Both Elias and I straightened, our attention finally locked on him for the first time.
“You do?” Elias said.
He raised an eyebrow as he tilted his head. “Given everything we’ve had to deal with, do you really think that I would come waltzing in here bragging about this if it weren’t true?”
“If you thought it was amusing? Absolutely,” Elias said, his face emotionless.
Oztsked. “Okay, so maybe I would. But given how much of a headache the wraith has given us lately, I’m not about to lie about it.”
Elias let out a breath as he leaned forward in his chair, all his attention locked on Oz. “How did you find it?”
Drake chimed in, “Oz and I were on patrol. A couple of lesser demons tried to ambush us. We managed to drag one of them away and convinced him that it was in his best interest to give us as much information as he knew before we started using iron.”
I let out a low breath of disbelief. For the first time, I felt as though we might have a chance at beating this thing. We had the advantage for the first time. There was a chance we could end all of this.
“Where is it?” Elias asked, his mind clearly on the same trajectory.
“Northwest of town,” Oz said. “Just like you thought. Near the heart of the desert. There’s a rock formation there with a series of tunnels, sort of similar to the one that leads to the underground spring. It’s hard to find if you don’t know where it is, but the demon gave us some pretty good directions.”
I leaned against the wall, mind spinning as I let the words sink in. A lead. We had a lead. We actually might be able to go after the wraith on its home turf, rather than waiting for it to come to us. Glancing over at Elias, I could see he was thinking the same from the set of his shoulders and the glint in his eyes, even as he remained motionless, his face stoic.
“Where’s the wraith now?” Elias asked.
“We haven’t seen it since it attacked Sam and Emma,” Drake answered. “My guess would be it’s recovering from whatever the fire did to it.”
“So we should have some time to plan,” Elias said, nodding. “Good. Let’s come up with a real war plan so we can end this thing once and for all.”
“I’ll start mocking up some options,” Drake said.
“You’ve got a day,” Elias said.
Snorting as if offended, Drake retorted, “Give me some credit. I only need eight hours.”
As they left, Elias let out a low, relieved breath, sinking into his chair. “Finally, some good news,” he said.
“We’ve still got a ways to go,” I said. “But at least we know what we have to do. Once Drake gives us his thoughts, we can finish this once and for all.”
“Thank God,” Elias said. “I’ll be able to stop worrying about Emma every time she steps out of the house.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know how you’re able to let her go wandering about, considering the wraith is after her,” I said. Hell, the wraith didn’t even know Rachel existed, and the thought of her walking down the street to train with Amelia still filled me with dread. I knew she was strong and had proven she had the abilities to protect herself. That didn’t stop that need to keep her safe. It was always there, a part of me.
“She’s her own person,” Elias said. “I don’t always like it, but I have to trust her. She survived on her own as a single mom for years.”
“Sure,” I conceded. “But every time Rachel’s out of sight, I’m worrying about her.”
Elias raised an eyebrow. “Really? I wouldn’t have expected that. But I guess the mating bond sort of muddles those things a bit.”
He gave me a suspicious look, and I realized what I had just said, what I had almost given away.
“Yeah. I think it has to do with me feeling responsible for her, with everything going on,” I said. “Even if we aren’t traditional mates.”
He scrutinized me for another long moment, and I thought he might push me for more information. Then he shrugged and looked back at the papers on his desk.
“Let’s just kill the wraith, and we won’t have to worry about it ever again,” Elias growled, pushing himself to his feet. “We’ll set up a meeting with the guards and start making a plan. I’ll have to bring Emma in on it, since she’s the only one who can kill it.”
Not quite.I had to bite my lip not to say it out loud. I wasn’t entirely sure how Elias would react if he found out his sister was keeping magic from him. I wanted to tell him. It was important for him to understand if we were planning on going after the wraith. But that was Rachel’s story to tell, not mine. And I cared more about keeping her secrets than telling Elias.
I glanced over at my best friend to see him studying me, tilting his head as he raised his eyebrow.
