A strange look crossed Lilith’s face as she held out her empty palm, revealing a dark curl of energy that sparkled in the light, wavering like a mist over water. Then a black envelope manifested, and her blue eyes blazed with anticipation.
“Hello, what’s this?” she murmured, turning the envelope over and inspecting the wax seal.
“Wait!” I shouted as she moved to break the seal and open the letter. “It could be a trap.”
“He’s right. It might not be safe,” Gavin warned, backing me up like a true partner should.
Lilith laughed. “Sweet poppets. Just because your network is down, doesn’t mean that mine is.”
“What are you talking about?” Gavin asked.
“You’re just mentioning this now?” I said, almost on top of him.
She blinked at us as if we were a bunch of naughty children. “A girl must have her secrets.”
“Not during the apocalypse,” Caleb said, coming to stand with Gavin and me.
Pan, the clever little duck, clearly knew what was going on because he just grinned. “Devious as always, Auntie Lilith.”
Pan’s voice echoed in my head without warning.“Call me a duck again and I’ll have your balls for breakfast.”
I couldn’t help myself; I snorted before sending back,“You wish. Also, stay out of my head if you don’t want to hear things you won’t like.”
“Boys,” Lilith snapped. “Care to share with the class?”
“You first,” I tossed back. “You’re the one with the secret messages.”
She raised a brow, clearly unimpressed with my temper. “I have a network of informants spread throughout the realms.”
“And you trust them.”
She rolled her wrist and fingers, like a dancer doing elaborate hand choreography. “I own them. They could no more lie to me than they could ignore my summons.”
A light bulb went off in my mind. “They made deals.”
She winked. “Just so.”
“And how is it safe for them to send you communications?” Gavin asked, still suspicious as ever.
“The bond magic protects it,” she said simply.
“How?” I demanded.
She shrugged. “Not every trick should be revealed. Suffice it to say, it’s a special sort of magic that has its own rules. It cannot be tracked or monitored the way elemental or even spellcraft can.”
“Am I the only one annoyed that she is just now mentioning this?” I asked the others.
Caleb was less interested in the details of how it was possible and more interested in what the message contained. “None of that is relevant. What’s it say?”
Gavin scoffed. “Of course it bloody is. We are in hiding. Do you want a sloppy trail to lead them straight to us? To your mate?”
Caleb’s chiseled jaw worked as he ground his teeth and stared Gavin down. “Lilith has been operating in secret for millennia, Donoghue. Don’t discount her power. I trust her more than anyone in this room. What does the note say, Lilith?”
She opened the envelope and quickly scanned the contents, a frown pulling at her lips the more she read. “The Princes are gathering demons to find the children of the horsewomen.”
I let out a disbelieving laugh. “Oh? Is that all?”
“No, actually. Three of the four members of the Siren coven have been taken.”
