Sinthy was gone for a long time, holed up in her room, if I had to guess. My head was still spinning as I tried to make sense of the last hour. I’d never seen the witch look so upset and confused. Since I’d met her, Sinthy had been the face of calm and usually acted like a goofy kid. But that rage she’d shown when she realized her mother’s magic had been stolen had… well, it had terrified me. Not only had her mother’s magic been stolen, twisted, and tortured into some kind of weapon, but it had twisted that poor kid into some kind of monster for Viola’s needs. Somehow, every passing showed me another layer of the vile human she was.
“I’m gonna go check on her,” Maddy said when Sinthy had been gone for over an hour.
“Okay. Let me know if I can do anything for her.”
Maddy returned a half hour later, looking forlorn.
“What happened?” I asked as she came in the front door.
“That girl is not okay. She’s depressed and sad and a little out of it.”
“Is she still out in the woods?”
Maddy nodded. “Yeah. Said she was re-strengthening the wards. She told me she was mentally tired from using so much power earlier against the intruders. She needs time alone to get her mind back on track. That, on top of learning what happened to her mother? It’s a lot to process. I think she’ll be all right. I guess we’ll see. I do think she liked that I went to check on her, though.”
“If she needs anything, just tell me. I’ll even risk sending someone to town for it. Whatever she needs, I’ll get it. She’s done too much for us for me to let her fall apart.”
“That’s sweet of you. Where did everyone go?” Maddy glanced around. For once, the house was empty.
“The guys went out to check the perimeter and do some ass-chewing. Dad should be back in a minute. He went to get the alpha bunking with them. Norman. He, Dad, Tiago, and I are gonna talk. Of all the shifter packs here, we lead the largest three.”
Like clockwork, Dad walked in with Tiago and Norman in tow. Norman was younger than Tiago but older than me. A broad-shouldered shifter who looked like he could handle himself.
Maddy waved to the stairs. “Go, have the boy talk. You can fill me in later.”
I led the guys upstairs to my office. Once they were seated, I spent ten minutes relaying the events of the day. My father looked disturbed. The thought of our pack lands being infiltrated probably filled him with existential dread, which I guess I couldn’t blame him for.
Tiago and Norman looked worried as well, especially after I told them about Sinthy frying the royals’ soldiers and sending the boy back.
“Viola probably thought she was being slick as shit,” Tiago said. “She probably spent weeks planning this little operation,and our resident witch gave them the beatdown before they even got near Maddy. Bitch is gonna be pissed.”
Norman nodded. “Right? From all I’ve heard, you guys say this chick is even worse than she seems on TV and online. Are we thinking retribution—will she try to hit back?”
That was inevitable. No matter how it happened, Viola would be furious that her mission had failed. The woman didn’t have enough humanity to get upset if some of her pawns got taken out. I highly doubted she had any emotional attachments. But a failed mission to get Maddy? Yeah, she’d be hitting back.
“That’s why we’ve been training,” I said. “The royals will come at some point. As for those two piles of ash in the woods? If those guyshadmanaged to sneak closer and get anywhere near Maddy, they’d be dead anyway. I’d have made sure of that. So, it doesn’t matter how they died.”
“Can’t argue with that,” Dad said with a nod of acknowledgment. “I’ll be totally honest, though. Was it the best idea for her to let that boy go?” He gave me a pained look. “I don’t wanna be bloodthirsty, but wouldn’t it have been safer to have three little piles of ash out in the woods? Aren’t we worried that kid might tell Viola what really happened? What if he tells her about the crest or whatever Sinthy put on him?”
I shook my head. “No, I don’t think so. You weren’t there. It was no act. That kid was fucking terrified. Of Sinthy, sure, but mostly of Viola. His siblings are her hostages, and they’re probably still being experimented on or tortured. He wants her dead. I could see it in his eyes when he offered to help us.”
Digging in my pocket, I pulled out my cell.
“Who are you calling?” Tiago asked.
“I need to let Donatello know. Best to keep him in the loop on everything that happens.”
“Good afternoon, dear Nico. Calling again so soon?” Donatello said. I could almost picture his little island paradise as he spoke.
Once again, I went over the day’s events. When I described the magical trace Sinthy had put on the boy, he let out a long low whistle.
“You know, boy-o, that is possibly the luckiest thing to happen to us so far.”
“That’s kinda what we think,” I agreed.
“What’s the next play? Step two?” Donatello asked.
“Good question.” I hesitated. “After what’s happened, I think the pack lands might not be the safe haven we thought.”
