by Sarah Piper
“You’d never leave his body behind,” I said to both of them. “So, if he’s really dead, where’s his body?”
No response.
“Where?” I demanded, feeling the eyes of the witches and the rest of our houseguests burning through my back. They’d all gathered in the living room behind me, keeping a respectful distance, but still. They were watching.
I wouldn’t let myself fall apart in front of them. Not like this.
Stepping back from Ronan and taking a deep breath, I tried again, keeping my voice neutral. Even. Pushing out all the doubts and sealing up all those cracks and fissures behind them.
“Where is the body?” I asked again, calm. Collected. Logical. Behind me, I felt the presence of my hellhounds. They stood guard beside Asher and Darius, all of them apparently waiting for me to break.
I wouldn’t, though. Not now.
“We searched the entire warehouse,” Ronan said, his voice weakening with every word. “What was left of it, anyway. Inside and out. The raven came, and he’s… he’s gone, Gray. Just gone.”
The words cut to the bone, but their bite quickly faded as my brain processed their meaning.
“Raven? Wait, you mean Liam?”
Ronan nodded. “He took him.”
“His soul?”
“Everything.”
“So he’s not dead, then.” I let out a shaky breath. Then, more firmly, I repeated it. “He’s not dead. Not without a body. If Liam took everything, there has to be another reason. Something we haven’t thought of.”
“Gray, there’s nowhere… We searched the entire area.” Elena’s voice was no more than a whisper, her eyes blank, her face gray. “There’s nowhere he could be. I’m sorry. I didn’t want to have to tell you this. He’s just… mi hermano…” She blinked back tears, struggling to reign in her emotions in front of a house full of witches and shifters and strangers. “He’s passed on. We have to accept it and mourn him and move on.”
Move on?
I wanted to scream at her. To grab her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her. But the pain in her eyes snapped me from my anger, and instead, I drew her in and held her close. She was shaking.
Through the knotted tangle of her blood-drenched hair, I stared over her shoulder at Ronan, waiting for him to realize his obvious mistake. To finally connect the dots. To tell Elena they’d missed something and spring into action.
But he didn’t. He just stood there, silently holding my gaze with a look I could read like an old book.
Pity.
It sparked a rage inside me that I couldn’t contain. Without a moment to spare, I pushed Elena away and spun toward the now-empty dining room, a burst of magic erupting from my palms and slamming into the china cabinet, full force, totally out of my control.
The wood splintered. The glass panes on the front and the dishes inside shattered, exploding outward in a million razor-sharp projectiles before turning—instantly and inexplicably—to water.
Deirdre.
I hadn’t seen her come in, but somehow she stood behind me with her hands raised, neutralizing my magic with a spell of her own. The shards fell like a harmless rain, soaking the leftover food spread across the dining table.
Her hands landed softly on my shoulders, gently squeezing. Heat emanated from her palms and warmed my damp skin.
“Breathe, Gray,” she said softly, and I felt the gentlest push of unfamiliar magic against my own—probably a calming spell. The scents of lavender and honey and baby powder filled the air, and her soothing words felt like grandmotherly hugs. “Breathe in, exhale out. Release the anger. Call back the magic. Fill yourself with pure, white light.”
I took a deep breath, exhaled it like she instructed, but… no. I didn’t want this. Didn’t want some magical numbing agent. I had important work to do. I was going to… do… something.
Wasn’t I?
“That’s it, Gray,” the soothing voice murmured. “Nice and easy. Come back to yourself.”
Mmm. That sounds nice. Maybe I should come back…
Haze clouded my thoughts, smudging everything around the edges.
Wait… What was I just doing? Aren’t I supposed to be somewhere? Meeting someone? But I thought…
I glanced around the room, dozens of eyes on me. Why were they all so sad?
Ronan, Darius, Asher… I looked over each one in turn.
“That’s it, Gray,” the soft voice said. “Follow my voice and come back.”
