“The Flower Moon.” I swore I could feel the crackle of magic in my palms.
“Seven witches,” Emilio said, turning to me. “Guess you’d better call your boyfriend.”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” I practically spat.
He tickled my shoulder. “Something tells me you could still get him to come.”
“Your coven—” Lisette started to say.
“No. My friends can’t come with us. It’s too dangerous.” Another bang came from overhead, shaking the Venetian chandelier, and everyone looked up. “We’ll take the two swamp witches,” I said, “That’s five of us and two of them. That is how you did the location spell, right?”
“That was different,” Emilio said. “They cooperated only under duress.”
“Well, I guess you’ll have to conjure up some duress.”
He raised an eyebrow to me. “I’m in,” he said beneath the cool stare.
“You have four of us,” Gabriel said. “I just spent three centuries locked in an attic. I am not risking getting stuck in the Afterworld.” He turned and left the room at vampiric speed.
“Gabriel!” Before I could go after him, Nicco came up behind, arms circling me.
He rested his face on my head. “Let me work on him. Figure out anything else we need for the trip. We have to leave soon.”
“D’accord.”
I couldn’t help but lean back into his arms for a moment, breathing in his leather and soap scent.
“You know this would be a lot safer with your coven, right?” he asked.
My spine tightened.
“I know you don’t want to put them in danger, but if something goes wrong on this trip and Callisto is tipped off, it’s going to be that much harder to save your father. Everyone will be in more jeopardy, including your friends.”
The harsh reality plowed over me.
A chime sounded, followed by a pounding from the front door. Emilio looked at me, and once again, I shrugged.
This time it was Lisette who opened the door as the rest of us waited on the balcony.
Before she could announce the visitor, Désirée barged past her. I ran down the steps as she yelled up to me. “I know what you’re up to!”
I stopped right in front of her, energy reeling through my limbs.
She was furious. But beneath the anger in her eyes I could see the concern. The love. I also knew that if the situation were reversed and Ritha was in trouble, I’d never let her go without me. It was a split-second decision. I had to save my dad. Dee knew more about the lwa than all of us combined—this was definitely her territory. “We’re going to Guinée to break the Salazar magical line.”
Her eyes lit up. Whether it was with shock or excitement, I wasn’t quite sure, but I knew she didn’t need me to sugarcoat things. Before I could elaborate on the plan, the door opened wider, and Codi gazed upon me with a look of confusion, and right behind him . . . Isaac.
CHAPTER 9
Sei streghe
What does she mean, break the Salazar magical line? My nerves crackled like live wires as we stepped into the Medici foyer. They were all here. And all eyes were on me except for Adele’s.
Gabe and Martine were gazing down from the mezzanine. Emilio—who I hadn’t seen since that night in the park—was sitting near the bottom of the staircase with an expression that said he hoped some shit was about to go down. That lunatic almost killed me. And Nicco stood a couple steps behind him, hands casually in his pockets. Like there was anything fucking casual about Nicco Medici.
Aside from now wearing shoes, Adele looked exactly the same as when we’d parted, which was comforting. I’d half expected to see her wrapped in Nicco’s clothes, sporting shiny new fangs.
As Codi and I walked by, Lisette whispered, “Isaac, this probably isn’t the best time—”
Nicco, still watching me approach, pulled his hands from his pockets and moved to Adele’s side. He stood shoulder to shoulder with her, as if they were some kind of unified force. It was a power move. “We’re going to Guinée,” he told us.
I took a deep breath, waiting for him to hold her hand and tell us this was also a surprise destination wedding, and they were getting married there in an ancient witch tradition.
“To kill Jakome Salazar.”
What the fuck?
“Whoa,” Codi said. Even Désirée seemed a little taken back.
Nicco looked straight at me, waiting for a reaction, and my heart pounded so hard I swear I could feel every spirit who’d ever passed through the Quarter. What does this have to do with saving Mac?
“Why do I know that name?” Codi asked. “Jakome.”
“From the flashbacks.” Adele held up the ring. “Callis’s father is the tie that binds him to his magic. If we break it, the Ghost Drinkers will be weak enough to overpower—”
“And get Mac back,” Nicco finished.
Désirée looked strangely conflicted. “That’s . . . kind of genius, and kind of terrifying.”
It’s fucking insane is what it is. Of course, now that Adele came to him, Nicco has a plan to save Mac. “Should have known this was your idea,” I muttered at him.
Adele whipped my way. “It was my idea! Nicco is graciously helping me, despite the potential perils.”
“It was your idea to kill someone?”
“A ghost. The spirit of one of the most dangerous witches who ever lived. Whose son has my father.” Something in her eyes had changed, and it scared me. The Adele I knew could never be so brazen about killing even a mouse.
Emilio hopped down the stairs. “Since when are you so sensitive to killing?” he asked me.
I glanced at Adele. How could he bring up this shit in front of her? In a flash of memories, I saw the blood everywhere, and her body, limp in Brigitte’s arms.
“Is a vampire not more alive to you than a ghost?” Emilio continued, fangs visible.
“Ghosts aren’t predators by nature, last time I checked.” My Air rippled around the room.
Lisette brushed up to my side as he came toward me. One more step, and I was pulling the stake from my boot, but Nicco slapped his brother’s shoulder with a firm grip, holding him in place.
Codi stepped up to my other side, trying to be casual. “Destroying a magical bloodline . . . that’s intense. Like, against all witch codes forever and always.”
The tension in the room de-escalated, but Adele’s gaze remained fixed on me. “Nothing’s forever.” The tone in her voice was chilling.
I felt like I’d broken her. Broken us. Broken the coven.
The surge of emotion welled up again. I wanted to wrap my arms around her so badly. To comfort her. To tell her how sorry I was.
“We also have reason to believe,” Nicco said, quickly regaining control of the room, “that Callisto has reignited his passion for necromancy. So, it’s really just a matter of who gets to his father first: him or us.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Codi said.
Adele pulled out her phone.
“The Salazars are necromancers?” Dee asked in disbelief.