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I’d take that claim to the grave.
The morbid thought in light of tonight’s potential danger had me shiver slightly. Shea must have noticed, because he drew me even closer as he requested two champagne flutes of lemonade for us. Under other circumstances, I would have demandedchampagnein my flute, but we needed to keep our wits about us tonight.
Especially me, if I didn’t want a repeat of my New Year walk of shame…
A ridiculous pang of regret shot through my system when released his hold on my body so he could accept our drinks and hand mine over. I forced myself to sip the lemonade with some semblance of decorum, even though I wanted to slug it back like I would my favorite beer.
We began to drift around the outskirts of the ballroom, one or the other of us politely schmoozing whenever we were recognized. I kept my ears peeled for any signs of disgruntled partygoers but came up empty. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits, keeping mostly to polite chitchat that managed to say nothing at all in a surprisingly large number of words.
Something I myself excelled at, thanks to a lifetime under the tutelage of the Sheridan matriarch.
My gaze occasionally flew to wherever Kayleigh and Maddox were currently holding court. I should have been relieved to see them safe and sound each time, but dread slowly grew inside the pit of my stomach as the time ticked on with no signs of trouble. Neither my sister or brother-in-law were prone to paranoia. If they suspected someone out for blood would strike tonight, then an attack seemed inevitable.
But what form it might take was impossible to say, especially since my damned sister hadn’t seen fit to fully confide in me.
It became hard to maintain a heightened state of alert as the evening mundanely rolled on—until Shea and I reached the sliding glass doors leading onto the balcony. Our enhanced hearing picked up the hushed hisses of a conversation that had the hairs along my neck shooting straight up.
“…time their damned dynasty came to an end, if you ask me. They’ve ruled over St. Louis too long by far. Time to get fresh blood into your pack. And his wife—yet another nose-in-the-air bitch from the Sheridan clan. The only one who doesn’t seem power-hungry is that one’s sister. Not that you can trust a Radiant as far as you can throw them. Especially not if they bear their Queen Bitch’s blood. Istilldon’t know how she birthed such a sweet Spellbinder like Erin.”
A bitter feminine voice with an accent straight from the South had spewed all that venom with barely a pause for breath, although a masculine voice made several attempts to cut in or redirect her. Not that it seemed to do much good. Finally, though, shedidhave to take in some oxygen, and her companion took advantage of that fact.
“Best to keep in mind that my fellow shifters don’t need toactivelychannel magic to eavesdrop on distant conversations like you Spellbinders. And this place iscrawlingwith my Packmates.”
I frowned and tried to place the man’s voice, but it sounded slightly distorted. As if someone were using low-key magic to mask it without drawing too much attention from other casters in the area.
“Well I’m not afraid to voice my concerns to anyone!” the unseen woman declared without lowering her voice much at all.Hervoice I could much more clearly discern, but it didn’t sound familiar. “And anyway, I dragged you out here for your own protection. You have the next best claim on the Packleader position after those triplet menaces and their even more distant cousins back in San Francisco. And we know the Pack prefers those raisedhereto outsiders.”
This time her companion cut in without waiting for her to breathe. “My own protection? What do you mean?”
Shea and I shared a meaningful glance. Thishadto be what we’d been waiting for: a clue that someone wanted to start a new War of Succession. I started to inch closer to the open doorway, but Shea placed a warning hand on my arm and whispered at a considerably lower volume than the balcony Spellbinder who spoke so casually of rebellion.
“The Shifter out there will hear if we go any closer. Right now our steps blend in with the ballroom’s background noise.”
Annoyance flared, but he was right. Something I should have realized myself, but frustration over how long it’d taken to discoveranypotential discontent blended with concern for my baby sister. Making me averyimpatient Radiant.
Not shocking that he proved the more patient hunter, given that he was pure Shifter who could barely channel active magic whereas I was more spellcaster than Shifter ineithermy Shadow or Solar shape.
I missed the next few words of the Spellbinder’s reply to her companion, but my blood ran cold once her message registered in my brain.
“…any minute. You’ll need the spell I can cast to keep your sanity long enough for our assassins to act. Soon, you’ll be the only Shadow Wolf of sufficient bloodline and alpha strength to lead this pack—and Kayleigh Sheridan’s sister will have no choice but to bond with you or watch St. Louis burn.”
My mouth dropped open as I met Shea’s gaze again. Fury shone in his eyes, lighting them a similar shade of infernal green to what I imagined the pits of hell might resemble. And making me very glad I wasn’t the target of that rage.
I missed a beat in the conversation, only to hear the Spellbinder murmur, “She’s safe somewhere with Maddox’s three cousins according to our spies placed within this household.She’llbe safe enough, but those three wolves will be dealt with when they lose their sanity, andbeforeshe can bond with one of them.”
“But…didn’t you notice? Ava Sheridan’s here tonight—withShea Donnelly.”
“Well, that’s certainly an unfortunate change. But no need to worry; others will have formulated a backup plan by now. It will be handled.”
Intuition slammed inside me as violently as crashing thunder. I grabbed Shea’s arm and began dragging him toward the ballroom exit that led to the nearest parlor where I knew Kayleigh and Maddox were scheduled to meet with members of the Spellbinder’s Guild as the evening wound down. Could they bethe othersthe balcony malcontent meant? No clue, but Ididknow I had to get to my sister immediately.
Which was when, of freaking course, the electricity went out, magic began to explode in a riot of dizzying color that sent me stumbling, and all helldidbreak loose…
AVA
Panicked screams broke out all around. Shea uttered a curse and steadied me with a firm touch on my arm. I closed my eyes and shuddered as harmless spells meant to disorient Radiants and Spellbinders continued sweeping the ballroom. He must have realized what was happening, because he began maneuvering me the rest of the way to and thankfullythroughthe exit. At which point the magical cacophony faded, and I let out a choked gasp of relief.
Without the disorientation spell messing with my mind, I easily tapped into my wolf’s enhanced vision. I grimly nodded across the hall to the heavy wooden door that separated us from the parlor where Kayleigh and Maddox were meeting with the Spellbinders Guild. Unsurprisingly, several members of that guild now guarded the door, something I identified by the strength and “flavor” of their magical auras. Incandescent streaks of magic delineating an impressively strong barrier blocked them—and the door beyond—from anyone who hoped to get past. Including us.
