“Natalia…” Bastien growled.
“What?” she shot back. “Sheisn’t.”
Tansy and Devlinn approached. Her arm linked with his. Another wave of guilt and shame hit me. They were here, in this frozen graveyard, instead of on a boat, heading toward paradise.
“Your Grace?” Devlinn said, bowing low. I could tell he was leery of my husband after he barged in during our tea.
“Can you tell what kind of spell is on this door?”
Devlinn stepped forward and removed his fur-lined gloves. Carefully, he closed his eyes and pressed his hand to the stone. “It’s a closing spell, Your Grace.”
“I could’ve told you that,” Tyson quipped.
“Shut it, Ty,” Lady Okeri said, playfully elbowing him in the ribs. “Bad timing.”
Devlinn placed his other hand on the door. “If I’m reading this right, the spell was placed on here by a demon. A powerful one. To counteract it with an opening spell would require an offering under the new moon.”
Devlinn shot a look at me over his shoulder. I knew he was trying to walk a dangerous line between opening the door and helping me secure my magick through the ritual we’d discussed.
“So we’re just supposed to wait until tomorrow?” Lady Natalia snapped.
While they continued to argue over which path to take, my energy keptbuilding. I needed to do something. I had to protect my friends who willingly came along on this journey. If anything happened to them, it would be my fault.
“Let me try,”I told Bastien through our connection. It was only when everyone’s attention settled on me that I realized I’d taken the horn out of my pocket and was holding it up.
In the distance, a crow shrieked. Another gust of cold wind sent strands of hair around my face.
Bastien studied me, uncertainty flickering in his eyes.“I don’t know?—”
“I can do this,”I insisted, cutting him off. Speaking with words instead of through our connection. “Devlinn and Tansy can help me.” Bastien’s gaze hardened. He was going to say no.“You’ve seen the fire. You know what I can do.”
My husband pressed his lips together in a hard line, then relented. “Set up a perimeter and post guards. We’re making camp.”
He turned to Natalia and clapped on her shoulder, muttering something in Sanguisi. She gave a curt nod, then disappeared in the thick press of bodies.
Chapter 15
L’Héritier
BASTIEN
Ipaced near the campfire where my nephew and his sanguine partner sat, reassuring myself that Claire was safe—tucked away with Devlinn and Tansy, working together on the spell that would open the arch. Knowing she was protected gave me the chance to speak to Tyson alone.
The cold gnawed at me, but it was nothing compared to the hollow ache in my chest. Steeling myself, I stepped closer to the fire. Okeri noticed me first, her smile slipping into something more reserved as she rose to her feet. “Your Grace,” she greeted, curtsying. Her attention flicked to Tyson before returning to me. “Shall I leave you two alone?”
If only Tyson were half as observant as the women surrounding him.It would make my life so much easier. I nodded once. “If you don’t mind. I need a word with my nephew.”
Her lips twitched as though she might say more, but instead, she turned to the viscount. Whatever passed between them seemed to sober him slightly.If anything did.She slipped past me with a whispered, “Goodnight.”
Regardless of how I felt about my nephew, I could respect his sanguine partner.
“If you’re here to scold me, Uncle, you might as well get it over with.”
I must’ve done something in a past life to upset Diana, because the humility required for this was nearly unbearable. Sighing, I gripped the bridge of my nose.
“Do me a favor and don’t get yourself killed while we’re out here.”
“I didn’t know you cared that much,” Tyson said. “In fact, I’m fairly certain you told me you didn’t.”
