Chapter 24
Twenty-Four
Dakari
She’s not waking up. Stars damn it. Jasper is throwing spell after spell her way, and despite the strength of his magic, she’s completely unmoved. Every shallow breath she takes is a punch to my chest.
I know, logically, that this has happened before. That doesn’t stop the icy fingers raking down my spine.
I ran in here the second I recovered from that awful noise, barely stopping to pull on sweatpants. Still, I wasn’t fast enough.
When I got here, Eddy and Lambert were already crowding her on the bed, Jasper flicking through his grimoire in a panic.
Even now, the stressed creases haven’t faded from his forehead as he lowers the book. “Last time she was like this, Georgina was killed. She mentioned Artemius before she passed out…”
Meaning it’s likely that the ó Rinn parriarch is already dead or fighting for his life.
That explains why Leo has his phone pressed up against his ear, though he stays back, giving Jasper space to work.
I should feel bad about it, but really, I’m just glad that Mathias is busy in Belfast and likely not behind this latest attack.
Lambert gulps, his grip on Kyrith’s hand tightening. “So we just have to wait for her to wake up?”
“Aye.” Jasper stands. “She’ll—”
All of our phones chime at once.
North:
Enforcement attacking.
Jasper’s eyes widen, his head turning to the door even though the rest of him stays rooted beside Kyrith. “Fuck. We prepared for this, but—”
But his family is out there. Mama Dee, who’s an inept. Hazel. Halinor.
He still doesn’t move, and I shake my head. “Kyrith is protected. Go.”
“I’ll come with you,” Eddy adds, standing and drawing her grimoire.
The two of them take off, pushing past Leo, who’s still standing in the doorway. He stiffens, lowering the phone in his hand after a quick murmur to whoever is on the other end of the line. I wait for him to take the out I’m offering. To choose his family over the Librarian again.
And yeah, maybe it’s unfair, given that Jasper is literally leaving to check on his people as we speak, but there’s a difference between walking outside to check on your family and disappearing to the other side of the country to face a lich alone.
“My cousins are on their way to help my grandfather. He’s a tough bugger. He’ll last until they get there.” The muscle in his jaw jumps, his tension evident despite the certainty in his words. “I’m not leaving her.”
Lambert offers his brother an approving nod, but I’m not convinced.
There’s a minute of silence. Two. Leo starts to pace, and I grind my teeth against the urge to reach out and yank him to a stop.
“More importantly,” he finally says. “How did someone get a squalling spell past the wards? They’re supposed to be impenetrable.”
“Probably the same way someone managed to break into the Arcanaeum,” I grunt. “With the help of a traitorous bastard.”
The hit lands, his knuckles turning white around the pen he’s using to draw a new runeform on a blank page. Still, he doesn’t rise to the bait.
“Or they snuck something onto anyone returning from the town.” Leo tucks the pen behind his ear and puts his hand directly onto the fresh ink.
“A magical anchor would create a weakness in the defences that they could exploit. Either way, we need to get rid of it before they sneak other spells—or worse—inside.”
He starts to chant, and I grab for my phone, intending to check on Jasper, only for an incoming message from North to distract me.
North:
Pierce thinks they’re inside the keep.
Fuck.
I hate Leo more for being right.
My eyes dart between Kyrith on the bed and the door Jasper disappeared through. If he’s on his own—
Dakari:
Is Jasper with you?
North:
Thought he was with you???
Acid burns my insides.
If Mathias can’t get to Kyrith, who’s to say he won’t go after Jasper again?
My eyes drop to the woman on the bed again. Kyrith’s stirring.
She’ll never forgive any of us if he’s taken. I stroke her hand, torn in two. I can’t leave her like this—Jasper wouldn’t want me to—but he’s not safe either.
“She can’t stay here.” I stroke a lock of hair out of her face.
“No. She can’t,” Leo agrees. “Where are we taking her?”
I purse my lips. I did technically inherit the Talcott Manor when Abe died, but Anthea was there multiple times, installing magic-only-knows what kind of surveillance for her mother. It isn’t secure, and I didn’t care enough to make it so. That house holds nothing but bad memories for me.
My mistake. I should’ve considered that we might need a backup plan.
“I can take her to my dad’s,” Lambert grimaces. “But he can’t protect himself if…”
If we bring hell to his doorstep, like we did here.
A shiver runs down my spine, and I don’t need to look out of the window to catch the pink flash that runs across the sky.
The wards are failing.
No. That’s not possible.
Fort McKinley is a fortress. Even hundreds of enforcers shouldn’t have been able to break them.
Hundreds of arcanists are nothing compared to a lich.
Mathias might be in Belfast, fighting with Artemius, but Isidora isn’t. She’s younger than her idol, but if she’s already this powerful, the implications…
Suddenly Kyrith’s certainty that none of us could take on Mathias and live seems less like pessimism and more like cold, hard reality.
Leo swallows. “I have a place. It’s…small.”
I look at Lambert, desperately hoping he’ll object, and then down to Kyrith, asleep in his arms.
Time is of the essence.
Trusting Leo is my last resort, and I let that knowledge burn in the furious gaze I level at them both. “Take her. Don’t let her out of your sight. I’m going to find Jasper.”
“And the others,” Leo insists. “If Mathias gets his hands on any of us, it’s a link to her.”
He would know. My lips curl down, but Leo is already flicking to a transport spell in his grimoire, running a hand through his black curls, ignoring me.
“We’ll all be there, but if you even—”
“Save it. I’ll keep her safe.” His lips purse. “You know Rathlin Island?”
That old place? I nod once, already at the door. “I’ll grab the others and meet you there.”
“Wait,” Lambert says, his voice getting fainter as I break into a run. “Where’s Rathlin—”
His question cuts off, and the bond to Kyrith in my chest wanes.
Good. The farther away she is, the better.
The stone walls around me vibrate and groan in protest.
Shit.