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“Letting you kill her would have probably been easier to watch, honestly.” He sighed and pulled out her chair, then kissed her forehead and turned to go. But she grabbed his wrist.

“The night of the ball, can you change me?” she whispered in his ear.

“If this is about the vault, Mother’s the key—which means the vault is not going to open unless it thinks you’re her. She said blood-granted. That means DNA. Anatomer magic doesn’t alter DNA.”

There were other ways to get her DNA. She patted her pockets, and then tried to remember where Maezre Tutom said she could find more enhancer stones and elixir ingredients. “Understood. I think I still have a plan.”

“What are you imagining? You don’t have—” He stopped himself.

“Don’t need it. Never have.” She winked.

“Please don’t do anything dangerous.” He squeezed her shoulders before leaving.

She bit into her knuckle. It wasn’t a perfect plan. But it was a start.

Twenty-Six

Jordan

Nothing about this raid feels right.

The territory’s border town is more suburban than rural, with few trees. Very little cover. The houses crowded onto the narrow street have decorated porches offering seasonal greetings. Welcoming visitors. An uneasiness slithers up my spine.

“You’re sure this is the place?” I ask Kieran. He shows me the file on the suspected safe house once more. I check the notes again. About a year ago, Knox visited with someone in a park near here who returned to this house. Kieran filed the report. And this morning, Audubon was spotted in that same park.

Quell, are you in there?

“Yes.” Kieran huddles with me behind a large truck in the driveway. “Blue siding and a wraparound porch.”

I scan the perimeter. One of our flock, disguised in overalls, leans over the open hood of a truck down the block. Another is playing the concerned neighbor and repairing a lawn mower. A few others have slipped inside cars parked on the street.

“I don’t like this,” I say to Kieran. “You?”

“It does seem a little unusual.”

I squeeze the side button of my phone to get a message to the team. “Give me a clear perimeter every thirty degrees. And keep your eyes on the entry and exit points.”

Shadows shift in the glimmer of the fading night sky as my men adjust the cordon.

“You’re with me,” I tell Kieran as we slip around the side of the house. “Time?”

“Sunrise. Fifty-eight minutes.”

With a neighborhood this populated, this raid could get messy fast. Neighbors know each other. And there are a bunch of us. An Unmarked person cannot look upon magic and live. The protocol is rigid.

“We have to be out of here by sunrise. We can’t risk daylight in a place like this.”

Even in the early-morning light, I can tell Kieran’s color has faded.

I squeeze his shoulder. “It’s going to be fine.”

“My last two raids ended badly. Public burnings.” He meets my eyes, and a scared little boy looks back at me.

“You’ll need to cloak to get inside. Anything else could set off alarms.”

“Alarms, right.”

I grab his wrist. “If you see anyone who fits the description of Quell Marionne, notify me before you take your next breath.”