Veda’s face falls, and with it, Hiram’s heart takes a dive.
“How long before the block breaks?” she asks, voice shaky.
“I don’t know.”
Hiram’s phone rings again. Irritated, he pulls it out and sees Gabriel’s name. “What the hell is it?”
“Are you home?”
“No.”
“Good. We heard a call on the radio about an incident at your address. Your neighbor reported an issue with your talisman. Someone tried to neutralize it, but it backfired and is now sending out shock waves. This is exactly what Everett did at Lucinda’s. Francisco and I are en route to check it out, but there’s a ...”
Whatever else he says becomes background noise.
Veda’s eyes roll back, and she collapses into Khadijah. In sync, she and Gabriel say the same thing.
“We have a problem.”
Thirty-One
Time slips through Veda’s fingers like sand in an hourglass. Fear burns her chest, but when she looks at Antaris, she steadies herself.
The inevitable is here.
“I’m fine,” Veda insists when Hiram hesitates, torn between staying and going. “Let’s keep moving forward with the plan.” Her voice falters. “W-we have time.”
Not much.
Hiram knows it. Veda sees it in his eyes, feels it in the way he kisses her goodbye. For the first time, he makes her the same promise he always makes Antaris. “I’ll be right back.”
Khadijah is still staring when the door closes behind Hiram. Veda’s eyes slide to Antaris, then back. “Keep it normal.”
Khadijah nods and walks away, returning with a glass of water. “You should sit down, you probably passed out from the fever. It’s high.”
“I didn’t realize I was that warm.” Veda sinks into the sofa. Mere seconds is all it takes for Antaris to sit next to her, anxiously wringing his hands. She drinks slowly; the water burns like acid. Still, she pulls him close and holds him tight. Whatever happens, she knows this is going to be hard on him.
Khadijah checks her temperature again. “You’re still too warm.”
“I just need to rest.”
And that’s when they all hear it.
Glass splitting.
A crack bisects the protective cloak of magic around her cottage. A single point of impact that shouldn’t exist. It spiderwebs out in all directions, the pitch equivalent to nails on a chalkboard, making them grit their teeth and cover their ears.
Too late, Veda realizes what’s happening. She pulls Antaris and Khadijah away as the cloak implodes. Fractured magic rains down like shrapnel, smashing through the glass ceiling of the solarium.
“We can’t stay here!”
An explosion rocks the foundation of the cottage. Instead of falling, Veda instinctively grabs the startled Antaris and drops to the floor, shielding him from debris. The floor shakes in the aftermath, sending vibrations through the room. Khadijah scrambles toward the refrigerator for support, while Veda hurriedly scoots her and Antaris to the couch. Her ears are ringing.
A cheery, girlish giggle cuts through the space. “Oh my, look what I’ve done,” the voice lilts, saccharine and sweet. “Knock, knock. Is anyone home?”
Freezing, Veda locks eyes with Khadijah. She would recognize Ariadne’s accent anywhere.
“It wasso hardto get here,” Ariadne says, rot curling beneath the honey. “Then, lucky me, a few weeks ago, when I was looking for this place, I got lost, took a few wrong turns, and oh my Cosmos, I happened to see a familiar bike pull onto the street from outta nowhere. It was kismet. I just knew thishadto be the place.”
