“Because you’re an idiot,” Nadine replied coolly.
“How am I the idiot here?”
“Because you still haven’t learned how to stop losing pieces of yourself for other people.”
Nadine sat across from him at the wooden table tucked in the corner of the Bridge Bar they’d commandeered, a silence ward ensuring their privacy. The restaurant in Portmagee, County Kerry, had the Irish charm most tourists expected to find in a tiny coastal village a stone’s throw from the Atlantic Ocean. Except it was the middle of winter, the tourist season was long over, and the only people in town were local.
The Wild Hunt had flown them from the Cliffs of Moher to the tiny village a few hours ago, riding a storm that had hidden their arrival on the streets. People still noticed them—it was difficult to hide a group of twenty or so people who suddenly appeared with no vehicles to speak of and the screams of the dead echoing in the air around them.
Currently, the Hellraisers and Patrick’s pack had taken over many of the available tables, most of them foregoing drinks in favor of a light meal. No one wanted to fight drunk, but neither did any of them want to overeat. Wade was the exception. The teen had happily ordered four servings of fish ’n’ chips during their time in the restaurant and was currently perusing the menu again. Since Gerard was paying for the food, Patrick wasn’t about to tell Wade to stop ordering.
Patrick stole another fry off Jono’s plate and popped it into his mouth, chewing angrily. Nadine stared him down, brown eyes unblinking as she rocked back in her chair, balancing it on two legs. Her brown hair was tied back in a tight braid, and her winter jacket hung haphazardly on a nearby hook. She was dressed for a fight in winter, her choice of tactical clothes similar to what the Hellraisers wore, even if the glamour covering everyone portrayed them as travelers to anyone looking.
Patrick was just glad she was here to fight with them.
Nadine had taken a direct flight from Paris to Dublin, then transferred onto a puddle jumper for the afternoon flight out to Kerry. She’d rented a car and driven an hour west to Portmagee to meet them. Her arrival on such short notice was allowed only due to the joint task force that General Noah Reed had spearheaded between the PIA, SOA, and the Department of the Preternatural. Otherwise, Patrick had a feeling she’d have been denied approval to help.
“What’s the plan?” Nadine asked, glancing around the table. “Please, for the love of everything, tell me there is a plan.”
Gerard scratched at his jaw and the hint of reddish-brown beard coming in there. “We ride the Wild Hunt to the Skellig Islands, free Órlaith, and take her back to the Unseelie Court to complete the bargain with Medb.”
“Just like that?”
“You asked what the plan was. I never said it would be easy.”
Nadine let her chair drop back to the floor with a dull thump. Her gaze swept over the group sitting at their table, and Patrick waited her out. They’d updated her on everything that had happened—Gerard’s real name, Wade’s background, and the confirmation of their god pack and all that entailed—but they needed her opinion on the hastily sketched-out plan. Nadine was a former combat mage, but her magic’s affinity was heavily in the defensive area. She could build shields like no one else, and Patrick knew they would need that support. It’s why he had called her.
That, and she was his best friend. Nadine would’ve kicked his ass if he didn’t ask her for help and she found out after the fact about everything that had happened this month.
“Stop taking pointers from Patrick,” Nadine said.
“No Christmas present for you,” Patrick muttered under his breath.
Nadine kicked him in the shin under the table. “Yours is in the mail.”
Patrick winced. “Admittedly, I haven’t shopped for yours yet. I’ve been busy.”
“Yes, busy making bargains with the fae when you know better.” Nadine held up her hand when Patrick would’ve argued that point. “That argument is over, I won, moving on. We’re going in blind, which I hate, so I’ll be tapping a ley line on the flight over. If Ethan or Zachary are on the Skellig Islands, they’ll feel it and know we’re coming.”
“Could you wait until we reach the island before tapping a ley line?” Gerard asked.
Nadine coolly stared him down. “You’re asking us to fly over the Atlantic Ocean in a winter storm with the Wild Hunt. No, I’m not waiting to tap a ley line. You’ll need my shields.”
“I second that,” Patrick said.
Nadine’s gaze slid to him, one brow arching questioningly. “My use of a ley line?”
“Ouruse of a ley line.” Nadine kicked him in the shin again, giving him a warning look. Patrick moved his legs away from her feet. “Gerard and my pack know about the soulbond.”
“Do they now?” she asked in a dangerously silky voice. “Do they understand what’s at risk by knowing?”
Nadine had found out about the soulbond after the fight in Central Park on summer solstice. She’d helped hide his soul and the damage done to it from the doctors and witches on staff at the hospital that had cared for him. By rights, she was an accessory to what had happened, and now so was everyone else who knew and didn’t spill their guts to the authorities.
“Yes,” Gerard replied calmly.
“If anyone asks about my magical reach, I’ll blame it on the dagger,” Patrick said.
Nadine leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest, staring at him with a worried look in her eyes. “Are you sure that’s wise? You risk inviting oversight you don’t need if people start questioning the level of spells you can do now when you shouldn’t be able to.”
