“No one,” I said.“You’d know if he was still here, right?”
“Of course.”She looked offended.Then she looked out the window.“You think he’s watching us?”
“I think he left rather easily.”I shifted into drive.“This spell has to work.”
“What if he shows at the site?”Melissa asked.
I’d still have until dawn to hand over the token.That didn’t mean Canyon wouldn’t do something.“Just don’t let him interfere.”
“You’re cutting it close.”Astrid’s voice carried across the sloped field, loud enough to be heard over a wind that smelled like pine and wet earth.She stood with Camille and another witch near the dark tree line.
“I know.”My boots slid in the dewy grass as I walked toward her.“Canyon finally made an appearance.Where do you want the token?”
Astrid’s brown eyes widened.“He found you?”
“He’s coming for the token at dawn.”I kept my voice calm, like I wasn’t at all worried he might show up any second.
“So no second chances if I screw this up.”She glanced toward her coven—the twelve witches who’d driven or flown in from across the country.They stood in clusters, talking quietly.
Astrid drew in a deep breath and squared her shoulders.“Okay.We should know if this works pretty quickly.Put the token in the middle of that pentagon.”
The location was easy to identify.An area in the center of the field had been blackened by salt and fire.Each side of the pentagon appeared to be the same length, an inch or so less than a foot.I took the token from my pocket.Garion had said it would be heavier outside the Null.He was right, and for a heartbeat, I thought I felt it vibrate, like it was filled with the same nervous anticipation that ran through my body.
I set the token dead center on the blackened grass, then wiped my hands off on my jeans.
“Wait over there,” Astrid said.She pointed toward Melissa, who stood near the edge of the clearing, speaking to someone on her phone.It looked like a serious conversation, so I walked toward her, an uneasy feeling tightening in my stomach.I didn’t need bad news.
Tree branches moved behind her.I opened my mouth to shout out a warning, but she’d already lowered her phone and turned toward the threat—
Relief eased the tension in my chest when Christian stepped out of the woods and wrapped his sister in a hug.It felt right that he was here.He’d completely changed the course of his life when Melissa became a vampire, walking away from the order and discipline of the military and into a chaotic world he hadn’t even known existed.
“I’m glad you made it,” I said.
Christian responded with a careful, measured smile.“I want this to work as much as you do.”
I doubted that.Melissa had time for second, third, and fourth chances.If the spell didn’t null the token tonight, I’d be forced to choose between Garion’s freedom and Canyon’s murder.
Paranoia made me scan the clearing again.My brain wouldn’t accept the idea that Canyon would have already made an appearance if he were here.The token was on display and the obvious target of a spell.The time for him to intervene had already passed.Probably.
My phone vibrated in my pocket.I slipped it out, half expecting a message from the fey saying “Gotcha.”The notification wasn’t for a new text though.My bank was confirming a large deposit.I tapped it and read the details.
I read them again.
And then I grinned.
“Good news?”Christian asked.
“I made money!”I threw my arms around his neck and spun us in a circle, which was totally awkward, and I totally didn’t care.My plan was working.I’d sent four emails yesterday.I’d missed the first notification, so I now hadtwovampires booked: the first for three nights and the second for seven days.That was a fifty percent success rate!
A wide, unguarded smile stretched across Christian’s face.His blue eyes brightened, and his expression warmed with a happiness edged with something that might have been pride.“I knew you would do it.”
“I can pay bills,” I whispered, loud and conspiratorially.
“Almost like you’re running a real business,” he said.
I just grinned.When was the last time I felt like I had a win?The past few months consisted of one defeat after another.I’d barely survived, literally and figuratively, and while I’d made some progress, it came with warnings and caveats.ThisI could celebrate.
“Are you ready for us to get started, or do you want a group hug first?”Astrid asked.She, too, was smiling.Most of the coven was because I wasn’t exactly containing my relief.
