“Everything will be okay with Thadrick,” Gerick said as if he could see into her mind. She'd found that he tended to do that a lot. Even though she had difficulty reading him, Gerick seemed to know what she was thinking without her even saying a single word. To say it made Myanin unsettled was an understatement. In her mind, it was the equivalent of being naked with nothing, not even a conveniently placed houseplant, to hide behind. Maybe it was an intimacy she should welcome. Perhaps she could find peace in someone who seemed to know her, and accept her, so completely. But after all the sins she'd committed, Myanin didn’t know if she could ever open her heart to such exposure.

  She took several deep breaths and reminded herself that she wasn’t the person she’d once been. Despite the stain she still felt on her soul, the Great Luna had wiped the slate clean. She was a new person. Even though she must deal with the consequences of her actions, Myanin was no longer a slave to the sins she had committed. She could stand before anyone and know that, in truth, they were no better than her. Everyone had skeletons in their closets. Some were simply more visible than others.

  “Fine,” she conceded. Myanin shifted on her feet and slipped her hands into her pockets. “When are we doing this?” At the same time the words left her mouth, Lilly’s phone rang.

  The warlock queen pulled the phone from her back pocket and glanced at her screen. Her brow rose as she looked to Myanin and then Gerick.

  “Speak of the devil,” Lilly said as she answered the phone.

  Myanin turned her back away from the queen. She walked toward the workout equipment, heading for the punching bag that had endured so much of her abuse the past couple of weeks. But before she could reach it, Gerick wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back to his chest.

  She was tall, but he was even taller, which she loved. Myanin rarely felt feminine, but the few times he’d held her, he'd always managed to make her feel like a lady.

  “Talk to me,” he said gently, his warm breath ghosting across her ear. She forced herself not to shiver or to turn in his arms and bury her face in his chest the way she wanted to. What was the point? No amount of comfort he could offer would bring back her friend.

  Myanin’s shoulders fell as the air whooshed out of her. For the most part, as long as she was sparring with someone, she could keep her feelings locked away. But when everything was still, when there was nothing to distract her, then the lock would break and all the pain would come surging out. This was one of those moments, but she wasn’t about to let that happen.

  Myanin bit her lips so hard that she tasted the sharp metallic tang of blood.

  “Hey,” Gerick said more sharply. He released her waist and took her arms in his hands, turning her until she faced him. Then he reached up with one hand and raised her chin until she was forced to either stare at his neck or grow a pair and look into his eyes.

  Myanin knew what he would see because she’d seen it many times in the mirror.

  “There is nothing set in stone yet,” he said, his hand still under her chin. “Until we know for sure that Tenia is no longer with us, then we will continue to have hope.”

  “What if that's a waste of time? A waste of my emotions?” Myanin asked, unable to quell her natural instinct to be a pessimist. Tenia would have pointed it out to her and probably made fun of her. Bloody hell, she missed that. “What if there is no point in any of this? Talking to Thadrick is probably a waste of time, too. What if I just need to accept Tenia’s gone and move on?”

  “Is that what you want to do?” He took a step back as if he understood that she needed some breathing room.

  “Yes,” she blurted out and then pinched the bridge of her nose. “No. Seven hells, Gerick, I don’t know what I want. I mean, I want her to have kept her ass out of the damn compound. I want to have gotten Torion out sooner. We shouldn’t have waited. We bargained her child’s life, and for what?”

  “There was no way for you to know that,” he pointed out. “The leaders of the Order are ruthless and unpredictable.”

  “Apparently it wasn’t them we needed to be worried about,” Myanin said. She could hear the bitterness in her voice. “We should have paid more attention to a certain unhinged high fae with a vigilante issue.”

  She could hear the soft murmur of Lilly’s voice behind them, though without her supernatural abilities, she couldn’t make out anything being said.

  “Perizada is old. She’s endured much, and I think that even the most powerful supernaturals have their breaking point,” Gerick offered. “I’ve known her a long time, and I don’t think she would have made such a decision lightly.”

