by Sarah Piper
“Who’s back in action, huh?” Ronan wrestled Emilio to the ground, teasing him like he really was a puppy. “Who’s the biggest, baddest wolf that ever was? Who’s a good boy?”
The two of them went at it, rolling around in the snow until Emilio finally pinned Ronan by the shoulders. He licked his face from chin to forehead, and then, shocking us all, shifted back into his human form.
Asher and a crowd of witches had gathered on the lawn now, and all of us busted up laughing at the sight of a very hot, very naked man straddling a very stunned demon.
“Dude, are you fucking kidding me?” Ronan shoved Emilio off and got back to his feet, dusting himself off. “I didn’t miss you that much! For fuck’s sake, put some clothes on.”
“No!” McKenna shouted. “Don’t cover up on our account, hot stuff.”
“Seconded,” Kasey, another witch from the prison, called out. Elena had bought everyone new phones, and she had hers out now, probably filming a livestream of the whole thing. Not that I blamed her.
“Even I got a little buzz from that display,” Asher said, kicking snow at Ronan.
Emilio smacked Ronan on the shoulder. “You love it and you know it, hellspawn.”
“I feel totally violated,” Ronan said, but he was grinning like an idiot. Rubbing the snow from his hair, he said, “Shit, it’s good to see you walking, brother.”
“Good to be walking.”
“All sorted?” Darius asked. Then, without waiting for a reply, “Excellent. Perhaps you might consider dressing, preferably before that summer sausage of yours turns into a cocktail wiener? It is ten below out here, you daft bastard.”
Emilio wasted no time in hauling Darius in for a hug. Unlike Ronan, Darius took the “violation” in stride.
“You look much better than the last time I saw you,” Darius said, his voice heavy with relief. He might not remember everything about Emilio, but he’d come to care for him all over again. That much was obvious.
“Unlike you guys.” Emilio wrinkled his nose. “What is that stench? I thought I smelled shifters. Elena and I bolted out here, thinking you’d been attacked.”
“We were waylaid by a pack of hybrid shifters,” Darius said. “Mountain lions. The whole thing was a mind-fuck cleverly disguised as an ambush.”
“Orendiel?” I asked, snapping my fingers for my hounds to come back. Though the wolves had decided we weren’t under immediate attack, my hounds were already patrolling the street in front of the house. I couldn’t blame them—they’d been cooped up most of the day on account of the snow. Seemed it was lightening up a bit now, though.
“Yes,” Jael said, coming out from behind the van with an armload of grocery bags. “Along with his associates on the fae council. They left us a message.”
“I don’t care what it takes,” Lansky was barking into his cell phone, pacing in the snow alongside the van. “Get a team up there. I need barricades between the seven-mile marker and the twelve. That whole section is officially closed until they can clear out the vehicles and the body. No, no ID. Let the M.E. figure it out.”
“Body?” I asked.
“Girl, you have no idea.” Haley handed me a package of toilet paper about the size of a small condo, then returned to the van to retrieve some kind of crate. With a bright, trademark-Haley smile, she said, “The good news? The alcohol survived the crash. I repeat, the alcohol survived the crash.”
Twenty-Two
RONAN
In celebration of our wolf pup’s triumphant return from the land of the near-dead, Elena had outdone herself in the culinary department, setting up a massive buffet in the dining room featuring all of Emilio’s favorites from the homeland. It was so good to be home, to be surrounded by everyone I cared about… All the Orendiel bullshit began to fade into the background.
Liam was still in the Shadowrealm, and part of me actually missed the guy, despite my feelings about what he’d done to get Gray’s soul back from hell. The longer I’d sat with it, the faster my rage had started morphing into something pretty damn unfamiliar to me.
Gratitude.
We’d all done things to keep her safe. To keep each other safe. I couldn’t fault him for that. Not when I caught her blue-eyed gaze across the table, the soft smile on her lips just for me. The woman still loved me, even after everything.
