Page 72 of Magic Betrayed

But not without advantages. Thanks to the fae, I had any number of abilities that could be of use when trying to sneak into closely guarded areas. I could use my fae magic to silence my footsteps and create darkness that light could not penetrate. I could also pick locks, scale most walls, and was not afraid of heights.

Unfortunately, there was a chance that one of the five elementals in that house knew exactly what I could do. Not to mention, we had yet to identify the person that Ari had been so afraid of.

The biggest variable was whether they would expect me to be bringing allies. Talia’s daughter would know about Faris and the Shadow Court. But did she know how ferociously he protected his people? Or even that he claimed Kes and Logan as his own?

I somehow kept my expression neutral and my voice steady as I looked at Callum. “Are you okay for another shift this soon?”

His response was swift. “Yes. The area is too wooded to risk a fire, but Guthrie is rural enough to allow for flying.”

“And…” I wasn’t sure how to ask this or whether it was considered insulting among dragons, but I was going to ask, anyway. “Can you carry people when you fly?”

“Two. Easily.”

Okay. That was good. If I could get Kes and Logan out of the house, they would have a swift exit.

I just needed someone who could go inside with me and help me carry Logan. I was strong for my size, but not “carry a teenage boy while climbing out a window” strong.

Thankfully, we also had Rath and Shane, and both of them could use glamour. And with the ghost hunters as a distraction…

“I don’t want to wait too long,” I informed my team. “The longer we wait, the more likely they are to discover that Kes can’t give them what they want, and I don’t know how they’ll react. So I think we should go tonight. Probably sometime after midnight, to minimize the chances of being noticed by curious humans.

“I don’t have a detailed game plan. I don’t think we know enough to make one. But I also don’t want anyone hurt. So whoever is going with me has to promise—no unnecessary violence, no acting out of vengeance. If possible, we’re going to rescue them, and then we’re going to talk.”

I got nods from all around—some more grudging than others. Not everyone would be comfortable thinking on their feet. But we had a lot of power and experience on our side, which meant that no matter what unexpected traps our enemies threw at us, we at least had a chance.

I hoped.

Because now, as at every other crossroads of my life, that faint glimmer of hope was all I really had to go on.

SIXTEEN

I knewit was the right decision to wait. But I had to spend the entire rest of the day reminding myself why, so I didn’t go running off to Guthrie with nothing but rage and a pair of bolt cutters.

We needed the Tanner twins as a diversion, and no one went ghost hunting in daylight.

Callum couldn’t afford the scrutiny that would come with a daylight flight.

And we didn’t want any neighbors seeing what we were doing and calling human law enforcement, so we needed them to be asleep.

All very good reasons that did nothing to quell my sense of urgency.

The first thing I tried as a distraction was cleaning up the mess Ari’s legos had made of The Portal’s floor, though I left the house intact, just in case we needed it as a reference. Afterwards, I swept and mopped and wiped down the tabletops, then wandered into the kitchen looking for dirty dishes. I found Ari’s plate, washed it and put it away, and was considering scrubbing the stovetop when Faris walked in.

“Is it helping?”

I set down the sanitizer and the sponge and stretched out my back. “Well, it isn’tnothelping,” I muttered. “Ari is with Kira, Callum is sleeping off his double shift, and I just needed to not be all up in my head.”

My boss regarded me with lips pursed, as if trying to make up his mind about something.

“Did Callum talk to you?”

“About…” I knew what he was asking. I just didn’t want to say it out loud in front of another person.

“About whether the two of you are going to continue living in denial,” he said bluntly.

Okay, fine, I guess we were doing this. “He brought it up.”

Faris grunted. “Good. I’m not here to pressure you for an answer. I’m sure he told you what’s at stake. I just thought…” He paused again and rubbed the back of his neck.

---