Page 26 of Lunar Desires (Celestial Magic #2)

RILEY

E rin didn’t disappoint in the tea stakes.

The coffee table, surrounded by terracotta sofas, was laden with three steaming teapots, cups and saucers, and a plethora of cakes and savory goodies.

Yum. Yum. Yum.

The open fire crackled, filling the room with delicious heat. We were all dry, all safe under this roof again.

I took the win, despite the dread of what tomorrow might bring.

“Please, help yourselves,” Erin instructed. “Don’t be shy.”

I sat between Drake and Agent Jake, my brother on the opposite sofa. He appeared solemn, not looking my way once.

Damn. I hoped we weren’t about to enter an awkward phase. The last thing I wanted was to have this thing about Dad taking me come between us.

Erin sat beside him, Ollie next to her, and the Bramble triplets occupied the rest of the space.

“These are good threads,” Jake said, admiring his black jumper and jeans.

Apparently, Erin always kept fresh clothes at the mansion for him in case of emergencies.

Erin beamed his way. “Thank you for always having our back, official Coven Liaison.”

He chuckled. “Great, init?”

We all poured tea and helped ourselves to nibbles. I tried getting Isaac’s attention, but he kept his eyes firmly downcast.

Dammit.

Once we were done, Erin began. “Firstly, I’m glad everyone is safe. Thank Hecate for her blessings on this glorious house.”

We all offered our thanks to the goddess.

Erin had notepad and pen at the ready. “I’ll be in charge of the diary Stefan wants, alongside Jake.”

Agent Winter tapped on the notepad in his lap.

“Aaron will then type up both reports and send them to Stefan,” Erin added.

Aaron nodded in agreement, munching on a slice of angel cake.

Alice grimaced, making a sound like a growl. “Shame about him coming here on Sundays.”

“Kills the Sunday mood for sure,” April said.

All three siblings nodded in unison.

“Assuming Sunday is a rest day,” Ollie threw in.

Erin sighed. “The apocalypse certainly won’t be taking a day off.”

So gloomy. This tea needed to transform into spiced rum.

“Anyway, let’s get to it,” Erin said, sipping her tea. “Firstly, we now have twenty-four-hour protection from the High Coven. As we speak, there are witchcops patrolling the border of the mansion. I have a direct line to the commander in charge, as do you. Aaron has sent updates to your phones.”

Clever Aaron, the maths-loving tech wizard.

“Use me as a buffer in case you don’t feel like putting your questions directly to her,” Jake chimed in.

I really liked Jake. I got the sense of his loyalty just by being near him. And I knew for sure he’d be amazing on a night out.

Isaac shuffled in his seat, folding his arms and crossing his legs.

Ollie glanced at him, a flicker of concern on his face lasting a few seconds, swiftly replaced by indifference.

Erin sat forward a little, her hands clasped together. “Within the last five minutes, I’ve finally made contact with Preston’s adopted family.”

I sucked down a sharp breath, a rush of surprise making my head spin.

Isaac looked at me, shock written all over his face. “What did they say? Where is he?”

Erin’s mouth drooped a little with sadness.

Oh, God. No. Please don’t say he’s?—

“He’s still missing,” she said, “but they’ve emailed us a photo of him.” She pulled out her phone, handing Isaac the device first.

A photo? An actual photo?

Wow. This was major, the first time seeing his face.

“His family are a pack of werewolves living in Llandrindod Wells, Wales,” Erin said.

“They lost contact with him after he traveled to London to meet a friend. The last they heard from him was when he arrived in the city. After that, he disappeared. They’ve been conducting their own search since, coming up empty every time, without any details on this friend. ”

The phone finally came to me. My hands were trembling as I held it up to see The Star for the first time.

Blue eyes, platinum blond hair, and a pale complexion similar to mine. Taken at what looked like the Brecon Beacons on a sunny day. Smiling, happy, his hands in his pockets.

