“Just you.” I opened my eyes, set the glass down, and pulled him close to me. His eyes widened in surprise. I pressed my mouth on his soft, sweet lips. He tasted like a mixture of champagne and fruit. It was intoxicating. I deepened the kiss, and the rest of the world melted away. It was just the two of us once again.

  He gasped for air and pulled back. I leaned forward, kissing him again. He turned and kissed my cheek. “We need to slow down, sweetness.”

  “Why? Now that we have the stone, all we have to do is focus on the wedding. Everything has fallen into place. We can get married, and werewolves everywhere will soon be able to shift at will.”

  Toby cleared his throat. “I have a feeling it isn’t going to be that easy.”

  “Sure it will.” I took possession of his mouth before he could object further.

  Chapter 122

  Toby

  I brushed some hair from Victoria’s eyes as she slept against my shoulder on the couch in front of the roaring fire. There was definitely nothing like traveling on a Fyrsturae plane.

  A servant came over and bowed. “Can I get you anything?”

  “A blanket, please.” I ran my fingers across Victoria’s face. She didn’t so much as flinch.

  “Certainly.” The servant disappeared.

  I rose from the couch, lowered her body until she was laying down, and adjusted the blankets around her. She was sleeping so heavily, it made me wonder what her day had been like to exhaust her so much. Was it because of the stone or just an unusually busy day, searching for a treasure no one else had been able to find and live to tell about the journey?

  The servant reappeared with three blankets.

  “Thank you.” I took them from him and tucked one under Victoria’s head and covered her with the other two. The chain from the stone rested at the robe’s collar line. I pulled it out and held the stone in my palm. The glow grew fainter so that I could barely see it. I set it on her arm, and it brightened right up.

  Was it responding to her because she’d found it, or was it somehow because of her, herself?

  Chills ran down my spine at the thought. Certainly the stone—an inanimate object without feelings or thoughts—couldn’t be acting in response to her. Or could it?

  What if she was somehow tied to it? Or her bloodline?

  Thinking about it made my head spin. I grasped it again and held it up to the light. Other than glowing red and blue, it seemed like any other precious stone. What made it so special that it could imprison the original werewolf and could hopefully help werewolves everywhere to shift at will? Was it the magic or something else entirely?

  I glanced over at Tap and Soleil, who sat at a table discussing something over drinks. We needed to figure out what was going on with Fenrisúlfr and the stone—and how Victoria played into everything. I slid the stone back under her robe, readjusted her blankets, and went over to the table.

  “How is she?” Tap asked.

  “Exhausted.” I sat and poured myself some of what they were drinking. “Have you two figured out anything else?”

  They both shook their heads.

  Soleil tucked some hair behind an ear. “It would help if I could hold the stone, you know?”

  “Maybe once we get home, she’ll relax enough to let us see it.”

  “She’s sleeping now. Slide it off.”

  I shook my head. “As much as I’d like to get it away from her, I can’t break her trust like that.”

  “It’s not like she owns it,” Tap pointed out.

  “She is the one who found it. How many have tried?” I arched a brow.

  “True.” He turned to Soleil. “Why not go over there and have a look while she sleeps? That way it stays on her, but you can still see what it’s all about.”

  Soleil frowned. “Maybe. But with as interconnected as she and the stone are, I’d like to give it a gander away from her.”

  “Good luck with that,” I muttered. “If she has her way, that thing will never come off.”

  “And that doesn’t concern you?” Tap asked.

  “Of course it does, but I’m not going to remove it against her will. She wants to wear it for our wedding. Why not give her that much? Who knows what will happen to the stone once wolves can shift independent of the moon? It might not glow anymore—or worse, it might shatter. We’ll get married, then worry about the stone.”

  “I’m more worried about that wolf.” Tap took a long swig of his drink.

  “What do you two know about him?” I asked. “Both of you have been alive a lot longer than anyone in my pack.”

