“You’ve brought Hatty,” I whisper, nodding to the book under her arm.
Lark hugs the grimoire to her chest. “You know Hatty?”
“Yes.” I smile through my tears. “I know Hatty very well.”
Harriet has been gone from this world for decades; the ache of that is old and familiar. But the echo she poured into this book—her magic and her mind pressed into paper—answers my magic as readily as ever.
“Hi, sweetheart,” I murmur.
Heels sound again. From a side door, a blonde woman approaches the stage—elegant and composed. In her hands she carries Beryl.
A low, scandalised whisper rises from the human seats. “What is going on tonight? This is the Sector Assembly. Are we seriously allowing weapons into Unity Hall now?”
“Only the sentient ones,” a vampire mutters. “Pay attention.”
I test whether Unity Hall’s magic prevents Beryl from communicating, but the silver thread of my power within her makes that impossible; the hall’s wards regard her as human.
“We heard about your transformation,” Fred says gently. “We wanted to see for ourselves—and we came to help.”
Beryl flips free of Fred’s grasp and hovers in front of me, smug as you like.
Wow. So this is what you look like.
A laugh breaks loose through more tears. I am meant to be the monster everyone fears. Yet here I am—crying, emotional—and I feelbraver, not weaker. Because they came. Because I am not alone.
All my girls.
“I was searching for you,” Fred says, stepping forward, ignoring the baffled leaders. “I could not find you—now I know why.” She studies me, grinning. “You’re so petite.” Then she kisses my cheek. “I have missed you, House. Baylor misses you—he has spent five weeks staring at the walls, waiting for treats. I have so much to tell you, and clearly you do too.”
She turns to face the Assembly, her smile sharpening into something that could draw blood.
“Harper House is my friend. She kept me alive. An attack on her is an attack on me—and on the vampires.”
At her words, a vampire—very handsome, impeccably dressed—pinches the bridge of his nose and groans.
“How did you know to come?” I ask.
“Oh,” Fred replies lightly, “a little bird told us. A certain Magic Hunter said you might need help.” She gestures behind her. “Our husbands are here, so we thought we would pop in.”
Lander asked them to come. He made sure I did nothave to stand in this hall alone. The thought twists something warm and aching in my chest.
“You should have called,” Fred chides gently.
“I know,” I say softly.
She never would have,Beryl snorts, circling once.Idiot woman.
Chapter Forty
After we makethe Assembly deeply uncomfortable, the girls take their seats beside their partners. The shifters—never combative to begin with—remain watchful and silent.
The vampires, taking their cue from their Grand Master, back down—predatory stillness replacing the earlier flare of temper. Fred flashes me a grin and gives me two thumbs-up. Beryl, evidently bored now that the drama has dipped, dozes across Fred’s lap as if none of this concerns her in the slightest.
The Ministry of Magic, however, is not finished with me.
Even though Lander looks ready to throw down, the councillors press on with their questions. One mage in particular, Councillor Reep, is relentless, pelting me withsharp, accusatory queries as if volume might substitute for proof.
“Did you, at any point, intend to undermine the authority of the Ministry?”
