you know so much about this?” Tate demanded. Skepticism pooled in his eyes. He folded his arms across his chest and glared at her.
Octavia shrugged. “I dated an anchor for a while.”
Her words had been meant to come off as nonchalant, but the sadness reflected deep in her eyes was noticeable.
There was a story there. I could sense it.
“I don’t care about all of that,” Rowena shouted. My eyes snapped to her. “You have to leave it on. It’s too risky, not just for the stability of the other side, but for you as well. Do you not remember convulsing on the attic floor?”
Ridley chewed her bottom lip as she fingered the pendant of her necklace.
“What if someone is trying to give us advice on this particular situation?” Ridley asked. “What if that advice helps end all of this with Roman and brings peace to Mirror Lake again?”
“What if it doesn’t? What if it’s someone wanting out?” Rowena countered. “Someone who has been waiting on the other side for a naive anchor such as yourself to open the door again?”
I opened my mouth to say something to Rowena, but Eli spoke.
“My father,” he whispered.
Ridley’s gaze shifted to him. “Exactly.”
Rowena’s face paled. I wasn’t sure if it was because she’d forgotten about Westley, or if she knew Ridley had made up her mind. Either way, her lips clamped shut.
“I have to figure out how this anchor thing works for myself,” Ridley insisted. Her eyes were fixed on Rowena. “I can’t keep it locked away because I’m scared. I can’t keep it locked away because you’re scared either. Using it is the only way I’m ever going to be able to figure out how it works and how to control it. This part of me isn’t going away. It will always be there. I need to get to know it. I hope you understand that.”
Rowena’s face softened. “I do understand. I’m here for you. Do what you feel you have to. I won’t stand in your way.” She pulled Ridley into a hug. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Ridley said. When she pulled away from her aunt’s embrace, she unclasp her necklace and held it out to Rowena. “Hold this for me?”
“Of course.”
The trailer had fallen silent as we watched everything between Rowena and Ridley transpire. Now, it remained in silence as we waited for any indication Ridley had opened the door to the other side. Time ticked away and nothing seemed to happen. All she had done was close her eyes and place her hands palms up. When a gentle breeze flitted through the trailer, I knew it had come from her. Bluish-white light streamed from her next. It lit the trailer in an eerie glow. One Moonshine seemed afraid of. She made her way to Eli and hid behind his leg.
“It’s not Eli’s dad,” Ridley said after a few minutes passed.
“Who is it then?” I asked, worried she was making a mistake by tapping into the other side.
What if Rowena had been right? What if this was all a trap so someone else could get through?
“Gretchen...Gretchen Caraway,” Ridley whispered.
Rowena gasped. The name meant something to her.
“That’s my great-great-grandmother,” she said.
“I know,” Ridley insisted. Her eyes were still closed. She appeared to be focusing on Gretchen hard as the bluish-white light around her intensified. “She told me who she was.”
“Why was she trying to contact you? What does she have to say?” Eli asked. There was no denying the disappointment in his words. He’d been expecting the person knocking to be his dad, same as the rest of us.
“She has an idea. Something we might be able to use. Something that might help us go up against Roman,” Ridley said.
“What?” Frank asked before I could.
“A bracelet,” Ridley said.
“How is a piece of jewelry going to help us fight Roman?” Dorian scoffed.
“It’s not any piece of jewelry. It’s a magical one,” Ridley breathed.
The ethereal softness to her voice had goose bumps breaking out across my skin and the tiny hairs along the back of my neck standing on end. Even my wolf was mesmerized.
“What power does it have?” I asked, knowing we’d need something crazy powerful if we were going up against someone who could plant our greatest fears into our mind and make them seem real.
Ridley tipped her head to the side as though she was struggling to hear what Gretchen was saying. “There’s so much static. It’s hard to make out her words.”
“The static will disappear the stronger you become,” Octavia chimed in.
“It weakens a vampire’s powers, rendering them human,” Ridley said. My insides hummed at the news. “If we use Mina as bait, and she wears the bracelet, Roman won’t be able to hurt her with his vampire abilities or his powers of the mind.”
Holy hell. With a bracelet like that I could take down Roman without issue. Eli had to see that.
“Where is it?” Julian asked.
“Somewhere in the inn. Gretchen made it with the intention of making sure she would never be compelled against her will the way her aunt had been.”
The story Ridley told me about Julian and her great-great-great-aunt flashed through my mind. When I glanced at him, I couldn’t help but notice how sad Julian seemed.
Old memories must be sweeping him away.
“Does she know where in the inn the bracelet is?” Ivette asked.
“No,” Rid
ley said.
Shit. There were fourteen bedrooms, numerous other rooms, a crawl space, and an attic in that house. It would take forever to search and time wasn’t something we had a lot of.
“Okay, so what are we supposed to do then? Search the house from top to bottom?” Dorian asked.
My gaze remained locked on Ridley. Her eyes were still shut, making it look as though she was asleep while sitting up.
Until she wasn’t.
When her eyes snapped open with force and she inhaled a deep breath as though her lungs had been starved for air, the bluish-white light around her faded to nothing. Panic shifted through Ridley’s features. Her body grew tense as though she were ready to bolt.
“The bracelet. We have to find it,” she demanded. “Now.”
“Where do we start? Any specific room Gretchen may have mentioned?” Eli asked.
Ridley shook her head. “I couldn’t make that part out. All I know is it’s hidden somewhere in the house.”
“Okay. We should probably head there and start searching,” I suggested.
“Is there any way to perform a locator spell on the bracelet?” Julian asked Rowena.
She tucked her short dark hair behind her ear. “I could try, but I can’t promise anything. An object like that would have been not only hidden but also spelled with an added layer of protection. If that’s the case, a locator spell wouldn’t work.”
“Then we’ll have to look for it the old-fashioned way.” I made my way to the door, pausing once I reached it. “Anyone coming with me?”
“Wait,” Eli insisted. “Maybe a group of us should go to the inn to search for the bracelet while the rest of us divide up and look for Roman.”
“Good thinking,” Dorian said. “That way when we find one maybe we won’t be far behind on finding the other.”
“I’m heading to the house to look for the bracelet,” I said. It felt like it was where I needed to be.
If I found it, then I could go up against Roman without any crap from Eli. It seemed like a win-win.
Eli nodded. “Tate will go with you. Along with the Caraways, obviously. The rest of us will split up and resume our regular searching strategy. Hopefully Roman won’t be tipped off that we have an alternate plan to use against him.”
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