“I wasn’t aware Jeremy’s father was on your shit list.”
“Oh yes. We went to college together. Were friends once until he started practicing dark magic.”
A memory of another conversation I had with my mother lights up in my head. “Wait, is this the guy you said was using dragon scales in his spells?”
“Yes, I forgot I told you that. That was Jeremy’s father. I knew he was into some dark stuff, but I never thought Jeremy would follow him down that path. He seemed so much more like his mother. And she was the sweetest woman, Zoe, truly she was.”
I remember when Jeremy’s mother died three years ago. I wasn’t close to him, but whatever forces were at work in his life, he had indeed chosen a dark path.
“Mom, I have to go,” I say. “I’m sorry. It’s a work emergency.”
“Okay, darling. Call whenever you’re free.”
I end the call, rage boiling in my veins. That fucker. By the goddess, I will make him sorry he ever knew me. My vision flickers to gold, and I know what I must do.
I run for the back door and out to the tree, digging in the freshly turned earth until I reach the ring. I unwrap it from the banana leaves and rest it in my palm, where it buzzes against my skin. The magic of this ring is ready. It wants to be released. I close my fist around it and return to the house, slipping back up to the main floor where I can hear the Zodiac Brotherhood discussing next steps with raised voices.
I slow my steps as I pass the front room where they are meeting. They don’t know where Seb is. Ellison speculates he’s been taken to the compound in Maryland where they saw Roman, whoever that is, but Remus is convinced he’s close because they wouldn’t want to risk traveling far with him. Too many opportunities for him to break free.
I frown. There is one way to know exactly where he is. A person simply needs a high enough vantage point to see everything.
Quickly, I pad to our bedroom and silently close and lock the door behind me. I take a seat on the bed, holding out the gold ring in front of me. I can’t see the spells I’ve laid like I could when I was in the Gold Room, but I can feel them. I can smell them. I can hear them. This magic is alive, just sleeping. All I have to do is wake it and tell it to party.
I concentrate on the ring and then chant the spell to ignite the magic. Power flows through my voice, and symbols glow in the air around the ring. I can see the ribbons. But then I pause to take a breath, and the gold symbols fall to my palm like stardust and disappear. Shit.
I sit up straighter and try again.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
ZOE
Hours later, a knock comes on the door. “Yes?” I ask in a voice hoarse from singing. The ring still isn’t activated, and I’m exhausted. Each try feels more desperate than the last.
“It’s Patrick, miss. You must eat something, please. Seb won’t forgive me if he returns and you are wasted away.”
“I’ll be right there,” I croak. At least I won’t have to explain myself. It sounds like I’ve been crying. I place the gold ring in the wooden box where Seb keeps his watches and rings and unlock the door. I’m surprised when Patrick leads me into the kitchen, although I can still hear the men’s voices somewhere in the house.
“I thought you’d prefer a quiet meal here,” he says.
I nod, unable to voice my gratitude any other way. He slides a big bowl of chicken ramen in front of me, braised chunks of bok choy and hard-boiled egg smiling up at me from under a nest of green onion. My stomach, completely uninterested a moment ago, wakes up and starts to growl. I slurp up a mouthful of the noodles and am immediately comforted by the rich broth and tender chicken. Is there anything better than soup when you’re tired and distraught?
“Thank you, Patrick,” I say.
He clasps one of my shoulders and gives it a supportive squeeze. “Seb is made of tough stuff. Don’t underestimate him.”
He slips from the kitchen, leaving me with the steaming bowl of goodness. I eat every last drop. When I check my watch, I see it’s almost ten in the evening, and I can barely keep my eyes open. Seb, my mate, is counting on me, and I’ve failed him. I haven’t even been able to ignite the ring, let alone transport it to him.
I could ask Hazel for help, but it might take another day. A day for her to charge the ring and another day for her to ascend to bring it to him, if she’s even capable of doing both those things with natural magic. We don’t have that kind of time. But the only other option is gold dust, and I promised Seb I wouldn’t use again. Worse, if I break that promise, I might not come back from ascending at all.
That’s all right, the spider says. You’ll be safe here with me.
There has to be another way. I stand from the table and pad down the hall toward the front room, where I find Remus speaking to a young dragon he calls Mason. They seem to come to an agreement on something to do with a place in Rhode Island. He sees me and nods before heading for the door.
“Remus, what’s happening?” I ask.
“We’ve split up. I have brothers flying over all of the known Saint’s Order properties where we suspect he might be held. We’ll be looking for increased activity outside the building. If he’s there, they’ll have extra security.”
“And then what? If they suspect he’s being held somewhere, are they going in after him?”
