“How good is that software?” I asked, looking at James across the table.
“It might be some time an’ several more passes before we are able tae salvage anythin’. Ah managed to salvage a single still from the video feed, but it was before anythin’ happened,” he said, handing me a photo.
My eyes fell to the photograph; a fuzzy, corrupted image of Cole slumped over, his wrists suspended in the chains. Fury burned in my chest as the image of Cassie suspended in that very manner flashed across my thoughts—every possible way he and Marcus might have left those markings on Cassie’s body haunted my every waking thought. I knew he helped, but to what extent? How many of her wounds were left by him? She had yet to open up about everything they did to her, but the bits and pieces I’d gotten were enough to send me into a rage.
“Whatever you have to do,” I said as I tossed the picture on the table.
“How’s Cas been?” Zephyr asked, glancing over at me. “Is she settling in okay?”
“I wish I could say she was better.”
“Still having the nightmares?” Barrett asked, and I nodded.
“Of course, she’s still having nightmares,” Zephyr bit out. “She fucking burned him alive.”
“Zephyr,” I said, raising my hand to him.
“That’s not what I... Shit,” Barrett ran his hand through his blond hair as he fumbled his words. “I couldn’t believe she actually did it but, gods, she was a fucking mess when you carried her out of that building. The way she locked herself up in her library for three days... It scared the shit out of me.”
It had been a little over two weeks since Marcus and his men laid a trap for us, but I remembered it as if it were yesterday.
I feared what exactly had come over her as she stalked toward us that night, the molten veins stretching across every inch of her body beneath her skin. She hadn’t been herself, trapped in some sort of trance. The moment she had come face to face with Marcus, when she’d forced him to stand as she pressed her hand to his chest... She almost seemed to relish in ending his life, her lips curving into a near smile as he burned, as he had cried out in agony. The look on her face when she broke free of it—the scent of her terror—still haunted me.
I hadn’t wanted to continue her training, fearful of what the long-term repercussions of using that magic might be, the strain on not only her body, but her mind. Selene had been adamant about her training, though, regardless of the toll it would take on her body, and it infuriated me to no end that the life of her daughter—my mate—meant nothing to her.
“It’s a miracle she’s alive right now,” Barrett said, the look in his eyes making it clear it was difficult for him to admit. It was a reminder of the truth I didn’t want to acknowledge.
“We should do something for her,” Vincent said, rising from where he sat nearby. “Something to lift her spirits, make her feel more at home.”
Zephyr’s eyes lit up. “Winter Solstice is in a couple of weeks.”
“Shit, is it already that close?” I breathed. I’d been so lost in the war efforts, in training Cas and hunting Cole, the celebration had snuck up on me. I hadn’t even had a chance to talk to Cassie about it.
“She always loved Solstice,” Barrett added, his eyes going distant, as if falling into a memory.
She had. It had always been her favorite celebration across all of her past lives. She always had a fondness for the falling snow, the games and festivities our people held to celebrate the end of the season.
“I think that’s a great idea,” I said, a smile curving my lips as I thought of how she might light up when we shared our traditions. Would she remember any of them?
“We’ll go all out,” Barrett said. “Make it the biggest one we’ve had in years.”
It was my turn to host the celebrations, and with the chaos of everything, I’d fallen severely behind on preparations. Vincent and Anna had hosted the previous Winter Solstice celebration, and it was a blessing that they’d hosted then. There was no way she could handle the stress of planning and organizing while pregnant. It was enough that Vincent had been on high alert with her health and well-being in the months since they’d found out.
“Who’s in charge of the gift exchange?” Vincent asked.
“I did it last year,” Zephyr said.
“I call dibs on that,” Barrett chimed in. I narrowed my eyes at him as a smug grin curved his lips, and he feigned a look of innocence. “What?”
“Don’t make me regret this.” I had a feeling I would.
He placed a hand to his chest, gasping as if he were insulted. “I wouldnever.”
4
CASSIE
“Don’t mind the mess,” Anna said apologetically as she led me through her gardens growing along the mountain side. “It’s a bit chaotic around here with the end of the season. I got most of it harvested, but there’s still so much to do.”