“Preston,” I whispered, my little finger tracing the screen. “Where are you?”

How could he just disappear?

Was he running from something or someone? Was he scared and alone, desperate for help? This helplessness, this fog around him, it twisted me up inside.

“Fuck,” Isaac said. “What are we supposed to do?”

“Hope,” Erin answered. “Hope and pray.”

Only gets you so far, I thought.

The screen went into rest mode, going dark. I returned the phone to her, trembling like a mouse in a cat’s crosshairs.

“Do you both need a moment before we continue?” Erin asked.

“No,” Isaac and I answered at the same time.

“I’m sorry there isn’t anything else to tell you,” Erin spoke so softly.

Silence fell over the living room. What else could we say? We were powerless, running on empty, unable to gain any leads in this mystery. Seeing his lovely face and knowing he’d been brought up by werewolves didn’t help. We needed an in of some kind.

Damn. I guess all we really could do was pray.

Hecate, please keep him safe…

“Aaron?” Erin said, finally breaking the silence. “If you would, please.”

Subject changed.

He nodded, leaning forward to pick up a plastic box from the floor. Inside were three stones resembling hexagons. One green, one red, one purple. They reminded me of the crystal candy constantly hyped up on social media.

Pink fae magic ignited in his hands, curling around the box.

“What are those?” Isaac asked first, his head finally lifted.

“These are from Faerie,” Aaron answered. “The Rainbow Stones, to be exact. I managed to identify them about twenty minutes ago.”

“Our brother’s amazing,” April said, praising his penchant for identifying objects.

Most fae were proficient in one magical skill, while some were blessed with greater powers—such as a Faerie monarch or whatever.

We’d briefly touched upon fae magic in school, most of the lessons were about the fae threat from three centuries ago, my ancestors having taken down a rather vile lord with the deadly gift of causing earthquakes.

The scars from those times remained in the west of England.

Gouges in the earth, deep as hell, known as Fae’s Wrath.

They were a popular tourist hotspot just north of Devon, a reminder of my family’s glory days of not screwing up.

“They’re ancient and fae in origin,” Aaron continued. “I’m talking pre-dinosaur stuff, from what I’ve sensed. Annoyingly, there’s no record of them in Fae Archives. It’s like they don’t exist.”

“Or shouldn’t,” Ollie said.

Non-fae weren’t permitted to access the Fae Archives. The website actually knew if you were fae or not, instantly shutting down if you tried.

Aaron continued, his right hand flat on the box. Pink magic filled his eyes as he spoke, looking a little unsettled. “They are filled with the essence of life and death.” He took a heavy swallow, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

I shivered at the prospect.

“Although they are fae in origin, they cannot be used by a fae. Instead, they are to be gifted to a non-fae in exchange for a price or after some sort of deal is made. All very dodgy and weird.” He took a few seconds to continue, his nose twitching as he did more of his thing.

“After a deal is made, the stones split the life of the non-fae into seven parts. One part must stay with the deal maker as leverage, while the other six go forth to achieve their goal.” He frowned.

“Which is gross and terrifying in equal measure.”

My skin itched as this sank in, my teeth chewing going at my bottom lip again. “That red stone. I saw it on the ground after…”

After you killed him again…

Those screams, the brutality of throwing him into the burning car—it all smashed into me. Crushing, haunting. Awful.

I drew the circle on my palm, refusing to fall apart.

Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God.

Aaron continued. “The red and green stones were both found at the spot he attacked you. The purple we discovered after we exhumed his grave earlier. The body’s still there. That part of him is as dead as the other two you encountered.”

What. The. Hell. Uncle Jonathon had made a deal with a fae to up the ante in his quest to get my powers?

Arsehole hadn’t put it in his diaries.

The fae Bramble took a big gulp of tea. Both his sisters patted him with reassurance.

“You got all that from identifying them?” Isaac wondered.

Aaron nodded. “Handy skill to have.”

