Proof of Life (The Potentate of Atlanta Book 4)

by Hailey Edwards

  “The archive is a…portal?”

  “Yes and no.” He smiled his maddening smile. “An archive is a gateway into a world where such things as these witchborn fae do is possible.”

  A low growl vibrated in the air, barely loud enough for my ears, and Midas snarled, “You mean Faerie.”

  “I do indeed.” Vasco picked lint off the cushion next to him. “Your coven doesn’t own a closet. They own a world. A corner of it. A pocket. More of a speck, really. Populated by the souls of all those they have taken.”

  Bishop made a sound of annoyance that earned him a sigh from Vasco.

  “For the sake of your necromancer,” he said to Bishop, “I will frame it in a way she will understand.”

  “That would be nice,” I volunteered, happy to play dumb to get the full scoop.

  “The coven summons what souls they want for any given task and then invokes a voluntary possession. They embrace those long-dead forms, absorb their thoughts and their feelings, before twisting the souls to suit their purpose.”

  “That’s horrific.” Numbness spread through my hand where I clutched the sword, and I returned it to Ambrose before I did something embarrassing like drop it in front of Vasco. “How is it possible?”

  “You couldn’t comprehend it if I explained it to you,” he said benignly, then flicked a wrist, “and I would never do that. Such abominations shouldn’t be encouraged, they’re a blight on all worlds, and I wouldn’t offer up the blueprints for free in any case.”

  “He’s saying you would have stepped into Faerie—like the Faerie—if you had gone down those steps?” Lisbeth paled. “That’s… I mean… Wow.” She leaned against Ford. “I know it’s a real place, but an access point? That makes it really real. Too real.”

  Understanding slammed into me with the force of a minotaur chasing after a red flag.

  The witchborn fae had created actual routes to Faerie from Earth, and Natisha wanted witchborn fae hearts. Her avariciousness began to make more, and worse, sense. We figured she wanted to harvest power from the hearts, but this was next level. She must require a certain number of them to create her own passkey that would allow her to open their existing doors between our worlds rather than forge her own.

  Yeah.

  That made more sense.

  Witchborn fae straddled the divide between witch and fae, Earth and Faerie. I hadn’t realized how literal, how physical, it was.

  Another thought occurred to me. “Can the coven use these archives to traverse our world as well?”

  “Yes,” Vasco answered slowly. “There are only four at any given time, one established for each compass point. Their tethers can be moved, but it requires great strength and a large coven to anchor them. I had no idea the southernmost one had been relocated to Atlanta until Bishop texted me.”

  How or why Bishop had him on speed dial wasn’t any of my business, so I didn’t ask.

  “It can’t have been here long,” he continued. “I would have noticed the smell.”

  “The archive smells?”

  “Like home,” Vasco said wistfully. “It will draw fae to it like flies to honey.”

  “And the coven will kill them,” Bishop said harshly. “Or worse.”

  Meaning they would add the interesting ones to the coven’s growing collection and dispatch the rest.

  “That explains why they’re impossible to find these days.”

  This might also be the reason Liz blew her cover. She was active prior to my family’s arrival, meaning the coven had been willing to sacrifice a critical asset even before they diverted her focus to keeping me too busy to discover what they felt was worth the loss of a well-liked and well-established mole to accomplish.

  “You have the sight,” Vasco agreed. “It forced them to hide in less obvious places.”

  “What would have happened if we had stepped into the archive?”

  The sound of Midas’s voice brought my head up and my attention to him.

  “A thing possessed cannot be possessed,” he said to Midas while staring at me. “You, however, would have been taken. The souls are hungry, and the wearing of them is all that sates the gnaw in their guts. It’s a phantom sensation that only eases when they’re working in concert with the coven. That’s how the coven controls them. The ravenous things are all too eager for relief when they’re called to ever turn down a summons.”

  Blocking out the horror of their existence, I focused on the details. “You’re saying I can go down safely?”

  “Down, yes. Safely, no.”

  “You’re incredibly helpful.” I slow-clapped for him. “Really. I mean it. A true giver.”

