She focuses on the waffles, and once breakfast is finished and the table cleared, she picks up one of the tomes stacked on the stool. "Better to keep going with the research," she says, coffee in one hand, the brittle volume in the other.
"Yes. We need an advantage. Right now, they hold the upper hand."
She grimaces as she tries to separate two stuck pages. "Ugh. Feels like someone spilled syrup on this. Winston's not going to be happy."
"Bet that was Kayden," I say dryly.
She scoffs, half-amused, half-exasperated, then glances toward the stairs. "He hasn't come down."
"Avoidance is one of his specialties," I say. That's my brother's way of managing what he can't face. Different from mine. He's afraid of losing her. So am I. We just wear it differently.
Sage finally pries the pages apart, careful not to tear them. Her frown shifts to surprise.
"What?" I step to her side, looking over her shoulder.
On the page, a hand-drawn weapon takes shape—a long, twisted blade, one strand metal, the other wood.
"'Last Song of a Satyr,'" I translate from the Latin. My chest tightens. "This must be it."
Her voice trembles. "A weapon… to kill him?"
"Seems so. Forged by druids," I continue reading. "Silver alloy laced with obsidian dust for the metal part. Yew, a tree of death, rebirth, and immortality, for the wood part."
Her tone turns flat. "Soundssosimple to make. And the only druid we know won't even look at us after last time. Who knows if she's still in town."
I nod slowly, thinking through contingencies. "There are others out there. Or already forged weapons available to buy on the black market. I'll ask Astrid. She has contacts."
I snap a photo of the page and send it. Astrid answers quickly.
Sure. Meet me at Cole's? Something happened last night at the Hawthorn offices. I'm meeting my cop contact.
My brow furrows.What happened?
Police got an auto-call from the security system. By the time they arrived, they were turned back. 'Office party gone wild,' they were told. But someone saw a desk thrown from the upper floors. Some party.
Shit. My first thought is Kayden.
"Did you see Kayden come in?" I ask Sage.
She shakes her head, reading the shift in my tone. "What is it?"
"I'm meeting Astrid atCole's."
"I want to come," she says instantly, voice tight.
I hesitate. The barrier is safety, but leaving her here alone while things stir in town is worse.
I nod. "All right."
We move fast—clothes, boots, keys. I slip my phone into my jacket, the photo of the blade still glowing on the screen.
Kayden has another fallback when emotions get too close: chaos. And I have the sinking feeling that's the path he chose last night.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Sage
The sky is overcast as we pull up atCole's. It's morning, but the heavy clouds make it look like evening, gray light pooling low. A sharp wind cuts through, carrying the smell of rain. A rumble shivers in the distance.
