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“Be careful, Dane,” Adriel warned. “Some answers only complicate matters.”

“No offense, Adriel, but I’d rather know the truth than hide behind ignorance.”

There would be no arguing with him. No matter what the outcome, she was certain neither Isaiah nor Cybil could be saved and that was going to be another painful lesson Dane would eventually learn.

CHAPTER 37

Juniper slipped a book from the shelf in Lazarus’s library and drifted out back toward the greenhouse. Adriel was reconnecting with her family and she didn’t want to rush them. It was still sinking in that they had a lifetime to get to know each other and the three of them were buzzing with questions and curiosity.

They weren’t the only ones wrestling with this new kind of normal. Juniper had to constantly remind herself the battle was over. The grueling existence they survived had finally shifted like a dancer swiftly changing directions on a stage, and the wind now blew in a new direction.

It was a strange awareness, and Juniper couldn’t easily accept a life of ease after years of confined torment and life-or-death battles with amonster. Survival had been so hard for so long, that peace made her uneasy.

She sometimes caught herself laughing, and a spike of nervous energy would shoot through her. Her eyes would meet Dane’s or Adriel’s as if they felt the same stab of guilt, and then a shaky smile would appear. Who knew letting go of anger to create room for joy could be so challenging and feel so unnatural?

Happiness was definitely a process. Together, they would get there.

Adriel’s laughter coasted on the breeze. Juniper smiled at the illuminated house, warmth spreading through her chest at the perfect sound. Yes, they were getting there.

Opening the stiff pages of the book brought about the scent of time and wisdom. This one had a spine sewn of thread so rotted, the pages slipped loose from the binding. She righted the loose pages and dragged her finger down the crease.

“Sarciri glutino ventoque ad tempus.”The scent of ash filled the greenhouse, and the spine's filament cinched tight.

The corner of Juniper’s mouth curled into a half grin. Damn, she was good.

Settling into the hammock chair, she turned her back to the moon and flipped to page one. The ink was faded but at least this one was written in English. Lazarus had the most extensive library on paranormal lore she’d ever seen,and she planned to read every single book on his shelf as well as every personal entry of his and Lilias’s journals—with their permission of course.

The elder Schrocks were an open book. They believed knowledge needed to be shared for the sake of survival and that censorship led to corruption in more than mortal governments, and the history of supernatural species was an essential part of avoiding extinctions.

Juniper understood why Lazarus was so passionate about preserving the truth, especially when his own family had been so ravaged by lies. Even witches, nowadays, were commercialized into cutesy Hallmark card beings. There was an entire subculture of crystal pushing, tchotchke selling, tarot reading phonies out there dressed in gypsy clothing while wearing goth eyeliner pretending to be witches. It normalized the literature, but also buried the real magick in a slush pile of self-published bullshit that balanced between herbalist secrets and manifesting coincidence.

Lazarus’s library was the real deal. He had books on all types of immortal creatures and those who lived far beyond mortal possibility—draugrs,shadow-wolves, spirits, fairies, banshees, demons, and more. Lazarus had information on all of them.

She peeked over the tattered pages of the book and spied Lilias and Adriel walking the gardens, their distant laughter rolling out like aHarry Styles song, the kind that promised by the first note it would be a banger. Another jolt of happiness followed. She was growing used to those little spikes and learning not to fear them.

Sighing, she let the warm wave of contentment unlock the tension in her back. They looked more like sisters than mother and daughter, but the pride in Lilias’s eyes gave her away. Only a mother’s interest could transcend to awe the way Lilias’s did whenever Adriel had something to say.

Juniper’s hand rubbed over her chest where a bolt of joy stabbed. It was a good love, the pure kind a mother should hold for her child, the kind Juniper’s birth mother had never given her.

Things would be different now. The Schrocks invited them to stay and they were going to be a family. She and Dane would always be a little more outside of that definition than Adriel, but trust would grow with time.

As a guardian, Lazarus’s watch would never truly end, especially where his mate and family were concerned. Juniper felt safe here. She believed him to be more honorable than all the elders of The Order combined, and her gratitude for what he’d done to help rescue Adriel went beyond words.

This new life would take time, especially for Adriel, who had been sheltered by primitive beliefs for centuries. Gender stereotypes suppressed her gifts, and there was so muchpotential inside of her that was yet to be discovered.

Juniper couldn’t wait to see her explore her innate gifts without the fear of consequences. She wanted Adriel to proudly embrace who she was so they could live, play, laugh together, make love together, and grow.

She smiled, grateful she was hidden like a flower in the shadows of the greenhouse while experiencing such a deluge of soft and squishy emotions. Her vision blurred as she continued to think of the life they could make for themselves in Argos. It seemed almost too good to be true, but it was true.

They were safe and they could finally be happy.

The moon illuminated the sky overhead, shining through the glass ceiling and casting shadows on a variety of exotic plants. They were so removed from modern light pollution, the stars shined twice as bright. They would be at peace here, now that the tides had shifted, but she worried about Dane who still remained restless.

He skulked about the house, so tense he put others on edge. He refused to talk about Grace and what happened with the shadow-wolf. Instead, he renewed his interest in rescuing his sister.

It was an obvious distraction and a vendetta without end, so if his goal was to avoid the Gracie thing forever, he’d found the perfect placeto divert his attention. Juniper expected him gone by the end of the week. He was too unsettled to stay in one place for long—no matter how peaceful.

His restless pacing and pensive reflection displayed an undying eagerness to ignore the wreckage of his broken heart. Juniper would respect whatever he chose to do, because had she lost Adriel, she would have been in the same desolate place.