  “Just rumors,” Tap said. “I never dealt with werewolves personally when I was the troll king. I heard about them, sure, but I didn’t care about details. I had my own problems.”

  I turned to Soleil. “And you?”

  She shrugged but didn’t say anything. She also avoided my eye contact.

  “What do you know?” I leaned over the table, nearly knocking over my drink.

  “Years ago, there was a lot of fear over the new canine species. Death, bloodshed, and fear. Lots of fear.”

  “At Fenrisúlfr’s hands?”

  “It wouldn’t surprise me, but honestly, I don’t know much. Believe it or not, there was a time when I took my job very seriously. I came, I killed my target, and headed straight back to Valhalla for the next assignment. I didn’t pay much attention to earthly politics.”

  I ran my fingertips across my beard, deep in thought. For two people who were old enough to remember Fenrisúlfr’s reign of terror, they were no help.

  “What about your vampire friends?” Soleil asked.

  I gave her a double-take.

  “Vampires have been around for over three thousand years at this point. Surely, someone remembers something—especially given the ancient rivalries.”

  “And what about you?” Tap asked. “You don’t know your own species’ history?”

  “Not that bit, no. History lessons tend to revolve around individual packs. Our origins have always been a shrouded mystery.”

  “Now you know.” Soleil downed her drink and refilled the glass.

  I glanced over at Victoria, sleeping so peacefully. “Why don’t we go over there so you two can look at the stone? If she’s going to keep wearing it, we may as well try to figure out what we’re dealing with. She’s not going to let us get close enough while she’s awake.”

  “Doesn’t that worry you?” Tap asked. “It’s so unlike her.”

  My stomach twisted in knots. “Are you saying the stone could be controlling her?”

  “Yes,” Soleil and Tap said at the same time.

  “Yeah, same here,” I admitted. “She’s been obsessed since she heard about it.”

  “It’s the fever.” Tap scowled. “Let’s hope that finding the stone will help. It’s killed everyone else.”

  “The stone or the fever?”

  He shrugged. “What came first? The chicken or the egg? It doesn’t matter—the stone or the fever has killed many a strong werewolf.”

  “But she survived the fever. She has the stone.”

  “Really?” Tap arched a brow. “Who are you trying to convince—me or you? That girl still has the fever. She won’t let anyone touch the stone.”

  “Let’s just check out the stone. The color faded when I held it.”

  Soleil’s eyes widened. “It did?”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I don’t know, but now I want to find out.” She finished her drink and leaped over to Victoria. Tap and I chased after her. Gingerly, she pulled the chain until the stone appeared. It continued glowing as Soleil held the chain, but she didn’t touch the stone.

  I held my breath. Had it only faded because I’d touched it? Or would it stay lit only for Soleil, who regularly dealt with essence?

  “Well?” Tap asked, stepping closer to her.

  Soleil held it a little higher and closed one eye. The blue and red continued swirling around the stone.

  “What do you see?” I asked.

  “Hush.” She rested the stone on her palm. The colors faded as they had for me.

  I finally breathed, though I had no idea whether it was a good thing. Soleil’s brows came together as she studied it. Then she let the stone fall as she held only the chain again. The colors brightened and swirled around. She moved it closer to Victoria. The colors grew brighter and the swirling, faster.

  Soleil tucked it close to Victoria, between the blanket and the fancy, ancient robe.

  “What did you find?” I asked.

  She gestured toward the table, and we went back.

  “What does it mean?” Tap asked. “I’ve never seen anything like that—and I’ve seen a lot in my lifetime.”

  “It clearly reacts to Victoria.” She poured some more drink into her glass and took a long sip.

  “Meaning?” I stared at her.

  “I’m not really sure.”

  I slumped into my chair. “All that, and you know nothing?”

  “Oh, it definitely has wolf essence inside. It was probably drawn from the first werewolf.”

  “But what does it mean?” I exclaimed.

