Patrick stared at the doctor’s face, and he knew by the way the other man hesitated—by the way Setsuna’s blood had poured through his own hands without stopping—that there’d been no chance of her survival. He’d only been fooling himself in thinking they’d come through tonight with Setsuna ending up in the ICU and not in the morgue.
“I’m terribly sorry, General Reed. We did everything we could, but the trauma SOA Director Setsuna Abuku sustained was too severe. She died on the table.”
It was like a silence ward settled over Patrick, the world going quiet, his head a mess of static. He wasn’t aware of anything, not until Jono stepped in front of him, blocking out the world. Warm hands framed his face, wolf-bright blue eyes staring into his as Jono pressed his forehead to Patrick’s.
“Breathe, Pat,” Jono told him, sounding far away.
Patrick sucked in air through his teeth, letting it out on a rattling, choked-off gasp. “Fuck.”
Patrick reached for Jono, gripping the button-down he wore so hard he almost ripped the fabric. He rocked forward, moving his head so he could rest it against Jono’s shoulder for a few frantic seconds as he tried to get himself under control. Setsuna was gone, and with her, any answers to the swirl of remaining questions bubbling up inside his mind about his past.
She wasgone.
And he only had himself to blame.
It was bitter knowledge that, after all these years, he’d finally been able to appreciate what she had done for him. But he wouldn’t get the chance to tell her anything else, only say the words over her grave.
Tears burned in his eyes, but Patrick knew he didn’t have the time to grieve right now. Samhain was eight days away, and they still had a war to fight. He still had a soul debt to pay.
Setsuna would be pissed if he stopped fighting for himself.
Compartmentalizing had never taken so much effort before, but Patrick had no choice here. He didn’t have the luxury to grieve such a complicated loss when the threat that had taken her from him was still out there.
Patrick raised his head, let Jono go to wipe away his tears, and stepped around him to face Reed. “I’ll give the FBI my statement.”
“Ourstatement,” Jono said. “I was there as well.”
Jono’s hand slipped into his, and Patrick gripped it tightly, a lifeline he never wanted to let go of.
Reed studied them with a clear-eyed gaze before nodding. “Follow me.”
Wade stuck close as Reed led them out of the waiting room and through the hallways of the hospital, the general’s military escort clearing the way for them. Hospital staff didn’t seem concerned about their presence, especially not while the doctor who had operated on Setsuna was still with them, using his key card to scan them through restricted doors.
Eventually, they ended up on a lower level, in a wing that dealt with the hospital’s administration. It was overflowing with plainclothes agents, police officers, and men and women in military combat dress. Patrick’s shields were still locked down tight, and he could sense a headache coming on, but recognition still got through. Half the people present were magic users of various ranks, most notably Priya, a non-military mage with a strong affinity for defensive magic.
“General Reed, what’s the news?” Priya asked, pushing past a pair of uniformed police officers to get to them.
Reed shook his head, his voice coming out rough. “I’m sorry. Setsuna didn’t make it.”
Priya rocked to a shaky halt and closed her eyes, face losing a little bit of color at his words. She seemed to age a decade in a few seconds, grief an almost physical thing, before she shook it off with visible effort to do her duty. Patrick knew she and Setsuna had worked together for a number of years. Legally, she was now the acting director of a federal agency, and from here on out, everyone employed by the SOA would be taking their orders from her.
“I’ll inform the president,” Kohli said, opening her eyes again. “Special Agent Collins?”
“Ma’am?” Patrick replied.
“I understand the FBI is waiting on your statement, as well as Mr. de Vere’s.”
Patrick nodded. “That’s why we came with General Reed.”
“Then see that you leave nothing out.”
She waved him down the hall, in the direction of a pair of men in suits who were staring right back at him. Knowing how these kinds of interviews went, Patrick grabbed Wade by the arm and tugged him aside.
“Stay with General Reed, and if he gives you a minder, don’t run off,” Patrick said in a low voice.
Wade scowled, a mulish expression on his face. “I’m not leaving you.”
“You can’t be present for the talks Jono and I need to have with the FBI. So just sit tight. We’ll come find you when we’re finished.”
