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Grieve gave me a wry smile. “I suppose we should get out there, but before we do, do you want the last cupcake?”
I stared at the snack cake. “Leave it. A charm that our future will be filled with cupcakes and fluff and the lightness of summer.”
As the last of the candles died down, leaving us in darkness, I opened the door. Clean, ready to plunge back into the battle, we returned to the main room.
Lannan was still there but about ready to leave to do whatever it was he intended to do. He watched every move we made as we reentered the room but said nothing and vanished around the corner.
Grieve glared after him, whispering, “I hate that he can make your body respond to him.”
“But my heart doesn’t. Bodies are…physical. I can’t help my reaction—he’s a vampire and I’ve drunk his blood. But my love for you is never tainted by his touch.”
“I hate that he can make you enjoy his attentions. I know that you can’t stand him and I would do anything to put an end to his attentions. But there’s nothing I can do to stop it except to kill him and you won’t allow me.”
“You can’t. Not yet. We need him, as much as I hate to admit it.” Lannan was a necessary evil at this point, and we all knew it—especially Lannan. Which meant he could be as cocky as he wanted and get away with it.
“As you wish. But if he hurts you, I will stake him, brutally and with as much pain as I can bring to bear. You belong to me. And no one can sever our bond.” Grieve pulled away, shoving his hands in his pockets. He began to pace. “I feel cooped up, trapped here. But if I go out, Myst will hunt me down.”
Luna, who had been standing back, watching but saying nothing, stepped forward. “You know that my sister is one of the Akazzani. Maybe she can help us? I told you, they have a lot of ancient texts. The Rise of the Indigo Court can’t be the only treatise written on the Vampiric Fae. There has to be more information hidden away in the vaults of the Society. Maybe…maybe there’s something about reversing the process, if you aren’t born into the Indigo Court?”
We turned to her. She was a pretty woman, shorter even than I was, and plump, with long dark hair gathered back in a sleek ponytail. Her eyes were the color of her hair, ringed with silver sparkles. Luna was a bard, one of the yummanii—human, but her magical powers were stronger than the average person, and her voice was like a melody scaling a mountain, crystal clear and ringing one moment, throaty and rich the next. Kaylin had been instantly drawn to her—I could see it in his demeanor, but I had no clue whether she felt the same way. Or if she even sensed his interest.
“Do you think there’s a possibility of finding something to change Grieve back?” It had not occurred to me that we might be able to reverse the process.
She shrugged. “I haven’t a clue, to be honest. But we can find out.”
“How would we go about doing that? I thought the Akazzani is supposed to be a closed society.” The thought of diving into those books, of perhaps gleaning far more than a cure for Grieve, lured me in. And what if we could find other vulnerabilities that we could exploit against the Indigo Court?
“Zoey is loyal to me. I know her oaths bind her, but if I tell her what’s at stake…” Luna pulled out her cell phone. “I should call her.”
“They allow cell phones in their midst?” Kaylin cocked his head, giving her an odd look. “Last I heard, secret societies at least tried to stay…well…secret.”
Luna snickered and blinked a flirty look at him. I didn’t even think she realized she was doing it. “This is the twenty-first century, not the 1900s. They not only allow cell phones, but they sanction occasional visits home, as long as the society member observes the rules. Zoey could sneak out the books and return them when we’re done. Books are to be used—information should flow rather than be locked up away from the world. Though Zoey’s the only member of my family I’d trust with the information about where we are and why.”
She paused, waiting for me to give her the go-ahead. I looked around. Kaylin nodded. Peyton and Rhiannon added their approval. My father remained silent. Lannan was out of the room.
Grieve slowly inclined his head. “I’m willing to chance it if she can find anything. I have to shake these bonds. I’m tired of feeling like my hands are tied.”
Majority ruled.
I turned back to Luna. “Go for it. Call her after we finish our meeting.” She nodded, sliding her phone into her pocket. I glanced around. “I guess we’d better haul Lannan’s ass back in here. We need everybody present because I want all the input that I can get. I have an idea, too.”
Lannan reluctantly joined us, looking bored. He stared at me, ignoring Grieve’s dirty glances. My father just shook his head and rubbed his brow. He gave me a look as if to say, You caused it, you fix it.
As we sat around the table, I looked at each one in turn. We all had our strengths, we all had our weaknesses. I wasn’t going to lie: The fact that Lainule was no longer on our team stung. The same with Anadey and Leo. They weren’t exactly enemies, but they had all betrayed us, in one way or another. So much had gone wrong, so fast.
“I think I know a way we can regain Lainule’s help. It’s dangerous, but in my opinion, it’s the only thing we can do. We need Summer’s help, and I don’t want to be the one dividing my father from the Queen of Rivers and Rushes.” I looked up at him. That little piece of guilt wasn’t going to go away.
“You are not the dividing line, my daughter. Lainule has her own mind and we’ve argued over many things throughout the years. This is simply one more squabble.” His eyes lit up. “The Queen of Summer has a temper as volatile as fire pouring from the sun. She embodies the flame. It is her nature.”
“Yeah, but I don’t like being on the wrong end of her torch. And we need her. We need her to give up on Geoffrey.”
Luna cocked her head to the side. “Why is she so desperate that she would be part of his plans?”
“Cicely knows why.” Wrath gave me a warning look.
I nodded. “If Myst finds Alissanya—Lainule’s heartstone—she can destroy the Queen of Rivers and Rushes. And with Myst controlling the woodland, she will find it. It’s only a matter of time. Lainule is a desperate woman, Summer Queen or not. She was hoping that Geoffrey would help her destroy Myst before that plays out.”
“What do you need from us?”
