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“So you will come?” I gazed up at her, marveling at the quiet strength she’d been showing through all of this.
“Of course. Remember? We’re fire and ice, amber and jet. We’re cousin-twins. Where you go, so will I.” And with that, she headed toward the bedroom. Chatter watched her, wearing his heart on his sleeve.
Peyton, Luna, and I stood, and after murmuring quiet “good nights,” we followed her. The night winds howled outside the warehouse, and I closed my eyes, wondering just what the hell we were heading into tomorrow.
Whatever lay ahead of us couldn’t be much worse than what we’d already been through. And maybe, just maybe, we’d be back on the offensive again instead of playing with a wounded defense.
Chapter 9
At first light, when we were sure the light-rage had hit and driven all but the most resilient of the Vampiric Fae into a comatose stupor, it was time to head out. Everyone volunteered to go, but we couldn’t all go traipsing through the woods. Too many bodies attracted too much attention.
“Rhiannon, Chatter, Grieve. You come with me. Also…Kaylin. Peyton, you and Rex and Luna gather our things so we can move into Lannan’s mansion.” Before there could be any protests, I held up my hand. “I know, but we’re going. I have to and I’m not going alone.”
I so did not want to live under Lannan’s roof, but it was for the best. And I had my orders. Lannan would not brook outright disobedience. I’d better do as he said.
Another thought occurred to me. “With both the Shadow Hunters and the vampires down for the day, you might take a drive by the Veil House and see what’s going on over there. Maybe look around for anything else we can salvage. Especially since Ysandra said we can probably get a loan to fix the damage.”
Luna’s phone rang and she answered. After a moment, she hung up and clapped her hands. “My sister will be here this afternoon at two P.M. Zoey thinks she’s found something that may help us.”
“Where do you have to pick her up?”
She shook her head. “She will find me. She always does. I have no clue how the Akazzani travel, but it’s not like we do.”
Kaylin looked concerned and motioned me to the side. “I don’t like leaving them alone.”
“You think they’re in danger? The vampires are sleeping and Myst’s people are down with the light-rage.”
“True, but remember—Leo and Geoffrey sent day-runners to kidnap you and Rhiannon yesterday. Don’t you think they might have been more than a little upset when the men didn’t return last night? My guess is that they’ve already assigned somebody else to find out what happened to their little assassination brigade.” He leaned against the table, his jeans tight and form-fitting.
I glanced over at Luna. She was watching him out of the corner of her eye. She looked nervous, and vulnerable. And chances are, her sister wasn’t geared to fight—Akazzani or not.
Turning to my father, I said, “Kaylin makes a good point. If the day-runners found us yesterday, we should assume that more may be coming to look for us today. And most of us will be off after the heartstone. Can you take them with you? Will it be an affront if you take them into the realm of Summer?”
I wasn’t sure how the Fae would take to Rex, especially, because Weres weren’t always buddy-buddy with the Fae, but that was the only thing I could think of. They could go to Lannan’s mansion but I wasn’t comfortable with that until Lannan and Regina woke.
Wrath stared at the three of them. “We don’t often welcome strangers into our realm, but in this case I think we might make an exception.” He motioned to Luna. “The three of you will accompany me and obey my directives while we are there. Certain rules of etiquette for non-Cambyra apply and you must obey them.”
“What about my sister? She won’t be able to find me if I’m in the realm of Summer.” Luna began gathering up spell components and stashing them in a bag.
“If she can find you without directions, as you say she can, then we’ll wait outside the entrance to the portal this afternoon. Text her to tell her our plans. That way she’ll be able to home in on you when it’s time, and then we can take her back into Summer with us.” He turned to me. “You are sure you wish to risk this? Remember what my Lady said: You do this, and it forever will change your life, and the lives of those around you.”
I closed my eyes, searching the slipstream for any hint of what was to come. But it was silent and offered no answers. The only sounds I could hear were the the gentle movements of Ulean swishing around me. Slowly, I nodded.
“It’s Lainule’s only hope. I made a promise. I intend to keep it.” I turned to look over our supplies. We were taking backpacks with food, water, weapons, and a velvet box in which to put the heartstone, should we find it. “Let’s get dressed and head out.”
We dressed in layers and then slipped the packs on our backs. I strapped my fan around my wrist, and my moonstone pendant that helped me turn into an owl was hanging around my neck. I was almost to the point where I didn’t need it, but it still gave me comfort and a little boost. Lastly, I slipped the dagger my father had given me into my belt sheath, and a shorter blade into a sheath on my boot.
“We really need obsidian weapons—they affect the Shadow Hunters far more than silver or steel.” It had occurred to me that if we were all equipped with obsidian blades, it would make fighting Myst’s army much easier.
“Obsidian?” Rex looked up from where he was packing a bag. “If we can find a chunk of raw obsidian, I can make us all blades. I’m good at flint knapping. It takes some time, though.”
Wrath cleared his throat. “Cicely, we agreed that you would leave the blade alone.”
I let out a long sigh. “I know, but I’m rethinking that plan. The Vampiric Fae are especially susceptible to wounds made with obsidian, even though they use the blades. It seems that obsidian is entwined with their nature. I know what it does to me, Wrath, and I’m willing to chance it. I have to learn how to master the power so that it can’t possess me, so I can use it.”>But Rex nodded. “You did what was necessary.”
“I do not need your approval, werepuma, but yes, I did.” Lannan looked over at me, his eyes no longer filled with sensual fire but instead aloof and determined. “He betrayed Geoffrey. He would have betrayed us.”
Unfortunately, he was right. We could never have trusted Erik not to give us away. Instead of letting the horror of the situation paralyze me, I chose to focus on what we’d learned.
