CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CADI
Cadi leaned forward to grab her bag from the floor of Elias’s boxy green SUV, shifting with the motion of the car as he turned them onto the next street. It was a good thing he was driving because she had absolutely no idea where they were, having lost track of their turns a few miles back.
Now she was content to sit and watch the world speed by while he navigated the city streets, winding through neighborhoods that Cadi had never even set foot in.
Which wasn’t saying much, since she didn’t usually venture too far outside of her bubble of familiarity unless it was absolutely necessary. Which today, it was.
“Did she happen to mention what she wanted to talk about?” she asked.
Elias chuckled from the driver’s seat as he shot her a sideways glance. “You may recall, I was pretty motivated to get her off the phone. Didn’t really think to ask follow-up questions.”
Cadi’s distracted laugh was swallowed by the inside of her bag as she pulled out every item and tossed them onto the dashboard.
“You good over there?” Elias asked.
She let out a strained groan. “I think I left my phone at your place.”
His fingers wrapped around hers, pulling her away from her search as he lifted them to place a kiss against her knuckles. “Well, then it’s a good thing the only people worth talking to will be with you.”
She huffed a laugh and settled back into the seat, accepting that she was going to have to deal with another technology-free morning. Though, he definitely wasn’t wrong.
The SUV rocked as he pulled it into a nearly empty parking lot that nature seemed determined to reclaim. Plants and grass forced their way through any cracks they could find in the asphalt, making the entire area appear as if it were one strong breeze away from eroding in on itself.
Cadi’s eyebrows shot up as Elias eased the car into a faded parking stall in front of what appeared to be a completely abandoned business park.
Every inch of the once-white walls was now tinged gray by weather and age, with a dingy rectangular outline above the entrance.
She assumed the space used to contain a sign that would have told her who owned this sad piece of real estate, but now it just added to the murdery vibe.
“This is where we’re meeting?” she asked, crooking an eyebrow at the building. “I thought we were going to Kai’s office.”
Elias stepped out of the car, then turned to smile back at her. “We are,” he said, tossing his chin toward the cloudy glass door. “This used to be the billing office for Aurelian Shipping before he expanded.”
Cadi peered out the windshield at the depressing facade, the day’s gloomy forecast doing nothing to help its case. When he had told her where they were meeting Sera and the others, she had definitely expected more high-rise, less tetanus.
Cadi crinkled her nose as they stepped inside, the dusty space somehow managing to make the outside feel welcoming.
The lobby, if she could even call it that, was small, littered with old boxes and discarded office furniture.
The whole place left her feeling as if she were standing in the middle of some sort of post-apocalyptic waiting room.
The warmth of Elias’s hand at her back guided her forward to the narrow hallway that led to the rear of the building. Cadi kept close to him, leaning in to avoid brushing against any of the ancient supplies. Something about all the dust and neglect just made her skin crawl.
Laughter filtered into the corridor as they rounded another corner. The door to what looked like a small conference room lay cracked open in front of them, and Cadi could just see the barest trace of Kai’s waves through the gap.
Elias pushed the door open, with Cadi still wary of touching anything on the property, and ushered her inside.
Sera looked up from her place at the head of the table, cutting off her conversation with Seth to wave them in and gesture to two empty seats next to Kai.
As they rounded the table, Cadi noticed an unfamiliar face beaming at her.
The woman sat quietly, radiating a steadying sense of calm that seemed to blend into the air around them.
Her bright red hair was gathered into a loose bun, the soft waves of which spilled free to frame her angular face.
Against the auburn, her alabaster skin glowed faintly, reminding Cadi of a full moon in the middle of autumn.
“Cadi, this is áine,” Sera said, gesturing to the woman with a warm smile. “She’s our other resident moon goddess.”
áine’s smile widened as she looked across the table at Cadi and tipped her chin in a graceful nod.
“Lovely, to meet you, Cadi,” she said, her northern lilt dancing on the air.
“I’ve heard wonderful things about you from Sera.
It takes a special kind of person to impress a goddess with her resumé, but it would seem you’ve done it. ”
Cadi let out a soft laugh, heat rushing to her ears at the way áine gushed. It was hard enough for her to know how to accept compliments or praise from humans, but when they came from a goddess, no response seemed even remotely worthy.
