The instant our hands touched, a second wave of power slammed through my palms. I allowed the powers to equalize before I continued chanting.

“We unite to pour healing into this broken vessel. We unite to absorb his pain. We…” I nodded to Adam to pick up the chant. Soon his deep voice added a powerful bass.

“To pour healing into this broken vessel. We…”

The cone of power rising above our joined hands condensed and began to stream into Erron’s body. His shoulders lifted from the bed as his body rose to receive the healing energy. At the same time, a second ribbon of energy—darker, thicker, and tinged smoky black—escaped Erron’s ravaged body and split into two streams.

My stomach lurched against the pain we absorbed from the Recreant. Breathing deeply through my nose, I struggled to control the two opposing flows of energy. Cold sweat covered my skin.

I clenched my teeth against the strain of wielding such massive power. The bullets had forged a destructive trail, slashing intestines and embedding in bone and tissue. Healing those wounds took an enormous amount of energy that left me trembling.

Eventually, the bullets popped one by one from Erron’s skin and rolled to the bedspread. The blood poured out thickly at first but soon slowed to trickles.

Adam’s hands tightened on mine. Dark and light energy flowed through us, around us, between us. Until finally, a single clean stream of energy ran through us into Erron and back again, creating a circuit of healing.

I blew out a long, slow breath from deep in my belly. With it, I released the powers I’d called up from the goddess. As I did so, I said a silent prayer of thanks for her aid. I blinked and found my vision had returned to normal. Adam’s gaze was green again and relieved. A ghost of a smile hovered on his lips.

“You did it.”

“We did it.” He squeezed my fingers one final time before releasing them. Then we both looked down at Erron.

It was hard to tell how many of his more superficial wounds had healed through the dried blood. However, his breathing had deepened and slowed, like a man enjoying a good night’s sleep, instead of the shallow, rapid gasps of earlier.

Tears stung my eyes. Relief, not sadness. “I think he’ll live,” I whispered.

“Thank the gods,” Giguhl said from the corner of the room.

I tilted my head and looked at my friend. “It’s you who needs to be thanked. I couldn’t have done it without you.” I glanced at Adam, too. “Both of you.”

Giguhl shot me a get-real look. “Bullshit. You’re stronger than you admit to yourself. By the way, thank you for asking me to help. It means a lot.”

“Of course. Erron’s your friend, too.”

“No, I meant”—the demon shook his head—“I meant it means a lot that you asked. You could have just commanded me to give you my blood.”

The mood in the room shifted, creating a vacuum that sucked away all the easy banter and replaced it with something more sincere and, frankly, awkward.

“I’ll just go tell Alexis how it went.” Adam shot me a wink before he exited.

I was too busy avoiding Giguhl’s eyes to smile back. “Oh… um… sure.” I self-consciously wiped my hands on my jeans.

The demon cleared his throat and busied himself covering Erron with a blanket. Part of me was relieved he didn’t pursue that conversational path any further. I’d never felt entirely comfortable with the idea that Giguhl was mine to command. I mean, sure, I didn’t hesitate to boss him around when I needed him or when his infamous knack for causing trouble landed one or the both of us in hot water. But I tried not to abuse that power. However, despite my own misgivings, Giguhl rarely complained about being ordered around.

I hesitated. Was that true, though? I thought about all the times he’d bitched when I forced him to change into his cat form because I needed him in a convenient carrying size or when I needed someone tiny to do reconnaissance. I’d always blown that off as Giguhl just being snarky. But maybe I’d been ignoring his distress because it wasn’t convenient to admit that it was unfair.

“Um, G?” I said. I cleared my throat.

He looked up. “Yeah?”

“I’m sorry if I ever made you feel like I don’t take you seriously. You’re… you’re really important to me.”

Giguhl stood up straighter, as if I’d finally managed to shock him. “Thanks.” He nodded and moved toward the door, but just before he walked through it, he paused. “Sabina?”

I looked up. “Yeah?”

He paused. “You, um, have some blood on your chin.”

With that, my red-faced best friend ducked through the door before either of us could embarrass ourselves further.

Chapter 13

Erron’s vitals have stabilized,” Alexis was saying to the computer screen. “We expect a full recovery once he wakes up.”