  “Shadow child, nothing in this life is free.” A cruel smile twitched on his lips. “You ought to know the cost of ambition better than anyone. Who are you to judge the price or those willing to pay it?”

  Temper on the rise, Bishop intervened. “Enough.”

  “We’ve reached the end of our bargain,” Vasco told him. “My portion of our business is concluded.”

  “Agreed,” Bishop exhaled. “I’ll stop by later with the payment.”

  Lust glittered in Vasco’s eyes as they swept over Bishop’s grim face. “I look forward to collecting.”

  Under his breath, Bishop muttered a response in a language unknown to me that made Vasco laugh.

  From the way Midas stared at the floor, I got the sense he understood but wished he hadn’t.

  I was definitely asking him about it later.

  After our guest left, through the window, which had me questioning how functional his tattoo might be, I flopped down onto the couch, sank into the cushions, and debated shutting my eyes until I fell asleep. I must not be the only one wishing I could sleep off the nightmare scenario Vasco had dumped in our laps. The others claimed their own spots, and we all just sat and let this latest revelation settle around us.

  “Do we have to poke the hornets’ nest?” Lisbeth wondered out loud. “Can’t we ward it to keep others out, them in, and leave it be?”

  “We could,” Ford said, thinking along the same lines, “but that would mean dumping the problem in someone else’s lap to solve later.”

  Oh, how tempting that would be. To drape it around the next potentate’s shoulders when the time came. Except for the fact I had untold years ahead of me and no idea how many of them I would spend as champion of this city. The pack was here, so Midas would stay, which meant I would too, but early retirement sounded sweet right about now.

  Thanks to Remy, I had a budding sheet empire to fall back on.

  Thanks to Midas, I was co-beta and had a pack to help manage.

  Thanks to Linus, I had the cash to do pretty much anything I wanted.

  But thanks to Ambrose, I was in a unique position to fight back against the coven.

  Atlanta was my home now, and its citizens were mine to protect. I had family here. Midas, Tisdale, Remy, Ford, Bishop, and the rest of the team. I had worked too hard to walk away from my duty because it was hard or scary or—let’s be honest—likely to kill me.

  “We can’t,” I contradicted him. “Natisha wants those beating hearts for a reason. Seven of them. That’s a magical number.” I flicked a glance at Bishop, who had warned me realm walking might be in her plans. “Now we’ve got a much clearer idea what doors she can unlock if we give her the right keys.”

  “She’s right.” Midas lent his weight to my argument. “We can’t hand Natisha that type of power.”

  “You must honor the bargain.” Bishop frowned in Ford’s direction. “You won’t like the consequences if you don’t.”

  “We’ll honor the bargain,” I assured him, since we had no choice if we wanted to keep Ford alive. “We’ll just have to find a way around giving her what she wants.”

  Lisbeth curled into Ford’s side. “How do we do that?”

  “I don’t know yet,” I admitted. “I’m working on it.”

  “I’m sorry.” Ford rubbed the base of his neck. “I didn’t mean to
make more work for you.”

  “You’re worth it,” Lisbeth said with quiet certainty. “You’re a good man, Ford.”

  “She’s right.” I smiled at him, but it was as tired as it was true. “You are worth it.”

  “The coven is an issue she would have faced regardless.” Bishop tossed in his two cents. “The archive is too. Your role in the bargain is one complication in dozens, the proverbial needle in a haystack by comparison.”

  Brow wrinkling, Ford scratched his chin. “Uh, thanks?”

  “Sentimentality aside, we need you,” Bishop continued. “You’re a solid enforcer with a decent tactical mind. We need all the brains we can get if we’re going to figure out how to destroy the archive, the coven, the hearts, and Natisha.”

  Midas jerked upright, his voice a jagged rasp. “Destroy…Natisha?”

  “If we can’t think our way out of your bargain, we have to void it.”

  “Goddess,” I breathed. “That’s a bit extreme.”

  “And by extreme,” Ford pitched in, “she means virtually impossible.”

