He scrubs a hand through his hair. “Slade, you want to explain, or should I?”
Slade’s jaw tightens. “You’ll embellish.”
“I always embellish.” Draven folds his arms. “I’m delightful that way.”
“Tell her,” Slade growls.
Draven’s grin fades. He steps closer, his expression turning unexpectedly serious. “Piper… what you spoke wasn’t an invocation. It wasn’t even Bellamy spellwork.” He pauses. “It was a summons.”
My stomach plummets. “A… a summons for WHAT?”
Draven lifts a brow. “You mean…Who.”
Slade murmurs, “Veda Bellamy.”
I shake my head violently. “No—no no no. That was—she was—she’s a MEMORY. A ghost. An echo.”
Draven snorts. “Well, she’s certainly not echoing anymore.”
Slade’s hand tightens on my waist when I sway.
Draven leans against the opposite wall with a sigh. “Piper, you didn’t just awaken her echo.You reopened whatever she sealed. Whatever she bound. And that—” he flicks a finger toward the banquet hall—“is why the court lost its collective mind.”
My skin prickles. “But why would they care?”
“Because,” Draven says, “Veda Bellamy was the witch who nearly brought the Ninth Realm to its knees. And then disappeared before anyone could kill her or recruit her. Which, in demon politics, is very rude.”
I stare at him. “She—she WHAT?”
Slade answers quietly. “She threatened every house here. Every bloodline. Including mine.”
Draven nods. “And when a Bellamy speaks her name in the Ninth Realm… five hundred years later…”
He whistles low. “That’s chaos incarnate.”
I slide down the wall until I’m half crouching, half clinging to my own hair like that will stop the panic buzzing under my skin. “So what do I do now?” I whisper.
Slade kneels in front of me, taking my hands—slow, grounding, careful. “We find the truth. We go to the archives. Tonight.”
Draven pushes off the wall, adjusting his sleeves. “Before another house decides they want to ‘escort’ you themselves. And trust me, their idea of escort is either kidnapping or marriage. Sometimes both.”
“Oh my GOD.”
Slade stands and extends a hand to me. “You’re safe with me.”
I want to say I don’t believe him. But the bond thrums like a heartbeat. I place my hand in his, and the faint buzzing under my skin settles.
Draven claps once. “Excellent! Emotional crisis complete. Now let’s move before someone realizes Slade’s missing and assumes you two ran off to consummate the bond.”
I choke. “DRAVEN.”
He winks. “Hey, I’m rooting for you buddy.”
Slade gives him a look that promises violence.
Draven lifts his hands innocently. “What? I’m being supportive.”
“We’re going,” Slade says through his teeth. He pulls me close, guiding me down the corridor. Draven strides ahead, checking corners like this is a heist and he’s having way too much fun. My pulse is still frantic, my head spinning.
