“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 Ishouldcome 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…
