Page 72

I stared at Kara, Moreau lying dead between us.

Along with whatever he’d been trying to tell me.

“You told me not to hesitate,” Kara said, eyes wide with guilt. “I’m so sorry.”

“You did the right thing,” I said, forcing myself to say what she needed to hear. It was the height of battle, and neither of us had expected Moreau’s final words to reveal secrets of my parents. But I couldn’t help but look at his body one last time, wondering what else he’d known.

The fight was mostly over. With Moreau dead and Marietta unconscious, Dacien still on his feet and Virelle largely unharmed, the power balance had shifted heavily in our favor.

Few of Virelle’s men remained and all of them showed injuries, but the remainder of Moreau’s men were holding up their hands in surrender.

I took it all in with a glance, then dropped to my knees beside Iyoni. She lay face down on the concrete, the gash from Marietta’s strike deep and bloody in her back.

“Is she …?” Kara began.

“No,” I said sharply. She couldn’t be dead; I could still feel her bond. “I’m going to take your energy. Brace yourself.”

If it had worked for Kara, could it help Iyoni?

I pulled as hard as I ever had from Kara, and she gasped beside me, swaying on her feet.

I took everything I could from her along with all I had left, and shoved our combined power back up the bond to Iyoni.

I didn’t know if it would even help, but there was nothing else I could do.

Iyoni’s magic could heal, but she couldn’t use it on herself while she was unconscious.

My bond to her pulsed from white to black, the flow of aether shifting the other way, and I pushed until my vision began to fade. Kara laid her hand on my shoulder, steadying me, her breathing labored as I pulled her energy from her.

Iyoni’s back was open to the bone, the slash from Marietta’s blade deep and long. It was a wonder she had even moved after taking such a blow. And there was nothing I could do. We were miles from the nearest hospital, and even moving her risked more damage.

A sob of pain broke the heavy quiet, and I realized it had come from me.

Then a pair of boots stepped into my vision, and I looked up to see Virelle. She took one look at Iyoni and turned, calling for one of her men, who was treating Dacien’s wound.

The demon hurried over, large curving horns and red eyes, a satchel slung over one shoulder.

He knelt beside Iyoni and opened his bag, displaying an assortment of vials and potions.

But it was a small tub he withdrew, unscrewing the lid to reveal a thick, gray ointment.

He dipped his fingers in it, but my hand shot out, grabbing his wrist.

“No,” I growled. “No one touches her but me.”

He hesitated, glancing at Virelle, before handing me the tub. “Spread it over the wound.”

It was cloying and viscous, like petroleum jelly, and I slathered it on as quickly as I could.

“What is that stuff?” Kara asked, and I half listened as I focused on pushing as much of the syrupy gray gel into Iyoni’s wound as it would take.

“About a million a tub,” Virelle said dryly as she watched me.

I ignored her, going back for another handful.

Iyoni’s back was a sticky mess, from high on her shoulder blade down almost to her spine, and if the medicine was doing anything, I couldn’t see it.

Maybe I’d been hoping for the wound to just seal itself before my gaze, but nothing like that happened. At least the bleeding had stopped.

“How long for it to work?” I asked, not looking up.

“It already is,” the demon said, then gave me a vial. “Feed her this when she’s conscious. I have others to attend to.”

He picked up his bag and hurried away before I could ask more questions.

I clutched the potion he’d given me, taking comfort in his confidence that she would awake. More confident than I was, with the severity of her wound.

“She’ll be all right, Master,” Kara said quietly, squeezing my shoulder. “She’s strong.” She sat on the floor beside me, taking Iyoni’s hand in hers. “I’m so sorry that I …” She paused, swallowing hard. “What do you think Moreau meant?”

Virelle had left to check on Dacien, who was sitting up and poking gingerly at the wound in his shoulder. Marietta was still unconscious, in the process of being tied up by two of Virelle’s guards. The rest of her men were either treating wounded, or securing the remnants of Moreau’s forces.

We had a small lull, just the three of us in our own space.

“I don’t know,” I said. “Maybe it was just mind-games at the end, an attempt to distract me.”

Kara was quiet as she contemplated that. “Do you think so?”

I considered the way he’d looked at me, the words he’d used. No, I didn’t think so, not really.

