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“Are you sure?”
He smiled, tucking the keys into the pocket of my blue sundress. “Have I told you how pretty you look today?”
My heart fluttered. “You have now.” Sliding my hand to the back of his neck, I pulled him down for a kiss.
“I have business on Main Street,” Nathaniel said. “There will be a pack member in the neighborhood when I need to go home.”
“Keep an eye on Kyla, will you?”
“Of course.”
Kyla had disappeared as soon as the meeting was finished. I wanted to ask her about her talk with Selina, but it was clear she needed some space.
I studied the house in front of me. Several other cars were parked outside, which meant some of the coven was already gathered here. This would be awkward.
“Are you okay?” Nathaniel asked.
“I’ll be fine. Go about your business.”
Nathaniel pressed a kiss to my forehead, pulled out his phone, and strolled down the street.
Knocking on the door, I fought not to shift on my feet. I had no doubt they knew I was here. They’d be watching to see just how nervous I was. At their hearts, witches were like any other paranormal. Weakness was to be eradicated.
They kept me waiting. I pasted a placid expression on my face and peered down at my nails, picking idly at my cuticle. Finally, the door swung open.
“Evie.” Freya looked drawn and tired. She was still pregnant, her bump visible beneath her sweater.
“Hi. How are you?”
“Fine. Yourself?”
Empty small talk. This was going about as well as I’d expected.
“Fine. I need to talk to Gemma.”
“She’s busy.”
The dagger on my hip glowed red for the first time. Misty was working. I didn’t know if it’d been asleep, or if this was the first time I’d been lied to. But either way, Freya’s gaze dropped to the dagger, her cheeks reddening.
“I thought that was Danica’s.”
“Mine now. You want to tell me the truth?”
“She’s not well.”
It glowed once more. “Fine,” Freya snapped. “She’s dying.”
Misty went dark. And so did the edges of my vision. “And you weren’t going to tell me?”
A flicker of what might’ve been regret darted across her face. Then she sighed and stepped back, opening the door. “You know what she’s like. She didn’t want anyone to know. It was Gail who got in touch with us, against Gemma’s wishes. We all arrived today. Healing spells are no longer working. It’s only a matter of time.”
I stepped into the house. The air was heavy, and farther inside, I could hear someone weeping. They were immediately hushed.
The curtains had all been drawn, candles and lamps used in place of the sun. Freya jerked her head, and I followed her into the living room.
Gemma lay on the sofa, piled with blankets. I spotted a crocheted blanket—identical to the blanket that had been draped over the sofa in our last house. I couldn’t remember who’d made it, but they’d obviously replaced it. Seeing it pushed me back to the many times I’d curled up under the original blanket, watching TV and listening to the sounds of the coven around me.
Gemma’s eyes met mine. She was pale, and her hand trembled when she pushed one of the blankets off her. “Evie.”
