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“In tumultuous times.” Titania stood. The Queen of Morning was brilliant and beautiful, and whatever strength she’d lost during the Great Divide was back. Her hair gleamed and her eyes were the clearest I’d ever seen them. She smiled softly at us. “And now, to the reason for our visit. We ask you to switch your allegiance to the Earthside Courts of Fae.”
I started to speak but she held up her hand.
“I know Morgaine paid you a visit about this, but she did so without our permission. We do not ask for the same reason she does. It comes down to this: We cannot allow the seals to be used, whether by Fae or human hands. If Morgaine does not come to understand this . . .” Her voice lingered over the words like a threat.
Aeval picked up her thought. “If Morgaine doesn’t voluntarily come around to our point of view, then Titania and I will take action to ensure she does. The fact is, as we understand the legends, no one has the power to wield the seals without putting everyone in jeopardy. We need your promise that you won’t hand over any more of them to Asteria until we know more. We aren’t asking you to give the seals to us, just hide them and keep them safe.”
I stared at them. They were serious. As I glanced at Delilah and Menolly, indecision clouded their faces. I turned back to Titania. “May we have some time to discuss this in private? We’ll contact you when we’ve made a decision.”
“Don’t dawdle,” Aeval said. “So much hangs in the balance. And don’t let familial loyalty interfere with the facts.”
She joined Titania near the door. Once again, I was struck by her beauty. A walking column of shadows and gossamer cobwebs, she was cloaked in the velvet black of the night sky. Her face was pale—as pale as my own—and by her very stance, her royalty proclaimed itself.
She caught my gaze. Without warning, her voice echoed in my head, ringing as clearly as if she were speaking aloud.
Camille, you sacrificed the Black Unicorn. You did what was necessary to give him rebirth. You understand the nature of the cycle. The Moon Mother chose wisely when she picked you for the task. You will make a worthy priestess, but do not throw away the opportunity because of outworn devotion and affiliations. You can never go back to the way things were.
I glanced around, but nobody else seemed to hear her. I turned back, gazing into those brilliant eyes, and felt the magic of the night rising through my body. I understand, I thought at her. We won’t just write off your request. I promise you that. Too much has happened to assume anything.
And with that, she nodded—almost imperceptibly—and sent me one parting thought. Remember, I owe you a favor. If you align yourself with our courts, you may all call in that marker and join my court instead of Morgaine’s. She may be a relative, but you are right to be cautious. She grasps for too much, too quickly.
And with that, they made their good-byes and left through the back door.
CHAPTER 20
“Well, what are we going to do?” Menolly looked in the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of blood labeled STRAWBERRY SHAKE. She tipped the bottle to her lips, smacking them as she drank. “These flavored bloods make all the difference in the world to me,” she added. “Thank you.”
“Not a problem.” Morio gave her a wide-ass grin. That was one thing I loved about the man—he enjoyed giving people small luxuries.
I let out a long sigh. “So, what do you think? The Keraastar Knights—a group of mortals, albeit changed in one way or another—wielding the seals?”
“If we throw ourselves in with the Triple Threat, we’ll be ostracized from Otherworld and branded as traitors. Then we’ll never find out what’s really going on,” Delilah said.
She was right. Openly defy Asteria and Tanaquar and we’d be screwed.
“Then it’s simple. We fake it. Make it look like we’re going along with their plan while secretly figuring out if we think it’s viable. Which may mean working with the Triple Threat.” Oh, that sounded like such a bad idea, but there was nothing else we could do. “Lying to Asteria and Tanaquar is dangerous, so we’d do best to avoid contact with them as much as possible.”
“When we find the sixth seal, we have to keep it secret,” Menolly said. “Because I don’t trust any of them. If Morgaine gets her paws on any of the seals, she’ll use them and screw us all. I think Aeval and Titania know that, too.”
“Agreed,” Delilah said. “So we lie and tell everyone we can’t find the next seal.”
“I can’t think of anything better right now. We’ll have to be very careful, though. Lying to them is tantamount to cutting our throats if they find out. Any of them.” I shook my head. “In the meantime, we have to hunt down Grandmother Coyote and ask for her help.”
As I pushed back my chair, the phone rang.
Delilah answered briefly, then handed the phone to Vanzir. As we helped Iris clear the table, he held a whispered conversation, then hung up.
“Well, I have some good news for a change. At least, I think it’s good news,” he said, leaning against the counter. “Carter’s got a lead on where we can find the Bonecrusher. We can go over to his place tonight, if you want.”
Thank the gods, I thought. We needed a break. We’d been slogging through mud a yard deep. “I’m so tired I could spit, but let’s head down there. We’ll sleep afterward.”
Smoky gave me a quizzical look but I shook my head. Any nookie was going to have to wait. At this stage in the game, the idea of just crashing into bed was whoopee enough for me.
Seattle was a brilliant sight during the night hours, filled with towering buildings and bright lights, but unless you were near the Opera House or some of the clubs, not much happened on the streets except for down in the Industrial District, where the vampire clubs like the Fangtabula or Dominick’s were located.
Carter lived on Broadway, the home of the subculture. But the wide street also played host to the druggies and hookers who plied their wares along the rain-soaked pavement. His apartment was belowground, with a concrete stairwell running down to it. A metal railing topside kept passersby from falling in, and a magical barrier kept the thieves and lowlifes from bothering him. But overall, it wasn’t the most comfortable place to visit on a blustery autumn night.
At least our cars would be safe, though. Carter’s magical boundary extended curbside for three or four spaces along the building he made his home in. Rather than all descend on the demon, Delilah, Chase, Trillian, and Smoky had stayed home. Now, as we headed down toward Carter’s door, Menolly poked me in the ribs and nodded across the street to where two hookers stood, watching us. Except they weren’t hookers. They both had distinct demonic auras.