“It almost sounded like …” I exhaled heavily. “He knew my mother, didn’t he?"

She chewed her lip, tears filling her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Xan. I’m so sorry.”

“He still needed to die. He was prepared to kill you and blow up innocents, and he’s set free SPAR’s Most Wanted.”

“What if he never really intended to harm me? What if it was a bluff? There never actually was a bomb.” She swallowed hard. “What if he wasn’t who we thought he was?”

I clenched my jaw. “Even if that’s true, he lost a little credit with me when he said, ‘kill them all’ and followed it up with ‘kill the warlock’s bonded’.” I looked at his body, lying only a few feet away. Dead with the secrets he held. “You did the right thing.”

So why did I wish I could talk to him one last time?

“But he knew who your mother was,” Kara said softly, reaching for my hand and giving it a squeeze.

“Maybe.” Or he could’ve just been guessing, messing with me. After all, I’d shown him I’d bonded Iyoni too. “I guess we know she’s a celestial. Maybe I could find her.”

“Will you?”

I shrugged. Part of me wanted to, but another part of me felt that if she hadn’t made herself known to me by now, I was better off not knowing.

Unless she was living under a rock somewhere, she couldn’t have avoided the news that the world had a new warlock.

She might not have known I was a warlock, but she knew my name.

That was assuming she was even still alive.

But the more I thought about it, the less I cared. I’d spent five decades without parents and come to terms with it. Moreau’s final words stirred a curiosity, but I wasn’t going to lose sleep over this. My parents had never shown any interest.

I’d carry on the way I had been, and pretend the twinge didn’t matter.

But for now, I needed to focus on Kara and Iyoni.

I reached out and gently laid a hand on the celestial, and she stirred at my touch. Kara gasped, and together we carefully rolled her over. Her eyes fluttered open.

“What—” She coughed, wincing in my arms and screwing her eyes up at the pain. I flinched in sympathy, imagining how much it must hurt to jerk with such a wound. It took her several ragged breaths before she could speak again. “What did I miss?”

I smiled. “Not much. We won, and you were brilliant. Drink this for me, please.” I uncorked the vial and held it for her, and she took it sip by sip. By the time the vial was empty, she was noticeably stronger.

“How are you feeling?” Kara asked.

“Like I got stabbed in the back by a psychotic bitch.” She was watching Marietta as she said it. The assassin was still unconscious, which was no bad thing.

“You did well to hold her off.”

“I’d have won if I hadn’t needed to intervene elsewhere.”

By which she meant my fight with Moreau. I grimaced. “When this is over, I think you two need to give me some combat training.”

“You didn’t do badly, Master,” Kara said. She looked at Iyoni. “He single-handedly took down Kye after she stabbed you.”

“Yeah, well she pissed me off,” I muttered, and both girls grinned. Iyoni winced, like it hurt to even smile. “Moreau freed god-knows how many of SPAR’s Most Wanted, and we’ve only seen one of them. I wonder where the others are.”

“It’s not our problem, is it?” Kara said. “Didn’t you tell Marlow you resigned?”

I tensed, and it caused Iyoni to flinch.

“Sorry.” I forced myself to relax so that I didn’t disturb her again, but I couldn’t help the uncomfortable sense of guilt Kara’s reminder had provoked.

“I did, yes. But I’m not sure it was the right move.

They’re going to need help in the coming weeks, and maybe some of that’s on me. ”

“Why?” Kara asked. “Moreau didn’t free those prisoners because of you.”

“No, but … he was able to do so because I fell for his bomb bluff.” I grimaced at the memory. “Besides, I’m an Aetherborn, and that makes me—or us, at any rate—one of the most powerful supes around.”

Kara perked up. “Vigilante missions? I could get behind that.”

“Might need to wait until tomorrow,” Iyoni murmured. “This potion is making me drowsy, and I’m not sure I can move tonight.” Then she gave an exasperated huff, glancing at Kara. “It’s supposed to get here tomorrow! And now I can’t wear it!”

“Wear what?” I asked.

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Kara said with a smile. “My mother only buys the strongest potions around. You might be healed by then.”

“I’m not wearing it otherwise,” Iyoni grumbled.

“Tomorrow’s Sunday,” I said, having to mentally double-check. It had been that sort of week. “What’s arriving on a Sunday?”