  “Someone found it important enough to preserve some of his essence. A valkyrie had to have been involved, because though witches can do a lot, they can’t extract essence.”

  I clenched my fists. “Do you think it can harm Victoria?”

  “I didn’t feel any evil coming from it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous.”

  “So, basically, we don’t know any more than we did before.”

  She sipped her drink. “It could still cure the curse of the moon.”

  “Does it connect her to Fenrisúlfr?”

  “I didn’t really feel him coming from it. There wasn’t much to go on. The essence is inside a rock. Usually, it’s within a person, constantly replenishing itself with newer, fresher essence. I’ve never seen any last that long.”

  “Why not?” Tap leaned forward, his expression intense.

  “Magic—it’s keeping it alive in there and also making it hard for me to read.”

  I jumped from my chair and paced. “What are we supposed to do now?”

  Soleil frowned. “You’re going to want to call one of your witch friends—possibly Gessilyn. It’s going to take the two of us to figure out. I don’t think a witch or valkyrie acted alone in setting this all up, and I don’t think either a witch or valkyrie now can crack the code alone.”

  I paced more frantically, tugging on my hair. “This just gets better and better.”

  “At least we found the stone,” Tap said. “Imagine if it got in the wrong hands.”

  “I doubt the stone would’ve let that happen.” I stopped pacing.

  “You make it sound alive.”

  “It seems to be! It’s chosen Victoria and killed everyone else who came close.”

  Tap rose. “Let me look at that thing. I know a thing or two about magic.” He headed over to the couch and held the stone. The color didn’t fade nearly as much as it did for Soleil and me.

  “Why is it still so bright?” I asked.

  His face scrunched as he stared at it. “Maybe because I’ve had half the map in my possession for so many centuries. The map is clearly connected to the stone.”

  I turned to Soleil. “Do you think that’s true?”

  “Sounds like a real possibility.”

  Sighing, I sat on the floor in front of the couch and took Victoria’s hand in mine. She stirred, but didn’t wake. Part of me wanted to take the necklace and throw it off the plane into the middle of the Atlantic.

  Soleil frowned with sympathy and patted my shoulder. “You want to watch a movie?”

  I shook my head, suddenly overwhelmed with exhaustion.

  “I’m going to put something on if you change your mind. I need the distraction—it might be good for you, too.”

  “Maybe. I’ll think about it.”

  Tap and Soleil went over to the other side of the room and sat on another couch. Soleil started a new action movie. I gave it a double-take. It wasn’t even in theaters yet.

  “I really have to make friends with these royal vampires,” Soleil told Tap.

  Closing my eyes, I rested my head against Victoria’s arm. In the background, explosions sounded from the movie. My mind raced, trying to figure out the connection between the stone and my fiancée. As much as I wanted to sleep, my mind wouldn’t let me.

  Or was it the stone?

  I sat up and cupped it in my palm. The colors faded as soon as it touched my skin. Frowning, I slid my fingers around the chain and pulled it around Victoria’s hair.

  Just as it passed her nose, her eyes flew open and she sat up, gasping and flailing her arms.

  Chapter 123

  Victoria

  I ran through a field, chasing the moon. It was low in the sky, just out of my reach. If I could just catch it, the curse could be broken. We could all shift whenever we wanted.

  Icy fingers wrapped around my neck and squeezed. I jerked back, my skin freezing at the touch. The chill ran through my body in every direction. Fear tore through me. I gasped for air and reached for the hands, ready to kill my attacker.

  The grip tightened, making it impossible to breathe. Everything in the field closed in around me. I needed to act quickly to save myself.

  My eyes flew open. Toby stood only inches from me, his eyes wide and terrified. Choking. My hands throttled his neck.

  Stunned, I released my hold.

  He stepped back, gasping and still choking.

  “Toby—I’m so sorry!” I jumped from the couch to him.

  He moved away from me, his face pale. He stared at me, not saying a word.