  “All fae can die.” Bishop shifted uncomfortably. “That doesn’t mean they’ll go down easy.”

  A buzz in my pocket had me fishing out my phone, and I fumbled it when I saw the number. “Hey.”

  “I’m calling with an update,” Abbott said gently. “Adelaide and Boaz are both well enough to go home, and Matron Pritchard is demanding an early release as well.” He hesitated. “Linus discussed the arrangements for Mr. Whitaker?”

  “Yes.” I relaxed in slow increments. “Do you have a facility in mind?”

  “I do.” He exhaled. “It’s not cheap, but it’s the best. He said that’s what you wanted.”

  “I can afford it,” I assured him. “It’s worth it if it gets him well.”

  “I’ll begin the paperwork then.”

  “Thanks.”

  “With your permission, I’m going to encrypt all four files and transfer them to my home computer.”

  That pulled me upright and drew Midas’s attention. “Any particular reason why?”

  “There are commonalities between Matron Pritchard, Boaz Pritchard, and yourself that would make you more comfortable if they weren’t in a database where other staff might access their records in the event of an emergency.”

  “Oh.”

  “Especially since you lack similar commonalities with your sister or your father.”

  “Um…”

  “You don’t owe me an explanation.” He kept his tone gentle. “You’re Hadley Whitaker, future Potentate of Atlanta, and the mate of my beta. You’re pack. Whatever else you are, whoever else you might have been, doesn’t matter to me.”

  That seemed to be going around a lot lately, and I couldn’t help but feel it was too good to be true.

  “Thanks, Abbott.”

  “Don’t thank me yet.” He laughed. “We’ll have to update your medical records. Based on what I’ve learned, that means I need blood and tissue samples.”

  “What if I told you I plan on living forever?”

  “I would say that’s very nice, but that living forever could still get you killed.”

  An ungrateful noise clawed up my throat that I was too dignified to admit was a whine.

  “Fine,” I grumbled. “I’ll submit to testing.” Finger on the red dot, I added, “Eventually.”

  Needless to say, I hung up before the lecturing started and didn’t answer when he redialed.

  It wasn’t a perfect solution, obviously, because I would have to go down there, as I said, eventually.

  Sooner rather than later based on the discovery of the archive and its nasty warren of surprises.

  “My what big teeth you have,” Midas teased. “The better to torment healers with?”

  “If I don’t keep him on his toes, who will? Honestly, I’m performing a public service.”

  As long as he didn’t keel over from high blood pressure, I was sure he would adapt and overcome.

  “Mmm-hmm.” Midas wound one of my curls around his finger. “How kind of you.”

  “I’m ready for a medal ceremony when you are,” I countered sweetly. “Um, Midas?”

  “Yes?”

  “Is that your phone in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?”

  Brows crashing down, he attempted a flat stare ruined by the amused spark in his eyes. “Hadley.”

  “The vibrating thing is new.” I kept the smile off my face. “But I’m willing to work around it.”

  Ignoring me, he checked his phone then flashed me a wide smile full of heart-stopping beauty.

  Uh-oh.

  “What’s up?” I scooted closer as his thumbs flew across the screen. “Can I see?”

  Leaning away, he kept his head down. “No.”

  “They’re only going to devolve from here,” Bishop promised the others. “We might as well go.”

  “HQ at dusk?” Lisbeth rose and tugged Ford after her. “We’ll all think better after we’ve slept.”

  “Yeah.” Bishop waved a hand. “We’ll sleep off today and meet up tomorrow.”

  Ford draped his arm across her shoulders. “Drive you home?”

  She leaned into him. “Only if you don’t mind.”

  They walked out, their sides pressed together, and it made my heart swell to see them happy.

  “And then there were three.” Bishop leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. “This is big, kid.”

  “The coven doesn’t do things by half.”

  “The boss can handle it if you need him to,” he said with quiet worry, “just this once.”

  “You heard Vasco.” I shook my head. “I’m uniquely suited to this mission.”

