I turned to the others. “Get out. Get out of here now. We can’t stop him. He’s just too powerful. We need to know more before we take him on.” Even as I spoke, I was pushing them toward the door, Smoky helping me.

We raced out of the temple and to the stairs, running as fast as we could up the spiral case. As we cleared the broom closet, we didn’t bother going back to the basement or sewers. Smoky rampaged right through one of the plate glass windows and we made our way out. Another rumble and we crossed the street, heading for the parking lot. Five seconds later, the entire structure imploded, and a roiling storm billowed down the street, in clouds of dust and debris.

As we turned, staring at the destruction, a light rose from the chaos, and streaked into the sky. Suvika. He was awake and free, and who the fuck knew what that meant?

Chapter 19

As the pile of dust and debris settled, Shade came up beside us, the two captives with him. He’d given the girl his duster to cover her nakedness. The young man had been wearing a loincloth. Both looked shell-shocked and dazed.

“They’re still drugged. I found out her name is Sealy, and his is Grynald. She’s from Siobhan’s pod—a Selkie—and Grynald is a water nixie. For some reason, Lowestar decided to pick on the water Fae for sacrifices.”

Why? We would probably never know, but there had to be some reason.

“What the hell now?” Delilah stared up at the sky. “Suvika… he could be anywhere.”

“I’m hoping he decided to hike it a long, long ways away. But it’s been a while since he’s been in the world. Look at how much money there is flowing now… look at the corporate greed. He’s not going to go far, I think. Not with all the bright shiny toys to attract him.”

In the distance, sirens wailed as the fire department and the cops responded to what had to be an avalanche of 911 calls. The noise must have been heard around the city for miles. You don’t just explode an entire building without somebody taking notice.

“Let’s head back to Carter’s.” I couldn’t think of anywhere else to go. We’d killed Lowestar—or rather, Suvika had—and considering a good share of his cronies appeared to have been with him, I had a feeling Supernatural Matchups was going down the toilet, as well as their slavery operation and a number of other sideline businesses.

We’d done a bang-up job… but everything felt surreal and I wondered if the others felt as confused as I did.

Slowly we headed to our cars. As we pulled out of the parking lot, the first-responders were starting to sift through the rubble. I called Nerissa to let her know we were safe. All in all, the night was turning out to be one hell of a clusterfuck.

Carter was waiting for us. I’d called ahead to let him know we were there. But he wasn’t alone. A woman was just getting ready to leave. She was tall—Delilah’s height—and she had long hair that tumbled down her back to her butt. Multicolored, it was dark brown with streaks of purple and blue running through it. She was muscled, sturdy, and busty, and there was something about her that struck me as odd. She seemed familiar. Something about her eyes struck me. They were brilliant blue, and flashing. She was wearing a pair of black jeans and a V-neck tank, which showed off the muscles in her arms as well as her impressive cleavage. A silver belt wrapped the low-riders, ending in a knotwork buckle.

“I’d like you all to meet Shimmer, my date.” Carter introduced us one by one, and covered in dust and blood, we shook hands as if nothing were out of the ordinary.

She gave us the once-over, a smile playing on her lips as she came to Smoky and Shade. “Well met.” She curtseyed, which seemed odd enough, but Smoky’s response was even odder.

Smoky let out a little harrumph and he inclined his head in acknowledgment. “Well met, Shimmer.”

Shade cocked his head, a smile creasing his face. “Well met yourself.”

Before we could ask what that was all about, she slid on her coat and vanished out the door. As the door swung shut, Smoky turned to Carter.

“Since when are you dating a dragon?”

Immediately Camille and Delilah turned to stare at him.

“For a week or so now.” Carter motioned for us to have a seat. “But we’ll talk more of her later. Now sit and tell me what happened.”

And so we did. We told him about Lowestar and Suvika, and we introduced him to the Selkie and the nixie. “They need to go back to their homes. They’re drugged, and we have no clue with what.”

