Page 47 of Night Sector

“Her mom always wore them. There are earrings and a crescent necklace. I can’t remember if Quinn had them when she arrived or not. I think she did?”

“She did,” Cillian confirmed. “Kieran thinks that was part of what was draining her energy before he arrived.”

“That’s why it seemed like the barrier was weakening her,” I breathed, remembering that inkling I’d picked up on before heading to Blood Sector last month. “I’d thought it might be because she hadn’t been back in a while, or that it was related to her heat, but she’d seemed weaker than usual.”

“Why didn’t you mention that?” Lorcan demanded, a hint of annoyance weaving through his thoughts.

“Because she’s been fine since Kieran mated her,” I replied, my brow furrowing. “I didn’t think it was important.”

That damn eyebrow inched upward, the look one I hadn’t seen from him much in the last two weeks. Maybe because he’d been in wolf form more than human form, but still, I wasn’t all that keen on seeing it again now.

“Not even after I told you my concerns about the barrier?” he pressed.

“I honestly didn’t think about it. I was too busy trying to figure out what you were sensing.” I couldn’t help the exasperated note in my voice.

It wasn’t like I’d withheld the information on purpose.

What did he think, that I wanted Quinn to get hurt?

Is he blaming me for not mentioning what I thought was a trivial suspicion?An inkling I’d completely forgotten about because my life had been essentially turned upside down over the last month through a coerced mating bond?

He growled low in his chest, clearly having heard that question.

Cillian cleared his throat. “Kieran suspects there was a locator charm on the diamonds, something that could provide coordinates to the Alpha who’d cast the enchantment. There were several Alphas who tried to shadow right after the explosion; I’m going to detain them all for questioning.”

“Good,” Lorcan replied, his growl underlining that single word.

“Does that mean the spell worked?” I asked, suddenly feeling an urge to shadow into the Sanctuary to check the barrier for myself.

“Assuming we’re right, then maybe. Our other working theory is that the jewelry was meant to kill Quinn and take down the barrier with her death,” Cillian said. “Maybe a combination of all of the above. But Kieran triggered the explosion by throwing it away from the Sanctuary and toward the sea. So the island is secure.”

I swallowed, unsure if I believed that.

“We need to finish sweeping the jet,” I muttered. “Make absolutely sure everything is fine before we land.”

Lorcan’s nod was clipped. “We’ll call you if we find anything, Cillian.”

“Likewise,” he returned.

The call ended and Lorcan glanced at me, then moved around me to resume his search. Only this time, our silence didn’t feel as comfortable as it had before.

We spent an hour sniffing around and searching but found nothing.

All the while, I wondered if the MacNamara diamonds were somehow linked to the deaths of Quinn’s parents. Had they sensed the enchantment on the necklace or earrings? Quinn’s father would have been able to shadow them out of the jet, but he wouldn’t have been able to shadow back into the jet. And her mother wasn’t a pilot.

Is that how they died?I wondered.Then why did they enchant the necklace to find Quinn?

The crescent moon had arrived in Quinn’s rooms before the news of her parents’ deaths actually reached her.

The necklace had contained a hidden message from her mom telling her that their deaths weren’t an accident but an assassination. She’d told Quinn to find their murderer and to not trust any of the Alpha Princes. Quinn had been searching for the culprit ever since.

If they knew the necklace was tainted, why would they use that to send Quinn a message?

Something about this wasn’t adding up.

“The jet is secure.” Lorcan’s words were not for me but for Cillian.

“I’ll let Kieran know” was the reply.