“This can all be over,” the Grim Reaper told her.

“Get. Out,” she snarled. “You have got to be the least helpful part of my imagination.”

“Or the most helpful. The only one who can see the truth, who can penetrate the armor of stubbornness you’ve wrapped around yourself. Come to me,” this twisted piece of her psyche said. “Give yourself up to me, surrender, put yourself at my service. Then you and Kai can be together.”

Alden faded into the wind. A loud thump scattered her dream, and she jolted awake. Someone was knocking on her door. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she got up and went to open it.

“Sera, we have visitors,” Riley blurted out hurriedly.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

The Spirit Realm

RILEY HADN’T SAID ‘visitors’ with panic in his voice, so Sera figured she had time to throw on proper clothes and shoes. She pulled on her stretchy jeans, a black tank top, and running shoes. She also strapped on her sword and some knives. Should the need for ass-kicking arise, she fully intended to be prepared.

She glanced at her unmade bed. It felt so empty without Kai. Kai. She sighed. She wouldn’t listen to the part of herself that wore Alden’s face. She wasn’t giving up. And she wasn’t giving in. There was always another way. She flipped the switch and left the room.

But as she walked down the stairs, she wondered. What if there wasn’t another way? What if this was the only way? If it came down to a choice between Kai and the world, would she make the right choice? What was the right choice? She didn’t even know anymore. Her heart had been crunched into a crumpled ball of aluminum, warped, broken—perhaps even unrepairable. She clenched her fists and kept moving, wearing her pain close to the surface, using it as fuel. It was all she had left.

Sera reached the lower level, where dinner was in full swing in the dining area. But Sera wasn’t hungry for food; she was hungry for action. She turned the other way, heading for the meeting area. Riley was there and the commandos too. Two new arrivals turned around as she approached. Naomi and Makani.

Naomi hurried forward, hugging her. “Alex was right.” She squeezed Sera.

“Alex sent you?”

“Yes, she contacted me. We met up with her in San Francisco, and she sent us here. This is a hard place to find.”

“That’s the point.”

Naomi looked her in the eye, her lip quivering. “Oh, honey. I’m so sorry about what happened.”

“We will get him back,” Sera said stubbornly.

“Of course you will.” She paused. “I suppose you know how the Council is twisting this?”

Not much of the Magic Council remained, but that hadn’t stopped them from being a real nuisance. Instead of joining with her against Alden, they continued to hate her.

“I know. They say I shoved Kai into hell. The people here know it’s not true.”

“All it takes is one look at your face to know it’s not true,” Naomi said, squeezing her hand. “Plus, I was there.”

“I was beginning to think that was all a hallucination.”

“No, it was real. Well, as real as my mind drifting through hell to guide you back to the real world can be. It all still sounds so unreal.”

“Naomi has been making progress with her abilities,” Makani said.

“Progress,” Naomi said, winking. “That’s high praise from the Prince of the Pacific.”

“I do not exaggerate or embellish my words with artificial fervor.”

“What century did you pick this guy up from again?” Sera asked Naomi. “He’s fancy.”

“I walked on this earth seven hundred years ago, but even in hell time does not stand still,” he said.

“No, it just moves at a glacial pace,” Naomi inserted.

“A glacial pace, you say?” Sera asked. “Ironic for hell, don’t you think?”

“We had regular visitors,” Makani said. “People who were banned, ghosts, spirits. I conversed with many of the newly departed over the centuries, learning their expressions.”

Naomi smirked. “And he has some good ones.” Her tongue darted out to lick her lips.

“Ok, now I’m curious.”

“I’ll tell you later,” Naomi promised her. “When there are no men around.”

With Naomi here, a hint of hope trickled into Sera’s heart. It might have been that bubbly personality, the need to see the best in everything—or maybe it was the charming resonance of her fairy magic. But Sera was feeling upbeat, even optimistic, for the first time in forever. Better yet would have been to have Alex here too, but her sister had been gone for weeks. She was out scouting for Alden’s people. Alex could track magic, but Alden didn’t want her. He wasn’t trying to connect to her mind. Alex was blocking him. Why couldn’t Sera block him too?

“Do you have any idea why Alden wants me?” Sera asked Makani.

“The Dragon Born have many powerful gifts,” he said. “Many unique kinds of magic that no other supernatural possesses, not even the Grim Reaper. And our magic pool is much greater than that of a normal mage. Perhaps, he wants to tap into this magic.”

“But you are more powerful than I am, and he isn’t after you.”

“I’m more experienced, more familiar with my magic, yes. But more powerful? It’s hard to say. You are only beginning to realize your true power.”