“You’re showing your age, Xan,” Kara replied. “They’ve been delivering on Sundays for years.”

“I’m only five years older than you.”

“Yeah, but I know they ship on Sundays.”

I shrugged. As an underpaid lecturer and bar manager, I didn’t buy a lot of stuff. “Maybe I should take Marlow up on her offer, if only so that I can get a paycheck.”

Kara waved a hand like it didn’t matter. “I’ve got enough money for all of us.”

“I don’t need it,” Iyoni murmured sleepily. “Celestials pay their Sentinels and Arbiters princely salaries.”

“Great,” I said. “That makes me feel loads better.”

“You know everything I have is yours, don’t you?” Kara asked, her tone earnest.

She’d told me that once before, but I preferred to have what I’d earned myself. “I don’t need anything anyway.”

Iyoni nuzzled into my lap. “I’m sleepy. This is nice, but can we go home?”

I looked around. Virelle was talking quietly with Dacien while her guards had been tidying up. Most of the bodies had been moved, save for Moreau’s.

“We’re done here,” I said. “We can go as soon as you feel up to moving.”

“I’m not sure I can walk yet, but if you carry me, that could be now.”

Home sounded good. I passed the responsibility of supporting Iyoni’s head to Kara, pushed myself up, and went to talk to Virelle and Dacien.

“The man of the hour,” Dacien said, with no sense of his usual irony.

I raised an eyebrow. “It was a group effort.”

“But you killed Moreau.”

“Actually, Kara did.” I shrugged.

“Good for her,” Virelle said, in the tone proud mothers had used since the dawn of time.

“Anyway, I don’t think we’re needed anymore. We’re going to head off. I trust you’ll sort out the rest of Moreau’s men?”

Virelle nodded. “Sure, we’ll dispose of them.”

“Dispose as in … let them go, right?”

“Dispose as in execute, my dear boy,” Dacien drawled. “Don’t tell me you’re still squeamish?”

I ignored that comment. “They’re no threat to us. Why do you have to kill them?”

“Because they’ve seen you’re an Aetherborn, Xan,” Virelle said, as if talking to a child.

I shook my head. “I don’t care. Even if they said anything, no one will believe them. Besides, I couldn’t hide being a warlock, and it’s only a matter of time until this comes out too. I’d rather live with the consequences than have more deaths on my conscience.”

Virelle looked thoughtful. “With Moreau gone, I suppose I could always offer them a job, and ensure their silence with oaths.”

“Fine, just don’t kill them.”

“What about Kye?” Dacien asked, looking at the assassin, who at some point had regained consciousness.

“Whatever you like,” I said, keen to be done with this conversation and to take my girls home. “I’m glad you’re both unscathed—relatively—and I guess we’ll see you around.”

“Christmas in four weeks,” Virelle said with a playful smile. “You’ll bring my daughter?”

“We haven’t made plans yet.” I turned and walked away.

“Don’t be a stranger, Xan,” Dacien called. “Keep ahold of those cufflinks.”

“I’ve already lost them,” I lied without glancing back. Actually, they were still in my pocket.

I carefully picked Iyoni up in a princess carry, cradling her to my chest, but while she tensed, she didn’t wince. She snuggled her face into the crook of my neck. I carried her gently, concerned by how pale and weak she was.

“Should we get her to a hospital?” I asked Kara as soon as we’d stepped outside and were alone.

“Don’t worry, Xan,” Kara said with quiet reassurance. “Trust the potion my mother gave her.”

“All right.” It didn’t do much to allay my concern, but magical medicine wasn’t my forte. If Kara thought it would be all right, maybe it would be.

I paused when we reached the Aston Martin, eyeing the shelf that was the pitiful excuse for rear seats.

“I’ll climb in the back,” Kara said. “Iyoni can take the passenger seat, and you can drive.”

“We need a bigger car,” I said. “And a bigger apartment, for that matter. She can’t keep sleeping on the sofa.”

“She should sleep in our bed tonight.”

“I’m right here, you know,” Iyoni mumbled, the words slurred. “Sofa’s fine.”

I ignored her, addressing Kara. “Agreed. I’ll take the sofa.”

“We’ll both take the sofa,” she said, and winked at me.