  “I-I don’t know what happened. In my dream, someone was trying to kill me—strangling me. I thought… It doesn’t matter. I’m just sorry.” I stepped back and sat back on the couch, pulling the blanket over my lap. “I won’t touch you. I promise.”

  Toby turned from me and struggled to breathe. I wanted to wrap my arms around him and apologize, but his fearful expressions tore through me.

  After what seemed like forever, he finally turned back around and his gaze locked on mine. I wanted to apologize again, but couldn’t get my voice to cooperate. I tried to show it with my eyes. His expression finally softened and he took a couple steps closer, and then a couple more.

  I found my voice. “I didn’t realize what I was doing. In my dream, someone was trying to kill me. Then you woke me… I didn’t know it was you. I would never hurt you—not intentionally.”

  He came over to me and wrapped his arms around me. I returned the embrace. He kissed the top of my head. “I know. I do. You just took me by surprise. It brought me back to the other times I’ve been attacked. I’m okay now.”

  “I’m really—”

  “I forgive you. You didn’t realize what you were doing. Let’s just move past this, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  We sat on the couch and he put his arm around me. “Are you okay?”

  “I attacked you, and you’re worried about me?”

  He kissed my cheek. “You were at Moonhaven this morning, and later ended up in a cave in Iceland with the long-dead original werewolf. I have a right to be concerned.”

  “When you put it that way, I guess you do. But you did some traveling of your own, didn’t you?” I toyed with a lock of his hair.

  “Yes, although we talked and texted about it.”

  “We did?” I ran my finger over the necklace as I tried to remember. The only thing I could remember was chasing after the stone.

  “You don’t remember?” His expression clouded over with concern. “Or do you not believe me?”

  “I believe you,” I said quickly. “I was just distracted, plus I’ve been so tired since I found it.”

  He gave me a kiss. “Don’t worry about it. I'm sure everything will return to normal soon enough."

  "Not too much time, I hope."

  "It's time to get ready before the big day, don't you think?"

  "Are we still on? Nothing's changed?"

  Toby took my hand and kissed my fingertips. “Not to my knowledge. Unless we irritated Tap through any of this and have to find a new venue.”

  “I heard that,” he called. “You’re still welcome at the Faeble.”

  Toby laughed. “Good to know.”

  A servant came over to us. “The plane is going to land in a few minutes. It looks like we might hit some turbulence, so we’re going to ask you to buckle up a little early.”

  “Thank you.” Toby rose and helped me up. I stretched and walked over to a window. It appeared foggy below. I couldn’t wait for warmer weather.

  “Come on,” Toby called.

  I joined the others and sat in a seat and buckled up.

  “Is the castle as magnificent as people say?” Tap asked.

  “More,” I said. “There aren't words to describe it.”

  “I’ve always wondered. I hear so many rumors as people pass through the Faeble, and that’s one I’ve heard enough times to assume it’s truth.”

  Toby yawned. “You’re more than welcome to come inside with us. I want to check on Zia and thank Marguerite for providing the plane.”

  “And I want to look around,” Soleil said. “Is it true they have long-lost, famous artwork?”

  I nodded. “I saw things in there I’d always been told had been destroyed long ago.”

  Her eyes grew wide with excitement. “I—”

  The plane jolted us to the left. I hit my head on Toby’s shoulder.

  “Are you okay?” He put his arm around me.

  I rubbed my head. “I’m fine.”

  We continued bouncing around. A few small things flew across the plane, but most everything appeared to be bolted into place.

  Soleil grinned. “I love turbulence.”

  Tap clutched his stomach. “You would.”

  “Lookin’ a little green there, buddy,” Toby teased.

  Tap closed his eyes. “I’m a lot happier on the ground.”

  “Can’t say that I blame you. I don’t exactly find this fun.”

  “Learn to live a little.” Soleil grinned as the plane dipped and shot back up.