AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Tarnley
By the time I get up the next morning, both Cole and Elijah have already beaten me downstairs. Both men stand in the doorway to the living room, sipping coffee and grinning widely while they whisper back and forth about the two sisters currently passed out on the couch in front of them.
“Morning,” I whisper, coming to stand beside Cole.
“Morning. We were just talking about how much fun they had last night.”
I study the women passed out, every single one of them looking more natural than supernatural at this point. Paloma, Deissy, and Rachel look the worse for the wear, all three humans clonked out in the corner, wearing party hats, glitter smeared all over their cheeks.
Bronywyn is sleeping on the floor beside the couch where Delaney and Rainey are asleep, her ring glinting beneath the lights still on above.
“They needed last night,” Elijah comments as he turns away. Cole and I follow, the three of us heading into the kitchen.
“They did. Delaney’s been so far in her own head about the baby’s safety, and I know she’s trying to put on a brave face for Rainey, but, shit, man, I’m worried as hell, too.”
“We have a lot to lose,” Elijah adds.
“We do.” I finish pouring my cup of coffee and turn to face them, leaning back against the countertop.
“What do you think of this plan?” Elijah questions.
“I think it will work as long as Odette stays the fuck here,” Cole replies.
“Anyone else get the urge to grab them and run? Just get the fuck out of this city—away from damn near all civilization—and just live?”
At Elijah’s question, we all fall silent. Shit, I’d been prepared to do just that, but the people here, they’re counting on us. I didn’t realize how much until Brad showed up with a fucking army of supernaturals ready to push back against the councils.
“They’d kill us if we tried.” Cole sighs. “And while I love Del for that, it’s also frustrating as fuck.”
“Agreed.”
“Rainey is hell-bent on giving her niece or nephew a world where they won’t be a constant target,” Elijah adds. “And I’m with her on that, but there’s a part of me that wonders if we haven’t outrun our luck.”
“Luck?”
“Sure. We barely managed to survive Heather. Then Lucy damn near took everything from us—shit, she killed Jack. Who’s to say Odette isn’t the final straw for us? It’s not like Delaney can access the ley line magic to help us again. That was apparently a one-use deal for her, and Fearghas said the magic has disappeared anyway.”
That’s news to me, so I turn toward him. “What? He went there?”
Elijah nods. “He and Ridley took Rainey, Delaney, and Eira there last night, right before their party. It’s gone.”
“But ley line magic doesn’t just disappear.”
“Exactly,” Elijah tells Cole.
“That’s fucking troublesome. You don’t think—”
Elijah shrugs. “Eira maintains that it would be impossible for Odette or any of the others to get the magic and use it for evil. Del agrees with her, given the spirits guarding it, but that’s what makes me wonder if we’re not meant to survive this fight.” He sighs and rubs both hands over his face. “If nature isn’t willing to help us—”
“We will find a way,” I assure him. “There has to be a reason for it.”
“There is,” Walker announces as he moves into the room. Most of the bruising from his ass-kicking has faded to an ugly yellow, but the way he moves shows just how much pain he’s still in.
“What do you mean?”
The psychic leans against the countertop. “The ley line magic didn’t vanish completely. It’s gone underground—so to speak.”
“In case you missed it, the magic was underground, to begin with,” Cole adds.
