Every trace of Gianna was gone, her body decomposed and her bones scattered to ash, swept through the earth and faded to nothing. Even so, I still felt a trace of her in the dirt. Nothing physical, no, only her essence. And maybe it was because I knew she’d been there that I felt her presence, but grief filled me all the same.
For all her faults, she didn’t deserve what happened to her. No one deserved such a violent end.
I steadied myself and pulled my magic closer to where she had lain, searching for anything in the soil I may have missed. When Cernunnos had shown me she was here, I’d panicked and swept every trace of her away, but I only had power with organic material—at least back then. I could do a lot more these days, if I practiced my magic.
After the tree, all my training with my father had stopped. The trauma was too fresh, and I needed a substantial amount of time to recover.
Even now, the thought of it made my teeth clench. The fae would always remind me of what I had gone through and what I’d almost lost thanks to them.
But even so, I had a moment of regret that I couldn’t do more to speed this search along. I swept through the soil and went several feet out on either side, carefully investigating anything that wasn’t biological or organic material.
I grimaced at the amount of plastic I found swimming through the soil—plastic soda lids, pieces of water bottles, nails and screws, and other miscellaneous things that didn’t belong in the dirt.
But no trace of anything linked to Gianna.
Frustration filled me as I pulled my magic back to the surface. Caelan lay a few feet away, his head on his enormous paws, the gold of his eyes focused on my face.
“Nothing,” I said with a sigh. I rose and wiped my hands on the thighs of my jeans, swooping down to pick up the go bag I’d brought filled with extra clothes for Caelan.
The temperature had dropped into the low forties this evening. Tolerable but still chilly.
Better than a few feet of snow, I thought. Caelan bumped his head into my hip as we walked. “Nothing on your end, either?”
He shook his head.
“Damn. How far did you go?”
He trotted ahead and looked back. Smiling, I broke into a jog to follow.
Garrett and Simone showed up ten minutes later, a sullen young woman following behind them.
“Hey, Thalia.” I shot Caelan a wtf look.
He huffed and rolled his eyes, the sight of the huge wolf’s annoyance bringing a smile to my face.
“She won’t say a word,” Garrett assured me.
Thalia stuck her tongue out at Garrett’s back. When I stared her down, she sighed. “Garrett rarely lets me out of his sight, so here I am.”
Simone turned her head to hide a smile. The Omega was dressed in dark clothing, her light hair tucked under a black beanie.
At my silence, Thalia huffed. “I won’t say a word.” Thalia mimed a zipper motion.
I let a flash of red roll over my eyes. “You better not.”
She blinked and took a step back, fear flashing over her face.
“Evie. That’s unnecessary.” Garrett watched me carefully.
“Is it? She’s still a stranger.”
Thalia smirked. “Am I?”
My brow furrowed. “Err. Yes? This cannot get out to anyone, Thalia. If it does, I’ll know who to come visit.”
She waved a hand. “I don’t plan to help. I’ve got a game on my phone. Go play in the woods or whatever you’re doing tonight.”
“Helpful as always, Thalia,” Garrett said dryly.