We were in front of the laptop again, giving Rhea and the Queen an update. The only one missing was Erron, who was still sleeping, but he had a good excuse. Given the extent of the wounds and the complexity of the healing ritual, he’d be out for a good long time. However, last time we’d checked on him, his color was better and his pulse was strong and stable.

As for the meeting, we’d begun with a review of what happened with Persephone. I was grateful that Alexis handled that part because I was using the extra time to decide how to address my own news.

“Well, thank the gods Erron will be okay,” Rhea said. “Sabina, I’m proud you used the healing ritual on your own.” The last time I’d used it, Rhea had led the way, adding her own impressive powers to the spell.

“I couldn’t have done it without Adam and Giguhl. I’m just glad we were here. If Erron had been alone…” I trailed off, not wanting to say what we were all thinking.

The Queen cleared her throat, signaling an abrupt subject change. “And what news of your meeting tonight, Sabina?”

I shifted uneasily in my seat. With all the craziness surrounding Erron’s situation, I hadn’t even had a chance to tell the others the full story of what happened.

“The good news—if you can call it that—is that we were right. Abel really is Tristan Graecus. I knew it the moment I saw him. He looks just like that painting in the library at Prytania Place, Rhea, except he’s got some crow’s-feet now.”

Rhea’s hand covered her mouth. “Praise the gods, he’s still alive.”

“Miracle number two,” Adam said under his breath.

I ignored that because the next thing I had to report canceled out the miraculous bit. “The first bad news is that Cain showed up at the meeting.” I looked at Adam to fill in his part of that tale.

“Luckily, between Tristan’s people and Giguhl and me, we managed to hold him off.”

“Tristan’s people?” Rhea asked.

Giguhl nodded. “A vampire and a faery from what I could tell. We didn’t speak to them, but we all kind of worked together to run him off. Once Cain ran away, they disappeared.”

Rhea frowned. “Magically?”

Adam shook his head. “More like highly trained operatives.”

“Any idea why Cain gave up so easily?” the Queen asked.

“Zen’s vexing spell helped,” Giguhl chimed in. “Remind me not to get on her bad side. That voodoo queen is dangerous!”

“It’s true. The spell helped.” Adam leaned forward on his elbows. “However, my theory is that his goal was intimidation instead of confrontation. Once Sabina and Tristan ran off, he gave up pretty quickly in his pursuit.”

“Any idea how he knew about the meeting?” Rhea asked.

We all shook our heads. “No one outside this room on our end,” Adam said. “I assume Tristan and his people didn’t tell anyone, either. They were as shocked as we were to see him there.”

“He’s most likely got someone watching you.”

I nodded. “I’d all but guarantee he does.”

“So why hasn’t he made a move and tried to get in here, then?” Alexis asked.

“Erron’s and Adam’s wards,” I said. “No one’s getting in here who they don’t approve.”

“Sabina, what happened after you and Tristan ran away?” Rhea asked.

I blew out a big breath. Moment of truth time. I felt their collective gazes and the weight of their expectations on my shoulders like anvils. So much was riding on my answer, and I was acutely aware how much I was about to disappoint them.

“That’s the other bad news. When Tristan set up the meeting, he apparently thought he was going to meet Maisie.”

Rhea made a distressed sound. “Why would he think that?”

I shrugged. “I guess he isn’t as well informed about what’s been going on as he thought. When I told him Maisie was dead, he got really upset.”

“Understandable,” Adam murmured. “She was his daughter.”

I shot him a get-real look. “No, it wasn’t that at all. He was upset because…” Here went nothing. “He seems to be under the impression that Maisie was the Chosen.”

“What?” Rhea shouted.

Next to me, Adam jerked like he’d been shocked by a light socket.

I nodded and held up a hand. “It gets worse, I’m afraid. Not only was Maisie supposed to be the Chosen, but he also said the only person who could kill Cain was—”

“Let me guess,” Giguhl said in a defeated tone. “The Chosen?”

I grimaced. “After he dropped that bombshell, he told me to leave Rome because I’d only be in his way.”

Rhea crossed her arms. “Excuse me, but that’s bullshit.”

“Amen, sister,” Giguhl said.

“My sentiments exactly,” Adam said.

I appreciated their support, but it was misguided. “Guys, listen,” I said, “I showed him the birthmarks. I even told him Maisie herself had a vision that I was the Chosen, but he wouldn’t listen. Apparently he’s got good reason to believe that when Maisie died, any chance of killing Cain died with her.”