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Delila’s eyes widened as she spotted Fenris’s mansion. “Come with me,” she said to the two women, the two of them hurrying as close as they could to the blaze. I watched as they called upon the power of the water.
As they worked on the house, James hurried towards Morgan. He crouched over her, and I realized at once how similar they looked.
“Move,” he snapped at Cody, reaching out to push the large chestnut wolf out of his way.
I cringed when Cody growled, but Morgan reached out before James could touch the shifter.
“It’s okay, Dad,” she said. “It’s okay. He didn’t hurt me.”
Cody huffed and flattened his ears against his head, but the word “Dad” seemed to sink in, and he took a few steps back, making room for the warlock to help her. As he worked, afew more Thalassa witches arrived, going to Val first while she directed them. I took a breath, relieved that the coven was close enough to come help in the aftermath.
“Are you alright?” Fenris asked, walking over to me. Esme was still in his arms, and I reached out to touch her. Her eyes remained closed, but her pulse seemed strong, and her breathing had evened out. I exhaled, deciding the older witch was simply exhausted. I couldn’t blame her for that.
“Yeah,” I said, nodding. “Just…wow.” Part of me still couldn’t believe I’d held my own against Sabine, that her body lay only several yards away where Piers had dropped her. I barely even knew the spells and curses I’d been using to defend myself, but…
“I’m just tired,” I finally said.
“Of course,” Fenris said as he looked at the remains of his home. “We’ll have to leave the island. Obviously, Isla Lobo is compromised. We’ll go to Keziah’s territory for a few days before we head to Peru.”
I nodded. As I stood next to Fenris, simply taking comfort in his presence, I realized Lyka was murmuring nearby. I couldn’t understand anything he said, yet the concern on his face was obvious while he checked Liana, careful not to be too invasive while he ensured she was alright. My friend kept reassuring him, but the language barrier was clearly an issue. At least the injuries he’d sustained during the attack had faded away. I was confident that Lyka would recover in twenty-four hours at the most.
Suddenly, a thought struck me.Sabine was here to kill Lyka—and I can’t imagine Zyanya would just let her do whatever she wanted. I don’t think Zyanya is all about free will.I shook my head.But that means the Solar Sovereign wanted Lyka dead, too. If she thinks she succeeded….
I took a few steps back, motioning for Fenris to follow. I knew the Solar Sovereign had sources all over, and while itseemedlikeour allies were trustworthy, I didn’t want to take any chances. Sabine had found Isla Lobo—and I couldn’t even trust Esme.
Motioning for Fenris to set her down, I walked with him a few feet away once I was sure the older witch wasn’t going to wake up. Once we’d removed ourselves, I leaned in close and lowered my voice. “When we get to the Snowmass Pack’s territory,” I whispered, “I think we should hide Lyka’s presence.”
Fenris looked perplexed.
“Well, Sabine came to kill him, didn’t she? We should perpetuate the rumor that she was successful…even though she clearly isn’t returning to the Solar Sovereign’s side. If she doesn’t know your brother is alive, that’s just one extra trick up your sleeve, right?”
Fenris nodded. “Yes…yes, you are right. She’ll be expecting his death.”
“Yes, exactly! She won’t prepare for him, giving you the upper hand.” I offered him a smile. “We’ll have to properly mourn, though. We can’t tell anyone else the truth. And we’ll need to create a cover story for him when we get to Colorado.”
“I’ll think of something,” Fenris said. “Let me go talk to him and explain the plan.”
“Okay,” I said, unable to keep myself from giving him a hug before returning to the group. Cody was still hovering near Morgan, but James clearly had things under control. Several other Thalassa witches had joined Val, working to heal Walter so the older witch didn’t completely exhaust herself in the process.
I turned, looking for Abi, only to see she’d found Grant. She was kneeling next to his body, one of his hands in hers. Her head remained bowed, her auburn hair falling forward as Gilbert rested one hand on her shoulder.
I hurried over and crouched down next to my friend. “I’m sorry, Abi,” I whispered, giving her a squeeze. “He didn’t deserve that.”
“He didn’t,” she said, sniffing back a few tears. “I don’t…I don’t even know if he has family. He was so private.”
“We’ll figure it out,” I said.
“We will,” Gilbert said. “I promise.”
I gave her one more hug before drawing back. I knew Fenris would want to leave Isla Lobo as soon as everyone healed enough. We had no idea who Sabine shared the location with, or if they’d be awaiting her return. And there was no way I’d wait around to find out. I’d gather what I could from the portions of the mansion that hadn’t burned, now that Delila and the Thalassa witches had doused the flames, but I wasn’t terribly hopeful there was much to salvage.
When we arrived in Colorado several hours later, I was surprised to see camps set up within the Snowmass Pack territory. At first, I thought they were meant for us, but quickly realized they were already occupied by shifters, witches, warlocks, faefolk, vampires…the list went on. I’d never met any of them, but they’d all answered the Lunar Lord’s call. These were the reinforcements the Order of the Stars had been tasked with drumming up…and they were from the American West alone.
I can’t believe how many people are here! There are so many paranormal folk. I had no idea.
It still struck me sometimes how, just a few months ago, I had no idea that the paranormal world even existed. And now, I was preparing to help Fenris in the fight of our lives.
As we walked, a hush fell over those gathered. Some hurried back to their tents, giving us furtive glances, while others feigned talking to their companions while watching us go by. Fenris was radiating aggravation, playing well the part of the furious Lunar Lord who’d lost the brother he’d only just found. But then I realized some of the eyes were trackingme,not him.