Carter nodded, then let out a long sigh. “All the records are gone then in the destruction. We can’t ever begin to realize the full extent of Lowestar’s holdings, or who he might have partnered with, or how many of the Fae he ran through his slavery operation.”

“I can’t see how, unless we can find the people he was working with. Even then, I think we’re running on empty with this one. But he’s gone. His precious demigod gave him a present for waking him up, all right. A crushed skull.”

I couldn’t find it in my heart to give one fuck for Lowestar’s fate. He’d been cruel and ruthless, and he deserved every bit of what he got. “I have a feeling there won’t be any more fires now, at least not like the one that destroyed the Wayfarer and the Utopia Club. I’m pretty sure we will find that Vistar-Tashdey Enterprises was one of Lowestar’s holdings. And most likely, the lawyers behind it were among the group of ritualists that went down for the count.”

“So where does that leave us?” Camille wearily accepted a muffin from Carter’s maid.

“I’ll do what research I can to figure out where Suvika might turn his sights next, but I’d say, for now, there’s nothing you can do. Lowestar is dead—the Fae you rescued can come out of hiding and go back to their lives now. And you… I suggest you go home and rest. Be with your loved ones. Take a moment to breathe because you know what’s happening in Otherworld is going to need your attention soon.”

“There are two spirit seals running loose now. And Shadow Wing has three. We have to intensify our hunt for the one that disappeared from Benjamin’s body and the one that was already still missing. Whoever took his hasn’t handed it over to Shadow Wing yet, that we know of. Which means it could be someone keeping it for themselves. And that will draw Telazhar’s attention. He’s good at picking up on things like that.” Morio looked as dragged out as the rest of us.

“I have to visit Derisa. She’s supposed to come Earthside to talk to me.” Camille glanced over at me. “Maybe we can ask her to take Father’s ashes back with her and give them to Aunt Rythwar.”

“I’d like that.” Delilah toyed with the hem of her jacket. “I know it’s dangerous, but right now, I wish we could see our home again. We may not have a home to go to if Telazhar brings the war to our city.”

“I want to see home, too.” Why, oh why, did I have the feeling we were making our good-byes? True, Otherworld would be there, even if Telazhar razed the land. But if war came to our home, if war came to our city… then our childhood memories would fade in the ashes.

Camille gave me a bleak look. “I think Trillian still plans on going to the Shadow Lands to look for Darynal. I want to go with him, but I can’t. I know I’m needed here. But if he goes…” She fell silent and we all knew the end of that sentence.

Carter stood, hands on his hips. “These are dark times, yes. But this is why you must fight against them. I have watched centuries of human history go by. I have watched countries rise and fall. And during every great unrest one thing held true: Those who survived always looked to their victories and not their losses. They focused on winning, not on defeat. If you ever expect to make it through the coming fray, you have to do this. And I know you can.”

We stared at him. Camille was the first to laugh. “Okay already. I hate it when you’re right. But you are. We will pick up, and go on. We did get rid of Lowestar; that’s a major victory.”

“And his slaving operation. And we rescued not only Violet, but five others,” I chimed in. My natural inclination to pessimism had to go by the wayside, if for nothing more than rallying my sisters.

Delilah shrugged. “Seven, if you count Sealy and Grynald.”

Smoky pulled Camille onto his lap, his hair trailing around her like gentle fern fronds. “Don’t forget—we all survived. None of us died.”

That was best of all. And with that, we headed for home. There was nothing more we could do here tonight except speculate on what was going to happen with Suvika, and somehow, that thought didn’t seem all too appealing.

As we trudged to the cars, a break in the clouds allowed the light from a single star to shimmer down. I stared at it, thinking about how much it had seen, and how much time had passed since the light first started to travel. A star’s lifetime—how long was that?

Not understanding where my mind was going with this, I got in the car and leaned against the back of the seat, just letting my thoughts wander. Sometimes, not thinking was the best medicine of all.

