“You’re already saying yes,” I said. “I can feel it.”
She rolled her eyes, but then smiled, and I knew we were in business.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” I stepped around the counter and hugged her close, planting a big kiss on her cheek. “You really are my favorite sister. You know that, right?”
“I’m going to remember you said that when we meet the other two.” She squirmed out of my embrace and made a big show of wiping my kiss off her face. “If this goes sideways,you’retelling Grams.”
I nodded, keeping my thoughts to myself. Because if this thing went sideways, Grams would be the least of our worries. Sebastian, on the other hand…
“Okay,” Haley said. “Let me get this stuff to Verona. In the meantime, you put on the kettle and crush up some dried rosemary, forget-me-not, and vanilla bean.”
“For the spell?”
“Those herbs are associated with memories, so I’m going to have you and Darius drink an infusion before we start. Can’t hurt, right?”
“Good idea.”
“We’re also going to need black sea salt, water, six red candles, a sage bundle, and some matches. I’ll ask Verona for some crystals to help keep out negative spirit energy. That should create a magical barrier against any of our dead relatives,justin case any of them get curious.”
I was already rummaging through the pantry for the ingredients. “Is that everything?”
“Actually, we could use an assistant,” she said. “This spell is pretty intense. Once we get into the ritual, it might be helpful to have someone on the sidelines keeping an eye on things.”
“I would like to help, if you’ll have me.” Liam leaned against the doorway, hands in his pockets, his casual stance completely at odds with the hope and excitement in his eyes.
Since we’d moved into the lodge, I hadn’t spent much time with him, but his presence had been comforting. He’d been there when I’d brought Emilio back from the brink. He’d been there when I’d saved Asher’s soul from the devil’s trap in Norah’s attic. It seemed fitting that he’d be there when we brought Darius back.
Looking at him now, at the flannel shirt buttoned crookedly, the messy blond hair, those bright blue eyes that never seemed to dim, I felt a flicker of hope and excitement, too.
“Liam Colebrook,” I said with a grin, “you’re hired.”
Thirty-Three
GRAY
“How are you guys feeling?” Haley asked, checking her supplies one last time before finally shutting the door to the outside world. “Still good to go?”
Upstairs in the back corner bedroom I’d claimed as mine, Darius and I sat on the floor across from each other in the lotus position, gazing into each other’s eyes. A thick red candle burned between us, carved with runes, its golden light reflecting in his eyes. Beside us, sage smoke rose from a stone bowl, purifying our space.
It was just after sunset and the room was dim at the day’s end, yet for us, it felt like a beginning. A brand new day full of promise, potential, and possibility.
I was nearly giddy with it.
“Excellent,” I said, and Darius nodded. He hadn’t said much since we’d started, but I saw the hope in his eyes. He wanted this to work. Believed that it could.
“Liam,” Haley said, “go ahead and serve the infusion.”
Liam poured out two cups of liquid from a ceramic teapot on the dresser, passing one to each of us. The scents of rosemary and vanilla filled the room, wrapping me in a comforting embrace.
“As you’re sipping your tea,” Haley instructed, “I want you both to close your eyes, relax, and call up a particularly strong shared memory—one that comes to you easily, Darius.”
His full lips parted into a grin, and my insides fizzed. “The cabin,” he said. “Where—”
“TMI, vampire,” Haley teased. “We don’t need details. You guys just need to call it up for yourselves. In silence. Try to bring in as many sensory details as you can—sights, smells, sounds, tastes, feelings, intuitions, all of it. Once you’ve got that firmly in place, and your tea is finished, you can open your eyes again.”
We closed our eyes, and I let my mind wander back to the Shadowrealm, back to the snowy wood where we’d found our perfect hideaway. I heard the crackle of the fire he’d build, felt the warmth of the flames against my bare legs and the soft T-shirt Darius had dressed me in. The scent of the cabin’s bare wood interior mingled with the intoxicating whiskey-and-leather scent of my vampire, and my heart rate kicked up—both in the memory, and in the present moment. I drew in other details, too: the soft touch of his fingers on my skin as he’d traced circles across my forehead, calming me. The taste of his kiss, and the desperate need I felt for his touch. The warmth of his mouth between my thighs. The desire in his eyes when he’d finally claimed me, his words echoing in my memory…You absolutely intoxicate me…
My body was wound tightly, my breath coming in short bursts. I’d just finished the last of my tea, and I was certain I’d had a firm hold on the memory.
