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“We’re all breakable, Ade, no matter how much we pretend or tell ourselves otherwise. There’s only one way to ensure he doesn’t hurt you again.”

“We cannot try anything too dangerous. The thought of anything happening to you?—”

“Hey.” She caught her chin and forced her to meet her stare. “I’m strong. He might have gotten into my head for a moment, but as soon as I realized what he was doing, I forced him out. We got away.”

“Hardly.”

“So we got a few scratches. We’re fine now. See?” She thumbed her chest and grinned. “Still here.” She tapped a finger to her forehead. “Next time, I’ll be more prepared. He has no idea how far I’d go to protect those I love. And love, is always more powerful than hate.”

Her heart sputtered and she gasped. Did she realize what she said.

Juniper grinned. “What? You think we could get this close and stay dethatched? I can be just as territorial as you.”

Adriel framed her face and pressed a kiss to her lips. “You know I love you too.”

“I hope so. I nearly died for you.”

They laughed, their new found happiness diluting the fear enough to forget that their liveswere in danger for a moment. One kiss turned into another, and soon they found euphoria again.

The head and the heart were the holders of the soul and that was where Adriel felt Juniper’s presence most when she touched her. She made her want things she never dreamed of having—made her believe happiness might be possible afterall.

CHAPTER 24

Ruth was having tea in the den and watching her morning shows while they gathered in the library to formulate a plan.

“We need to go after him before he comes after us,” Dane insisted. “Now that we know exactly what we’re dealing with, we can’t hold anything back. Juniper, how’s the research going? Have you made any headway.”

“I’m no Gandalf yet, but I think I passed Disney fairy stage. Watch.” She shoved her hands into the air and the table jerked three inches left.

Adriel pushed it back. “I don’t want you or Juniper endangering yourselves on my account.”

“We’ve been over this, Ade. If we try to handle him like a pack of pacifistic Amish, he’s going to annihilate us. We have to fight.”

“She’s right,” Dane agreed. “And we can’t fight back. Defense starts at a disadvantage. We need to start on the offensive and go at him hard.”

“Cerberus will not hesitate to kill both of you,” she argued. “He knows we share a bond. He’ll use it to hurt me.”

“Can we die?” Dane asked, true curiosity in his eyes. “Seriously, what are the rules with half-breeds? And what about Juniper? Are witches mortal?”

“Juniper can burn herself with magic so I’d say she’s far from invincible.”

He pulled back his sleeve. “Well, my arm was mangled and I had cuts that should have taken weeks to heal, but a few drops of your blood andboom—I was good as new.”

Juniper kept quiet, not wanting either of them to realize how much the magick actually drained her. There was still some lingering internal damage that Adriel’s blood didn’t heal. She wasn’t sure if those internal scars would ever fully go away, but she also wasn’t going to let such a mere concern work as an excuse to avoid Cerberus.

“I still think the wisest plan would be to relocate,” Adriel argued.

“No,” both she and Dane barked at once.

Dane stood and paced. “The other night, he had the element of surprise on his side. That’s over now. I say we go after him like the buffalo rush the rain.”

Both she and Adriel frowned. “I’m not sure I follow.”

“Buffalo hate the rain,” he explained. “When storms come, they have three choices: run awayfrom it and keep running until it eventually wears them out and they get wet anyway, stand still and do nothing as they suffer through it, or run towards it. If they run toward the rain, they shorten their suffering. It’s the fastest way to get through the unavoidable. And probably the least painful.”

Juniper liked that plan, but could tell Adriel wasn’t sold. “Cerberus is an inevitable conflict we’ll eventually have to face, Ade. Why not confront him now and end this so you can have your life back?”

Adriel frowned. “Aren’t buffalo extinct?”