Chapter 20

Nerissa was waiting up for me, as were Trillian and Roz. We told them what had gone down, and now we all sat around the table, just staring at one another.

“A little shell-shocked, I’d say.” Hanna bustled over, in her nightgown again. She put a pot of tea on the table. Trillian brought the teacups for her, and Vanzir handed Delilah some milk. I declined the offered blood, but it felt so good to just lean back in a chair, around our table, where the sounds of everyday life were going on. Maggie had woken up and she was sitting on Smoky’s lap.

The rest of us were back to reeking—Tanne’s spell had worn off before we dropped him off at his house. Hanna sniffed, and a scowl crossed her face.

“Where in Hel’s great world have you been? You all smell like an outhouse. Except Master Smoky.” She grinned at him. She’d finally gotten over her fear of the dragon.

“We might as well have been in an outhouse,” I grumbled. “Hanna, we’re all tired and worn out and a little bit confused by this evening. Don’t mind us. We aren’t meaning to stink up the kitchen. And we don’t mean to be grumpy to you.”

She pshawed away my apology. “Girl, you don’t have to apologize for anything. I’ve lived with monsters before. You? You… you all have become my family.” Her eyes crinkled as she spoke, and that in itself was enough to reduce Camille and Delilah to tears.

“We love you, too, Hanna. We love you, too.” Roz slid his arm around her, and for the first time in front of the rest of us, he kissed her soundly on the lips. She rested her head on his shoulder—the staunch Northwoman had a tender side and we knew it. We also knew they’d never be any more than good friends with benefits, but sometimes that was the best you could hope for, and far better than the other options.

Finally, with nothing more to say, I pulled away and, after a tired good night to the others, headed downstairs with Nerissa. I stood under the shower for twenty minutes, scrubbing the stench off me. It was still early, around midnight, but it felt like it was reaching toward dawn.

As I came out of the shower, Nerissa was there, holding a towel for me. She dried me off, then tucked me into a velour robe and guided me to the bed. I propped myself up against the headboard and she curled up next to me, her head in my lap. I stroked her hair, smoothing the tangled tawny locks.

“I meant what I said, you know. I don’t mean to ignore you, but I obviously do and I want to change that.”

She glanced up at me, her eyes deep and rich in the glow of the lamplight. “I suppose we still have to find our rhythm. But I love you—and I know you love me. And while love isn’t enough, we’re talking, and that’s the most important thing. I had no idea you were so afraid that letting down your guard would open you up to your predator.”

I ducked my head. “Neither did I. I had no clue I was building walls between us.”

A beat. Then, “Do you love Roman? I know you can fully be yourself with him.” And there it was. I could hear the fear in her voice. The fear that Roman would win me away because I could take out my darker nature and instincts with him.

I placed one finger against my lips, then lowered it to hers. “No, love. I don’t love Roman. I enjoy him. I like him. And yes, I can play hard with him—far harder than I ever dare play with you. But… being with him allows me to love you. It gives me the freedom to open my heart to you. Oddly enough, he might just be what makes us possible. At least in the long run.”

“I hadn’t thought about it that way.” She stared up at me, the soft rise and fall of her breast a mesmerizing sight. The woman was the incarnation of sheer beauty, and I couldn’t look away. “I have to tell you something.”

Freeze frame. I hated those words. They never preceded anything remotely good. After a moment, I forced myself to ask, “What is it?”

“For a while I was thinking of… asking you to turn me.”

Her words shattered my heart. An unexpected wash of pain rolled over me and I leaned forward, searching her face. She stared at me steadily.

“Why? Why would you say such a thing? Think such a thing?”

“I thought that maybe then I could be in your world. I could be with you in the ways you can’t take me now. We would be a good match.” She smiled then, and shook her head. “And after I thought about it, I realized that I can’t do it. I will never ask that of you, because then I wouldn’t be who I am. And Nerissa… the werepuma? That’s who I am. I made up my mind that, if I’m not enough for you, then that’s the way it will have to be.”