  “Myanin?” Lilly’s voice interrupted their conversation. She turned to find the queen holding out the phone to her.

  Myanin stared at the device for a moment, unsure if she really wanted to touch it. Lilly kind of shook it at her and raised her brow as if to say “take the damn thing,” or maybe that’s simply what Myanin would have said in her shoes.

  Finally, she reached out and took the phone, looked at it in her hand, and then put it to her ear.

  “Hello?” Her voice cracked, and she wanted to kick her own ass for it.

  “Myanin.” Thadrick’s deep voice filled the line. “I am very sorry for what you have been going through.” Myanin had known the male djinn for a very long time, and she could tell he was sincere. Even with his weird sense of humor, entitled attitude, and, at times, downright asshole tendencies, Thadrick cared deeply.

  “Do you know anything?” she asked, getting straight to the point. Idle chitchat would serve no purpose. Myanin had things she needed to get done. Namely finding her hopefully-not-dead BFF and then beating the ever-loving crap out of her, because nothing says I love you like a beating from your BFF.

  “I wish I could give you something,” he said, sounding much too defeated for her liking. “Things are still so chaotic. I do remember a high fae using the cold fire a very long time ago, but there was nothing left standing, much like the Order compound. There’s just not a lot we know about the cold fire.”

  Myanin tapped her foot as she considered his words. “You may not know for sure. Even though you’ve held the memories of things that have passed, that doesn’t mean you possess all of the secrets, right?"

  “True,” he said, the word sounding more like a question.

  “But the high fae council knows everything about the fae. And weren’t they super pissed about those of their people who had died in the battle of the Keep?” Myanin’s mind was taking off at a run with this new line of thought. Why hadn’t she considered it before? Maybe because the fae have always kept to themselves. They’ve never concerned themselves with those outside of their own realm unless directed by the Great Luna. If there was ever a time for them to turn over a new leaf, it was now. “Okay, thank you, Thadrick,” she said quickly. “I’ve got to go. Keep in touch and all that stuff.” Pleasantries still weren’t her strong suit.

  “Myanin, maybe—” he began but she ended the call before she could hear whatever he had been going to say, no doubt a warning of some kind that she would ignore anyway.

  “Let’s go see the high fae.” Myanin tossed Lilly back her phone. “They said they were going to join in this fight. It’s time they held up their end of the deal.”

  Lilly glanced at Gerick. Myanin couldn’t see his face, but she assumed her mate would support her. Her mate? The thought almost came naturally to her now, but if she hesitated and truly considered the implications of the word, then the whole concept would become unreal to her again. She shook her head. No time for that now. Gotta see some fae about a cold fire.

  “They are on our side,” Gerick said, raising his eyebrows. “I don’t think there would be any harm in speaking with them. Though perhaps giving them some notice would be respectful.”

  Myanin held her hand out to Lilly. “Let me see your phone again.”

  “What happened to your phone?” A leery expression passed Lilly's face as she held out the phone to the djinn. Myanin plucked it from the queen’s hand. “Who should I call in order to get in touch with the fae?”

  Lilly arched a brow at her. “I could make the call.”

  “You could. But I need to do something. Who do I call?” Myanin stared at the phone, unable to look at the queen. She’d been one of the warriors that stood at the veil of her people for centuries. It was a job that required patience. Apparently her patience ended when she’d lost her friend.

  After several beats of silence, Lilly finally spoke. “Click on the contacts, then search for Wadim. He’s the pack historian. If anyone will have that information it will be him.”

  Myanin did what Lilly told her, found his name, and clicked it. After three rings, Wadim answered.

  “What’s up, warlock queen?” he asked. Clearly, Lilly's contact information was programmed into his phone.

  “Not the queen,” Myanin said dryly. “This is Myanin. If that means nothing to you then know that I am an ally, and I will protect Lilly with my life. Now, I need to get in touch with the high fae.”

