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My best friend had dark circles under her heavily lidded eyes. Keeping the portals to Mirognya open for so long was taking its toll, and taking on her new role as coven representative hadn’t helped.
“What’s the status?” Thane asked Adam as he pulled out an empty seat for me.
Even in times of war, he was the perfect gentleman.
“We will enter the Otherworld at first light,” the archangel said, his voice grim. “We have brought over the dragons and phoenixes thanks to Ms. Parker’s skill with portals.” He nodded in her direction, receiving only a tired blink in return. His gaze fell on Thane. “I would like to ask you and Ivan to realm walk a small contingent to the Otherworld before we open the portal tomorrow morning.”
Thane gave a brisk nod. “Of course. We’ll ensure the location is secure.”
My heart thudded wildly. He must have felt my anxiety through our link because he reached over and took my hand, giving it a squeeze. I knew Adam’s plan made sense and was a shrewd tactical move, but I hated knowing my mate might be among the first casualties.
I swallowed down rising bile, grimacing at the burn.
“Any questions?” Adam asked, readying to stand.
Here we go.
I cleared my throat. “We, uh, have some news. Colin has spellbound Queen Fiadh and controls her every movement. The Last Hope can break the spell and free the queen, ensuring our victory.”
Kit narrowed her eyes and leaned forward onto the table. “How’d you find that out?”
“What, I can’t be good at digging up dirt like you?” I asked with a huff.
She just stared at me.
I sighed. “Fine. We have a new source—Prince Edric. He can get us close enough to the queen to unbind her.”
“But he’s on Colin’s side, isn’t he?” Angela asked, her gaze flicking around the ground for confirmation.
Thane shook his head and explained what the prince had told us about Colin and Fiadh’s history, leaving out one important undead detail for now. “We have no real reason to believe the prince isn’t telling the truth.”
Angela frowned, though she nodded slowly. “Fae can’t lie, right?”
“Not outright,” I said, “but they can fudge the truth fairly well.”
“How did he know about the weapon?” Kit asked, her narrowed eyes glinting dangerously.
“He didn’t,” I said.
“So you told him?” Her tone was incredulous, instantly setting off my defensiveness.
I glared at her. “No, he’s got his own sources.”
“How did you come to meet with Prince Edric?” Adam asked before she badgered me more.
I turned my glare on him, struggling to control my anger as I remembered his involvement with Xavier’s escape. “We know the same vermin.”
Adam looked between me and Thane, realization lifting his eyebrows. “I see. I presume you would like an explanation.”
The others adjusted their positions and shared puzzled looks.
“You presume correctly,” I said, trying hard to keep the bite out of my tone.
Adam steepled his fingers together in front of his lips. “What the rest of you do not know is that Xavier Garcia is alive and has worked with the DEA for the past several years.”
He let that sink in, and I swear we could have heard a pin drop.
“Until the situation with Sophia Clark, I was unaware of his illegal extracurricular activities,” he continued with a sigh. “I was as shocked as you were. Unfortunately, we had not finished our work at the time of his arrest, and I needed his unique skills and contacts to collect information.”
