The sting in his voice was plain, and I dared a glance up at my father. I wondered what had really happened between them. What had my mother done to him?
“The warlock is right,” Liam said, following not far behind. “This energy is not of the fey queen or king, but it bears the mark of Faerie, that much is certain.”
The entire group shared a ‘what the fuck’ look while we tried to process what Liam was saying.
“So…some random fey is trying to contact Piper?” Brunton asked, the first to find his tongue.
“Who would be strong enough to do that?” I asked, working through the logistics in my mind. “And why? Why would they want me?”
“Because they’re disenchanted with the current regime running the realm,” Kat deadpanned. “Can’t say I blame them.”
“Maybe,” Knox mused, “but that doesn’t explain how.” His gaze fell to Liam. “Can you account for that?”
His fellow Original shook his head. “I cannot…but perhaps I should return now so that I can find out.”
“Are you sure you can do this?” I asked, concern blossoming in my gut. “Do you think you can weave in and out of Faerie quickly enough to avoid getting caught while still finding the source of the voices?”
He smiled faintly. “For you, I will try.”
Knox walked over to Liam and clamped his hand on his shoulder. “Be smart. If either of them catches you—if the king revokes your ability to cross the veil—we might not be able to come for you in time.”
“If I do not return, know that I was lost righting the wrong I did.” His eyes fell upon the pack behind him—the one whose members he’d picked off for sport in the name of revenge for the fey king. The one whose brothers had died because they were associated with Knox and me. “To honor those whose lives I took.”
“Go as soon as you’re ready,” Merc said, “and do what you must to stay alive.”
Liam nodded before walking back toward the woods, following the faint voices that drifted past the trees, calling for me. He disappeared into the darkness, and I wondered if that would be the last time I’d see him. Judging by the looks on the other Originals’ faces, they were wondering the same thing.
“So now what?” Kat asked, drawing everyone’s attention away from the spy we’d just sent on a potential suicide mission.
“The witches are prepared to do whatever is asked of them to eradicate the fey royals,” Merc said. “I did not have time to meet with the others.” His eyes drifted to the horizon and the amber glow peeking over the trees. “I will not have time until this evening to speak with the rest.”
“I will prepare the warlocks,” Reinhardt said, heading toward the gate to the property. “It is time I revealed the truth to them, anyway.”
“Will you tell them about Kingston’s return?” I asked, knowing that necessary evil would not end well.
“I must. And we will deal with the consequences once Larken and Phineas are dead.”
With that, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke, the caw of his raven—the spirit of my uncle Drake—punctuating his exit.
“I guess I should probably go deal with Mack,” Knox said with a sigh. “I can’t put that off any longer, especially now that we don’t know how much time we have. Besides, we don’t really need him to be an informant now anyway, not that he would have been a reliable one.”
“To be clear,” Kat said with a smile, “when you say ‘deal with’…”
“We already established that we need everyone we can get,” Knox said, mouth pressed to a grim line. “He’s shady, but resourceful, and he knows things about the king. Both could come in handy—so no killing.”
“Except his allegiance is up for sale,” Foust pointed out. “We can’t discount that variable.”
“Then we dangle something in front of him that he can’t resist,” Kat said. A low growl came from Brunton’s direction, and we all did our best not to acknowledge it. All but Kat, that is. “I meant money, you Neanderthal, not me, though that might actually work better—”
“We can do that,” Merc said, defusing the situation before it could escalate. “Name a price and see how he reacts. Negotiate from there.”
Knox looked utterly shocked. “You’d pay him?”
Merc’s lip curled up on one side. “Of course not. But he doesn’t know that. And you will not tell him. Make him think that the prize will be his.” His smile fell as his eyes drifted to Kat. “Whatever that prize might be.”
Knox nodded. “We’ll be back shortly.” He looked to his boys and started off toward the fleet of vehicles in the parking area. I moved to follow, but Merc caught my arm and held me back.
“I would ask you to stay if I thought it would do any good, but I know better than that.”
“Yeah…you’re a quick learner,” I said with a sad smile.
“I don’t like that I can’t go with you.”
“I don’t like it either, but I’ll be fine.” My gaze followed the wolves climbing into the various SUVs. “We all will…”
“If something happens there, Piper, promise me you’ll get out, no matter what.”
My brow furrowed. “I can’t make that promise and you know it.”
His hand grasped my bicep. “I know,” he said, voice low and full of concern I rarely heard there, “but say it anyway, or I might do something foolish. Something we’ll both regret.”
It didn’t take much to read between the lines. He’d risk his life to go with us, and possibly burn in the process, if I didn’t assuage his fears—even if we both knew it was a lie.
“I promise,” I whispered before pushing up to my tiptoes to kiss his soft lips. He held me captive for a moment, kissing me with a hint of desperation I couldn’t escape. Even when I pulled away and said goodbye. Even as we rode through New York City on our way to confront Mack. It was a sober reminder of what was at stake in all of this.
A reminder that more casualties were likely headed our way no matter what we did.
Chapter Four
The caravan pulled up outside Mack’s illegal gambling club, and the pack strolled up to the entrance together, an army arriving on their doorstep. The bouncer looked at us with suspicion until Kat and I wandered to the front of the group.
“We’re friends of Mack,” she said, smiling brightly. “I promised him five minutes of my time the last time we were together, and I figured today was his lucky day.”
The bouncer scoffed. “What’s with the entourage?”
“Them? They’re just my muscle. A girl can never be too careful, if you know what I mean.” She leaned toward him in conspiratorial fashion. “Between you, me, and the brick wall, Mack can be a little…scary sometimes. They’re just here to make sure he doesn’t get carried away.”
She stepped back, and the bouncer stared down at her, his uncertainty plain.
“I can’t let them all in.”
Kat feigned a pout. “Then Mack can’t have the best five minutes of his life…and I don’t think he’ll be very happy about that.”