With a murmured spell, Charlie reaches a hand through the liquid surrounding the crown and slowly pulls it out of its secure nest as he simultaneously slides a small teacup onto the pedestal. Once free, the liquid solidifies into glass again.
We all breathlessly stand there in silence for a second to make sure we’re still in the clear. I meet Gatlin’s golden gaze, and he slowly nods. At his cue, we all turn toward the door.Sliding the gadget out of my pocket, I wait until the last person is out, then lower the infrared net.
After the crown, we move to the room with the necklace and raise the infrared net, so Charlie can perform the same magic again. This time he’s wearing gloves to protect him from the curse. He replaces the necklace with a perfect replica. Not one alarm goes off during the entire heist.
“Nine minutes.” Gatlin’s low voice sounds in our comms, and I shiver at the timbre of his voice in my ear. Calm. Steady.
I motion everyone to step out and grab the infrared reflector to reposition the net.
“Disconnect the laptop,” Maverick tells Gatlin, who immediately pulls the cord from the panel on the wall.
Charlie gathers us close and opens an almost transparent portal, eerily similar to the one Mercer and Harlequin use, and we transport out of there and back to the plane.
The second we step out; I turn toward Charlie. “When you brought me back from Italy, the portal was thicker, less translucent.” When he looks at me with a raised eyebrow, I continue. “Just now, it was practically transparent. Why are the two so different?”
Charlie glances at Gatlin, who moves closer to me, his brows lowered in suspicion.
“Different spells. The first one is mine. Taught to me at birth. It’s less complicated. Second nature. Easier to use, especially for long distances like a hop across the pond. The second, I received as payment for a smuggling job we did about five years ago. It’s intricate and takes more power, so I only use it when the portal needs to be invisible to cameras. Why?” Charlie asks, tilting his head.
“Do you have the name of the mage you got it from?” I ask, but when he hesitates, I explain further. “Harlequin uses thatsame portal. So did the mage who stabbed me at the airport. I’m trying to figure out if it’s more or less common.”
“Very few know about it,” Charlie admits with a sigh.
Maverick moves in next to him. “You think Harlequin is involved in this rebellion?”
“I don’t know,” I answer honestly. “But I don’t believe in coincidences.”
“Neither do we,” Maverick replies. “We won’t give you his name, but I’ll check into the mage and see if there’s a connection to Harlequin.” He motions to the steps on the plane. “Where to next?”
I look at Gatlin. “Any word from Hawthorne?”
He looks at his phone. “Looks like there’s a voicemail. Hold on.”
As he listens to it, I dig Charlie’s necklace out of my bag. The gold circular pendant has a picture of Hecate engraved on its surface with a crown depicting three stones that are supposed to stand for the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone.
When my hand grips the pendant, the curse reveals itself to me. It’s designed to ensure only one child is born to each descendant. That’s harsh. With a soft exhalation, I dissolve the magic binding itself to the object and remove the curse, then hand it to Charlie and wipe the beads of sweat from my brow. That was a tough one.
“All clear.”
He looks at Maverick and grins, then shatters the necklace with one flick of his finger. Gold dust rains down onto the tarmac. “Now it’s up to us.”
Maverick pulls him close and whispers something into his ear that makes him blush. The scene is so intimate and full of love that I look away to give them privacy and hide the twinge of jealousy running through me.
My eyes find Gatlin, who’s standing nearby, and I can’t help but wonder what he would be like if he fell in love. Fierce. Protective, of course. I think about the meals he’s made me and the mornings I’ve woken on the couch after having fallen asleep at my desk. He loves taking care of those lucky enough to be in his circle.
My gut tightens when I see his tight grip on the phone. It’s not good.
I turn back to Charlie and Maverick. “Looks like we need to go to England.”
Gatlin chimes in from behind me. “How fast can we get there?”
Charlie immediately slides out of Maverick’s arms. “By jet? We can be there in a little over an hour. Or I can portal you there now?”
“Portal,” I state firmly, holding my hand out to Gatlin. “Do you know where we’re going?”
His hand engulfs mine as he answers, “The Midlands. Carrington Manor. Know it?”
Charlie nods and motions us into the hangar.