“Very.” My brother glanced at me, then dipped his head again. “So, how do we stop our beloved fucker of an uncle? Break these stones?”

“I wouldn’t,” Aaron replied. “There’s something I’m not quite seeing. A secret like a pin poking at the surface of my skin. Refrain from breaking them for now.”

Drake stepped in to tell us about his strange encounter with a fae.

Erm, what the hell? This was a thing of nightmares, my entire epidermis breaking out in goosebumps.

I shuffled closer to him, taking his hand, terrified at the prospect of this woman being able to summon him at will.

Erin’s eyes narrowed in thought. “Aaron?”

“Blue Orchard is a place us fae rarely speak of.” He stroked his chin. “Behind the queen’s wall, a place of evil is contained. Do not think of it. Do not concern yourself with the darkness beyond.” He sniffed. “Or so it’s said.”

“Our papa told us about it once,” April chimed in.

The Brambles had a fae dad and a witch mum.

Alice nodded in agreement. “Freaked me out. Hated it when he told us creepy stories.”

Aaron looked at Drake. “Did you get any sort of read on this woman at all?”

He shook his head. “Nothing. I’ll keep trying though.”

I traced my thumb across his knuckles, wishing I could wrap him up in cotton wool, be his knight, protect him from everything.

And be his everything.

“Then she’s the deal maker,” Aaron said. “That version of Jonathon you saw must be the leverage part.”

God, this churned my stomach to no end.

“If there are only three active parts of him left,” Erin spoke, “then Jonathon is desperate, which will make him dangerous.” Her lips curled into a small snarl. “Can you locate him, Drake?”

Waves of anger practically rippled from Erin.

Drake searched, his fingers turning blue. “Blue Orchard. The other three are here in Coldharbour. At Ashwood Manor.”

An empty, dilapidated house in the west of Coldharbour. Smaller than Aurora Mansion, but with bigger gardens. There’d been talk over the years of leveling it and turning it into a zoo.

“He really is desperate,” Ollie contributed. “Putting all his eggs in one basket. You’d think he’d split himself up and be smarter about this.”

Good point. Hopefully Uncle Jonathon wouldn’t think of it himself, his arrogance too much of a hindrance.

Erin got to her feet. “He means to end this tonight.”

Isaac stood next. “And so do we.” His eyes locked onto me, his chest puffing up. “Ready to do this, little brother?”

Talking to me now, are you? “I am.” I stood, adrenaline kicking in. “Let’s end this.”

Isaac came over, pulling me into a hug. “I’m sorry for being a moody bitch,” he whispered. “I’m not mad at you.”

I held him tighter. “You’re hurt. You’re allowed to feel these things.”

But thank Hecate you’re not mad at me.

“And seriously fucked off with everything.” He pulled back, giving my nose a boop. “But we’re brothers. We’re in this together and we’ll kick ass together.”

My heart swelled with love for him. “We’ll get all the answers. I truly believe that.”

“Your positivity is what makes you my adorable little brother.”

“It does?”

“Yep. You’re perky as fuck and I love it.” He dragged me into another, brief hug.

“I’m touched,” I answered.

“So you should be.” Ending the hug, his sunlight steel took over. Or what I called his sunlight steel, which was a fierce expression giving lots of ‘I’ll break your face’ vibes.

“Prepare to leave in twenty minutes,” Erin said.

“Of course,” Isaac and I answered at the same time.

Erin said. “We’ll discuss the other issues tomorrow.”

Like our dad.

“Could this be a trap, though?” Ollie asked.

“Everything is a possible trap where Jonathon Aurora is concerned,” Erin answered with pure bitterness.

Poor her, having to live in a mansion when Jonathon was in his prime as The Moon. An arrogant celebrity who only cared about himself and his power, not the fate of the world.

“But tonight, we finally remove Jonathon Aurora from the world.”

Amen, Erin.

Amen.