“Of course. Diana did most of the hard work.”
Amethyst nodded and cleared her throat. “They’ve seen so much where they are now. That’s why they couldn’t come back to me. It’s why I searched for so long and never found them . . . until today.” She folded her hands together as if that made perfect sense. Maybe it did to her, she was the spirit worker, after all.
“Did you talk to them?” Eva asked in a small voice.
“Yes. In the ghost plane. They told me everything. Where you’ve been, what you’ve accomplished.” She bit her lip. “What you need me to do.”
My breath hitched. I hadn’t expected to show up and have my friend already understand what we needed.
“It will be difficult,” I said carefully. “We had a very adept spirit worker do it for the first time in 17th century France. She had to have been at least seventy. Walked around the spirit worker block a few times, if you know what I mean.”
Amethyst snorted.
“But I remember what she did,” I said. “I can tell you. If you can do this, it’ll be the key to us surviving the demons. And hopefully sending them back to Hell.”
Amethyst gulped. “My parents said you’d say that. And as always, Mom and Dad were right.”
“Maybe the fae have books on how to do it too,” Eva offered. “Then you can study up for a day before you try.”
Amethyst shook her head. “I don’t need that. My parents will help me. They’re actually already on the hunt for the perfect ghosts. They said you’d need strong, trustworthy mind witches, right?”
“Right,” Eva replied.
Amethyst’s gaze trailed out the window once again. “Well, then they’re on it. So now, all we have to do is wait.”
We left Amethyst in her room, awaiting the return of her parents. I hoped they would find the ghosts of mind witches quickly. The sooner Eva and I were protected, the sooner we could all return to the human realm, free the prisoners that the U.S. government had locked up, and build an army.
Eva and I had made it halfway down the hall when Alex and Hunter turned in to our corridor. They were both coated in dirt, and dried blood caked Hunter’s dark blond hair. I pressed my lips together hard as my gaze landed finally on Hunter’s bandaged arm.
“You okay, honey bunch?” Eva asked as she picked up her pace to meet the guys.
Usually, when they came together, she would throw herself into her man’s arms, but not this time. This time, Eva stopped carefully before him, caressed his arm, and kissed him softly on the lips.
Alex slid his arm around my shoulder and squeezed me close to his body. I cuddled in, savoring his familiar, comforting aroma, mingled with the scent of horses, sweat, and dirt that we all carried, and the herbal concoction that was seeping from beneath Hunter’s bandage.
“Fine,” Hunter said. “Those fae, whatever they were, are apparently more dangerous if they bite you. I only got slashed by a blade.”
“So, Prince Halad?” I prompted.
Alex let out a long, slow breath. “He’ll be fine. The healer said that if we had been even two hours later, the story might be different.” My boyfriend frowned. “Still, there’ll be scarring.”
“You did your best,” I said, not about to let him feel bad about being unable to heal someone when he didn’t know how. “He’s a prince—a leader. Halad is sure to earn a few more scars in his lifetime.”
“How’s Amethyst?” Hunter asked, gesturing down the hallway.
“Well enough, all things considered.” I shook my head. “Her parents’ spirits told her everything. They’re already on the hunt for the ghosts of trustworthy mind witches. Now, we just wait.”
“Well, we have a few more things to do.” Alex pivoted and brought me with him. “Queen Aquatia requested to see us in the Poppy Lounge as soon as possible.”
My spine straightened, and a trickle of fear washed through me. Was she mad? Halad had gotten injured on the quest? I’d tried to warn her that it was a possibility—that perhaps someone else would be better suited than the future king of the Riverlands Court.
“She didn’t seem mad,” Hunter said, clearly reading the worry on my face. “Sam and Andre are already waiting.”
“Oh, you mean Andre’s not still at the infirmary for his pixie bite?” I teased, trying to lighten the mood a little.
Alex snorted. “Because of Halad’s condition, Andre wasn’t so dramatic about his own when we all arrived at the infirmary. But you could tell he wanted to be.” He rolled his eyes. “Hesowanted to be.”
Everyone chuckled, and we made our way through the halls, trying to keep the conversation light.