I gave her a wink, then reached for my glass. We may have been temporarily without everybody’s favorite surfing philosopher, but we still had a lot to celebrate tonight. It was the first time the rest of us had all been together in a long-ass time, and that alone deserved a toast.
So all around the dining table and spilling into the living room, we raised our glasses of whiskey and wine—and chocolate milk for Reva—and for the span of one incredible meal, we allowed ourselves to relax. To drink. To laugh. To just be.
But by the time the dinner dishes were cleared and the coffee and tres leches cake appeared, the mood had shifted. It was like we all sensed it at the same time—an invisible threat, still hanging over our heads, still lurking just outside the door.
“I feel like we’re still missing a lot of pieces to this puzzle,” Gray began, sneaking something under the table to one of her hounds. “But we can’t sit around waiting for answers that may never come. Especially not after what happened to you guys on the road tonight. We need to make a plan of attack.”
“Attack?” Reva set down the bite of cake she’d been about to take, the color draining from her face. She looked up at Gray, who was seated next to her. “I thought you guys were done fighting. Everyone’s here. Everyone got out. Even Emilio is better.”
Gray ran a hand over Reva’s fuzzy head. “We didn’t get everyone out, sweets. Jonathan had been keeping and tormenting other supernaturals besides witches. We can’t just turn our backs on them.”
“I know, but… What about their own people? Why does it have to be you guys?” The poor kid looked terrified, and I couldn’t blame her. These witches had become her family. We all had, in a very short time at that. She didn’t want to lose a single one of us.
“Because we know about the situation,” Gray said, “and together, we have the power to do something about it.” She took Reva’s hand in hers and smiled, her whole face lighting up with pride. “It’s kind of like when you guys were stuck in the caves. You were the only one who knew another way out, and even though it was a huge personal risk, you took it. You slipped away from the guards and snuck out right under their noses. Right?”
“I guess.”
“Look around, Reva. All these amazing witches sitting here tonight? That smart-ass demon over there snarfing down his fourth piece of cake, even though everyone else hasn’t even had one yet?” Gray grinned at Asher, who laughed with his damn mouth full, then shrugged and shoved in another bite. “They’re all here because of you. Because they were in trouble, and you had the power to do something about it, and you did it. No questions or second-guessing.”
“I’ll drink to that.” McKenna raised her glass again, nodding at Reva, and the rest of the witches and Ash followed suit.
Reva’s cheeks glowed pink once again, and she nodded and took another big gulp of her chocolate milk, looking about six years old instead of sixteen. Damn, sometimes it was easy to forget she was just a kid—one whose sense of security and normalcy had been stolen from her, time and again. By Norah. By whoever shit-ass adults abused or just plain lost track of her in the first place.
We’re not gonna let that happen again, kiddo…
“One thing’s for sure,” Ash said now. “The whole lure-them-out plan is shot to shit. From what you said about those mountain lion shifters, they’ve definitely got eyes on us. No way they’re taking the bait.”
“Agreed,” Beaumont said. “So that’s where our plan of attack comes in. It seems we’ll have to take the fight to them after all.”
“You talking about the Bay?” Emilio asked. He gestured for Elena to pass him the cake, and cut himself a hefty slice. I still c
ouldn’t believe how good he looked—even better than before the fight at the warehouse. The fact that he was even sitting here with us was a damn miracle. But smiling? Happy?
“You still thinking about our roll in the snow?” he asked, and it took me a half-second to realize he was talking about me. The whole table erupted in laughter. “You’re looking at me like you want to make out or something.”
“There’s not enough whiskey in this whole town to make that happen.” I lifted my coffee mug, which was half full of the stuff anyway, and grinned, taking a big gulp. “I was just thinking that the whole coming-back-from-the-brink-of-death thing is a good look on you.”
“And I’ll drink to that.” He lifted his mug and stretched across the table to clink it against mine.
“We’re all drinking to that.” Elena laughed and reached for the bottle of whiskey at the center of the table, topping off her own coffee, then passing the bottle to Gray. Around the table it went.
