Page 108 of The Enemy to the Living
“Do we need to discuss it?”
“The bond will affect your blessing.”
I open my mouth, no idea what I’m about to say, and Maurice tenses beside me, clearly ready to jump in too, but Grant beats us all to the punch.
“For better or for worse?”
The Huntsman blinks at him. I don’t need to look to know that Vlad has gone completely still behind me. He radiates tension.
“I do not know,” the Huntsman says.
He isn’t lying. Hecan’tlie.
“Then we’ll move on to other matters, shall we?” Maurice says loudly, voice overly cheerful, especially considering what we’re here to talk about. “The twins’ bodies are in the cellar.”
Paxton pulls a face and Grant shivers.
“Did you learn anything from them before you killed them?” the Huntsman asks me, and I don’t bother to correct him, tell him that Quinn killed Sorrel in the end. He’ll work it out himself and I have no desire for more fae attention on my mate.
“Very little,” I say. “They wanted Quinn’s and my magic to cut through the veil and let the high fae in. Chaos. That’s what they tried with the other wolves and their own magic, but it didn’t work.”
“They have not succeeded,” the Huntsman says. “The veil holds.”
“Except the wolf we gave back to Quinn was far smaller than it should have been,” Maurice says with an apologetic grimace. “I’m not sure if they might have managed to steal some of Asher’s blessing, too.”
“And where is all that magic now? Sorrel did not have it on his person when he died?”
Maurice shakes his head. “Nothing. I tried to search Mischief & Mayhem last night, but without the twins’ magic to sustain it, it is gone. They have left no trace behind.”
“No doubt the magic is somewhere,” the Huntsman says, and Maurice nods. My stomach twists. I don’t like the idea that part of my blessing is out there in fae hands—it might not bemymagic in the same way my wolf was, but it feels like a violation regardless.
“Will the Guardians be able to help?” Jeremiah asks. “Can they locate it somehow?”
“They’re busy enough, aren’t they?” Maurice says.
“They are,” the Huntsman concedes, “but Cassian may have some idea of whether this scheme would even work. Call him. Ask.”
Maurice nods. “I will.”
The Huntsman sighs and gets to his feet. “Asher. See me out.”
It’s not a request. Maurice frowns when I stand, and Grant looks as though he actually mightsaysomething, but Vlad reaches over to put a hand on his shoulder and the words die before they can spill out of his mouth.
I trail the Huntsman down the hall, then out of the house and through the wards. He pauses at the kerb, lifting his head to look up at the sky. “Do you intend to perform the rites with your new mate?”
“At some point, of course. Not right now. We need time first.”
“And he will not join the Hunt?”
He wants Quinn—The thought sours when I look at the Huntsman’s face. No. He doesn’t care if Quinn joins or not; he just wants me close.
And if Quinn did join, he’d be forced to give up his wolf.
“No.”
“I am troubled. Vlad’s fledgling is correct in that we cannot know whether your mate bond will affect the blessing I gave you in a positive or negative way. But if I were to take it back…”
“I’d die.”
