“At least that wasn’t a complete failure,” Kane said.

  “Where do we find these goddess-following witches?” I asked

  “I’ll get the registry from the Council,” Dante said.

  “I’m never dancing with you again,” Gideon said grumpily to Rowan.

  The elf laughed. “I’m sure you’d be happy to have me dance for you, though.”

  Gideon ignored him entirely.

  So, we returned home to look through more books. I was missing the good old days of wrangling drunk pixies.

  FORTY-TWO

  The Council had a large book full of registered witches in Scotland. It had taken Dante two hours to figure out how they organised it, but once he had done so he managed to find a cluster of three non-Crone covens in Scotland.

  “We’ll start with the lunar goddess one. The lunar goddess has a good reputation for dealing with balance, which sounds fitting to the veil,” Kane said pointing at the book.

  “They’re also the closest,” Dante said.

  “I really hope these ones don’t try and kill us,” Gideon said wearily.

  I had to admit, we were having really bad luck with witches.

  The coven house was nestled between three large hills covered in thick heather with rocky outcrops. They were fifteen minutes from the next closest house, and there was a strong chance that that was also coven owned. We drove along a winding narrow road with the hills rising steeply on either side of us. The blue skies could become thick with storm clouds in the blink of an eye. It was a dangerous area to be in. Hikers often got caught out by the rapidly changing weather and had to be rescued.

  Gideon was curled up next to me with his head on my shoulder. He looked morose. He hadn’t been for a nice long run in a couple of days, and he was feeling cooped up and miserable. I pointed out it wasn’t that long ago that we’d walked for hours to deal with the coven that was draining the veil, but he said that wasn’t the same.

  “I can always drop you here and you can run the rest of the way,” Dante said jokingly.

  Gideon perked up.

  “No, I’m not really doing that,” Dante said.

  Gideon settled back down again.

  The coven house was a neat white house with black-framed windows and a pretty garden full of white and silver flowers that were all in full bloom. The front door was a pale silvery-grey, and the roof was a striking pale grey that I didn’t think slate came in. A pair of women in silver pantsuits came out to greet us when Dante parked next to the array of white and silver cars. They had really committed to that theme.

  The women were pale with almost white blonde hair, tall willowy figures, and a slightly dreamy smile on their faces. They were both in their mid-twenties, if I had to guess. One was slightly taller and had larger eyes and a more generous mouth than the other. They could easily be sisters, which wouldn’t be unreasonable, given it was a coven and all.

  “Welcome, do come inside, we’ve prepared tea,” the slightly taller one said in a pleasant airy voice.

  Their bloodsongs were delicate flute songs that could have carried me away into a peaceful meditative state had I have let them.

  It was all a very nice change from the other covens we’d dealt with recently.

  The interior of their house was more white on silver, with white-washed wooden floors, shimmery silver walls, and lots of black and white photos of the moon hanging over hills, lakes, and the ocean. It was very neat and tidy while still being weirdly homey. The seats in the living area were soft and welcoming with large white cushions in the corners. A silvery-white cloth covered the long slender table between the sofas and armchairs, and all of the round white plates had a silver edge to them. I bit my tongue when they brought out pure white iced cakes and cookies, with white tea no less.

  Gideon wrinkled his nose when he sniffed the tea, but he said nothing. Dante and Kane, however, were very polite and gracious, and the women didn’t seem to notice Gideon’s distaste. An older woman with long white hair walked into the room and greeted us with a warm smile.

  “Welcome, the goddess told us of your coming,” she said.

  The tea tasted of warm grass and a touch of cherry blossom. I wouldn’t drink it every day, but it was nice enough.

  The woman sat in the armchair with her back straight in a state of relaxed readiness. She had a clear feeling of strength and power rippling just below the surface. I’d heard that the lunar goddess trained her priestesses to be fearsome warriors. I was getting the impression her witches underwent similar training.

  “What brings you here?” she asked as Gideon tried to sneak a second cookie.

  “We want to talk about forging new ward stones,” Dante said as he placed his empty tea cup down on the table.

  “Ah, how wonderful. It is so difficult having the stone gone. Many being are taking advantage of such weakness in the veil. I’m glad to see strong souls are working to resolve the problem. The darkness will befall the world if that isn’t healed soon. So many teeth and claws are vying for supremacy.”

  I clenched my jaw. We didn’t have time for the airy words.

  “Do you know how to forge new stones? We were told goddess-blessed witches made them,” Dante asked.

  “No, we were not chosen for that path. You all have a great path ahead of you. You will be remembered well,” she said.

  “Thank you for the tea and cookies,” I said politely.

  “Don’t fear yourself, balance is coming,” she said to me.

  I raised an eyebrow at her.

  “Your path is not an easy one, but you will walk it with dedication and fulfil your role,” she continued.

  “Thanks, it was nice to meet you,” I said, standing.

  Once we were in privacy of the car I asked, “What was that all about?”

  Dante shrugged. “They have the gift of sight, and they’re just that way.”

  “My mother said the lunar blessed don’t live entirely in this world - they’re a bit out of it, literally,” Kane said.