When we’d all settled down again, McKenna said, “Okay, so how can we bring the fight to the Bay? Jael said there’s no way in, not even by a sneak attack. We can’t even get close.”
“Anyone got any ideas?” I asked. “Any magic we haven’t thought of, spells we could use, weapons, something…”
Reva raised her hand. “Oh! I have an idea.”
I bit back a laugh, totally picturing her in school, squirming out of her chair to answer the teacher’s question. Pick me! Pick me!
“If it’s your idea, it’s bound to be good,” Gray said, and Reva grinned. “Let’s hear it.”
“What if I did something with my shadow traveling? I don’t know anything about disabling fae magic, but I might be able to get into the city astrally and snoop around. Maybe I could, like, spy? Find out what kind of spell they’re using or what else is happening over there? Anything could help.”
“It’s… possible.” Jael tapped an elegant finger against his coffee mug as he considered it. “Since she wouldn’t be physically trying to get into the Bay, the magic wouldn’t necessarily register her presence. She may be able to slip through.”
“Wouldn’t they have accounted for something like that though?” Haley asked. “Seems like a pretty big flaw in their security.”
“But they don’t even know about her,” Ash said. “You saw this little badass in the caves, Hay. She snuck out right under their noses, and they never gave it a second thought.”
“Shadow traveling is quite rare,” Jael said. “I don’t believe we’ve come across a witch with that power in decades. It’s unlikely that Orendiel and the hunters would’ve concerned themselves with something like that—they can’t possibly account for all variables. They’re more focused on Gray and the other supernaturals sitting around this table. Honestly, they may not even realize how strong the rest of the witches are. They may believe they’re still in a weakened state after the prison ordeal.”
“Yeah, underestimating us is kind of a hunter specialty,” McKenna said. “Dicks.”
Elena reached for the coffee carafe, topping off a few of our mugs. “Okay, in theory, I like Reva’s idea. We can protect her physically, and she can sneak into the city with her shadow mojo. But she still has to get close to the Bay, and I’m not sure how to do that. Between the storm, the road closures, and the risk of exposure to Darkwinter spies, it’d be a pretty big gamble.”
“Well, it’s not so much the distance that’s a problem,” Reva said. “I was able to get to Gray in that fireplace, right? And that was while I was here in the cave prison, and she was staying at the safe house near the Bay. So, it’s the same distance, basically.”
“So you think you can do it from here?” Elena asked her.
“Not at the moment. I mean, I could get there, sure. But I don’t think I could hold a clear connection for very long. Like that time with Gray, I was only able to get a few words out. Same with Emilio the first time I traveled to see him in the woods.”
“Right,” Emilio said. “It’d felt like a bad connection. It was easier for me to pick up on it in my wolf form, but even then, it was spotty and didn’t last very long.”
“And for this to work,” Elena said, “you’d need more time in there. Not just to spy, but to be sure you weren’t seen in the process. If they spotted you, even astrally, they’d know about our secret weapon, and you’d be on their radar in a big way. I won’t take that risk.”
“I can do it,” Reva said. “I know I can. I just need to practice. I need to work on sustaining the connection and keeping it clear.”
“We can all help her with that,” McKenna said, and the other witches nodded. “It’s not like we’re going anywhere with this storm, anyway.”
Elena finally agreed. “Let’s see how the practices go. We’ll check in a couple of days and figure out next steps.”
“Okay, so that’s a good start,” Gray said, passing Asher yet another piece of cake. I didn’t know how that bastard wasn’t four hundred pounds by now. “Hopefully Reva’s insights can help us track down Orendiel and pinpoint his base of operations. That way, if we can figure out how to break the magical security, we’ll know the primary target in the city.”
“I still feel like there’s someone higher up pulling the strings,” Emilio said. “Not just the council, but someone else. Someone with much bigger aspirations.”
“Bigger than wiping out supernaturals from the inside out, and stealing witches’ power?” Gray asked.
