“Welcome to your new home,” Kaylin said. “Follow me.”

And, under the veil of night, we followed the night-veil, carrying seven cats, into the heart of the darkness.

Chapter 23

Grieve and I stood in the middle of a makeshift bedroom, staring at one another. This was the first time we’d had a chance to be alone since our brief talk in the bedroom. I turned to him, still bloody from the fight.

“My love, what have we come to?”

He pulled me into his embrace. “We’ve come to a crossroads. We go into hiding and we fight from the dark. We become the monsters to fear, now. But not for the townsfolk . . . only for Myst and her people.”

“Can you control yourself?” I whispered, hoping he wouldn’t hear me but having to ask, having to take a chance.

“I’ll try. We’ve come so far from when you were little and I first found you. Lainule knew you’d return—she promised me she’d help me find you again. And she did. I had no clue what she was grooming you for—what she and Geoffrey tried to pull. I wouldn’t have asked for her help if I’d thought this would happen.”

He slid onto a dilapidated sofa that was to be our bed and pulled me down on his lap. Kaylin was setting up operations in the other room, and everybody had graciously left us alone to get ourselves sorted out. Even my father, who didn’t look all that thrilled when we slipped away out of the room.

I snuggled against him and rested my head on his shoulder and pushed the world away. The only thing I wanted to focus on right now was the fact that I had Grieve back, that we were together. Lannan would be a problem, I already knew that, and we had lost our home and all our memories, but we had each other and we had seven cats and soon enough, we’d have the Consortium behind us.

And Lainule and Geoffrey . . . we’d have to see how the shit hit the fan with them.

I wrapped my arms around Grieve and kissed him slowly, leisurely, my blood boiling. But as he began to nip at my shoulder, I realized—the bite wasn’t enthralling me. He suckled the blood, one drop at a time, but as sensuous as it felt, his venom wasn’t pulling me in. Anadey’s spell had actually had an effect.

Deciding not to mention it to him—not just yet—I pulled away, slowly, and stared up at the towering ceilings of the warehouse. Rusty metal cans and stacks of boxes surrounded us, and the place felt dark and full of shadows. It was huge; when Kaylin had led us in, a shiver of fear had run through me because it reminded me of old graveyards and haunted warships. The place had once been a shipping warehouse, but now it was closed, standing empty on the outskirts of New Forest. We were nearer the mountains, away from the Golden Woods, at the base of the Cascade foothills. Here we could hide in the forest and not be immediately subject to Myst, although I wasn’t sure how far she’d spread her poison.

And we had room here to spread out, to make plans and formalize our Society. Then I’d call Ysandra and talk to her. Or maybe take a day trip out to the local Consortium headquarters over in Seattle. Geoffrey was afraid the Consortium would take over, but he’d outed his own agenda. No more time to play favorites. We needed all the help we could get.

The warehouse was old and falling apart, but it was protected, and the suite of rooms Kaylin led us to had obviously been used as a home for a long time. His home. This was where he’d holed up. It was warm enough, with steam heat racing through the pipes, and he’d jury-rigged electricity. We had water and plumbing, and though Kaylin had warned us against using too much of anything lest we set off suspicion, we should be okay.

Yeah, it was creepy, but there were no Shadow Hunters here. I would have felt them on the slipstream.

Sometimes, the brightest light can he found amid the darkness. And sometimes, the best allies, as well. Ulean murmured an assent and passed by—I knew she was exploring the place.

I let out a long sigh and leaned back, staring at Grieve. “So, here we are. Together, on the run, with friends. I have an idea, you know—of how to win Lainule back to our side.”

“How so, my love?” He nuzzled my neck. “You are so sweet, you taste so sweet.”

“That may be, but control yourself while we talk business.”

“As you will, my love.” Grieve pulled back, listening.

“You thought of this before—and I think it’s a good idea. Lainule’s heartstone still lies within Myst’s realm. If we can find it, we can use it as a bargaining chip. Lainule will be furious, but she’ll have to deal with us—and it’s better than waiting for Myst to find it and obliterate the Queen of Rivers and Rushes.”

Grieve stared at me, long and hard, then inclined his head. “Cicely, my sweetness . . . you remind me so much of yourself when you were Cherish, sometimes. And that is not altogether a bad thing, so don’t get upset for me saying so.” He stopped me when I started to protest. “To fight a ruthless war machine, you need to become a little ruthless yourself. And you’re doing so.”

“Be good or my father will smack you down one.”

“He could do so. Wrath is strong and powerful. And I’m not sure what he’ll think of your plan, but there’s no mistaking it’s a viable one. But what of Geoffrey? What do we do about him?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know yet . . . but there has to be some weakness. I am afraid that Lannan may give in because of his fear for his sister, and he knows too much now. But we can’t afford to stake him—he could also prove a valuable ally.”

A knock on the door interrupted us. It was Peyton.

She peeked in. “Not meaning to interrupt. I wondered—what about inviting my father here? He’s definitely not on Anadey’s must-welcome list. He might be able to help us with the Were community.”

I considered the idea. “I think we should talk about it over dinner. Come on, let’s ask Kaylin if there’s any food in this joint.”

Weary beyond belief, we stood and headed into the main room. I paused, turning Grieve to face me.

“Whatever comes, at least we have each other. Know that I love you, and I’ll never leave you again.”

“I know . . . and you know . . .” He didn’t finish, just wrapped me in his arms and kissed me long and slow and deep. “When this is done . . . Cicely Waters—when we are triumphant, will you marry me and be princess to a prince with no kingdom?”

Kissing him back, I knew. I knew in my heart he would stay with us, would keep control. I knew that he couldn’t entrance me with his venom. I knew that he loved me beyond life itself and would do everything he could to protect me—and the others.

“I will. If we can defeat Myst, I will be your wife, and we’ll do our best to repair the damage.” I took his hand and we joined the others. Luna was scrubbing down a makeshift stove—a pair of hot plates Kaylin had found for her. Rhiannon and Chatter were making up beds for everyone out of ragged blankets and seat cushions from old love seats. Peyton was helping Lannan test the locks on the windows and doors. My father was consulting a bag of bones he carried on his belt, divining our next move.

This was our new home, and would be until we could regroup and figure out our next step. Come good or ill, we were the Moon Spinners—standing against Myst alone, unaided. The vampires and Lainule were going to be a problem, but mostly, I thought about Myst. About the past and the future. We were facing a conflict that might take months to resolve.

But in the back of my mind, I wondered—how much time did we really have to carry out our private little war? I scooted closer to Grieve and took his hand, leaning my head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around my waist.

“For better or worse,” I whispered. “This is as good as it’s going to get. We can’t count on anybody else.”

“No,” Grieve said, brushing the hair out of my face. “But we have each other.”

I laughed then—just a little laugh, but it felt like a shock wave. “Yeah, and that is a priceless resource.”