Page 48

“You first, Moira.”

Chapter

Twenty-Two

True to her word, Ari did, indeed, bring the snacks. An entire backpack full.

“Where to first?” Ari asked, slinging the pack over her shoulder.

I swallowed hard and tried to answer, but the words caught in my throat.

Ari’s face softened. “Siberia?” she asked softly. “You want to go back to the place they found you.”

I nodded.

“Oh, Moira. You don’t have to go. I can pop in and look around.”

I shook my head. “No. I need to see it for myself. The magic my mother used was different than anything I’ve ever seen. I want to see if I can trace it.”

Ari frowned but nodded. “It’s been over two weeks. There may not be much residue left.”

There would be. I could feel it in my bones. “I’d still like to try.”

“All that blood pumping through your system restored your energy?”

She had no idea. Oddly enough, I could separate out everyone’s magic. I felt Evie’s odd mix of fae, Chimera, and natural magic; Rowan’s unique blend of shifter and fae power, Cernunnos’s overwhelming magic, a little bit of Ari, Tess’s cool, pale magic, and the living green of Ash’s dryad gifts. There were a few others I couldn’t identify—people I know I’d never met before.

I felt like I could take over the world. Cernunnos refused to let me leave without a top-up and he’d sent me with three magically preserved bags of extra blood. When I told him I’d rather him bend me over the couch, he’d given me a dark look and an aggrieved sigh and shoved the bags in my pack.

“When you come back, I’ll bend you over every surface of this house.” He tilted my chin up with his index finger. “Not doing so now will give you something to look forward to while you’re gone.”

“Ass.”

He’d grinned and kissed me thoroughly. “Come back to me, Moira. Soon.”

“You don’t plan to check on me.”

His expression had turned serious then. “If I sense you in distress, I will be there.”

“But you can’t interfere.”

“I will always find a way.”

Leaving him had proven difficult. We had unanswered questions between us, and I’d left more confused than ever. He hadn’t answered me about whether he loved me, but the words he’d said and the way he’d looked at me tied my stomach in knots.

He wasn’t capable of the kind of love I was familiar with, and now I wondered if it even mattered.

“Deep thoughts?”

“Don’t even get me started.”

Ari chuckled and held out her hand. “We start there. If anything weird happens, I’m getting you out.”

“Liaza is dead. My mother won’t hang around there. She has no reason to.”

“Still,” Ari said. “Better safe than sorry.”

I took her hand and we were off.