Page 139 of Fallen Court

“Too obvious, right?” She grinned, but her face fell quickly, like she had suddenly remembered we were talking about murders. “One more death, and you’ll have five points. Five points makes—”

“A pentacle,” I finished for her.

“One of the primary magical symbols used in binding spells.” She tapped one of the spots. “I thought they were targeting all three parishes—going after the heart of New Orleans. But the human tourist doesn’t match the pattern.”

“Cate examined that body,” Roark reminded me. “She thought the woman had been killed somewhere else and the body was moved to St. Roch.”

Not enough blood, clotting wounds, other little differences that didn’t fit the pattern—like the victim being human.

But Willow looked vindicated. “Then she could have been killed anywhere in the city, and I bet she was killed somewhere in this circle.”

“Why move the body all the way out there, though?” Roark asked.

“To keep us from realizing they were targeting the three parishes.” She rolled her eyes.

I remained silent as I considered what she said. If she was right, the murders were more than an attempt to intimidate us. They were trying to undo the spell. I’d known someone was betraying me, but this? Whoever it was had put my entire court and all of New Orleans at risk.

“There’s a lot more to the bona fides than some boundaries on a map,” Roark reminded me in a low voice, casting a meaningful glance at her. A signal to warn me that we might need to act.

“Like what?” she asked.

A smooth smile slid over his face. “That’s just what I’m told,” he lied. “The covens created the spell. Your guess is as good as mine as to how it works.”

Even I didn’t quite know how they’d done it. That had been part of the plan. The fewer people who knew how the spell worked, the harder it would be to destroy. And Willow already knew more than she should.

“Thank you for telling me.” I stood, offering her my hand, willing her to leave before I had no choice but to act. “We’ll reinforce the boundaries.”

Roark cast a wary look over her shoulder at my outstretched palm. I could almost hear his voice in my head—even without the signet.

You’re letting her go?

But Willow didn’t take the hint. “If there’s more to the spell—if we can figure out what’s binding it—we might be able to stop the killer. Will the covens tell you how they did it?”

“They’re protective of their magic,” I hedged.

She already knew too much.

Another look from Roark. Leaks had to be controlled before they did irreparable damage. What Willow knew had to be contained, even if she was Cate’s friend. There was only one way to be sure the witch wouldn’t speak to anyone else. I just wasn’t sure how I was going to explain that to my fiancée.

I had no choice.

“Have you told Cate about this?” I asked her softly. I needed to know how much harm had been done before she walked into my office.

“I didn’t tell Cate shit.” Her eyebrows rose as she held up her hands. “Like I said, I only just put this together, since you geniuses thought you should keep us all in the dark about the murders.”

No wonder Cate liked her. My lovely mate, who trusted people, who asked for their help, who let herself have friends.

But friends were a liability in our world. That’s why only family mattered. It was a painful lesson.

And one it was time for Cate to learn.

“So you believe me?” Willow asked. When I nodded, she sighed, the sound both relieved and exhausted. Roark took a step closer to her, shadows twisting around his knuckles. She didn’t seem to notice. “Good, because I rather like having my magic back, and since I have no clue what will happen if magic gets taken out by something this big, I figured I should warn you. Now go do something about it before someone else gets killed.”

Her finger whipped between us. Roark hesitated.

“Us?” I repeated, realizing she was being very specific. “They could attack anyone.”

“They won’t,” she said darkly. “Every choice has been purposeful. Choosing Haines was tactical. They didn’t want anyone to know what they were up to, and I’m guessing that they wanted to wait until you were back in the city before they moved forward after that.”