Chapter 17 - Dani
Dani had never been more aware of how small Aurelia’s hand was.
It was warm in hers as they crossed the alpha house yard, the air sharp enough to sting her lungs. The compound beyond the edges of the trees hummed with nervous energy; she could feel it across the entire bay.
Meeting day.
“You don’t have to go right away,” Aurelia said, glancing up at her. “You could stay until after lunch. Or forever. Forever’s good.”
“Tempting,” Dani said, “but then who’s going to stop the wolves and witches from killing each other over whose turn it is to speak?”
Aurelia made a face. “Lavinia .”
“Lavinia will try,” Dani muttered. “Lavinia might start something if she gets any crap.”
That got her a tiny smile. Good. Dani clung to it.
They reached the long lodge at the edge of the compound that doubled as Nordan’s kid-pen when things got tense. Two older females waited by the door, Freya and Sue, both in human skin, both solid as mountains. A small herd of children spilled around them, noisy and riled up.
Freya dipped her head to Dani. “We’ll keep them inside the fence,” she said, “any trouble, we howl.”
Aurelia squeezed her hand once, hard. “I’ll be fine,” she said, “they already showed me where they keep the snacks.”
“Of course they did.” Dani crouched so they were eye to eye. “Stay with the others. If anything feels wrong—”
“I find a grown-up, I don’t try to be a hero,” Aurelia recited. Then, softer, “You’ll be careful?”
Dani lied beautifully, “Always.”
Aurelia hesitated, then leaned in and hugged her so fiercely it knocked a bit of air out of Dani’s lungs. She breathed in the warm, familiar scent of her girl, sugar, and shampoo, and the faint crackle of magic.
“Go,” Aurelia muttered into her shoulder, “before you miss the opening arguments.”
Dani snorted, throat tight, “Bossy.”
“Wonder where I got it from,” Aurelia said, and then she was gone, swept into the chaos of pups, already showing a smaller boy how to cheat at cards with a flicker of spark under her fingers.
Dani watched until the door shut.
Only then did she turn away and head down towards town.
***
The witches were gathering in the back room when she slipped in. The curtains of Thistlehouse had been drawn tight, extra wards placed on all the doors. Chalk circles had been drawn on the floor, inks and herbs set out in neat piles.
Salem. A few nomads. Juneau’s pale, austere coven head, Drusilla, perched like a raven in the corner.
Lavinia stood at the center, sleeves rolled, hair braided back, quieter than Dani had ever seen her. Wards thrummed low under her skin.
“You’re late,” Penelope said, because of course she was the one to speak first. Her dark hair was pulled into a sleek twist, her eyes were flinty.
“I was dropping my child off with the carnivores,” Dani said, “forgive the delay.”
A few of the Salem girls snickered. Penelope didn’t.
“At least you’re here,” Lavinia said, tone brooking no argument. “We go up together. No one walks into that clearing alone.”
The witches murmured assent. Dani exhaled slowly, letting their unity wrap around her like an extra layer of clothing. They were all in one coven today.
She caught Edith’s eye across the circle.
Edith tilted her head towards the next room and slipped that way. Dani followed.
Up close, she could see the new lines at the sides of Edith’s mouth, the deep shadows under her eyes.
“You look tired,” Dani said, her voice quiet.
“Watch yourself, girl,” Edith said. “How’s the mating bond? You still haven’t spoken?”
Dani grimaced. “No.”
Edith hummed, looking critically over Dani. She fought not to shrink under that assessing gaze, choosing instead to clear her throat. “How bad is it really? With the wolves. The Volnoye. The…vampire?”
Edith’s mouth twisted. “Bad enough that Lavinia’s considering only going herself,” she said. “Bad enough some of ours decided not to find out how it ends.”
Dani’s stomach dipped, “You mean…”
“Rowan and Sabine left on the tide last night,” Edith said quietly. “Penelope’s apprentice, Marthe, went too. Packed fast. Left notes. Lavinia found them at dawn.”
Dani swore under her breath. “So that’s confirmed.”
“I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen the empty beds,” Edith said. “Rowan, I get. She never liked the cold. Sabine…she’s not a coward. If she’s gone, it’s for a good reason.”
They went quiet for a beat, each chasing their own bad scenarios.
“I don’t like it,” Dani said after a beat. “Doesn’t it seem strange to you? That none of them said goodbye?”
“Of course it does,” Edith muttered, “we need to stay alert. We don’t assume the danger’s only coming from the obvious directions.” She squeezed Dani’s wrist briefly. “And you, specifically, don’t go running off alone to be noble. High Sister’s orders. Mine, too.”
“I’m scared,” she admitted, voice low, “for them. For Aurelia. For…us. I keep going over contingencies in my head, and all of them end with someone bleeding out.”
