Page 116 of A Throne of Blood & Vengeance

“Given how hot some tempers are running, I think it’s best if you remain here.” Kieran gave her a small, reassuring smile. “We got this, Rynn.”

“Roth absconded with an armful of books shortly after you all left—they said Cali was breathing too loud,” Alaric said in a dry tone, even as amusement danced in his eyes. Cali snorted as she plucked a dagger from the table and slid it into a holster on her thigh. Alaric continued, “I’m not sure what they’ve found, but I’ve been reading your notes about this transformation spell, and I think you’re onto something. I found a few more books that go into detail about it and might be useful.”

Rynn was hurrying over to the table before he’d even finished his last word.

I walked over to Alaric and Kieran. “Thank you both for doing this.”

“Of course, love.” Kieran shrugged. “Rynn’s family.”

Both of them kissed me on the cheek and strode back through the mirror—which was still strange to watch. I walked over to it and studied the glyphs etched into the dark wood frame. Some of them I recognized, but most I didn’t.

My eyes drifted to the right, where something tall was covered with a black cloak. I stepped closer and tugged the cloak off. Another mirror. Interesting.

“There is a second mirror in the room beneath the Alpha House too,” Rynn said from across the room. “Different glyphs than the travel mirrors. I messed around with it a bit but couldn’t figure out what it did.”

“Hmm.” I looked the markings over, similar to the other mirror, but I only knew what a handful of them meant. “Mystery for another day, I guess.”

“I need to stretch my wings for a bit,” Cali announced.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” I turned away from the mirror. “There could be wraiths lurking in the dark spots of the temple.”

She shrugged. “Then I’ll get to kill something.”

Vail and Draven both chuckled, and I rolled my eyes. “Fine, but be careful, and don’t go far.”

“Yes, Mom.” She gave me a finger salute before sauntering out of the room. Rynn laughed at that one.

“It wasn’t that funny,” I grumbled as I joined her at the table and grabbed one of the books Alaric had left out.

“Yes, it was.” Rynn glanced up with a smirk on her face. “Only you would fuss over quite possibly the most lethal warrior in Lunaria going out for a flight in the middle of the day.”

“She’s not invulnerable,” I pointed out. “Plus, I know Carmilla—she’s working on a way to get Cali off the board.”

The amusement bled from Rynn’s face. “You think she’s going to send stealth units?”

Over the last few decades, the Furies had gotten better about controlling their magic. It was rare for one to completely lose it, but it did happen. Sometimes they would deal with the problems themselves, but sometimes they would ask for assistance. That was where the stealth units came in. Some Moroi and Velesianswere specifically trained to take down rogue Furies. They used a mix of long-range weapons and other tactics to get close enough to do lethal damage fast before the Furie could shred their minds.

It was easily the most dangerous task in Lunaria, but unfortunately a necessary one. Vail had been trained to take down Furies . . . so had Adrienne and Emil. I doubted Nyx had because usually it was only rangers with a couple of decades of experience who went through the training.

Nyx. Sadness washed over me. They’d been so happy being a ranger and belonging to a unit. Technically, they should have served as an advisor or some other high-ranking role in House Corvinus because they were the youngest child of the Heads of that House. If Nyx had remained in their birth House, they’d probably be safe right now. Not trying to piece together a shredded soul.

But they also likely would have been forced into a political marriage they didn’t want.

Not a lot of happily-ever-after stories in Lunaria like there were in some of the Fae stories I’d read. I looked across the room to where Draven and Vail quietly bickered over weapons.

We’d get our fucking happy ending. I’d make sure of it.

“She’ll leave that as a last resort.” I turned my attention back to Rynn’s question. “Carmilla would probably like to permanently take Cali out, but without the Furie Elders officially declaring Cali a danger, Carmilla’s hands are a bit tied. I don’t particularly like them, but the Furie Elders will retaliate harshly if Carmilla kills one of their own without cause. She can’t afford that.”

“So she’ll come at the problem sideways.” Rynn pursed her lips, her eyes going distant in that way that meant she was thinking through the possibilities.

“Yep,” I agreed. “Hard to say how she’ll do it, but if whatever she thinks up is successful and we’re separated from Cali, we’ll have to be ready for an attack afterwards.”

Rynn hummed her agreement. “She’ll punch a hole through our defense and then take advantage.”

I had no idea how Carmilla would get Cali to willingly leave us, but I wasn’t going to underestimate my aunt. She’d think of something, and as soon as she did, the countdown would start for her finding us—if she didn’t already know where we were—and attacking.

A plan was coming together in my head, but I still only had fragments of the pieces I needed. I pulled the paper from my pocket and flattened it out, studying the glyph. It had been designed to keep people out . . . but it could just as easily be used to keep people in.

---