I grunted. “That’s why he’s sending his creatures to kill were-animals and vampires, just so he can talk to Sky?”
“Maya is a wrinkle in his plans. He obviously doesn’t see us as a threat, but he might see her as one.”
“You don’t know that,” I snapped. I didn’t like where this was headed.
Josh paced, lost in thought for a moment. “Whatever he wants from her, he needs her cooperation.”
“No,” I declared.
He dismissed me with an irritable look, concentrating instead on Sebastian. “He didn’t kill her and he didn’t capture her. I don’t think she’s in danger.”
“We’re not using Sky as bait,” I snapped.
There was a long, tense moment as I watched Sebastian weigh the risks and rewards. He won’t put her at risk.
“Could you guarantee her safety?” he finally asked Josh.
The sudden urge to throw a nearby bookshelf to the ground was nearly impossible to control.
Josh considered carefully, bringing his hands together by threading his fingers between the knuckles. “If there’s trouble, I can transport directly to her, as long as I know where she is.”
My eyes narrowed at him. “You said this witch is more powerful than you. If you show up, what’s going to stop him from just killing you?”
“He is more powerful,” he admitted, “but I’ll have surprise on my side, and I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve to create a diversion. I can get her back, Ethan.” It was a brave and reckless offer. I shook my head at my brother, but I couldn’t deny that the witch had had his opportunity to take or hurt Sky and had turned it down. And after a week of attacks and several casualties, we still knew nothing about him. If he was willing to talk to Sky, we could learn a great deal. One slip of the tongue by the witch, one seemingly small detail given away, might bring this war to a sudden and victorious conclusion.
“It has to be her choice,” Sebastian said.
“She’ll want to do it,” Josh stated.
I sighed. Of course she will. That doesn’t make this right. “We’ll need to track her, in case he transports her somewhere.” I didn’t want to explain that I already had the means to track her phone. “If she agrees to do this, I’ll give her a GPS device to carry. It has an audio transmitter as well.”
Sebastian nodded. “Bring it to my office. I’ll ask her when the time is appropriate.”
I preferred to ask myself, but she would know I didn’t want her to. She might agree just to spite me. Sebastian would make the risks clear. I half turned from the window and nodded once. “I’ll take care of the security arrangements,” I said, then left the library to round up a handful of were-animals Sky didn’t generally pay much attention to. Their instructions were clear. Each of them had an hour block to watch her and instructions to hand her off to another if she became overly suspicious. I would drop in periodically and check on her. Anyone who lost contact with her for longer than it took Sky to use the bathroom was going to answer to me.
It didn’t take her long to notice that she was being watched. Rather than take our efforts as a personal affront, she turned it into a game. At times she moved spontaneously from one room to the next, seemingly on a restless whim. Other times she spent hours in the entertainment room, obliging her shadows to watch nonstop reality television and pretend to enjoy it; she seemed particularly fond of watching a show about wealthy women who screamed at one another.
Winter woke late in the afternoon. The entire house seemed to utter a sigh of relief. I was on my way to visit her when I saw Sky had gotten there before me.
“Why do I have fucking pigtails in my hair?” Winter playfully snapped at Sky. “When someone is unconscious, it doesn’t give you permission to play dress up with them.”
Sky smiled back as she answered.
Seeing the surprising camaraderie between them as they caught up, I decided to let them be. I smiled as I walked away, but the smile was short-lived as my mind went through all the risks of using Sky as bait. We would be putting Josh at risk as well. One misstep and I could lose them both.
CHAPTER 13
That night, I drifted in and out of a restless slumber as I lost Sky or Josh or both in a seemingly endless parade of nightmares that reflected my concerns. By the time the sun rose, I wasn’t sure I’d slept at all, but I’d made a decision; I was going to present the choice to Sky. No matter who explained the risks to her, she was going to say yes. I needed to look into her eyes and know that she understood her choice, and I would do everything I could to convince her not to.
I rolled out of bed and did a few repetitions of one-handed push-ups until my mind was clear, then dressed and went to find Sky. Her belongings were already stripped from her room, and the bed made. She was gone. I found Sebastian in his office, waiting for me.
“It was her idea, Ethan,” he said once I’d closed the door. “She approached me. I made sure she understood the potential consequences of her decision.”
I turned from him, stifling my anger. I should’ve gone to her last night. That Sky had come up with the idea on her own didn’t surprise me. She was brave and strong-willed and naïve enough to voluntarily put herself in harm’s way for the sake of the pack. If I had my way, she would’ve been locked in a cell for her own good, but I couldn’t help but admire her will.
I sighed, rubbing the stubble on my chin. “She has the GPS?”
“Yes. In addition, I gave her a phone pre-programmed with your number, mine, and Steven’s.”
“She has those numbers.”
“The phone also has a tracking app running in the background.” Sebastian gestured to his phone on his desk. “I can track it at all times.”
I considered parking myself outside her house for the next week, or however long it took, but I doubted I could lurk within sight of the house without the witch spotting me. His attacks had been highly targeted, which suggested he had a means of tracking us individually when he wanted to.
“Who took her home?” I asked, but I had my suspicions.