  “That’s what worries me.” He rubbed his hands over his face. “He’s got an angle, but I can’t see it yet. That concerns me.” He dropped his arm. “Natisha knew you could survive the archive. How she knew it would relocate here and why she needed a spiritually bulletproof pawn worries me too.”

  Fae plots were onions with layers upon layers upon layers of deceit, ambition, and malice woven in.

  “You need sleep,” I told him. “We all do.”

  For once, I wished I could be the friend who walked him home, but he wasn’t going home tonight.

  Perhaps reading my unease, he threw effort into a smile. “Things are always clearer tomorrow.”

  All jokes aside, I rubbed my damp palms down my jeans. “Do you think we have that much time?”

  “We’ll take the time. Otherwise, we’ll be making their job too easy for them.”

  “Linus isn’t wandering a bookstore, is he?”

  “No.” He pushed off the couch and stood. “They found Liz at the auto parts store.”

  “That’s good news.” I pondered his grim tone. “That means Grier can interrogate her about the archive.” I was missing something, but I couldn’t put my finger on what had gotten under his skin. Other than Vasco. “How is she?”

  “She got bruised in the scuffle, but Linus and Grier were as careful as they could be, for the baby’s sake.”

  That would put Ares’s mind at ease. “Where is she?”

  “The infirmary, for now.” An uneasy quiet filled him. “Abbott is assessing her health and, assuming the pregnancy is verified, the baby’s as well. He mentioned bringing in a specialist to help identify its species. There’s no reason to think the baby is gwyllgi. It’s more likely Liz chose a fae or witch donor.”

  The thought had occurred to me, right after I used the baby for leverage against Ares, which was a new low for me. The truth might tear open old wounds, but it was better for us to know than to be surprised. Especially if the fetus’s emerging powers, assuming it had any, put the pregnancy at risk.

  “We caught the bad guys—gals?—and have a potential insider source on the coven and on their archive. Those are all good things.” I was trying for upbeat when I asked, “Why the long face?”

  “There’s another problem that maybe you haven�
��t noticed yet.”

  “I’m sure there are dozens.”

  “Liz cut Ares off from the pack for a multitude of reasons, but this one…” He hesitated. “This one was done out of spite.”

  Spite was nothing new, motivation-wise, for the coven either. “I don’t follow.”

  “Tisdale isn’t judge and jury on this one.”

  The truth struck me with an unwelcome flash of clarity. “I am.”

  For anyone else, the punishment would have already equaled an automatic death sentence.

  Liz’s deviousness might have impressed me, if it hadn’t hurt so frakking much to grasp her endgame.

  “Goddess, what a mess.”

  I attempted to sink into the cushions, never to be seen or heard from again.

  I didn’t get far.

  Damn it.

  “Shelve it for tonight,” Bishop advised. “Nothing has to be decided right now.”

  Determination carved deep grooves into Midas’s forehead, and I could almost hear the wheels spinning as he searched for ways to get me off the hook. With Linus in town, I could pass the buck easily, but that was a coward’s solution.

  Midas’s phone vibrated again, and he answered it this time. “We’re on our way.”

  “What’s wrong?” Adrenaline flooded my system, and my fingertips tingled. “What happened?”

  “Mom has requested our presence at the den.”

  I surprised myself, and him, if his expression was to be believed, by agreeing. “Let’s go.”

  Ares was a delicate subject, and I welcomed all the advice I could get before making a ruling.

  The three of us walked out together and rode the elevator down in silence.

  “HQ at dusk,” I reminded Bishop when we hit the lobby. “Do your best to get the whole team there.”

  “Will do.” He snapped out a salute. “Be careful out there.”

  “You too.”

  Bishop was adept at maneuvering the treacherous depths of fae bargains, but that didn’t mean I didn’t worry about what pieces of himself he gave away. I hoped the cost of Vasco’s cooperation hadn’t been too high.

  Déjà vu struck me when Ford guided his truck against the curb as we exited the building.

  Waving a limp hello, I glanced over at Midas. “He got called to the den too?”