Ronan, Darius, Asher…
Ronan, Darius… Emilio. Wait, where is Emilio?
I blinked rapidly, scanning the sea of faces—most of them unfamiliar—for the wolf.
“Where is…” I began, then shook my head, clearing away the haze. He wasn’t here. He was… they were saying he was gone.
Everything came rushing back, breaking through the spell and hitting me again like a bucket of ice water to the face.
“What are you doing to me?” I shouted, whirling around toward the source of the placating words. Deirdre was still whispering her soothing mantras, still bathing me in her magic, but I was done with that. I broke her magical hold, welcoming the rush of fury that boiled up inside, once again set loose. I needed this madness, this dark energy, this wild magic, no matter how ugly it got. No matter how uncomfortable it made everyone else feel.
My skin was crackling with magical energy, the hairs on my neck and arms standing on end. It reminded me of that day on the beach in the Shadowrealm when Liam and I had kissed—those intense sparks, the moment just before lightning struck the sand.
“Emilio is still with us,” I said, my voice trembling with anger. “Maybe not in this realm, but he’s not gone.”
At this, Ronan reached out, his palm facing up. There in the center was a black feather sticky with blood. “This was the only thing left behind.”
“That’s… good,” I said, the barest blush of a plan formulating in my mind. “No, that’s actually… really good.”
I turned around and searched the wide-eyed faces of the witches gathered in the living room for my sister.
“Haley?” I said, and she got to her feet, smoothing a hand over her near-bald head. “You’re with me.”
Haley nodded without hesitation, crossing the room to join me. If I’d scared her with my outburst, she didn’t show it, her eyes flashing with renewed determination that made me glad to have her on my side.
“Darius,” I continued, “I need you to go into the kitchen and find me a clear glass bowl, some bottled water, matches, candles, salt, and the sharpest knife you can find. Ash? Your job is to keep an eye on the hounds and keep everyone away from us. No one disturbs us—and I mean no one—unless we come under attack or the house is literally burning down around us.” Then, to Deirdre and the rest of the witches, “Are you guys up for a little protection magic? We need to keep this place on lockdown as long as we can.”
They nodded in unison—even Deirdre, who was watching me with a mix of frustration and pride that almost made me smile.
“Where are you going, Gray?” Ronan asked, his voice barely recognizable now. He still hadn’t moved from his position in front of the door. It was as if the weight of Emilio’s near-death had fallen on his shoulders, cementing him in place.
All he had to do was believe me. To have faith. But I knew from the look in his eyes that he didn’t.
“Where am I going?” I snapped. “Where am I going?! Let me tell you something, Ronan Vacarro.” I shoved a finger into his chest, welcoming the brief burn. “This crew… Since all this shit started, we have fought demons together, hunters, rogue vamps, hell’s curses, fae traitors, illusions, and every single sharp, pointy, flaming, cursed obstacle the universe has thrown at us. And you know what? I’m tired. I’m tired and I’m pissed off and I am done playing games. We deserve a break.”
“Gray. You can’t just—”
“Watch me.” I snatched the bloody feather from his hand and turned around to find Darius with his arm
s full of the supplies I’d asked him to get from the kitchen. Haley and I took everything, and then I met Ronan’s eyes one last time. “I’m going to find Emilio and Liam, and then I’m going to bring them both back here. Because I don’t care what hell beasts are waiting for us tomorrow or which contracts and rules I have to break now. This crew—no, screw that. This family—we’ve just been fucked with for the last god damn time.”
Seven
GRAY
“Nice speech, Aragorn.” Haley closed the guest room door behind us, then turned to face me, her arms full of supplies. “I assume you have an actual plan?”
The shaved head made the fire in her eyes burn even more brightly, and despite the dark circles beneath them, she looked energized and ready to rock.
“It’s percolating,” I said, shedding the robe and grabbing a T-shirt and an old pair of leggings from the closet. “But here’s the short version: you’re going to help me do some blood magic to track them down.”
