Page 109 of Death Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

She placed her palm in the center of the circle.

The powder flared.

Not in flame. In light.

Tiny points shimmered into existence above her hand, as if the air had remembered how to make stars. They hovered, spun slowly, then streamed outward in a thin line that hung in the room like a luminous thread.

Faith leaned forward, eyes wide. “Okay, that is cool.”

Aurora smiled. “Trail of stars.”

Tegan exhaled through her teeth. “Yes. That’s what Mom always called it.”

The words hit me like a small twist. Tegan’s mother was gone. An ancestor now, called through ritual and memory. Yet her voice lived in Tegan’s phrasing.

Greyson stepped closer, careful not to break the spell’s field. “Where is it pointing?”

The star trail extended toward the chamber doors, then angled slightly, as if it were pointing not to a single spot but to a direction. It shimmered brighter for a moment, then stabilized.

Tegan lifted her hand, and the trail held, suspended like a promise.

“It’s moved,” she said. “Not far. A few miles, maybe. A forested area, based on the way the line bends.”

Nishi’s jumped in. “Close enough to return quickly. Far enough to avoid mundanes.”

Aurora pushed off the table. “We go now. Before she moves it again.”

Hunter nodded once. “Agreed. Take the large van. It’s parked outside. The keys are in it.”

Lucinda’s eyes narrowed. “Salima goes.”

It wasn’t a request. It was a hook.

Hunter’s gaze cut to Lucinda. “She is going because she has sensed the interference firsthand. If the calling shifts, we need her to feel it.”

Lucinda’s expression stayed cold. “If she fails again, that will be noted.”

Faith stepped closer to Lucinda, voice low. “If you say one more thing like that, it will also be noted. Possibly with bruises.”

Lucinda’s eyes glittered, but she stayed quiet.

That worried me more than her insults.

We moved through the chamber doors and out into the cool air of pack lands. The forest around the council chambers was dim, evening settling in. Mist clung to the ground in thin sheets. The trees stood tall and still, as if they were listening.

The nondescript white van waited in the parking area just outside the council chambers. It looked like something that hauled equipment and bodies and did not ask questions.

Aurora took the driver’s seat without hesitation. Faith climbed into the passenger seat like she was daring the world to inconvenience her. Nishi slid in behind Aurora, posture ready. Greyson sat across from me with a compact case in his lap, the shield device tucked inside like a weapon with manners.

Tegan sat beside me. Eve took the bench seat across, eyes alert and restless.

As the van rolled forward, the bond with the egg tugged again, a quiet pull that made my ribs ache. I pushed warmth through the connection instinctively, like I could soothe the baby with willpower alone.

Eve noticed my wince. “How bad?”

“Manageable,” I said.

Faith turned slightly in her seat. “We are banning that word.”