“Not well,” I said with a hard laugh. “He won’t want to be anywhere near me when it does.” A server set another tray of drinks down. This time, I didn’t guzzle mine. “Who’s to say I should even do this? What right do I have to rip that happiness away from him again?”
My lower lip wobbled. “You should have seen his face when he looked at her, Evie. He’s never looked at me like that. Not even once.” I rubbed my hands over my face. “Mom has always been extremely smart. I should have seen something like this coming.”
Evie shook her head. “No.” Her voice was vehement. “No one could have seen this coming. She did the unthinkable. Maybe even the impossible.”
Ari spoke up. “She took out the big guns because she knew there was no other way you’d go to her. It’s even more important now that you don’t.” Ari reached over and gripped my fingers tightly. “Show that bitch what you’re made of. Ethan will still be there, Moira. Maybe not in the same capacity he once was, but the end result of this has to be Sarah returning to the grave. If she doesn’t, Cliona might take things out of our hands, and no one wants a goddess getting involved. Even if she seems a little better than the others.” Her lips twisted. “First, we need to figure out what your mother did. Once we know that, then we can ensure we take out the right people.”
I’d been thinking about that ever since I got back home. “Mom only brings in other people when she’s not sure she can accomplish the goal on her own. The thing with Soren was only a play to get to me. I doubt she could hire a necromancer to do such a thing for her without too high of a price. She doesn’t like owing anyone. I think she did this spell herself.”
“If we kill her and the spell doesn’t break, there will be no way for us to discover who performed the ritual,” Ari added.
“We can always torture her first,” Evie said brightly, making me crack the first real smile in hours.
Ari laughed. “I like the way you think.”
The rest of the drinks started hitting me then, giving me a loose-limbed feeling. “Mom is powerful. She was back then, and over time her power has only grown. I don’t know what else she might be capable of.”
Another server came out with a mountain of food. Once everything was settled and we’d dished our plates full, Evie spoke. “I think we need to find out what kind of spell your Mom used to raise Sarah from the grave. Then we can gauge her power level.”
“Those spells usually require a great sacrifice,” Ari said as she picked up a slice of pizza. “Blood magic, usually. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had to sacrifice someone.”
I grimaced. “She probably used one of those stupid witches from the last go round.” No one who got involved with Soren seemed terribly bright from the get-go.
Evie snorted. “Love can make you do crazy things. Doesn’t mean the witches would let your Mom slit their throat.”
“I say we check just to be sure,” Ari said.
The chicken wing I bit into was juicy and delicious. I almost moaned at how good it was, only remembering then that I hadn’t eaten anything since the morning prior. My fingers froze in mid-air as I remembered I now had no source of blood other than Cernunnos.
And I was kinda pissed at him right now.
In fact, I hadn’t even thought of him at all until right this moment.
Gods. I was a hot mess.
“The Lords kept tabs on the coven. I’ll reach out to one of them tomorrow.” I certainly couldn’t call Ethan anymore, could I?
“Don’t worry about it,” Evie said. “I’ll ask Rowan.”
“Does he know?” Soon, everyone would.
“Not yet,” Evie said as she bit into a chip covered in queso. “He knows we’re together and suspects something is up.” She shrugged. “I’ll tell him when I get back.”
“I should probably pay a visit to each Lord to tell them what happened. Convening a meeting with Ethan there won’t go well.”
Ari sat back in her chair and sighed. “What a nightmare. And his shifters? What do they think?”
“His Second is bewildered. They’re going to have to walk on eggshells around him. Everyone knows Sarah died. Seeing her back and Ethan with no memory of her death is going to be awild mindfuck.” I took another chicken wing and dipped it in ranch. America had a lot of problems, but gods bless their bar food.
“I wonder what would happen if they told him,” Ari mused.
Evie shook her head. “I wouldn’t risk it. She might have put a failsafe in that spell. If Ethan finds out the truth, it might trigger and kill both of them.”
I stared at my friend. “Shit,” I breathed. “Hadn’t even thought of that.”
“It’s my job to consider all the awful options no one else thinks of,” Evie said with a twirl of her hand. “Such are the important tasks of queens.” She rolled her eyes and chugged her drink.
“So that’s going well then,” I said dryly.