“Steven.”
I scowled.
“I’ve instructed him to find other living arrangements,” Sebastian added with a half- smile. “She’ll be alone at the house, but Steven will keep himself in the general vicinity. Josh is prepared to transport to her at a moment’s notice.”
He’d considered everything, but that still didn’t ease my concern for Sky.
The next two days were tense as we waited for the silver-haired witch to make an appearance. I spent much of my time obsessively checking the location of her personal phone and her tracking device. As an added precaution, Sebastian and Josh called her throughout the day to make sure she was safe. I preferred to make the calls myself, but Sebastian reasonably pointed out that she might interpret my protectiveness, however justified, as stalking. Yet she’s okay with Josh calling her repeatedly?
When I wasn’t stalking Sky, I spent my time in the gym, working out and sparring.
Sebastian called an end to the hunts. We didn’t bother explaining why. If Chris or Demetrius knew we were using Sky as bait, I doubted either would be content to sit back and wait for our call. She didn’t need them showing up at her home while the witch was there, potentially triggering a violent response.
Marko and Winter were finally getting out of their beds, taking brief walks about the house as they grew stronger. Joan was continuing to grow stronger as well.
On the third day, I was sparring with Taylor when Sebastian informed me that Sky hadn’t answered her phone. The GPS tracker indicated she was in her house, as did the tracker on the phone that Sebastian had given her, but that wasn’t good enough for me. I needed to hear her voice. I called the pre-programmed phone. Again, no answer. I called her personal phone. No answer. The last time this had happened, I’d sped to her house only to get a lecture on how she was entitled to her privacy while in the bathroom.
“I’m sending Steven to check on her,” I announced, calling his numb
er.
He answered on the first ring. “Yeah?”
“Check her. Now.”
“I’m on it.”
It was a long, tense wait for his report as every possible negative scenario played out in my mind. He called when he arrived at the house and I put him on speakerphone. Her car was gone but the ward was intact. Josh instructed him how to break the ward and get inside. There was no sign of struggle, and no Sky.
Sebastian grunted. “Wait there.”
I disconnected the call. While Sebastian paced, I stepped out of his office, then out of the house before I opened the tracking app on my phone, relieved to see that she was carrying her personal phone. She appeared to be driving into a rural area that looked familiar. Quell’s farmhouse. He called her. My hand squeezed around my phone until I thought I might crush it.
A short time later, I was speeding along the rural road that led to Quell’s. As the farmhouse came into sight, I intended to race up the driveway, kick down the front door, and kill the vamp on the spot, but I needed to be careful for the sake of the pack. If possible, I needed to catch him in the act. I drove just past the driveway and parked on the side of the road. In an effort to control my rage, I punched the dash twice, then slipped out of the SUV and ran through the cornfield toward the house. Mindful of the wind carrying my scent, I circled around the back of the house for a look inside.
I was surprised to find the vamp’s precious greenhouse nearly destroyed. Glass had been broken and in some cases blown out by fire. Inside, the Hidacus plant was a smoking ruin, reeking now of sulfur and burned flesh. Some of the neighboring plants were destroyed as well, but clearly the Hidacus had been the target of the attack. Michaela, I realized. I’d considered destroying the plant as well, but after Sky had fed Quell there was no point. Where my intention had been strategic, to force him to reveal his true self, this attack had been punitive. Retribution for feeding from Michaela’s claimed prize. His preferred source of food gone and unable to venture out to hunt for hours, he’d called Sky to feed him.
She should’ve done us both a favor and just killed him.
I crept up to the house for a closer look. Peering through a window, I saw Sky seated on the other side of a couch, gazing down with a pitying look—at Quell, I was sure, but the back of the couch obscured him and most of her.
“I can help you,” she stated softly, a slight tremble in her voice. “But what happened the other day can’t happen again.” She shifted closer, extending her arm toward him. “Just do it,” she insisted.
He didn’t call her, I realized, scowling. She came here by choice.
I saw the crown of Quell’s head as he propped himself up and brushed her arm aside. “You’re the reason for this.”
“You were punished because of me?”
He said something so soft it was unintelligible, but then I heard, “I shouldn’t have fed from you.”
Sky scoffed. “It was to save your life!”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Well, why don’t you just tell that psychotic bitch I would sooner slit my wrists and bleed out before I would share a drop with her. You let her know that if she ever comes near me there isn’t anything I will not be willing to do to make sure she never does it again and make sure it’s the most painful thing she has ever experienced in her existence.”
“Is there someone else who can feed you?” She stared pityingly at him, her expression heavy with guilt. “It’s because of me this happened. Let me make it right.” Once more, she raised her arm to him. “Take what you need to be strong enough to hunt at dusk. This is between us. No one will ever know. I prom—” She gasped, and I knew he’d bitten her.
I turned from the window in disgust. What are you doing? I kept asking Sky, but there would be no answer. Once again, she was feeding him of her own free will. If I killed Quell, it would be a violation of the pack’s alliance with the Seethe. It would be a betrayal. Sebastian would have no choice but to forfeit my life. Yet I wanted to kill Quell for daring to test her blood.
Sky would never forgive me.
