Page 69 of A Moth to the Flame (Utopia #1)

His reflection wobbles, like looking at ripples from skipping rocks in a still creek.

I blink, and it’s gone.

I’ve never been glamoured before, even though Wallace has me practicing how to make objects disappear every damn day.

Cornelius purrs beside me where he’s perched on Cordie’s lap. She strokes his back in long, soothing motions.

With every mile we travel away from Charleston, the tension in the cabin eases a little.

I close my eyes and try to focus on actually shifting back into my human form. Whenever we get where we’re going, I don’t want them to struggle to get me back out of the car.

“Who do you think they sent?” Cordie murmurs. “Hope, Neveah, and Savina, again?”

Wallace hums. “It was the Grand Dame herself, and her two most powerful enforcers.”

“How do you know?” she asks.

“Fae have far more powerful senses than familiars,” Cornelius answers. “I cannot scent individuals the way their kind can.”

Wallace hasn’t told me about every fae ability yet. I get the feeling it’s as hard for him to teach me as it is for me to learn. He takes everything he knows for granted, because he was born and raised as a fae. Since I’m only half-fae, he’s not even sure what abilities I’ll have.

I concentrate on the smells in the cabin of the car.

Cordelia’s familiar wild blackberries scent is the first one I notice, but I don’t dwell on it too long.

It’s not the right time to pop a boner and drool all over myself because I can feel her blood pumping beside me in the back seat.

Cornelius has a weird scent. Not like regular animal fur, more like candle wax, old books, and a bad attitude.

I inhale deeper and catch a hint of something odd.

I don’t smell whiskey or moonshine or beer.

Wallace always smells like the drinks he serves at his bar, something I never noticed until now.

I open my eyes and stare at the back of his head.

Cordie sighs. “Well, now that the master plan has been shot to hell, do you have any better ideas, Wallace?”

He hums again, something I’ve never heard him do before. “That depends. How strong does your mate bond feel right now?”

I struggle to sit up straighter with my wings folded all around me.

Cordie furrows her brow. “What do you mean?”

Wallace glances my way in the rearview mirror. “Surely, you’ve found a way to consummate the bond by now.”

Fuck. Me.

I haven’t told Cordie about Wallace’s favor yet because I didn’t want to burden her with anything else. I don’t want to freak her out now either.

Our options are shit. The guy who can’t possibly be Wallace is driving down the highway at eighty miles per hour. We’re on a dark stretch of road with no lights visible on either side.

My heart pounds, hard and fast.

Think, Duke. There’s gotta be a way out of this.

A way out of what? Cordie asks, turning toward me with a confused expression.

Shit. I got so used to talking to myself for the past six weeks that I forgot she can hear my thoughts.

Fuck it. There’s nothing to be done for it now except fight together and hopefully live to see another day.

That’s not Wallace, I admit to her. He smells wrong. I didn’t notice at first. The next town we come to, ask him to stop for you.

Cordie straightens her shoulders ever so slightly, but her expression never wavers. My God. How could we have been so stupid? Wallace drives a Jeep, but we got into this Outback without a second thought.

I just assumed Wallace is rich enough to have multiple vehicles, I admit, but it’s a weak-ass defense.

How can we be prepared for anything if we don’t question everything?

Silence descends in the car until lights appear up head. We’re coming up on the outskirts of Huntington.

“Wallace, I’m starving,” Cordie says. “Can we stop for a quick bite?”

“Too risky,” he insists. “The Grand Dame is hot on our trail.”

Cordie and I exchange a loaded look.

“We can lose her in the city,” Cordie promises. “We need to exit sixty-four anyway. It’s not like we can cross the river.”

Dark, sinister laughter blankets the air in the cabin of the SUV.

Cornelius goes on full alert, rising in Cordie’s lap.

“Let’s test that limit, shall we?” Not-Wallace guns the engine.

It’s the middle of the night. There’s no traffic to slow us down. He speeds through the city like a fae on a mission.

“Who are you?” Cornelius demands.

“No more questions.” The glamoured fae snaps his fingers, and Cornelius disappears.

“What did you do with my cat?” Cordie shrieks.

“Calm yourself, darling,” our driver purrs. “He’s tucked away in my pocket realm for safe keeping. If you want to see him again, I suggest you two engage in a little PDA to power us up for the crossing.”

“What happens if we don’t?” she challenges.

The image of Wallace in the front seat melts away until I’m staring at the back of a blond-haired man’s head. His icy blue eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror. “Don’t test me, son. I’ve been more than fair and patient with you.”

No.

No.

It can’t have been him all along.

My world tilts on its axis as we race onto the bridge that leads to Kentucky.

Cordie lurches forward and reaches blindly for my clawed hand.

Her sticky sweet blood spills onto my fur. My mouth waters.

His laughter is a scream that echoes in my head. He shouts, “It’s going to work this time! I can feel it!”

Just as we crest the highest point of the bridge, the SUV fishtails. The tires squeal, and I throw my arm across Cordelia, bracing for impact.

An explosion of sound and light and pain, and then…

Everything goes dark.

The conflict between Utopia’s witches and fae has simmered for centuries.

Cordelia McCoy was never meant to join her coven.

Duke Castellaw doesn’t know the full truth of his legacy.

Their fragile bond could free the town. Or destroy it completely.

They thought they were ready to play the game.

But the chessboard is ancient.

And the most dangerous players haven’t even made their move.