Page 16 of Lunar Desires (Celestial Magic #2)

DRAKE

“ F unny how fate works, init?” Agent Jake said from the driver’s seat in his East London accent.

Funny indeed. He’d been Erin’s secret High Coven contact, a man she trusted with her life, and now he was our official liaison.

“Thank goodness fate has a sense of irony,” Erin responded from where she sat in the front seat. “Why were you in London?”

He moved the car into position on the M25 motorway, approaching the junction for the M3 back to Coldharbour, the journey under two hours without traffic. We were being tailed by two witchcop vehicles providing an escort back to the coastal city.

“Right place, right time,” Jake answered.

“I’d arranged to meet Dean Tseng at the Faerie Gate of Waterloo.

Then this bollocks with Rhianna went down in the station.

I got tangled up in it, made to help and missed Dean’s arrival.

They closed the gate because of it, so now he’ll be coming to Coldharbour tomorrow.

” I watched him scowl in the rearview mirror.

“He could’ve done that in the first place.

But no, it’d be so good to meet in London first. Grab a bite to eat at the Italian place we’d—” He grunted, stopping his ramble.

“I’m a dickhead. As if there’s anything left to rekindle. ”

Erin had mentioned a history between Jake and this fae called Dean without offering any details.

“I thought he lived in Singapore,” Erin said.

Jake reached the junction, joining the M3. “So did I. But he’s been in Faerie for three months. Only told me last night.” He grunted again.

The world of Faerie sat next to ours, with several gates across the world granting access both ways. Coldharbour’s Faerie gate was behind Rainbow Mile between a fae post office and a bakery.

“Anyway, he’ll be at the Coldharbour gate at seven tomorrow morning,” Jake added. “I’ll arrange a meeting as soon as I can so he can fix the solar diamond. Might even be able to come straight to the mansion, if that’s cool with you?”

“Wonderful,” Erin replied. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome.”

Isaac’s third solar diamond needed repairing before his lion totem could be filled.

Then The Sun lock on the celestial door would open.

The brothers needed Preston, all his starlight diamonds safe and ready for the bear totem, to open the final lock.

In doing so, they’d get access to even greater spells exclusively for them.

I’d been trying to find The Star with my power, getting nowhere each time. There was no hint of him, not even a tiny wisp of a trace. He’d completely fallen off the map.

Aaron Bramble had found him in London, tracking his debit card activities to a hotel close to London Bridge. Only, he vanished again, and his adopted family were proving difficult to reach.

All we could do was keep up the search.

We didn’t even know what he looked like. The cards were certainly not stacked in our favor.

Riley’s thigh rested against mine. I sat in the middle of the Aurora brothers, the cotton-candy taste of glamouring potion still on my tongue.

Stefan made sure the three of us drank a vial each before getting into the car.

A shipment would be delivered to the mansion every week from now on, the dose lasting eight days.

Riley’s here because of me, the thought repeated again, my guilt like acid in my veins.

I wanted to take him somewhere private, fall to my knees, and beg for his forgiveness. To offer myself to him completely. Because I’d do anything to make this right.

But facts were facts. I’d landed him and the whole of House of Aurora in this shit.

Fuck Stefan Rushden.

The London HQ might be huge and bright, but it felt compact and darker. A more sinister prison than any dark cell back at the Kingwood hideout, a stifling container with extra weight piled on top. Every wall seemed to close in, the air thick with danger.

I didn’t trust the inquisitor one bit. Menace practically swam in his face from the first moment I met him.

“You will not be questioned about the Auroras,” he’d said as I lay in the hospital bed.

“I have the information I need already. But I am curious about your relationship with Rhianna Kingwood. Why on earth would you be so reckless to get her pregnant?” He tutted.

“Some men really do have their brains in their penises.”

I explained it’d been one drunken night, feeling the touch of his truth spell pass over me in a queasy wave.

With a slow nod, he’d answered with, “Interesting. And now you are smitten with The Moon?”

Massively. “Yes.”

“I see. Then be sure to stay by his side. Despite the rarity of your magic, the elders are willing to allow you to stay with House Aurora. They need you more than us, and you could be key in finding The Star.” His smile had forced my guts to squirm. “Now, go and clean yourself up.”

Riley took my hand, giving it a squeeze. I blinked at the windscreen, rain starting to fall, pattering on the glass.

The others were talking about Stefan.

“I’m sorry this is happening,” Jake said. “Ain’t nothing worse than having Stefan breathing down your neck.”