If he loses control, as he did last time … I peered through the window just as Quell rose. She examined her wrist as he walked into the kitchen, opened a refrigerator, and returned to her with a glass of what appeared to be orange juice.
“How can you not be angry with her?” Sky asked, accepting the drink.
Unable to bear their camaraderie further, I tore myself from the window. There’s nothing I can do here. Not now. I strode deep into the cornfield and proceeded to tear plants from the ground until I had vented enough of my fury, then paused to gather myself. Sky’s choice to trust Quell was noble and foolish. It might yet lead to her demise, but I had to leave her to make her own choice.
I walked begrudgingly back to the SUV and waited, monitoring her on my phone until I saw a few minutes later that she’d left the house. I drove off before she emerged from the driveway, then circled back and followed her from a discreet distance. Once assured that she was returning to her home, I returned to the retreat.
Sebastian was on the phone when I walked into his office. “Skylar, I didn’t give you this job—you requested it. If you want to bail, fine, but don’t just flake. Honor your obligation as we always have with you.” He waited for her brief answer, then disconnected the call.
I wondered how often my interactions left me with that same infuriated, perplexed look he had then.
“Where were you?” he demanded.
“Out looking for Sky.” I wouldn’t lie to Sebastian, but I saw no need to share the full truth with him if I didn’t have to.
He scrutinized me for a long moment, assessing whether he wanted to know more and decided the better of it. He gestured irritably at paperwork on his desk and I left him to it.
If I’d thought the first three days of waiting were difficult, my sparring partners for the next two days probably had more to say on the matter. After sending Gavin to the clinic to have a rib put back into place, I checked my phone for messages, then took a quick shower. By the time I’d dried myself, there was a message from Sky, a group text sent to Sebastian, Steven, and me.
“He’s here.”
I grabbed my clothes and charged out of the room, practically running into Steven, who had come looking for me. Together we hurried into Sebastian’s office. He was behind his desk, his phone faceup in front of him. Josh stood over the side of the desk, his hands gripping the corners as he stared intensely at the phone.
Steven tapped my shoulder as I dressed. Getting my attention, he gestured to his lips, then the phone.
“They can’t hear us,” I said, then gestured for him to be silent, anyway.
A man’s voice, arrogant and theatrical like a game show host’s, spoke. “Finally, we meet again.”
“We’ve met before?” Sky asked, trying to sound casual.
I moved closer to Josh. If anything went wrong and he was going to transport to Sky, I was going along for the ride.
“Am I that forgettable, amphora?”
I could almost hear the smirk on the witch’s face.
Our phones vibrated simultaneously with the message, “I’m okay.”
“How could I forget the werewolf that snatched my magic from one of my servants and nearly forced me out as though I were powerless?” the witch said. “I enjoyed being linked to such untapped power.”
Josh straightened as if he’d been jerked upright. His eyes flicked side to side as if he didn’t quite believe what he’d heard. “Ethos,” he whispered.
The four of us traded anxious glances. Sky was in more danger than we could’ve imagined. When it came to dark magic, there was no more powerful practitioner than Ethos. Little was known about him other than he shared his power with his worshippers, like Pala. Last year, she’d betrayed Josh, attempting to absorb his power until Sky had intervened. In all our musings as to the identity of the silver-haired witch, it had never occurred to us that Ethos had come for revenge.
&
nbsp; I put my hand on Josh’s shoulder and gave him a look to let him know, I’m ready when you are. He nodded, his expression grim but determined.
Each of us leaned toward the phone, waiting for some sense of what was happening in Sky’s home. For a long, anxious moment, there was only silence, then Ethos chuckled.
“If I wanted you hurt, rest assured, you would have known this by barely being alive. Please, have a seat. We have a great deal to discuss. You are quite the complex little vessel of magic. I can only imagine your potential. Good potential that I plan to use.”
Don’t show him your fear.
“What do you want?” she asked, irritated.
“I want you to have a seat and stop being rude,” he snapped. After a moment he sighed audibly. “That Josh has quite a temper. You should have seen how scared my poor little Pala was. She was nearly in tears when I asked her to return my magic. She actually refused me because she needed it to protect herself from your boyfriend.”
“I can’t believe Josh would get riled over a little thing like Pala betraying him, attempting to steal his magic, and then trying to kill him. How dreadful, a clear overreaction.”
I bowed my head, letting out a slow, tense breath. If she survived this encounter, we were going to have a long talk about the difference between bravery and recklessness.
Ethos’s tone shifted toward irritation. “She was quite ambitious, always wanting more. She was my most talented servant.
“My little run-in with you was quite an eye-opener,” he continued. He was a talker. Why not? He thought himself invincible, but I intended to demonstrate otherwise, somehow. “I was expunged by a novice. It was quite embarrassing. I had spread myself too thin, sharing my gifts with so many. Over the years, I traded reverence and worship for my power. You helped me realize that I can be celebrated and adulated without the sacrifice.
“The were-animals and vampires are like overactive children, running around aimlessly, fighting and vying for dominance. Sebastian is limited by his rules and structure, Demetrius by his impulses and desires. They need direction and a real leader.”
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