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“We know that,” Xander said. “The question is, can they help?”
“It has to be better than letting Skylar enter the palace,” Elias said. “We have to try.”
“We don’t have time to waste on things that might not work,” I said. “We can’t wait.”
“It can’t hurt to have a few mages on our side,” Madison said. “The queen refuses to keep company with mages. She hates them. There has to be a reason why.”
I didn’t like the idea of putting this off. I wanted to get in now but I had no idea if my plan would work. If I failed, we were done. We wouldn’t get a second chance.
“Okay,” I said. “If we’re going to ask them, we need to do it fast.”
“I’ll go ask for help,” Xander said.
“We’re going with you,” Elias said.
“You can’t,” I said. “The grounds they live on are cursed. No demons. Besides, we really don’t have time for this.”
“We’re only going to get one shot at this,” Madison said. “Whatever our plan is, it has to be perfect. We can’t risk fucking it up because we’re not going to get a second chance.”
“I’m going to ask them,” Xander said. “We can wait a few hours. It’s nearly sunrise anyway. The vamps won’t do anything crazy in daylight.”
He was probably right about that. The royal vampires had no aversion to sunlight, but their minions did. “I just hope we’re not too late.”
“If it’s that far gone, we’re already too late,” Elias said. “We have to do this right. There’s too great a chance of that stone working on you. It’s not your plan that’s bad, Skylar. It’s what you are. You span two very powerful races and if the queen gets a hold of you, I don’t know that she’d kill you.”
“There are worse things than death,” Madison said softly.
My shoulders slumped. I felt like we’d already let so many down by losing that stone in the first place. Having to wait while it was being used against innocent people felt wrong.
Shelly stood and left the kitchen. I watched her walk away before turning back to the group. “Does everyone think this is a good idea? To go to the mages?”
Madison and Xander nodded. Elias took my hand and squeezed. “It’s better than you going into the lion’s den.”
“We can wait one day, but tonight, we have to act,” David said.
I could agree with that. “Tonight. If we can’t get what we need from the mages, can we try my plan?”
“I wish your plan didn’t involve you being the hero who has to sacrifice herself,” Elias said.
“You’ve got one day to think of a better one,” I said.
Shelly returned, a small box in her hands. She set it on the table in front of me. “This was your mother’s. She asked me to keep it safe for her. You weren’t born at the time, but I think she’d want you to have it.”
My throat tightened and tears instantly made my vision blurry. I usually had time to prepare my emotions better before thinking about my mom. But after losing her locket, the only thing I had left from her, it was harder to shut that part of me down. It was a strange thing, missing someone you didn’t know. My whole life, she’d been this force within me, a part of me. I liked to think that was the case anyway.
I set my hand on the box. “Tell me about her.”
“Later,” Shelly said. “For now, I think this might help.”
I turned my attention on the box and opened it. Inside was smooth, gray stone hanging from a simple silver chain. It reminded me of something you might pick up at a new age store. My brow furrowed as I picked up the stone.
There was magic in the stone, that was clear from a single touch. But it wasn’t as aggressive as the moonstone. It was far more subtle. I suspected that less sensitive supernaturals would miss it entirely.
I wanted nothing more than to put it around my neck, to have a piece of my mom with me. I’d kept that locket tucked away most of my life but after finally putting it on, I regretted not wearing it sooner. Now, I’d probably never see it again.
“Is it safe?” As much as I wanted to wear it, I knew how magic worked. There was a reason this was tucked away.
“It’s a centering stone,” Elias said.