  “I’ve heard of you. More importantly than who you are is why do you have Lilly’s phone?” Wadim asked, sounding a little more tense and alert than he had been when he’d first answered.

  “She’s telling the truth, Wadim,” Lilly said loud enough that she would no doubt be heard through the phone. “I’m fine. She’s here at my invitation.”

  Myanin’s jaw clenched. She ignored Lilly’s declaration as she answered, “Because I’m at her mountain, and we are trying to figure out what happened at the Order’s compound.”

  “Well, that's no mystery. It’s been incinerated, courtesy of the lovely Perizada.” Wadim's voice was clipped, and he sounded pissed.

  “Thank you for that enlightening revelation, wolf. But how about something like ‘is there any possibility that anyone survived’?” She snapped before she could tell her mouth to stay shut.

  “You do realize I’m a historian, and facts are sort of my thing, right?” Wadim asked dryly. “Cold fire isn’t something anyone survives.”

  “And you do realize that you’re a flawed person who doesn’t always know everything despite what your beast ego wants you to believe, right?” she shot back.

  “Myanin,” Lilly said, her voice stern. “It’s best not to be a jerk when asking for a favor.”

  Myanin closed her eyes and took a calming breath. Not the enemy, she reminded herself. “Sorry,” she told Wadim. “I’m just a little tense.”

  “It’s understandable.” Wadim sighed. “I’m sorry I was—”

  “An ass.” Myanin heard a female voice through the phone.

  “Yes, Z,” Wadim said, his voice much gentler. “I’m sorry I was an ass. What was it you needed?”

  “We need to talk to the high fae,” Myanin repeated, though she tried to sound a little less demanding.

  “I’ll text you Disir and Nissa’s numbers,” he responded. “Can I inquire as to why you need to speak with them?”

  “We want to learn more about the cold fire that took out the Order, or at least most of it,” she amended. “We’ve heard about the healer that has gone missing, which means some of the leaders must still be alive and well.”

  “I’ve been researching it myself, and I can’t find jack.”

  Myanin frowned. “Who is Jack, and what does he have to do with cold fire?”

  She heard Lilly and Gerick chuckle. Dammit! Where was Tenia when she needed her to explain the human expressions? Oh, that’s right, she was busy getting her fae butt set on blue fire.

  “It just means I can’t find any information,” Wadim explained. To his credit, he didn’t laugh at her lack of understanding. “I’d been planning on contacting the fae myself, but things have been a little intense around here with Fane’s mate injured, Lucian being caged, and sprites gone missing,” he said. “I could go on, but then we’ll have to get some alcohol to go with our pity party.”

  “The alpha’s mate is hurt?” Myanin asked, her brow furrowed as she turned to face Lilly.

  The warlock queen’s eyes widened and then in a blink, she plucked the phone from the djinn's hand.

  “What’s wrong with Jacque?” Lilly asked, her voice brisk. “I told her to stay put.”

  Myanin watched as Lilly listened to whatever the historian said. She tried to decipher the queen’s facial expressions, but Lilly was doing a great job at keeping her emotions closed down.

  “I’ll be there as soon as we’re done speaking with the fae,” Lilly said and then ended the call.

  “Is she all right?” Gerick asked, his hand resting on his sword as if he could somehow slay whatever it was that had hurt his queen’s offspring.

  Lilly visibly swallowed hard and her jaw clenched. Myanin was impressed by her ability to not lose her cool even though whatever Wadim had told her must have been terrible.

  Finally, she answered. “Jacque was hurt during the rogue challenges. There was a full-on attack against the mansion after Fane fought and defeated many of the individual attackers. One of the rogues"—she paused and took a shuddering breath—"pierced Jacque's heart with his claws. She's alive but injured. They took her to the sprite realm for healing, but…” She paused again and took another deep breath. “There aren't enough sprites to do the job. Apparently some of the sprites they need to perform the magic have been captured by the Order.”

