So was Jono, but the tide seemed to be turning. The police and two federal agencies were turning their attention to Ethan and continuing to search for Youssef’s killer now that it was clear Patrick hadn’t been the one to murder the arsehole. A BOLO had been issued for Ethan in the northeastern states, while the INTERPOL red flag was still active. Jono, like Patrick, didn’t think Ethan was in Europe.
Mayor Doyle Ferbenn, while refusing to issue a curfew like he had during December when the Wild Hunt was on the loose, had made it clear that Estelle’s god pack should restrict themselves to their territory. The PCB had increased patrols through Hamilton Heights, and for once, none of the packs under his and Patrick’s protection had reported skirmishes within their own territory. It seemed every pack was lying low to take the heat off their community as a whole.
Jono knew the reprieve wouldn’t last.
The rival territory claims still existed between their god pack and Estelle’s. Nothing short of a challenge ring fight would change that. With the charges against Patrick in the process of being dismissed, that took away one of the reasons for not bringing the fight to Estelle’s doorstep. With the current public scrutiny and the daylight attacks that had happened already, the werecreature community couldn’t afford any more bad press. Neither could Jono’s pack afford to let Estelle remain in New York City.
On top of their citywide pack problem, they needed to support their alliance with the fae and keep Patrick out of Ethan’s hands. Their current situation was all around a bloody headache.
“I still don’t like it,” Jono said.
“It’s not like I’m going alone. Sage is coming with me,” Patrick said.
Jono looked over his shoulder at where Sage and Wade trudged along the path behind them. Late evening meant the sun was below the horizon, and twilight had faded to night. The summer heat hung over the city like a heavy blanket beneath the night sky.
“Don’t you have a meeting with your florist tomorrow?”
From behind them, Sage let out a heavy sigh. “I do, but I switched it to Friday afternoon since the hearing is only happening tomorrow.”
She’d been smelling like stress when Jono could catch her scent at all lately. She was supposed to have all next week off for the wedding. Worry over Patrick and Marek, on top of planning her wedding while in the midst of a god pack civil war, had left Sage pulled in too many directions. No matter what happened, Jono was going to make her and Marek take their honeymoon.
Jono looked ahead again, eyes unerringly finding Tiarnán and Deirdre farther up the path. They’d put Bethesda Fountain and Bow Bridge behind them, and the Lake was a pool of black that glinted like obsidian through the shadowy bare trees surrounding them. They were heading into a place that should’ve been all dense greenery that served as the transition point to the hawthorn path that connected Tír na nÓg to the mortal world. Instead, the path was lined with bare trees and filled with dried leaves.
At least this time they weren’t being chased by the Sluagh.
Tiarnán’s magic had shielded them since they met up at the corner of Fifth Avenue and East Seventy-Second Street. The fae magic smelled strangely floral to Jono, but reminding him of nothing grown on Earth. It grew stronger the closer they got to the hawthorn path. Jono reached for Patrick’s hand, their fingers sliding against each other as he got a good grip. He didn’t want what had happened the last time they came this way to occur again.
A soft golden glow appeared up ahead, growing until the trees and bushes around them appeared drenched in sunlight when the only thing overhead was the moon. They broke through the tree line, following the hawthorn path to that strange in-between area that wasn’t quite past the veil, but wasn’t quite anchored to the mortal plane.
The Spring Queen of the Seelie Court and a goddess in her own right stood in the center of the path, surrounded by an escort of fae warriors. Brigid’s red hair was the color of the sun at dawn, with fire flickering at the tips of the long curls. Her dark blue eyes met Jono’s unerringly, gaze full of power he only ever saw in immortals.
Her gown this time was the same color as her eyes, the blue rippling like waves. A cape made out of flower blossoms was draped over her shoulders and pooled at the ground around her feet. Brigid’s crown of twisted silver and gold filigree had hawthorn flowers woven through it. The scent of spring hung heavy in the air, but beneath it was the sharp burn of ozone that always lingered around a god.
On either side of her stood a pair of immortals that had Patrick making a startled sound so low Jono wouldn’t have heard it if he was human as Tiarnán bowed to his queen.
“Gerard,” Patrick said, surprise bleeding into his voice. “What are you doing here?”
Captain Gerard Breckenridge offered up a smile that was more like a grimace. “Hunting.”
He hadn’t changed much since December, but then, Jono knew he never would. The name Gerard went by in the mundane world was an alias. Ireland still awaited Cú Chulainn’s return when he finished his duties here in the United States.
“That god you’re missing?” Jono asked.
Gerard glanced at him and nodded. “Yes. I’m on leave with the Department of the Preternatural and working with Órlaith to track Cernunnos’ passage through the veil from Dublin. We’re not having very much luck.”
“Probably because he’s somewhere here in New York, and it’s full of iron,” Patrick said.
“Which is why we are meeting you here,” Brigid said, her voice as fiercely powerful as always.
Fenrir stirred in the back of Jono’s mind at the sound of it, the god’s awareness burning through Jono. While his pack and the fae gods standing before them were aware of who Jono carried in his soul, Tiarnán was not. Jono weighed the risk of what the reveal would cost them, but in the end, he let Fenrir have control.
“Your wayward elder is causing trouble, cousin,” Fenrir said through Jono’s mouth as the god let go of Patrick’s hand.
The brightness of Brigid’s aura dimmed in Jono’s eyes with Fenrir’s help. Brigid didn’t seem surprised Fenrir let his presence be known, but Tiarnán did a very obvious double take before he got himself under control.
“Cernunnos has always been a law unto himself.”
“The Greeks are displeased he interferes with the magic they laid down around this island. It is not yours to destroy.”