  “So now what?” I asked.

  “On to the next god-blessed coven,” Dante said wearily.

  FORTY-THREE

  We returned to the Council book and jotted down the addresses of the other two goddess-blessed covens in Scotland. Dante and I did rock paper scissors to decide who went to see which coven. I lost and was heading down to near Stirling to speak to the storm goddess coven, while Dante was going to the Isle of Mull to speak to the fire goddess coven.

  Kane came with me while Gideon went with Dante. The hound insisted on running the first few miles, and Dante took the opportunity to take another look through the book to see if there were any more goddess-blessed covens in the country. Kane drove, and we settled into a comfortable silence.

  After some twenty minutes of rock music and rolling green scenery, I needed to talk. There was too much going on in my head.

  “We’re good, right?” I asked.

  Kane smiled at me, his eyes warm and kind.

  “I’m happier than I thought I could be. I live in a castle with the girl I’ve loved since I was a teen. What’s not to be good?”

  “You’re ok with the whole ‘Dante and Gideon’ part?”

  He laughed. “It’s working out pretty well, don’t you think?”

  “Yea, I’m happy, I just wanted to make sure you were, too. We haven’t had much alone time, to talk.”

  “We’ll get your magic under control. I know it’s terrifying, but you’re strong,” he said stroking my hair.

  A particularly aggressive song came on the radio, and I took the opportunity to switch it over to my preferred rock station.

  “Tell me how these goddess-blessed witches work,” I said as we got onto a main road and settled into the boring stretch.

  “The Crone claimed all of the witches back when they were new. The goddess blessed aren’t technically witches, as they don’t belong to the Crone.”

  “I thought hedgewitches didn’t belong to the Crone?” I said.

  “The purists consider them witch in name rather than blood. There’s a lot of argument around the definition. The purists like my mother would say the goddess blessed are just cults that have been blessed with some gifts from their deity. Others say that they wield magic so they’re witches.”

  I wrinkled my nose. It sounded like a ridiculous argument.

  “How’re you coping with the news about your mother?”

  Kane frowned and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.

  “I’m ok. It feels right. It’s nice, actually, to know I’m not related to that manipulative, abusive bitch. It’s freeing.”

  “Do you want to track down your parents at all?”

  I still wanted to find my blood father, just to see what kind of man the Morrigan had chosen to father a daughter. Had he been chosen at random, or was he some skilled warrior?

  “No. They’re my parents in blood only. I don’t care. I know who I am. As much as I despise Moira, the coven made me who I am.”

  And that ended that conversation.

  The storm witches weren’t very happy to see us. The large black storm that appeared overhead and sent lightning bolts into the roof of the car and the ground all around us made that very clear. Kane parked in front of the imposing grey house and waited for them to stop.

  “Is this normal for them?” I asked.

  “I haven’t spoken to one, but they’re living up to their reputation.”

  He handed me a shortbread finger from the glove compartment and pulled out a flask of hot tea.

  I laughed. “You came prepared.”

  “Of course,” he said with a wide smile.

  He put an arm around my shoulders, and we watched the light show while drinking tea and eating shortbread. It wouldn’t have been a bad date, if we weren’t there to try and save the world.

  We ran out of tea and shortbread before the witches calmed down enough for us to risk walking up to the front door. When we did, a man not much older than us opened the door and glared at us. His dark hair was fashionably spiked, and his eyes swirled with deep grey and bright blue sparks.

  “Why are you here?” he snapped.

  “We’re here to discuss the ward stones,” Kane said calmly.

  “What about them?”

  “Do you know how to make them?” I asked politely.

  “We are the storms, we live in the skies, why would we know how to do something so grounded? So confining?”

  “I’ll take that as a no,” I said sweetly.

  “Good, now fuck off,” the man said before he slammed the door in our faces.

  “Should we try and look through their archives?” I asked Kane.

  “No, they’re far too interested in the skies to have anything of use. We’ll hope Dante and Gideon had more luck.”

  I couldn’t keep the weight off my shoulders, the feeling that we were failing and people were dying because of us. The guardians Dante had set up could only last so long. The veil was thinning, and more dangerous beings were slipping through every day. Add in the covens and such who were intentionally draining it, and we were royally screwed.

  It was dark when we got home. Gideon was gently patching Dante up. Both of them had scorch marks on their hands and faces.

  “It didn’t go well, then,” I said.

  “They tried to set us on fire,” Gideon growled.

  “Our infernal magic kept us mostly safe, but they had no idea about the ward stones,” Dante said.

  “The storm witches literally slammed the door in our faces,” Kane said.

  “I’ll make us dinner,” I said.

  Dante pulled me close as I walked by him, and he kissed me tenderly.

  “Thank you, and we’ll fix this. Don’t go doing something reckless,” he said.

  “I wouldn’t-”

  I stopped as I saw the look on Kane’s face, the raised eyebrow and pinched mouth that said I absolutely would do something reckless.

  “Ok, well I hadn’t thought of anything reckless to do yet,” I said.

  Dante released me, and I went around the breakfast bar to the fridge, where I started gathering ingredients to make something spicy.

