Yasmine Galenorn - Night Seeker

Luna, who had been standing back, watching but saying nothing, stepped forward. “You know that my sister is one of the Akazzani. Maybe she can help us? I told you, they have a lot of ancient texts. The Rise of the Indigo Court can’t be the only treatise written on the Vampiric Fae. There has to be more information hidden away in the vaults of the Society. Maybe…maybe there’s something about reversing the process, if you aren’t born into the Indigo Court?”

We turned to her. She was a pretty woman, shorter even than I was, and plump, with long dark hair gathered back in a sleek ponytail. Her eyes were the color of her hair, ringed with silver sparkles. Luna was a bard, one of the yummanii-human, but her magical powers were stronger than the average person, and her voice was like a melody scaling a mountain, crystal clear and ringing one moment, throaty and rich the next. Kaylin had been instantly drawn to her-I could see it in his demeanor, but I had no clue whether she felt the same way. Or if she even sensed his interest.

“Do you think there’s a possibility of finding something to change Grieve back?” It had not occurred to me that we might be able to reverse the process.

She shrugged. “I haven’t a clue, to be honest. But we can find out.”

“How would we go about doing that? I thought the Akazzani is supposed to be a closed society.” The thought of diving into those books, of perhaps gleaning far more than a cure for Grieve, lured me in. And what if we could find other vulnerabilities that we could exploit against the Indigo Court?

“Zoey is loyal to me. I know her oaths bind her, but if I tell her what’s at stake…” Luna pulled out her cell phone. “I should call her.”

“They allow cell phones in their midst?” Kaylin cocked his head, giving her an odd look. “Last I heard, secret societies at least tried to stay…well…secret.”

Luna snickered and blinked a flirty look at him. I didn’t even think she realized she was doing it. “This is the twenty-first century, not the 1900s. They not only allow cell phones, but they sanction occasional visits home, as long as the society member observes the rules. Zoey could sneak out the books and return them when we’re done. Books are to be used-information should flow rather than be locked up away from the world. Though Zoey’s the only member of my family I’d trust with the information about where we are and why.”

She paused, waiting for me to give her the go-ahead. I looked around. Kaylin nodded. Peyton and Rhiannon added their approval. My father remained silent. Lannan was out of the room.

Grieve slowly inclined his head. “I’m willing to chance it if she can find anything. I have to shake these bonds. I’m tired of feeling like my hands are tied.”

Majority ruled.

I turned back to Luna. “Go for it. Call her after we finish our meeting.” She nodded, sliding her phone into her pocket. I glanced around. “I guess we’d better haul Lannan’s ass back in here. We need everybody present because I want all the input that I can get. I have an idea, too.”

Lannan reluctantly joined us, looking bored. He stared at me, ignoring Grieve’s dirty glances. My father just shook his head and rubbed his brow. He gave me a look as if to say, You caused it, you fix it.

As we sat around the table, I looked at each one in turn. We all had our strengths, we all had our weaknesses. I wasn’t going to lie: The fact that Lainule was no longer on our team stung. The same with Anadey and Leo. They weren’t exactly enemies, but they had all betrayed us, in one way or another. So much had gone wrong, so fast.

“I think I know a way we can regain Lainule’s help. It’s dangerous, but in my opinion, it’s the only thing we can do. We need Summer’s help, and I don’t want to be the one dividing my father from the Queen of Rivers and Rushes.” I looked up at him. That little piece of guilt wasn’t going to go away.

“You are not the dividing line, my daughter. Lainule has her own mind and we’ve argued over many things throughout the years. This is simply one more squabble.” His eyes lit up. “The Queen of Summer has a temper as volatile as fire pouring from the sun. She embodies the flame. It is her nature.”

“Yeah, but I don’t like being on the wrong end of her torch. And we need her. We need her to give up on Geoffrey.”

Luna cocked her head to the side. “Why is she so desperate that she would be part of his plans?”

“Cicely knows why.” Wrath gave me a warning look.

I nodded. “If Myst finds Alissanya-Lainule’s heartstone-she can destroy the Queen of Rivers and Rushes. And with Myst controlling the woodland, she will find it. It’s only a matter of time. Lainule is a desperate woman, Summer Queen or not. She was hoping that Geoffrey would help her destroy Myst before that plays out.”

“What do you need from us?”

I sucked in a deep breath. “I want your opinion on this. I think, if we can recover Lainule’s heartstone, she will help us. She’s afraid now-if Myst finds it, she will die. If we find it, she will regain her strength.”

“You have no idea of the ramifications of what you’re proposing.” Wrath stared at me, slowly standing. “And you should not talk of this in public.” He grimaced. I’d never seen him look so irritated.

I glanced around. “What public? We’re about as far from public as we can get in this town.”

“You know what I mean-you speak in front of yummanii, magic-born, and worst of all-vampire.” He leaned forward and for a moment, I thought he was going to strike me, his expression was stern and terrible and piercing like the eyes of an owl. But all he did was take my chin in hand. “Daughter, even now, you trust too easily.”

I bit my lip. I hated making him upset. But we had to start trusting somewhere, and as bad as we’d been burned already, we only had our little ragtag group we’d managed to pull together.

“I know it’s dangerous, but we haven’t got a choice. Either Lainule fades and dies through lack of her heartstone, or we recover it and she lives. She can’t go after it. Her people can’t go after it. Your people.”

“What exactly is a heartstone?” Luna asked, glancing from Wrath to me.

I plunged ahead. My father was right to be wary, but we were running out of time. “It’s a part of Lainule’s essence, from her heart, encapsulated in a gem, deep within the Golden Wood. If Myst finds it, she can immediately destroy Lainule. The Queen of Rivers and Rushes is too far away from it and she’s fading. Unless we find it and take it to her, Lainule will die.”

Lannan let out a sharp bark. “You cannot let Summer die.”

Wrath turned to him. “What do you care, Altos?”

“If Lainule dies, then Myst has no checks. Geoffrey’s not going to be able to stop her, as much as he’d like to think he can. She will flow through, set up the long winter, destroy my people, and all others with us. I do not wish for that any more than you do, Owl King.” Lannan leaned forward. “I will help you, and I will keep your secret because it is for the good of my people to do so.”

Grieve reached for my hand and I gave it to him. He lifted it to his lips and kissed it gently, then lightly nipped the skin. “You are my chosen for a reason. But how do you plan to find where she’s hiding the gem?”

Chatter and I glanced at each other. I cleared my throat. “When Chatter and I journeyed to the Bat People, to help wake Kaylin’s demon, we went through a secret passageway. I’m pretty sure we were close. Instinct tells me Lainule may have hidden it down there. It looked like it hadn’t been used for a long, long time and…I sensed something in the area.”