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Kevin pulled out his phone and started to type. “I can Google it⁠—”

“No,” I said quickly, harsher than I intended. When his startled gaze flew to mine, I softened my tone. “I really don’t think it’s safe. At all. We can’t search for it. We can’t say it outside of this house. Don’t even risk saying it at home in Arkansas, even inside my blood circle. I suspect the word has magic attached to it that I won’t be able to sense, just like those runes, and if people know we’re on to them…” I shook my head, letting my words fall into silence.

“Like how the queen of Rome learned secrets if people were ignorant enough to mention her name,” Kevin said.

I nodded grimly. “Exactly. Only this magic is fae or something else entirely. I don’t know how to defend against it. Yet.”

“So how do we search if we can’t use the name?” Carys asked.

“We use the gifts we each have. I’m going to make some statements. I want you to judge the probabilities of accuracy.”

She rolled her eyes with a huff. “Evidently my gift failed us as far as identifying Janelle as a trustworthy sibling, but I’ll try my best.”

“When you looked at her, what was the specific question Gwen asked?”

“Who’s the most trustworthy sibling to hold New York City in her place? I looked at them one by one, when they weren’t aware of being examined. Janelle had the highest percentage at sixty-eight.”

“So your magic correctly identified that Janelle could hold New York City in Gwen’s stead. Honestly, I think Janelle would have continued to serve as a sibling as long as she could. The only reason she decided to strike tonight was because I wanted to make our bond deeper. She feared she wouldn’t be able to keep her secrets.”

“Ninety-five percent,” Carys said.

I nodded to myself. “Janelle was secretly a member of Occulta.”

Carys’ eyes widened. “Seventy percent.”

I tipped my head. “That’s quite a lot of play, but likely. Let me refine the statement. Janelle was forced to obey Occulta’s orders.”

“Ninety percent. If she were here in front of me, I’m guessing it would be a solid one hundred. I feel a… tug, I guess. In my gut.”

“Occulta wants me dead.”

Carys moaned and pulled out a handkerchief to dab at her forehead. “Another one hundred percent. Goddess, Shara, what have you stumbled into this time?”

50

SHARA

“Ineed to get back into that basement. Tonight. Before anyone can tamper with, hide, or even remove whatever it is they don’t want me to find.”

“You think they’re still watching, even if Janelle’s gone?” Leonie asked.

“I don’t know, but I can’t take the chance.”

“But that would mean there are others inside your blood circle,” Gina said.

“It’s possible. Likely, even. We didn’t know about Janelle, and we know nothing about Occulta. Do they recruit only Aima? Fae? Humans? Are we talking only a handful of members, or thousands?”

Carys moaned again. “I can’t see the numbers. I don’t have enough data.”

I nodded. “So I need to get an Occulta person in front of you to ask those questions. Who else might Janelle have been working with? Did she have relationships with any other queens or siblings in the tower?”

Kevin shook his head. “I didn’t know her well enough to say, but I can do some research.”

“Are any of the other remaining queens also descended from fae goddesses?”

Kevin opened his mouth to rattle off their names but paused at whatever look flickered across my face.

Dread tasted like ashes on my tongue. “Is Gwen under Occulta’s influence in any way?”