The leather seat creaked beneath me when I shifted position to be upright again.
Bran stood at the head of the table, his long white hair pulled back in a neat ponytail, emphasizing the sharp angles of his goblin-gray face. He addressed the meeting of kings and their chosen mates with his usual solemn intensity.
"We need ideas, people. The formless ones are gaining numbers by the day. We can't afford to sit back and do nothing." Like Roma, Bran’s charisma was palpable.
Silence answered him.
I looked at each person in turn. Rey, his perpetual smirk almost faded, lounged in his chair, his fingers steepled under his chin. Cathy, his mate, leaned forward, her brow furrowed in concentration. Roma, with even more strands of hair curling around her face, sat beside Bran, tension in her delicate features.
Hugh and Tanni sat close together, their hands intertwined. Hugh's massive frame seemed to dwarf the petite vampirebeside him, but the love and protectiveness in his gaze was unmistakable.
Cassie fidgeted in her seat, her energy barely contained.
On the video screen, Shay was seated, and Martellus stood behind her. Shay's belly was swollen to the bursting point with their unborn child, the reason she wasn't here physically.
Rey opened his mouth, and I knew that a crazy plan was about to fall out of it. One that wouldn’t work, given the circumstances, but he’d go down fighting.
Bran cleared his throat. "Anybody other than Rey?"
I took a deep breath, steeling myself for what was to come, and mumbled, "I could probably do it."
Every head in the room swiveled toward me, their expressions a mix of shock and curiosity. Bran leaned forward, his focus on me like a laser. "What did you say?"
I could feel the weight of everyone’s undivided attention, the unspoken questions hanging in the air. Now or never, Rissa. I lifted my chin and repeated, "I said, I could probably do it."
Rey, face transformed by a smug grin, caught my eye. He had always suspected there was more to me than met the eye, and now his suspicions were confirmed. I shot him a sharp look, silently warning him to keep his mouth shut. Rey's smug grin broadened, making me want to smack him.
Bran leaned forward, his dark eyes fixed on me. "I'm sorry, one more time a little louder. Did you sayyoucould do it?"
I sighed heavily, rolling my eyes. "Yes, I can do it. I just need to retrieve something first."
The room erupted into a flurry of questions and exclamations. I caught snippets here and there:
"What do you need to get?" That was Cathy, her brow furrowed in concern.
"How long have you been hiding this?" Roma, her tone more curious than accusatory.
"Can we trust her?" That was Edward. Nice, coming from a daemon. I shot him a glare.
Through it all, Rey remained silent, that infuriating grin still plastered on his face. He was enjoying this far too much.
I held up a hand. "Look. I know this is a lot to take in.”
“Do you really think you can do this?” Roma asked. She had that considering expression on her face, probably trying to figure out a way to get video of it and boost the monster approval rating. Roma lived her job. “All on your own?”
"Yes, I think I can. I will need alittlehelp, but I’m pretty sure I can manage it."
Silence hung heavy in the room for a long moment. Curiosity and interest radiated off them in waves. Cathy exchanged a wide-eyed glance with Roma. Hugh frowned thoughtfully, his arm draped protectively around Tanni's slim shoulders.
Rey leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. "What do you need from us, Rissa? Just say the word."
I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry. With a daemon in the room, there was no way I was giving full details. "I need...to go get something. And maybe a little help putting a spell together once I explain how I want it to work."
Roma reached out, her slender hand resting on my arm. "We do trust you. You've never let us down before."
I stood up and paced the edges of the room. "The barrier between our world and the others is like a membrane. It's flexible, permeable. That's how the formless ones are able to slip through."
Hugh leaned back in his chair, his brow furrowed. "That’s been established, yes. Have you figured out a way to stop them?"
