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Darien gave Shay a heavy look.

She ignored him and said, “Don’t you, Loren?” She finished off her slice of pizza and dusted the crumbs off her hands.

Loren merely glanced sidelong at Darien, who returned the look but didn’t say anything. She’d already given him enough hell for pushing himself so hard, but she couldn’t say she was upset with Shay for driving the nail home.

“I’m tracking them once, and then I’m done for the evening,” Darien said to Shay. “I already had one intervention, I don’t need another.”

Shay snickered. She gave Loren a wink and mouthed, “I got you.”

“Thanks,” she mouthed back.

Darien was about to shut his eyes and start tracking when Paxton and Eugene walked into the room. “Hey, you two, don’t touch these,” he told them, indicating to the bag of black salt on the table.

“We just wanted some cereal,” Paxton said as he and Eugene headed to the fridge.

Eugene muttered, “Can’t do anything around here.”

“Gene,” Kylar rebuked. “We heard that.”

Darien said, “That’s fine, but I’m telling you now, don’t touch these. They’re not for kids—they’ll hurt you.”

“He knows,” Roman drawled. But evenhegave his brother—andEugene—a stern look.

Paxton peered at the stimulants on the table. “I’ve seen that salt stuff a bunch of times,” he said to Darien. “I’m a Slade, remember? My dad doesn’t exactly run a kid-friendly household.” At that, Jack snorted.

“I’m just saying, don’t touch them,” Darien concluded.

“Heard you the first time,” Paxton said. “Where are the spoons? Am I allowed to touch those?”

Shay snickered. “Lippy little shit, hey?” she whispered to Roman, tipping her head back to smile at him.

“In the drawer by the stove, smart-ass,” Darien said.

Bowls and cutlery clinked as Paxton and Eugene helped themselves to some cereal. The kind that was loaded with sugar.

Darien shut his eyes.

The room got very quiet. Ivy muted the volume on the TV. For several minutes, the only sounds in the house were the munching of ice chips and cereal. The kids had claimed a couple of seats at the table, both gaping at Darien as they chowed down.

Eugene opened his mouth to say something?—

Kylar shook his head, his gray eyes flaring with a warning.

Eugene snapped his mouth shut.

Loren counted every minute that ticked by—she couldn’t help it—as Darien held the Sight, his eyes moving behind closed lids. Tanner clicked away on his mouse and typed on his keyboard. In the reflection of the glasses he didn’t need, Loren saw columns of computer code and colored runes that belonged to various spell systems.

And then Darien opened his black eyes. Everyone turned his way.

The look on his face…

Loren had seen that look before. She sat up straighter, her heart pounding.

Darien blinked away the black and said, “They’re in Yveswich.” His tone was hollowed out with dread.

Shock silenced the room for about a minute. Even though they’d all feared—and assumed—as much, Darien looked like he could hardly believe his own words.

And then the murmuring began.