“I know. But by implying something was wrong, you made me worry. And I couldn't tell you or anyone else. I worried alone.”
“I'm sorry, Az.”
He sighed. “It's all right, Carus.” He pulled me into a hug. “As soon as Jesus told us about the trickster, I figured it had something to do with that. I just wasn't sure why you'd head to Faerie until we were faced with those chains.” He looked over at Arach. “Hello, lizard.”
“Hello, mutant,” Arach said. “I came to help.”
“Yes, I assumed so.” Az let go of me. “So, Torrent says you think the trickster is wearing an air-tight suit.”
“Could be,” I said. “They didn't leave a trail.”
“Then why bother with bleach at all?” Thor asked.
I held up my hands. “Let me get changed before we get into this.” I headed to the elevator.
“Maybe they didn't want us to know about their suit,” Torrent continued the conversation.
I couldn't. I needed a few minutes alone to breathe and process. To accept that everyone I loved was safe. I got into the elevator and closed the door. Through the golden bars, I saw my husbands, all of them, staring back at me. I smiled wanly so they wouldn't worry. Several of them nodded. Viper smiled back, but it looked as strained as mine felt.
I went up to our suite and shifted into my main body. Through the terrace arch, the twinkle of stars caught my eye. Instead of making me feel the weight of the day, the night revived me, calling to my Moon Magic. I had always been a night owl, but having the Moon inside me gave me a new kinship with the night. My shoulders relaxed as I walked into my dressing room. I noted that the tower doors were shut, so it had to be late enough that the kids were asleep. All those investigations in Heaven must have taken longer than I thought.
I didn't dawdle. My men were being sweet by not following me up there, so I'd be considerate and hurry. I pulled on some underwear, then a dress, because dresses go on faster than other things. Then it was some flat shoes, and I was heading back downstairs. Even with my speed, I knew I had missed something important when I entered the dining hall.
“Try the station,” Thor said.
“What's going on?” I asked.
“The star, Vervain,” Trevor said. “It's aTexasstar.”
A chill ran down my spine. That was all he needed to say. I had been a damn narcissist to assume the star was about me. My star had nine points. Not to mention, it wasn't commonknowledge. But this trickster seemed to know a lot that they shouldn't. So I had assumed they had left the star as a threat against me or maybe a reference to when I was the Dark Star. The star was metal but cheaply made. Nothing special. That made me think they simply bought whatever star they could find, maybe a Christmas decoration. But it had never occurred to me that it could be a clue leading to somewhere else.
And someone else.
“Austin,” I whispered and immediately felt for the bond that connected us. I was the source of his magic, goddess to his demigod. I could sense him if I tried. “Got him!”
I ran to the tracing room.
“Hold on, Vervain.” Kirill grabbed my arm. “Ve're going vith you.”
“Whoever's coming grab on,” I growled, dragging him with me.
I don't know who took Kirill's hand, but I led them into the tracing room, then through the Aether to where my lion was. I wasn't about to waste a second when he could be in danger. Austin had been through some rough times. He was the first Intare I had made instead of inherited. I had to figure it out on the fly, but he was dying and that was some serious motivation. I was worried that Austin might resent me for binding him to me and ending his humanity, but he'd been thrilled and had taken to the supernatural world like a fish to water. A catfish, in his case.
But that hadn't been too long ago. Austin was a little, demigod baby compared to everyone else. And he was the only one of my lions who lived outside of Pride Palace. Some of the men had girlfriends whom they visited a lot, but they all calledthe palace home. Especially when we were under attack. I hadn't known this was an attack, but I still felt guilty for not warning Austin and summoning him to the palace for safety. He was my responsibility. I had introduced him to this world, then yanked him into it and forced him to stay.
I came out of the Aether in Austin's backyard. He had a few acres that were mostly bare if you didn't count the enormous pink flamingo and other monstrosities he had posed around the place to give the middle finger to the horde of Yankees (his words) that were invading Lexington and buying up all the property. Land around the Golden Citadel had become prime real estate, but Austin refused to sell his ranch-style, Lincoln logs-esque home.
My heart stopped. Austin was sprawled in a lawn chair, arms and legs spread akimbo, hat over his face. He looked dead, and I was too distraught to realize that I wouldn't have been able to sense him if he had been dead. Instead, I shrieked his name and ran over to him.
“What in tarnation?” Austin batted away my clutching hands and shot upright. “Vervain? What are you doing here?”
I caught my breath. “You're okay?”
“Yeah, I'm fine. Plumb tuckered out, but fine.” He looked around the yard. Texas was seven hours behind Pride Palace, so it was still daylight. “I must have dozed off. Why were you hollerin' like a cat in heat?”
“Because I thought you were dead!”
“Why would you think that?”
