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Chapter Eleven
Erik
“Are you sure about this?” I ask Astrid.
After a moment, her expression tormented, she nods. “She can’t stay here. But I do need to stay here. I’ll find the spell, and we’ll strike a blow to the Night Guild they can’t recover from.” Her eyes meet mine, and they glow golden with a flare of her magic. “Those things tried to harm my little girl. I will make sure they live to regret this day. Regret their very existence.”
She looks so fierce in this moment that no one would ever doubt she descended from the Valkyrie. The heat in her gaze lights a fire in my heart, and I feel a wave of desire stronger than anything I’ve ever felt in all my hundreds upon hundreds of years. Astrid is tough as nails, and an amazing witch to boot. A warrior.
“I’ll go pack a bag for her,” Astrid says. She glances over at Lilli and sniffles a tiny bit and it’s clear she needs a moment to compose herself. “Watch her, please?”
I nod. “Of course.”
Astrid disappears upstairs for several minutes, and when she comes back down, she has a bag slung over her shoulder and a large bear stuffed under one arm. Lilli takes off her headphones, her eyes widening. “Are we going on a trip, Mommy?”
“You are, pumpkin,” Astrid says. Her chest rises and falls as she sucks in a breath and pastes a smile on her face with visible effort. “You’re going to visit Erik’s friends.”
Lilli turns to me. “You have friends?”
I let out a laugh. “I do, in fact. How would you like to meet more dragons?”
“Are they as big as you are? And do they shoot flames?” Lilli asks, her face very serious.
“Yes, they are, and yes, they do.” I smile.
Lilli claps her hands together. “More dragons! When will they be here?”
As if on cue, there’s a knock on the door. Astrid’s head whips toward the sound, but I catch her gaze. “It’s my dragons.” I tap the side of my nose. “I can smell them.”
I walk to the door and open it, inviting our guests inside. Astrid’s small kitchen is soon crowded with three dragon shifters and a witch.
“Everyone, meet Astrid and Lilli,” I say, pointing to each of them in turn. “Astrid and Lilli, meet my colleagues Gretchen, Josiah, and Katar.” I point to the three dragon shifters in turn. “And this is Luciana from the Raven Society,” I say, gesturing to the witch.
Barely more than a week ago, Luciana had been in a coma after being turned into a demon by the Night Guild. I’m a bit surprised to see her out and about so soon after being cured from her demon transition. I’d assumed her sister Tamsin was coming.
As if sensing my question, Luciana meets my gaze and flicks her long blonde hair over one shoulder. “My sister is busy reverse engineering the drug you found in the nearby lab,” she explains. “She says she’s almost finished and should have an update by nightfall.”
My brows go up. “That’s quick.” I’d only given her the samples I’d retrieved two days prior.
“Well, she tends to get a bit obsessed when working on a new project.” Luciana smiles. “Which is why I’m not still in a coma.”
Astrid frowns. “You poor thing.”
“The Night Guild did horrible things to me,” Luciana says, her expression growing somber in an instant. “I’m joining the fight against them. Happy to help however I can.”
Lilli climbs down off her chair and walks over to Luciana. “You’re like me,” she says. “More than just a witch.”
Luciana crouches down, smiling at the little girl. “How can you tell?”
Lilli shrugs. “I just can.”
Astrid scoops Lilli up and kisses the side of her cheek. “She’s precocious, this one.”
“What’s that mean?” Lilli asks. “Pre-co…pre-shus?”
I laugh and reach out to ruffle the mini witch’s hair. “It means you’re extra special.”
Luciana starts chatting more with Lilli and Astrid, and I take the opportunity to speak a moment with my fellow shifters. I gesture for them to step to the side of the room. My text before had simply told them to come ASAP and to bring a witch. I brief them on the details of the plan. When I’m finished, they all nod, arms crossed over their chests.