“We’ll be fine,” Edith said gently, “we’re just as strong as those beasts. We could take them in a fight.”
“That’s not comforting,” Dani said.
“Wasn’t meant to be.” Edith bumped her shoulder against Dani’s. “We’re not going in naked. Lavinia’s laid wards from here to the harbor. Every witch in this room has at least three escape routes mapped. And…”
She let that hang, a tiny, sharp smile curling her mouth.
Dani eyed her, “And?”
“We have a few tricks they don’t know about,” Edith said, clearly enjoying herself now. “The High Sister mentioned we had an ally at the summit. You remember?”
Dani nodded slowly, “She said we weren’t alone. That a…sympathetic power would stand with us.” A thought had been circling her brain since. “You mean Dominic and Layla. Volkhov.”
Edith snorted. “Dominic likes us well enough, but his wolves are stretched thin. And Layla’s plate is full, keeping him from murdering Leonid and you know, being pregnant. No. The High Sister wasn’t talking about them.”
“Then…who?” Dani demanded.
Edith’s eyes gleamed. “The Severney.”
Dani blinked. “Rory?”
“Rory,” Edith confirmed, “And more importantly, Kiara.”
The last puzzle piece slid into place.
“They’ve been working quietly with us for years,” Edith said, keeping her voice low. “North of here. Past the glacier. Severney territory touches three little witch settlements and one vampire court. Which meant they had a choice: face constant turf wars, or work out a truce.”
“They made peace,” Dani said.
“They did more than that,” Edith replied.
“Kiara showed up at a border battle with the hybrids with nothing but a borrowed grimoire and a death wish. A few well-placed sigils and one hastily summoned ward later, Rory’s wolves walked away from something that should’ve wiped them out.
He’s not stupid. He started inviting witches to his table after that. Quietly. Under the High Sister’s eye.”
“I thought the Severneys were isolationists,” Dani said. “Mountain ghosts with closed borders.”
“They are,” Edith said, “publicly. Privately, they’ve been integrating witches into their pack structure the way things used to be. Old grudges don’t feed you when hybrids crack your border. It’s been…an interesting experiment.”
Dani thought of Kiara’s easy contempt in The Anchor, the way she’d played cards with wolves like she’d grown up at their table. The way she’d handled Dani’s wild magic without flinching.
“So, if something goes wrong today,” Dani said slowly, “if the wolves turn on us—”
“Rory’s fighters will stand between us and whoever’s charging first,” Edith said, “On Kiara’s signal. They’ll pretend it’s about pack politics, about keeping the peace. But we’ll know.”
Warmth and unease warred in Dani’s chest.
“Can we trust her?” she asked, “Kiara.”
Edith’s expression flickered. “I think so,” she said, “she’s shifty, yes. But she’s very in love with her alpha. That tends to focus a girl.” Her mouth twisted. “Unfortunately, the feelings aren’t returned. Not the way she’d like.”
“You’re sure?” Dani asked.
Edith gave her a look, “Dani. I watched them in The Anchor. She orbits him. He uses her power and conveniently forgets her heart exists. It’s a pattern.”
Dani’s stomach turned as she remembered her teenage self, hopelessly pining for Arthur and giving him every scrap of herself, even when all he wanted was friendship and she wanted so much more. “I can relate. ”
“Try not to see yourself in every tragic witch,” Edith said gently. “My point is, whatever else she is, Kiara will put Rory’s safety first. And right now, Rory’s safety is tied up in making sure this summit doesn’t end in a witch slaughter. Our deaths are bad optics for his continued…experiment.”
“You’re saying we’re protected because dead witches are bad PR,” Dani said.
“Welcome to international relations,” Edith replied.
Dani glanced around the room. Salem sisters knotting cloaks. Two nomad stragglers whispering together. Juneau’s Drusilla watching it all with hooded eyes.
Lavinia clapped her hands once.
“Sisters,” she called. “It’s time.”
The witches moved as one.
***
The walk up to Mount Nanuq’s base felt both too short and far too long.
Wolves had cleared a path, cutting through snow and scrub. The mountain reared above, its face sheer and pale, streaked with shadow. At its foot, the old meeting ground waited, a broad, flat basin ringed with standing stones, each carved with Lunarion’s sigil.
Wards hummed under Dani’s feet as she crossed the boundary. Layla’s work, layered with others. Not enough to stop a fight. But enough to hopefully lower the risk of one.
The basin was already filling.
Volkhov wolves stood in a loose knot near one of the stones, Dominic at their center, Layla at his side. He had his arms folded, the set of his shoulders all simmering restraint. Layla’s hand rested on his forearm, knuckles white. Julian and Theodore flanked them, eyes watchful.