  Myanin forced herself to remain quiet. She wanted to throw out a few expletives, but that wouldn’t help the situation. Nor did she mention that those same sprites could very well have been at the compound when it was reduced to ash. Fricking, frick, frack, fruck! Her hands fisted at her sides, itching for a blade. Someone needed to die. Someone needed to suffer. Someone needed to pay for all the pain the Order had caused. They might not have been responsible for Lilly’s daughter getting hurt, but they were definitely responsible for the fact that she couldn’t be helped.

  For several minutes, the room was simply quiet. What could be said? Platitudes would not fix anything. Perhaps, like Myanin, Gerick and Lilly felt that a moment of silence was necessary to allow each of them to gather their emotions back up, shove them into a mental box labeled “drag back out when it’s time to stab someone,” and refocus on what they could do.

  Lilly began tapping on her phone and then placed it to her ear. “Nissa,” she said after a few seconds. “Could I have a moment of your time?”

  Less than three heartbeats later, the high fae was standing in their midst.

  “I can take you to your daughter,” Nissa said immediately.

  Lilly tucked her phone in her back pocket and nodded. “I would appreciate that. But before we go, can I ask you—”

  “We,” Myanin interrupted. “Can we ask you?”

  Lilly raised a brow at her but then shrugged. “Okay, can we ask you some questions about the cold fire?”

  Nissa pursed her lips, and her shoulders seemed to slump as the air deflated out of her. “We have been searching our own archives for anything concerning the cold fire,” she said. “Honestly, there is little known about the spell other than it is only used as a last resort because of the destruction it causes. One thing does intrigue us about Peri's use of the cold fire, but I hesitate to mention it, lest it proves meaningless and ends up providing false hope."

  "What?" Myanin said through clenched teeth, her tone making it clear Nissa wasn't getting out of there without voicing her thought.

  Nissa turned her gaze to the djinn. "Well, no fae who has ever used the spell in the past has been bonded to a Canis lupus.”

  “How does that change things?” Myanin asked.

  The fae shrugged. “Who can say? The true mate bond is powerful. Even between wolves, it is mysterious in many ways. But between two separate species? The fae wolf pairs can attest that the mate bond has altered their magic in ways they don't understand. We have no idea how the bond can affect different aspects of their individual magic.”

  “Exception to every rule,” Myanin murmured as she considered the high fae’s words.

  “Perhaps it would be better to continue this conversation with the other leaders,” Lilly offered. “I’m assuming they’re all at the sprite stronghold?”

  Nissa nodded. “Most of them. Some have gone out on a hunt for the Canadian beta’s mate.”

  Lilly turned to Gerick. “Put your second in charge of the mountain while we’re gone. I won’t ask you to be separated from Myanin right now.”

  Gerick nodded, pulled out his phone, and tapped out a text. “Done.”

  Nissa held out her arms, and each of them placed a hand on her. They flashed and a moment later reappeared in a room filled with chairs that created a barrier around a bed. Each chair was occupied by a different female. Their heads turned in unison and their eyes blinked.

  “That’s a bit creepy,” Myanin said to the group.

  There was a soft laugh from the bed, and Myanin saw Jacque with a grin, albeit a pained one, on her face.

  “Being together for two weeks straight has turned them into a hive-mind collective,” Jacque said. Though the dark circles under her eyes and pale skin made it apparent the alpha was anything but well, her voice was still strong.

  Lilly walked over, and several girls stood and shifted their chairs out of the way so the queen could get to her daughter. “I didn’t see this.” She brushed Jacque’s hair back from her face.

  “You aren’t omniscient, Mom,” Jacque chastised. “This isn’t your fault.”

  “Regardless, it doesn’t make it any less frustrating that I have a gift that doesn’t allow me to help.” Lilly stood up straight, and Myanin watched as her demeanor went from that of a concerned mother to a pissed-off supernatural ruler. “We will figure out a way to fix this.”

  Jacque nodded with a confident smile. “We always do.”