He said Evie’s name like a caress, but she was already turning to pace the room. “I want it out.”
I blew out a breath. “Let’s take a minute here. We need to figure out where exactly it is, how big it is, and if it can be removed.”
Evie nodded. “We need a witch.”
“Yeah. Depending on how much power is required, we might have to use Gloria.” And I sneered at the thought of the black witch Samael kept on retainer.
Evie’s lips twitched and I shot her a look. She found my silent war with Gloria hilarious.
Since no one was going to fight, I sat back down on the sofa. Nathaniel sat in his usual, delicate chair across from me.
Evie and Liam stayed standing, and Liam pulled Evie close, wrapping his arm around her. Aw.
“Have you noticed anyone following Evie or watching her a little too intently?”
Liam shook his head. “No. And I would’ve noticed. But… we’re pretty new.” He squeezed Evie and she smiled.
I glanced at Nathaniel. “We found a weird magic signature at the coven,” I said. “A mixture of witch, fae, and werewolf. Do you have any idea what it could mean?”
Nathaniel frowned. “I don’t. Werewolves don’t typically collaborate with other paranormals. And we certainly don’t want to wage war against the witches.”
“Would you know if there were any feral wolves in town?”
“Yes. One of my people would scent them. They would be hunted down and brought to me.”
So this was a bust. Well, not entirely a bust. “You said you noticed something strange about Evie’s scent when the house was burning.”
He nodded. “Yes, although I didn’t consciously know there was something in her neck. I just knew that her scent seemed wrong. Different.”
“And now that the house is basically nothing but ash, you can sense the exact location of whatever it is that’s in Evie’s body.”
“That’s right. You believe the two are connected.”
I shrugged. “I’m grasping at straws here. But I think it’s interesting.”
We wrapped things up relatively quickly after that.
Evie was quiet on the way home and I couldn’t blame her.
“Are you okay?”
“I dunno. I can’t explain it, but the moment that house burned down, I felt… free. But I loved that house.” She frowned. “And what the hell is in my neck? I feel like I’m constantly the last person to know what the hell is going on, and I’m tired of it.”
“I don’t blame you. We’ll figure it out, Evie. Whatever it is, we’ll get to the bottom of it.”
She attempted a smile. “Thanks. And thanks for being here, for everything. I couldn’t have gotten through this without you.”
“Of course.”
I was deep in thought as we made our way up to my apartment. My ward felt… wrong, and I pulled my Colt, using my other hand to unlock the door.
“Stay behind me.”
Evie had already pulled the knife she’d likely found in my collection, and she simply sneered at me. Cool.
The apartment felt empty, but I did a full sweep anyway.
“Dani? You might want to look at this.”