“I mean, those are major things,” Emilio said. “But hunters have always wanted that. And no offense, Jael, but you can’t tell me the fae are totally cool with witches and other supers having magic. That’s always been a sore point with the council.”
“Snobs,” Asher fake-coughed into his hand.
“No, you’re right,” Jael said. “I’m afraid my kind has always held a bit of an elitist attitude toward magic. But most of us have made peace with the fact that we have to share it. Most of us have no interest in subjugating witches or anyone else for that matter.”
“Still,” Emilio said, “some of you do. Darkwinter, specifically. So this is really nothing new for them, it’s just happening on a much bigger scale. But at the end of the day, Orendiel is still just a soldier. And so are Talia and Fenlos. I’m telling you guys, my gut says there’s more to this than just a coup.”
The house fell silent, all of us sipping our spiked coffee, nibbling on the last crumbs of cake. I sensed the mood shift again, the hope we’d built up slipping dangerously close to despair once again.
Not tonight. No fucking way.
“Look, guys,” I said. “The other night, Beaumont said we can’t let fear and speculation sidetrack us, and he’s right. We need to stick with the known quantities, and right now, that’s Orendiel and the Bay.”
The vampire nodded at me across the table. “Thank you, hellspawn. I didn’t know you’d been listening.”
I grinned at him. “What can I say, bloodsucker? I’m full of surprises.” Then, to the rest of the group, “So we’re in agreement? Gather intel on Orendiel and the Bay, figure out a way to get in there and neutralize the Darkwinter Knights, and take it from there. With enough witches on our side, I’m pretty sure we can show those hunters and the dark fae straight to the fucking door.”
“With enough witches?” At this, Gray’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Wait. I might have an idea on how we can get in.”
“Don’t keep us in suspense, Cupcake,” Asher said.
“We all know that witches help keep the power balance in check,” she said. “That’s why it was so easy for Orendiel’s Knights to destabilize the Bay and lock it up with fae mojo. Most of the witches had been imprisoned, murdered, or chased out, leaving the city wide open for a new power to slip in.”
“Yes,” Emilio said. “By the time we left the Bay to come here, the power structure was already crumbling. That’s when we started seeing a rise in supernatural-related crimes. The Bay was essentially falling apart before our eyes, and there wasn’t a
damn thing we could do about it.”
“So… What if we could counteract Darkwinter by restoring some of the power balance in the city?” she asked.
“What do you mean?” McKenna asked. “How?”
“We’ve got about two dozen witches in this house alone.” Gray rose from her chair, her excitement building. “I’m sure we could bring even more into the fold if we put the word out in the Cape and some of the neighboring towns.”
“You know, that’s not a bad idea,” Elena said. “We can check in with Verona Braden—she owns the metaphysical shop where Delilah was last seen. If anyone would know how to get in touch with the witches of Raven’s Cape, it’d be her.”
“Here’s what I’m thinking,” Gray continued. “We start putting the word out. Get everyone together. Bide our time a bit, train, figure out when it’s right for Reva to slip in there and poke around. Using her intel, we’ll narrow down our main targets and anything else we need to know. Then, assuming we get a large enough contingent of witches, we ride out to the Bay, see if we can break that spell with our own collective magic.”
“And once we’re in,” Haley said, “we take back our city. Fuck yeah, Desario.”
“Storm the castle, so to speak,” Darius said. “Excellent. I’m told I own a club in Blackmoon Bay. And a rather nice car.”
“I can attest to that,” Gray said, her cheeks darkening in a way that set a flare of jealousy straight into my chest.
Really? In Beaumont’s car?
I grabbed my drink, drowning the flood of images that thought unleashed. It’s not that I was jealous she’d been with him.
It was that she still could be with him. He may not remember everything about their relationship, but he could still touch her.
My heart burned with a now-familiar ache, but I shoved it way down. Regret had no place at this table. We were so close to figuring this shit out. Close to taking back what was ours.