Page 97 of Magic Claimed

Which was exactly what had almost happened. We’d tried to blame the shifters and nearly missed the truth. Not to mention, we’d all been thrown into a heightened state of worry and turmoil—exactly as Blake needed us to be.

The plan was brilliant. It was diabolical. And it might not have entirely failed.

But before we addressed what this would mean for our efforts to undermine Blake, I had just one question.

“Would someone please tell me there’s an antivenom?”

No one rushed to speak up.

“Tell me we can fix this,” I pleaded.

It was Callum, of all people, who reached out to me with comfort. Callum, who had just realized there was no antidote for the poison that might be killing him.

“Raine, we already knew there might not be an answer.”

“I can’t accept that,” I choked out. “I won’t.”

“And I won’t quit trying either,” he promised, threading his fingers through my hair and cradling my face gently. “It hasn’t killed me yet. It’s possible that I can beat it, and if, in the end, all it takes is my magic, I’ll still have a lifetime with you. And that’s enough. Raine, I swear to you—it’s enough.”

His familiar amber eyes glimmered down at me, filled not with magic, but with certainty and love. He was telling the truth, so I shut my eyes, clasped his wrist, and fought to hold back the tears.

“Okay,” I whispered. “But if I ever see Hector Ademar again…”

I didn’t care how deadly or dangerous he was.

I was going to end him.

TWENTY-THREE

We hadtwo days to prepare. Two days to alert the city—knowing they might not believe us—and find a way to stop Blake, with or without them.

Because what he wanted wasn’t just chaos. He wanted destruction. He needed the humans to believe that Idrians posed a clear and present danger to their safety. He’d already primed the government to think in terms of registration and relocation, so now all he had to do was ignite the powder keg and wait for the fallout.

There were really only two possible outcomes—either the Idrians decided to cooperate and ended up caged for exploitation, or they fought back, and thousands would die. And the end result of that war?

The last remaining Idrians would still be captured and caged for exploitation. Exactly where Blake wanted them. He would have a magic factory of his very own—a power source only he could control… as long as he had Kes.

Just as before, Kes was the linchpin of his plans. But no further attempts had been made to kidnap her, and we’d confirmed that the mercenary contracts had been cancelled. Which meant that Blake had found another way to get what he wanted.

But he definitely wouldn’t want to risk her being hurt in his protest march, so he would be plotting to get her out of the cityfirst.

And that…

That was the only chance we had.

Once we’d talked over all the possibilities and dispersed for the night, I climbed the stairs, one weary step at a time, shoulder to shoulder with Callum. We told each other goodnight at his door, and then I moved down the hall to the apartment I had yet to sleep in. Yet another temporary place for us to call home.

I’d tried so hard to make a permanent home for the kids, so they could feel stable and safe. But every time, it was torn apart—by enemies, by chance, by the consequences of my own actions. And now it looked like this one might be torn apart as well. Not by any forces within my control, but by the hunger for power and the implacable weight of fear and hatred.

For a moment as I gripped the door handle, it felt like I was drowning. Like there was no escape from the overwhelming tide of darkness.

But then I opened the door and saw my family asleep on the couches. Logan was sprawled out with his head flopped over to the side, his mouth open, and a pillow clutched tightly to his chest. My Ari-bug was curled into a tight little ball, her tangled curls askew, and a cherubic expression on her tiny face. AndKes… She’d been sitting upright at some point before she’d fallen asleep, with her head now resting on Shane’s shoulder.

A movie was playing quietly on a television I didn’t think we owned, and as I crossed the room to turn it off, I saw Shane’s golden eyes glimmering faintly. He was awake, his expression tense, as if he was waiting for me to say something. Expecting me to judge him or be angry.

But instead, I picked up Ari and moved her to bed, then tugged Logan to his feet and urged him into his room. Neither of them truly woke up, just mumbled at me a few times before going back to sleep.

Only then did I return to the living room and take a seat on the couch.