Page 38 of Shadowed Spirits

I guess we’ll have to find out tomorrow.

“I hope so.” I was hoping we’d have more time to come up with a plan to deal with Doyle, but we can’t wait forever. Who knows how strong Lua will get if we keep waiting around.

When I don’t say anything further, my mom asks, “Can you stay for lunch?”

I glance around at my mates to see if there are any objections. None of them say anything, so I shrug. “Yeah, we can stay.”

The six of us jump in to help my mom set the table and take the food to the dining room. Gran pitches in. With all of us working together, we’re sitting down for lunch in a matter of minutes. After we’re settled at the table and everyone starts grabbing food, my mom asks, “Who’s your friend, sweetie?”

Unsure how to respond, since Gran’s in her Melinoe form, I’m silent for a long moment before deciding to go with the truth. “That’s Gran.”

My mom’s eyebrows raise to her hairline as she looks at Melinoe’s half-and-half form that couldn’t be further from Gran if she tried. Before my mom can say anything, Gran disappearsin a flash of black and white light. When her magic dies down, Gran is in her old lady form. “Hi, Maggie-Pie.”

My lips quirk up at Gran calling my mom by her childhood nickname. My mom, however, isn’t amused. “Mom? What are you doing here? And why do you look like that?”

Gran purses her lips and looks down at her plate, her eyes filling with sadness, frustration, and a bit of longing. “It’s a long story.”

“I have time,” Mom retorts stubbornly.

Gran snaps her head up and pins my mom with a look that would make a lesser person cower. Since my mom is used to it, she doesn’t even flinch. “I don’t want you involved in this, Maggie. That’s why I haven’t told you about where I come from, my magic, or what all I can do.”

Mom’s face darkens. “So, it’s okay to involve my daughter in it?”

Throwing her hands up in exasperation, Gran says, “No! It’s not okay. I wanted Isabel, you, and the boys to stay out of all of this. I know I failed,” she admits quietly. My heart hurts for the devastation on her wrinkled face.

“You didn’t fail, Gran,” I tell her softly. She gives me a disbelieving look. “I think Mom’s already involved.”

Gran hangs her head before scrubbing her weathered hands over her face. “You’re right, Izzy.” Tilting her head back and forth as she tries to figure out what to say, Gran eventually looks back at my mom. “I’m not a mage, and I’m not from this realm,” Gran starts. Mom gasps but listens intently as Gran tells her and the rest of my family all about thecurarealm, her magic, and why she’s been in hiding.

Mom takes the news surprisingly well. Everyone has a bunch of questions, but our lunch is fairly chill. We hang out with my family for the next two hours. My heart has never felt so full as it does watching my family and my mates getting along so well, thehouse overflowing with love and laughter and everything good in the world.

This is the reason I keep going. The reason I fight so hard. The reason that I will pour every last drop of my magic, my blood, and my very life force into stopping Doyle and Lua.

While I hope it won’t come to it, I know I’ll happily sacrifice my life for everyone here and die with a smile on my face. I’m just trying to ignore the ominous feeling in my gut that the time for that is going to be sooner rather than later.

CHAPTER 20

IZZY

After staring at the ceiling in the quiet bedroom for what feels like an eternity, I finally decide to get up. My thoughts are spinning too fast with worry over what’ll happen tomorrow to let me sleep any longer.

After I spent a few hours healing ghosts this afternoon, we came back to the Nightshade keep to relax and give my magic a chance to recharge before tomorrow.

While I didn’t think I’d be able to fall asleep, I must’ve gotten some shut eye at the beginning of the night because I didn’t even notice Luca coming to bed. He had pack stuff he had to work on late into the night, so he joined us sometime after the rest of us fell asleep.

I slowly push down the muted green comforter until I can crawl out from between Luca and Bishop. Carefully knee-walking to the edge of the bed, I slip off the edge and land on nearly soundless feet.

I silently pad across the wood floors, not wanting to wake up any of my sleeping mates, until I reach the door to Luca’s room. I pull on my running shorts that are sitting on the floor. Bishop is still enforcing his no-undies-in-bed rule, and I don’t really want to go wandering around the Nightshade compound in just a tee.

Slowly easing the door open, I slip out and try to close it quietly behind me. I blow out a relieved breath once I’m in the hallway outside Luca’s bedroom, my feet sinking into the cushy navy carpet runner.

Now that I’m out of the room, I don’t really know where to go. Shrugging, I turn toward the grand staircase, or at least the direction I think it is. I run my fingers along the bumpy charcoal plaster of the corridor’s walls. When I finally reach the Nightshade Pack’s massive dark wood entry staircase, I slowly make my way down it, lost in my thoughts.

I don’t pay much attention to where I’m going as I think over everything that could go wrong, from Doyle’s extra security, to his memory blanks, to the councilors coming in while we’re still there, and a million other things. I hate that I’m dragging them into all of this. Sure, it’s not my fault Doyle is a power-hungry psycho and Lua is a bloody, war-mongering, crazed goddess. But it is my fault that we stumbled on to this mess with Doyle trying to arrest me.

Shaking my head to clear it, I’m surprised to find that I’m in front of the music room. My lips tip up in a small smile. Playing something on a guitar or piano is just what I need to destress from everything today.

Walking into the room, I’m surprised to see Cain hunched over one of the pianos, dressed in a black T-shirt and sweats, which is probably the most dressed down I’ve ever seen him. He turns at my approach, greeting me with a soft smile as he brushes his raven hair out of his eyes. “Can’t sleep, angel?”

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