“My fists were ready to break his nose,” Isaac chimed in. “Arrogant prick. I can’t stand people like him.”

I’d pay big money to watch the famous supermodel pummel the inquisitor into next week.

Maybe one day…

As Jake sped down the motorway, the subject changed.

“Do you think he’s my dad, too?” Isaac asked about the blue figure.

Riley squeezed my hand again. “I’ve been wondering about that.”

The Sun tensed beside me. “How would we even find out?”

“By asking my mum first,” Riley answered. “Adopted mum.” He sighed, shaking his head. “This family stuff hurts my brain.”

Not even Erin, who was close to Juliet Aurora, knew who their father was. The former Sun never revealed his identity.

Isaac reached over to pat Riley on the leg. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, little brother.”

Riley leaned forward, turning to face him. “I’ll give Mum a call, see if she can tell me anything. Probably won’t.” He grimaced. “Should I start calling her Emily rather than Mum? God, that feels wrong.”

My heart went out to him.

“We can always invite her to dinner, if you like,” Erin suggested. “Although it would mean revealing your secret unnecessarily if she doesn’t know already.”

“Call first,” Isaac said. “Then we can go from there.”

Riley leaned back, letting go of my hand. “She hates talking about Dad. Understandably. But why would he be a shade? And why would he want to hurt me? This doesn’t make any sense. What does he mean by The Moon being the path?” He drew in a sharp breath. “Oh my God…”

“What is it?” I asked, tensing in reaction to the sound.

“She…” he whispered. “She…”

“Who’s she?” Isaac questioned.

“Dad said she.” He rubbed his temples. “Dammit. I’d forgotten that part.”

I rested my hand on his thigh for reassurance.

“So much has happened it slipped my mind,” he said. “On the train, he’d said my name and then mentioned a she.” He faced his brother. “She… She… Moon get me back. Give Moon…” he quoted.

Riley’s eyes flicked to mine. “She did something to him.” He paled. “Oh, God. She… She…” He sat back, sliding down in the seat a little. “Mum…”

I wrapped an arm around him. “Easy there.” He felt so rigid despite the slumping, as if made of stone.

“Riley…” Isaac spoke with a raspy tone. “I… Oh, fuck…” His voice cracked.

This was a lot for him, too. Their worlds had been turned upside down so many times over.

“But what could she do?” Riley wondered, sitting up.

“She’s a shimmer witch, right?” Isaac asked, reaching over to fold his elegant, tapered fingers around Riley’s hand.

It was lovely seeing them interact like this, even if the circumstances were shit.

“Yeah, she is,” Riley answered. “My stepdad is, too.”

We reached the junction for Coldharbour proper, the rain falling heavier, making the windscreen wipers work overtime.

“She doesn’t have the power to do anything,” Riley added.

“Unless he was talking about Juliet?” Isaac suggested.

“No. Dad left when I was ten.”

She’d taken her own life the same day her babies were taken away.

The brothers stayed joined by the hands, falling into silence.

Alright. Time to put my power to use.

“Your dad’s name is Daniel Croft, isn’t it?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Riley said.

“Born here?”

“All his life until he left for America.”

Additional pieces of information helped my magic. “Thank you.”

My fingertips lit up with blue light, my vision swimming with images, ears filled with voices. I switched to my inner self, connected to everything by a magical satellite.

Daniel Croft of Coldharbour, England, I said into the cornucopia of sounds and sights. Father of Riley Croft, also known as Riley Aurora.

Searching, searching, searching. Peeling back the layers, zooming in on a location.

America. The town of Wilmington, Windham County, Vermont. Living in a house with his other family.

Yellow house. Snow on its roof, a blanket of white across its lawn, glittering in the afternoon sun. Nothing out of the ordinary.

I shut my power down for a moment, returning to the silence of the car.

We were approaching Coldharbour from the east, the A Road cutting through the woodland on the edge of the huge Woodside Industrial Estate.

“Are you okay?” Riley asked me.

I rubbed at my neck. “Yes.”

“You were using your power.”

I told him what I’d seen, disappointed in myself for not giving him anything new.

Because you’re worthless.

“Then it must be Uncle Johnathon playing some shitty trick,” Isaac said, still linked to Riley. “The fuckhead.”

Jonathon Aurora. Yes. Maybe I could find him.

Reactivating my power, I searched for the piece of shit, passing from earthly air to the bitter winds of another world quicker than expected, considering I’d been ready to face a wall of shadow magic hiding him.