Page 33 of Fated for Dawn

“But you’re here now,” I pointed out. “You’re with us. We’re going to get her back.”

Zade’s eyes met mine. “Yes,” he replied, his voice steady. “We will.”

* * *

We were all sitting in the strategy room later that afternoon, crowded around a table.

We needed a plan.

“Okay, let’s go over what we know,” Lucien said, leaning forward, his fingers steepled in concentration.

I took a steadying breath. “Lia’s been possessed by Eris. The Elders are working with her—including your father,” I added, nodding at Ryker. “And they probably have many of his allies and members from the Luminary coven also helping them. Whatever they’re planning…it’s big.”

“But what exactly?” Chad asked. “World domination? A really awesome party? Both?”

Ryker shot him a withering look.

Chad held up his hands defensively. “I know, I know.”

“Before Miss Clarissa, you know…” I said. “They had been siphoning power. They’d need a large facility if they’re still at it.”

“Exactly,” Rafe replied. “We’ve been monitoring multiple warehouses but need to expand our reach. Now that magic is back, they’ll likely be making more. It must be somewhere remote but accessible—big enough to go unnoticed.”

Lucien nodded. “I’ve been studying dark magic more since all this started, along with shielding spells strong enough to protect against those black flames.”

“That’s brilliant, Lucien!” I praised him.

“We also need to focus on finding Lia,” Zade cut in, his voice tense. “Once we locate her, we can figure out a way to separate her from Eris.”

“Easier said than done,” Alister muttered, rubbing his temples. “We’re talking about a goddess here. How do we ‘separate’ a mortal from a divine being?”

I hesitated before speaking. “Hecate told me something before I came back…The balance must be restored. What was split in two must become whole again.’”

Silence.

Chad whistled. “That’s vague as hell.”

Rafe leaned forward, brows drawn together in thought. “What if she meant Lia? If Eris is possessing her, then maybe she’ssplit—part of her is still in there, fighting, but she isn’t whole.”

Zade nodded. “That would make sense. If we can remove Eris, maybe Lia will be complete again.”

“Except we have no idea how to do that,” Ryker reminded us.

Lucien crossed his arms while staring at me. “It could also mean the curse and the blessing. Your lineage got stronger withthe so-called ‘blessing.’ Lia’s got weaker with the ‘curse.’ Maybe Hecate meant those need to be brought back into balance.”

“But how do we do that? Undo my power? Strengthen Lia’s?” I asked.

No one spoke for a moment.

Chad exhaled. “Okay, but real question: how do we do this when one of those things is a goddess trying to kill us?”

The room fell silent again. Lia was out there somewhere, trapped in her body, while Eris used it for goddess knows what. The thought twisted my stomach.

“With magic back at full strength, Eris will be coming out of hiding,” Lucien reminded us.

“It has been a few weeks since I’ve been back, and we had no news,” I countered. “Eris is awfully quiet for someone trying to take over the world.”

“Maybe we should focus on the Elders’ whereabouts since they sided with Eris.”

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