Page 55 of Death Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Faith’s mouth tightened. “Not now.”

Greyson’s smile softened. “Later.”

I resisted the urge to stare. Mostly.

We were still moving toward the table when the portal shimmered again behind us.

Hunter stepped through, and he looked furious.

Not the controlled kind of anger he wore like armor. This was heavier. His shoulders were rigid. His jaw was set so hard I thought his teeth might crack.

He scanned the room, eyes flashing.

“Why am I here?” he demanded. “Aurora has things locked down for now, but why pull me away from my duties?”

Lucinda’s gaze didn’t flicker. “Containment is not your only duty.”

Hunter’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t lecture me about duty.”

Faith shifted, standing a little closer to him, as if her body recognized a threat.

Nishi moved toward the table without waiting for permission. That was her in a crisis. She didn’t ask. She acted.

Lucinda’s gaze slid to me.

Then her expression sharpened into something like satisfaction.

Oh no.

That look meant she’d been waiting to attack someone, and I was the most convenient target.

“Salima,” Lucinda said, voice silk over steel. “Explain to me why you have done nothing I asked of you.”

My pulse ticked up. “We followed leads. We stopped outbreaks.”

Lucinda leaned forward slightly. “You went to another coven.”

I blinked. “No, I didn’t.”

Her smile was small and cruel. “You sought outside assistance. That is what incompetence looks like. You didn’t know what you were doing, so you asked another.”

My hands clenched at my sides. “We went to Andel because he is the only necromancer we know of. You confirmed that.”

Lucinda’s eyes narrowed. “And you went to a cemetery without council direction.”

“We went to the source,” I shot back. “Which your people failed to find.”

Caton’s facial twitch jumped. He didn’t speak, but his eyes slid toward Lucinda, and I could see the calculation. Let her tear me apart. It kept attention off him.

Lucinda’s voice rose. “You are supposed to report to your coven leader.”

“I did,” I said. “Through action. People were dying.”

Lucinda’s mouth tightened. “You’re reckless.”

Faith took one step forward, and the air changed.

“You don’t get to call her reckless,” Faith said, voice low and dangerous. “Salima has done more tonight than half the people in this room. Including you.”