“Gray, are you sure you—”
“Look, Hay. I don’t have a lot of time for a debate.” I quickly pulled on the clothes, then wrapped my hair in a bun. “Either you’re in on this, or you’re in my way.”
I held her gaze, my heart hammering behind my ribcage. I needed her help—wanted her by my side through this—but if she wanted to bail, I’d find another way. There would be no talking me out of this—not even from the woman who shared my blood.
Haley rolled her eyes. “Of course I’m in on this, you crazy bitch. God.” She set the supplies on the bed and plucked the feather from my hand. “I just wish we had more to go on. And better supplies. And maybe some of Nona’s lasagna.”
“Help me figure this out and I’ll bake you a month’s worth of lasagna.”
“Do you even know how?”
I leaned in and kissed her cheek. “For you? I’ll learn.”
After that, I was a whirlwind, scouring the room for anything else we could use while Haley sorted through the stuff Darius had scavenged. The Tarot cards Emilio had given me were on the dresser, so I gathered them up into a neat stack and placed them with the other supplies, hoping we could harness the power of the cards as well as their connection to Emilio.
Stuffed in draws or shoved out of sight on the closet shelves, I found a lighter, which I slid into my T-shirt pocket, and a couple more half-melted candles. Then I unearthed a terra-cotta bowl, a half-spent tube of bright red lipstick, and—a more recent addition to the space—one of Emilio’s T-shirts. I brought it to my face and inhaled, his woodsy-vanilla scent bringing tears to my eyes.
This was the room we’d shared together. The room where we’d spent one amazing night in each other’s arms. The room where we’d shared our first time… and our last…
I closed my eyes, barely stifling the tears.
Focus, Gray. Get him back.
Shaking off the melancholy, I opened my eyes and tossed the shirt to Haley. She found a pair of scissors and got to work cutting it into seven strips.
“We need a circle,” she said, toeing the dark green throw rug that covered the floor beside the bed. “Help me with this.”
We rolled it up and shoved it out of the way, revealing the bare wood planks beneath. Dropping to my knees, I drew a pentacle on the floor with the old lipstick, then set the candles at each of the points.
As Haley lit each one, I poured a line of salt over the threshold before the door and along each of the windowsills. Haley poured the bottled water into the glass bowl and blessed it, and then we sprinkled that around the circle, too.
Between our actions in here, the witches’ collective protection magic, and the perimeter Jael had set up, we’d be safe for a little while—hopefully long enough for me to track down my guys and bring them back. There were dark fae to hunt, threats to eliminate, people to save, order to restore… and I needed them by my side. We all did.
Certain we’d prepared the makeshift space as best we could, Haley and I knelt down at the center of the circle, the terra cotta bowl resting on the floor between us, the blade in her lap. Following her lead, I helped tie each of the T-shirt strips into seven knots, then placed all of them into the bowl.
From the deck of cards, I selected the two that most reminded me of the guys. For Emilio, I chose the King of Cups, honorable and compassionate, sensitive, full of love and strength and wisdom. For Liam, the Death card.
My eyes lingered on the words carved in stone before the black-robed angel of Death.
Vita mutatur, non tollitur. Life is changed, not taken away.
The last time I’d drawn this card, it’d brought me to Liam. I hoped now it would do the same. That the message would hold true.
I placed the cards on each side of the bowl.
Haley set the blood-drenched feather on top of the knotted fabric strips, then nodded at me.
It was time.
“Okay, blood priestess,” I said. “Let’s conjure up something good.”
“Blood priestess. I like that.” With a wicked gleam in her eye, Haley reached for my hands, clasping them tight over the bowl. At her touch, my magic sparked, and she let out a little gasp of surprise, then laughed. “Okay, we need to work on your grounding skills after this.”