  “The moon is right for you to ascend tonight,” Dante said to Kane.

  “Ascend again, you mean,” Kane said wryly.

  “How will that work?” I asked.

  “Now that I know where to look, I’ll break the bindings on Kane, and he’ll ascend with the Morrigan,” Dante said.

  “What about the Crone?” Gideon asked as he took the bowl to the butler’s sink to wash.

  “She has no claim on me. The Morrigan removed her stake in me when I got our tattoo,” Kane said, flashing the raven feather tattoo that we all bore.

  “Where would you like to do it?” Dante asked.

  “The lawn will do,” Kane said with a shrug.

  I went to him and placed my hand on his cheek.

  “This is a big deal; you can talk to us,” I said gently.

  Kane started crying before he ran to the sink and started scrubbing at his face. I frowned and looked at my hands before I realised I’d been cutting chilis.

  “Oh gods, I’m so sorry!” I said, absolutely mortified.

  FORTY-FOUR

  The night was bright and clear with the full array of stars on show in the inky darkness. Kane was barefoot and shirtless in just his favourite pair of pale blue jeans as he strolled across the lawn to the centre point. Given his first ascension had included him swinging his sword around, we felt it was a good idea to give him plenty of room. Gideon nipped the tip of Kane’s ear and wished him well before he joined me and bit my neck, a reminder that I’d always mean more to him.

  Kane had a nonchalant expression on his face, but I heard the soft hammering within his bloodsong. He was very nervous. Dante stood in front of Kane.

  “Are you ready?”

  “As I’ll ever be,” Kane said with a smile.

  There was no complicated circle this time. They weren’t scared of Kane’s magic.

  Gideon held me close and nuzzled my neck as I watched Dante place his hand over Kane’s sternum. The air came alive with a crackle of magic, and Dante’s bloodsong turned deeper and richer. Gideon held me tighter as the air grew thicker and Kane’s face grew pained.

  Suddenly, there was an almighty crack, and Dante stepped back a few steps. Kane’s expression became glassy and distant. Dante came to join me as Kane retrieved his sword from the ether and began dancing a slow graceful dance with sweeping slices of his sword. His pace quickened as he began spinning and truly dancing, his sword an extension of himself. A metallic tang coated my tongue as the magic built around Kane and the silhouette of great black feathered wings formed at his back.

  It was over as suddenly as it began. Kane dropped to his knees, panting. He opened his eyes and grinned.

  “My magic feels incredible,” he said.

  He pushed his sword back into the ether and stood up, grinning at us. I went to him.

  “I’m a plane walker,” he said as he grasped onto my hips and picked me up, spinning me around with glee.

  “Seriously?” Dante asked with a grin.

  Kane put me down, stepped back and made a sweeping hand gesture which made the air shimmer. He put his hand through the shimmer for it to disappear.

  “I don’t need portals, I can walk to any plane I want to whenever I want. I can also form full pocket dimensions like the fae!” Kane said.

  Dante laughed and pulled Kane into a manly hug which included back patting.

  Gideon looked on cautiously, but he couldn’t escape Kane’s elation. The hound was pulled into a hug and Kane kissed him on the cheek before he let out a manic laugh.

  “I never realised how restrained and bound I felt before! I feel like I’m finally alive!” Kane said.

  His happiness was contagious. I went dancing around the lawn with him, laughing as we did so.

  When Kane had finally calmed down and returned to his usual self, he turned to Gideon.

  “So, are you a prince or a special form of hound?”

  “I’m really pretty,” Gideon said with a half smile.

  We all laughed, and I hugged the hound tight.

  “You’re my hound, my Gideon.”

  He smiled at me and leaned into me. Kane’s words had struck a chord within the hound. We were all special in some way, and he felt adrift as I held him and kissed his neck. Given the way things had been going as of late, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was half kitsune or something ridiculous. Either way, he was mine and I loved him.

  FORTY-FIVE

  The high from Kane’s ascension didn’t last past that night. When we got up the next morning and had a slew of texts from various Council members and connections about the attacks waged on the veil the night before, the mood dropped. We hadn’t made any progress on how to forge the new stone, and people were dying thanks to us. Every day we were without that stone, the higher the risk of the veil falling became. It was becoming more difficult to hide magic from the humans, and Rowan said the politics were growing more fraught.

  “We can’t let the veil fall,” Dante said.

  “Can you imagine?” Kane said.

  “The infernals would destroy everything and lay waste to the lands, all in the drive to claim new territory,” Gideon said.

  I remembered the cold unforgiving place Bael had inhabited and shuddered.

  “The humans would nuke them,” Kane said.

  “It would become a wasteland. The fae would wage war against the humans and infernals, destroying the land in their wake. They would adopt an ‘if I can’t have it no one can’ strategy, and the humans would suffer the greatest. Those humans that did survive would be taken as slaves and toys by the fae and infernals. Once the war had finished here, it would rage across the other planes. The fae would fight each other for power, magic, and land. The infernals would strive to conquer all and claim the fae magic as their own. The witches would bring in their gods, who wouldn’t let the worlds go. It would be a nightmare,” Dante said.