Next to her, Kai let out a sigh and leaned back in his chair. “Can we get this moving? I have another meeting in an hour.”
Sera shot her brother a sharp look. “Would it kill you to engage in some light conversation?”
He only shrugged, then checked his watch again.
Sera rolled her eyes, her gaze flitting around the table to check that everyone was ready before she extended her open palm to áine, offering her the floor.
áine sat forward and rested her delicate arms against the table. “I had Sera bring you all here because the lunar cycle is nearly where it needs to be, making conditions perfect for the Location Rite. But we have to move fast if there is any hope of finding Ananke.”
The mood at the table shifted. Seth and Kai exchanged unreadable glances before turning to look at Cadi, and she felt Elias stiffen beside her as his fingers slipped around hers.
Turning to look at him, a pit formed in her stomach at the tightness she found shadowing his features.
His gaze shifted to her, and a hint of softness touched his eyes as he gave her a small smile.
“What’s a non-key?” Cadi asked, moving her attention back to the group.
Kai chuckled beside her. “Ananke isn’t a what, she’s a who. Our sister, the goddess of fate.”
Cadi’s brow pinched. “Where is she?”
The god scoffed. “Well, if we knew that—”
Sera held up her hand, cutting off his snarky response.
“That’s what we need to find out,” she said, shooting him a warning look.
It would seem Kai was in a bit of a mood today.
“Remember when we said the only chance we had right now of stopping Oneirios is to find out where he is storing our power?”
Cadi nodded, the memory of that particular conversation permanently etched into her mind.
“Well, Ananke is where he’s storing it. But he has her stashed somewhere … which is why we need you.”
A strange hum washed over Cadi’s skin. “Me? But I haven’t even had a chance to check out the room I found in the temple yet. Why do you need me?”
Sera’s eyes widened slightly before shooting to Elias. “I take it you haven’t talked about this yet?”
Cadi’s chest compressed as she snapped her head to look at him. She had just barely started to get used to the whole “the Order is stealing power from gods who are also our new friends” thing. She didn’t love the idea that there was still more she had yet to learn about.
Elias’s head dipped low, his shoulders rising with a deep sigh before he lifted his gaze to Sera. “If I had known that’s what this meeting was about, we would have.”
He looked at Cadi, the deep regret reflected in his eyes making her mouth go dry. She wasn’t at all confident that she was going to like the way the rest of this conversation went.
“Okay, well I did try to tell you but you sort of rushed me off the phone,” Sera said, pulling her back.
For a moment, Cadi felt a twinge of regret for the way she had distracted Elias when Sera had called him a few nights ago, but that feeling didn’t last long.
That night had turned into some of the best sex they had ever had, which was saying something.
Whatever surprise awaited her, it was worth it.
“I guess we should start at the beginning, then,” Sera continued. She exchanged a look with áine, and the moon goddess gave her a small nod. Sera then fixed her eyes on Cadi and offered her a gentle smile that did nothing to ease her apprehension.
“We’ve tried the low magic tricks to find her.
Things like scrying, pendulums, reading cards, stuff that doesn’t need a lot of power, but Oneirios has wards keeping us out.
They aren’t as powerful as my personal wards, but still, any rite with a chance of breaking through them calls for more power than most of us have left, which is where the two of you come in. ”
A steady buzz began to grow in Cadi’s skull. She definitely didn’t like where this was going. “I don’t understand,” she said, glancing at Elias. “If it takes more power than even you have, how does our involvement help?”
“Your bond is already one of the strongest I’ve seen,” áine added. “The power your intimacy provides would be more than enough to get us through.”
Cadi stared at her, that single word settling over her like a storm cloud.
Her eyes darted between the others, and the knot in her gut twisted at the smirk playing on Kai’s face.
She looked at Elias and found him watching her closely, as if at the ready in case she freaked out.
That wasn’t a good sign. His wariness was confirmation enough about what she already feared, but she needed to hear it.
Turning back to the group, she lifted her hand as if it would help sort through the racing thoughts in her head. “Are you telling me that you all need us to fuck to find your missing sister?”
Sera’s lips formed a tight line as her shoulders lifted into a shrug. “Basically, yeah.”