“We will,” I told her. “We’ll work on everything.” Including the part about us being sisters, I thought. I still wasn’t quite sure how to tell her—there were so many implications, so many unanswered questions. But that was a conversation for later. Right now, we had a job to do.
My magic settled, allowing me to feel the pulse of hers, our bond growing stronger the longer we held tight. Her touch was warm and solid, a reassuring connection in a night that had threatened to blow us all away.
My eyes misted again, but not because of Emilio or the struggles that still lay ahead. In that instant, I thought of Sophie, and a smile touched my lips. She’d brought Haley into my life, despite my resistance. She’d brought my sister and me together. I felt her presence now, her friendship. Her support.
I sensed Haley did, too. I saw my own emotion reflected in her eyes, and a silent understanding passed between us. She might not yet know about the nature of our relationship, but even if we weren’t biological sisters, Haley and I were sisters in all the ways that counted.
And it’d all started with our connection to Sophie.
“She’s here,” I whispered, and Haley nodded, knowing exactly who I was talking about.
“She’s always with us, Gray. She always will be.” Haley returned my smile, a tear glittering on her cheek. Then, taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders, she said, “It’s time. Close your eyes, center yourself, and try to call up the ones you seek—images, feelings, emotions, sensations, words, anything that will bring them closer to you.”
I obeyed, letting my thoughts drift to Emilio and Liam. It wasn’t hard; they were always on my mind, always in my heart.
I saw Emilio’s deep, soulful eyes. His warm smile. I tasted the rich, chocolatey brownies we’d shared. I felt the warmth of his kisses, his touch, his love for me. My palms tingled as I remembered stroking his coarse fur the first time I’d seen him shift into wolf form. My shoulders dipped as I recalled the time the wolf had pinned me to the ground at the safe house during our training, and the time he’d pinned me to the bed as a man. I heard the music of his laugh in my ears, and I held him close until his image was as firm and real as if he were standing right beside me.
Liam came to me just as easily, though not as comfortably. With Liam, there was no escaping the bitter taste of betrayal, the pang of something precious lost. But I wouldn’t push it away. Acknowledging and confronting that pain was the only way I’d ever be able to forgive him fully, and I wanted to. More than anything. So I welcomed even that, the hollow ache in my heart, the twist in my gut that accompanied the rush of butterflies and the electric sparks of our first kiss. Goosebumps rose along my arms when I remembered our first meeting the night Sophie had died and he’d come to take her soul. My fin
gers tingled at the spider-webby touch of his robes, and a shy heat crept to my cheeks as I pictured the first time he’d taken his human form, just to make me more comfortable.
He was with me now, too. Both of them were, side by side in my mind’s eye. Side by side in my heart.
I let out a deep, slow breath, and I felt Haley’s energy shifting before me. In a soft, meditative tone, she reminded me to hold on to whatever images I’d called forth.
She was still holding my hands, and now she gently turned them so that my palms were facing up. I knew what was coming next, but I barely felt the bite of the blade as she sliced it across my hand. Instinctively I curled my fingers into a fist, squeezing my blood into the bowl.
Haley released me, and seconds later I heard the sound of a match being struck. The scent of sulfur filled my nose, and the contents of the blow flared to life in a blaze of light and heat that radiated across my face.
Haley began to chant, and I joined in, speaking the words like a mantra until I’d slipped into a deeply meditative state.
“Earth, air, water, fire. Earth, air, water, fire. Earth, air, water fire…” The words became automatic, and though Haley hadn’t instructed me to do so, I continued the repetition dozens of times, not stopping even as she altered her own chanting to speak the spell:
Your connection runs deep
As blood in the vein
Let it guide you this night
Through distance, through pain
May your souls become one
Across time and space
And bring you together
In his resting place
The blaze of the bowl dimmed, and silence descended. My lips still uttered the chant, but I could no longer hear the sound of my own voice.
A gentle breeze stirred my hair, and I breathed in the scent of lavender and lilac. When the moment felt right, I opened my eyes.