Hearing me, Mistral chuckled. “They certainly do give new meaning to the idea of sibling rivalry.” He seemed relaxed for someone who hadn’t been able to go out into the city since his mother passed away. A lot had changed since then.
“It’s rather garish, isn’t it?” His eyes were on the largest neon sign above the entrance to the casino, depicting a dancing woman twirling amidst falling bills.
His predictable thoughts on the Circus somehow made me feel a little more at ease.
Sebastian and Penelope reached the entrance just ahead of us. A wraith stood inside, watching us with cool, impassive eyes. He had to know what was going on—pretty much all of the supernatural community did—but he let us walk by without comment.
Stepping into the colorful lights and noises of the casino was like entering a bubble. I had never much cared for the chaotic environment, especially now. My senses were going haywire.
Sebastian finally took the lead, guiding us to a poker table with several empty seats near a solid wall. A good place to defend ourselves and not get overwhelmed by numbers. Though Sebastian chose the table, Penelope sat first, acting very much like it was a race.
I sat as far from her as possible with Mistral beside me and Gabriel at our backs. For once the hulking goblin did not look out of place. Plenty of patrons had not so subtle bodyguards in a place like the Circus.
I gripped the edge of the table, feeling like all eyes were on me even though no one was obviously looking my way. Ringo had hidden in my hair at the sight of the first wraith, so there went my eyes in the back of my head. “Isn’t this a bit obvious?” I said through gritted teeth.
“Of course it is,” Crispin slid into the seat at my other side. “But that doesn’t mean they won’t take the bait.”
Penelope had already been dealt in and was ignoring us, her fingers dancing over her cards with practiced precision. I spotted a few friendly faces scattered through the crowd—allies we’d positioned throughout the Circus. None looked our wayexcept Braxton, who caught my eye and gave me a wink from across the room. Leave it to him to be cheery at a time like this. I could only hope he wouldn’t get hurt when everything went sideways.
My mouth went dry at the thought of him getting hurt. I considered ordering a drink to calm my nerves, but before I could even raise my hand, Gabriel’s fingers dug into my shoulder. In one fluid motion, he hefted me from my seat just as a light shattered above us, raining glass and sparks everywhere. Ringo clung on for dear life.
Then it was chaos. Bodies surged toward me from every direction. Maybe the plan had worked a little too well. Our allies emerged from the crowd to intercept my grandfather’s people, just as we’d arranged. Gabriel’s blade flashed silver in the neon lights. Mistral’s magic sent two attackers flying backward into a craps table.
I pressed my back against the wall, scanning the crowd desperately for my mother. She was supposed to bring our grandfather here once his allies were occupied so we could face him evenly matched. But where was she? My heart hammered against my ribs as the minutes stretched on.
The guys had herded me into a corner, catching any would-be kidnappers our other allies let slip through. Marcie had met with my mother long enough to tell her what time to come. Something was wrong. Maybe she’d already been captured. Maybe the only way this ended was with me in my grandfather’s grasp too.
“Stay behind me,” Gabriel shouted over the din, deflecting a shimmering ball of light with his sword. I didnotwant to know what that ball would have done had it hit one of us. Crispin and Mistral formed a protective semicircle around me while Sebastian darted through the melee in a streak of shadows, taking down our attackers with ruthless efficiency.
“Eva.” The voice came from beside me and I nearly jumped out of my skin. Marcie had appeared from nowhere, her eyes wide. “I can feel him. Our grandfather—he’s close.” She grabbed my arm. “Come with me. Now.”
“But we have to—”
“There’s no time. We could lose him.”
Trusting her, I let go, and the familiar nauseating sensation of a shift pulled at my insides. I gasped as reality bent around us. The last thing I saw was Sebastian lunging toward us, suspicion flashing in his eyes as he reached out and caught the edge of the shift. Then we all tumbled into the void.
5
Cold stone pressed against my knees as we materialized in what I suspected was a pocket realm not far from earth. The travel had only taken a heartbeat, and I wasn’t left feeling like I was about to lose my lunch. Ringo, however, swayed on my shoulder as I stood before gripping my hair for balance.
Gray stones rose like ancient teeth around us, the air thick with the metallic tang of magic. It was like a mixture between a manmade stone chamber and a living cave. I reached out for Sebastian, the only one who had made it through with us, then realized Penelope was beside him too. She must have been watching us rather than fighting to catch on so quickly.
But I didn’t understand why Marcie had shifted us so abruptly. We were all supposed to face my great grandfather together.
Things became a little more clear as Marcie stepped away from us. A pulse of magic breathed life into tiny floating orbs similar to Mistral’s wisplight.
At the other end of the small cavern stood who I could only assume was my great grandfather, his silver hair gleaming in the dim light, strong but wizened hands holding anopalescent sword against my mother’s throat. I wasn’t sure why I had expected someone who looked younger. Celestials were incredibly long lived—but nothing could truly live forever.
The blade caught the subtle rays of the wisplights, throwing rainbow fragments across my mother’s tired face. My stomach roiled as realization washed over me.
“You set me up,” I whispered, glancing at Marcie, who was avoiding meeting my eyes.
When she finally spoke, her voice was hollow. “He promised Helena would live if I brought you alone. It was the only way.”
My mother struggled against my grandfather’s grip. He held the blade more tightly to her throat, watching us impassively, waiting for us to approach.
“He’ll exchange her for you,” Marcie continued. “Once he has you, she will be forced to heal the pathways with the Realm Breaker. It was the only way I could keep him from killing her.”
