Page 142 of Love & Heart Braking

Shoot.

The minutes ticked by. Vera’s hands began to shake.

“I can’t keep this up indefinitely,” she said.

Three of Soleil’s siblings entered, surrounding her.

Come on, Sol. Get rid of them. The guards left, and finally, after making whatever verbal jabs they’d come to deliver, her siblings did to. As soon as the door closed, Soleil looked up.

Straight at me.

“She knows we’re watching.”

Soleil held one hand up. Wait.

“Not yet,” I said.

“I can’t hold the spell much longer,” she hissed, her entire body shaking now.

Soleil strode to the door and leaned her head against it. Pulling back, she nodded up at us. I passed the letter over. “Do it.”

Vera held the letter over the flame, chanting three words over and over.

Soleil glanced over at her desk as the letter began to appear.

Come on.

The letter disappeared from our end, blinking into existence in the Hucses’ estate. Soleil picked it up, then blew me a kiss, placing a palm over her heart.

A tear dripped off my chin as I did the same back.

Vera grunted and doubled over. The picture disappeared.

But she’d done it.

“Thank you, Vera. You have no idea what that could mean.”

The witch panted. “You’re working against the twelve.”

“What I’m doing is trying to right the deep-rooted wrongs in this community. Because someone has to do it.”

The witch searched my expression.

I stood as she gathered her things. Vera snapped the locks on her case together, then joined me at the door. I swung it wide.

“If you need to get her another message,” she said. “Get in touch.”

The witch was trying. She might be trying out of an urge to manipulate rather than from a true social conscience, but this was progress. “I appreciate it. And I might take you up on that. But I’m sure you know what you could really do to help in this.”

Vera’s breath caught, and she peered down at me. “Unexpected, Cerys Concordia. You are unexpected.”

With that, the witch hurried away.

I locked the door and muttered the activation phrase for our securities while I was inside. I still had half an hour until Devereaux would get home.

Printing off the subpoena for Devereaux, I mentally ticked off the various alliance tasks I was in charge of. We’d meet again tomorrow night, and I was eager to keep things moving. Like me, the others probably felt danger creeping in.

I then had no excuse but to answer some of the twenty-five emails jamming Soleil’s inbox. I avoided the system maintenance one. It just freaked me out. When I reached an email with the subject Tinsel Order, I called it a day. I loved tinsel as much as the next person, but this gal was exhausted.

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