“How do you think I got the eyes?” My feelings for Eve had overcome the potion that repressed them, igniting the Dark Moon curse.
I was lucky to have made it as long as I had. If she hadn’t been wearing the charm that repressed her shifter side, I’d have lost control much sooner.
“Good point.” She looked me up and down. “Do you love her?”
The question hit me like a freight train.
Did I?
No. Not yet. But there was enough between us that I couldn’t fight it.
It felt inevitable that I would.
“My wolf senses its mate,” I said, knowing that was the bulk of it. “It was enough to ignite the curse.”
“Lie.”
My brow creased. “It is not.”
“Lie by omission, then. I believe that your wolf senses her. But I also think you care for her. And that is why my potion has stopped working for you.”
She was right. There was no point in fighting it. “Which means you can’t increase the strength of it.”
“Correct. I can give you something to hold off the madness from the curse. Probably the same thing Eve would make, a little extra powerful due to my blood. But you’re going to keep feeling those pesky feelings of yours.”
Pesky feelings. An understatement in the extreme. I nodded to her. “Thank you. I’ll take whatever you can give me.”
“And pay nicely for it as well.”
“Of course.” I leaned against the shelf behind me and watched her work, my mind spinning over the problem of Eve.
We’d avoided each other since the fight in the Clerkenwell tunnels, but I’d had guards on her every second of the day. Well-hidden guards, but she’d likely seen them at some point. Their reports had been both a torture and a pleasure to hear.
Though I knew it was bad for me, I was ravenous for details of her. I couldn’t help myself.
I tilted my head back against the shelf, memories of our last kiss flashing through my mind.
No matter what I did, it was imperative that I resist more of that.
But how?
I shook my head, driving away the thoughts. If there was one thing I couldn’t afford to think of, it was the sweetness of her lips.
“All done.” Mordaca held up several small vials. “Use them whenever you feel the need, but use them wisely. If you can space them out, you’ll have longer.”
I nodded, walking over to take the vials and hand her the substantial payment.
She stared hard into my eyes, searching. “Be careful, Lachlan.”
“Always.”
She huffed out a small breath. “Somehow, I don’t believe you.”
Without another word, I turned and departed her workshop, striding down the dark hall to the exit. As I stepped out onto the quiet street that ran through the center of Darklane, I searched the pavement all around me, looking for Garreth.
He wouldn’t be here, of course, but I’d found it impossible not to look for him everywhere I went.
My brother was out there somewhere, cursed by the same thing that was about to take me.
I’d failed him.
I tucked the vials of potion into my pocket. I could spare a few more hours before I was forced to take one, and I should.
As I stepped onto the pavement, the air around me vibrated with magic. I stiffened, my senses going alert. The wolf inside readied for battle.
In front of me, the air shimmered, and a figure appeared.
The seer. Her white hair was pulled back in a long braid, and her floral dress swept the grimy street.
I blinked, shocked. I’d never seen her outside of her cottage before. Hadn’t even been sure she could leave it, in fact.
“Don’t look so surprised,” she said.
I felt my eyebrows rise. “Really? You’ve never left your cottage once—we need to make a blood sacrifice to even try to see you—and I shouldn’t be surprised when you appear on the other side of the world?”
“It was important. Vitally so.”
“Is Eve all right?”
She frowned. “Define all right.”
Fear chilled my skin. “Just tell me, damn it.”
“She’s alive. Mobile. Mostly healthy—physically, at least. Though she feels like hell, I imagine.”
I hated the idea of it. “What’s wrong with her?”
“That, you’ll have to ask her. I am not here to discuss Eve, but rather your brother.”
“What about Garreth? Is he safe?”
“As safe as you are.”
“Not good, then.”
She shrugged. “That is for time to determine. But I am here to tell you that you must pursue Garreth. The vision was very clear. What he seeks—what they seek—is still bound to Eve.”
“What do you mean?”
“I cannot see the details, but I know that they are twisted together like a rope. What they seek is part of her past. Part of her.”
“Why didn’t you tell her this?”
“She is in her tower, protected from the outside world.”
The protections, of course. The Shadow Guild had increased their security after Eve’s stalker had started getting bold. “What else can you tell me?”
“Just that they are not done with her yet. You must stop them if you hope to save her.”
“I can’t be near her.”
“The curse.” Her eyes swept me up and down. “I can see it starting to take hold. You care for her.”
I stared at the seer, not needing to confirm it.
“Well, get it under control. You can’t afford weakness.”
Story of my life.
“Go now,” she said. “You must work together. Only with both of your skills will you be able to save her. Fate demands it.”
Damn it, that would be difficult.
“Do as I say.” She stared hard at me, her glare even flintier than mine. “This is the only time I will visit you in this fashion.”
With that, she disappeared.
Damned elusive seer.
I turned back to Mordaca’s house to find her peering out the window, her pale face alight with curiosity. She raised her hand and waggled her fingertips, her black, pointed nails gleaming.
“Nosy sorceress.”
She grinned.
I turned away and drew a transport charm from my pocket. Quickly, I hurled it to the ground. The silver cloud burst upward, and I stepped into it, letting it suck me through the ether. I envisioned the alley near the Shadow Guild tower and arrived a few moments later in its shadowed recesses.
The buildings rose tall on either side as I looked toward the narrow exit. I reached into a pocket and withdrew one of Mordaca’s vials. I’d wanted to save them until I really needed them—I just hadn’t expected to need one so soon. But there was no question that seeing Eve would be risky.
I uncorked the vial and tossed it back, grimacing at the sour taste. A moment later, a sense of calm shivered through me.
Suddenly, I felt more like myself. The dark shadow that the curse had cast over me felt distant.
Grateful, I heaved a sigh and started toward the end of the alley. The protections on the courtyard fizzed against my skin but didn’t repel me. They’d clearly included me in the exemptions to the spell, thank fates.
The Shadow Guild tower soared overhead, the silvery gray brick gleaming in the early morning light. Roses climbed the walls, the vines curling around the windows protectively. As I neared, the main door opened.