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I was left standing alone. I would have to do this job all by myself, and yes, it was only a couple of gnomes, but I liked having backup. Especially since everyone—even small Fae creatures—get pissed when you accuse one of them of murder.
It had been a shitty day, and now both my husbands were gone and I had to deal with gnomes and weird paintings and figure out how to housetrain a hellhound puppy.
My frustration was pretty much at a peak.
“Kelsey!”
I turned as I heard a woman shouting my name. I jogged back up the path and found Rose clutching Luna, who was crying and holding her ears.
“What’s happening?” I moved as quickly as I could because Luna was in obvious distress and Rose was crying.
“It’s screaming. They’re all screaming,” Luna said between sobs.
“I think she’s talking about the paintings,” Rose explained, her arms tightening around her daughter. “A couple of minutes ago, she woke up and started crying. I don’t know what to do. Christopher won’t be awake for hours.”
We wouldn’t have the strength of the primals with us until long after dark.
It would be a perfect time to strike.
How would they use the paintings to strike? It was what I couldn’t wrap my mind around.
How was it connected? Was everything connected? Luna could hear the paintings hum. Weird creatures were getting into the Under with no reason for them to be here. Someone killed two of the painters. The gnomes were growing everything they needed for witch’s ointment.
Witch’s ointment, which Jade had used to try to contact her mom because she believed with the right magic she could find the ether.
She’d wanted to open a portal to another dimension.
Luna had been able to hear Tix travel.
An idea started to form in my head. A horrible, wicked, nasty idea that I prayed I was wrong about.
“Luna, does this sound like when the prophet travels down to the Under? Or his servant?” I asked, praying the answer would be no.
Luna was crying as she nodded.
And I knew what the paintings had been for.
An invasion.
“Rose, I need you to hide. Tell everyone you can that they need to take cover because Myrddin is invading the Under. He’s using the paintings to open a portal and get around the wards,” I said. “The gnomes are in on it. At least I would bet the newest one is. He’s a plant. You have to hide Luna, and find a way to protect the primals if you can.”
Rose had gone pale. “I will. I’ll hide Luna and let security know what’s happening.”
I took off running because four of those fucking paintings were now in my apartment, and as far as I knew Evan was alone because Eddie had taken Casey and Trent to my brother and wouldn’t be back until they were done. Fen and Jade were running the errand I’d sent them on. It could be hours before they were finished.
I ran as fast as I could, my heart racing and dread flowing through me.
I ran and hit the door to my apartment with a thud just in time to see a boot coming through the moon on the largest of the paintings.
Liv stepped through, emerging from wherever she’d come from to stand in my living room, and she wasn’t alone.
“Hey, bestie.” Liv’s dark eyes shown in the twilight coming from the magical lights. “Missed me?”
I was about to explain exactly how little I’d missed this version of her when I realized someone was behind me. I turned and another witch hit me with a spell that made me fall to my knees.
“Maybe you should take a nap, Kelsey.” Liv stood over me, staring down with pitch black eyes, the veins reaching up through her neck, proof she’d had another dose of demon blood. She was at the peak of her power, and I didn’t even have my sword.
She winked down at me and light flashed from her hands.
And the world went dark.
