Page 52 of Panther in the Shadows
She manages a small smile. "You're very confident for someone facing a necromancer with an army of the drowned."
"She doesn't have her army yet. I've survived worse. So have you." I step back, giving her space. "Finish your preparations. I need to coordinate with Santos about the security upgrades. But I'll be back before sunset, and we'll go through the plan one more time."
"Rafe?" She stops me at the door. "Thank you. For protecting me. For caring. For making me feel like I'm worth fighting for."
"You are worth fighting for. Worth killing for." The truth comes easier than expected. "And anyone who threatens you is going to learn exactly what I'm capable of."
The afternoon passes in preparation. Santos implements the security upgrades—motion sensors, cameras with night vision, alarms that trigger directly to my phone. The dock workers receive new protocols: no one works alone, everyone checks in hourly, any suspicious activity gets reported immediately.
The research from Amsterdam gets studied until I've memorized every detail. We believe the summoning requires specific conditions. Tide patterns. Moon phases. Convergence points where sea magic naturally pools. And the anchor—the person performing the ritual—must be present at each death.
That's the weakness. Find the anchor. Stop them before they complete the final deaths. End the ritual before it reaches completion.
Simple in theory. Complicated in execution.
My phone buzzes. Declan:All positions staffed. Ready when you are.
I text back:Hold position. Report anything suspicious. I'm running one more check of the eastern convergence point.
The lie feels necessary. Because I'm not checking convergence points. I'm making sure Moira has everything she needs to survive if this goes wrong.
She's in the kitchen when I return, making coffee. The exhaustion shows in the set of her shoulders, the shadows under her eyes.
"You should rest." Move behind her, settling my hands on her shoulders. "We've got hours before anything happens. You need to be sharp."
"Can't rest. Every time I close my eyes, I see Elspeth. Hear her laughing." She leans back against me. "How do you do it? How do you face terrible things and not break?"
"I broke a long time ago. In Spain, when my family chose to banish me over truth." I work the tension from her shoulders. "But breaking doesn't mean ending. You gather the pieces. You rebuild. You become something harder. Something that can't be broken the same way twice."
"I don't want to be hard."
"You don't have to be. You just have to be strong enough to survive this." I turn her to face me. "And you are. You've survived ten years of hiding your power, watching your grandmother die, carrying guilt that wasn't yours to carry. You're one of the strongest people I've met."
"I don't feel strong. I feel terrified."
"Good. Fear keeps you sharp. Keeps you careful." I kiss her forehead. "But don't let it paralyze you. When the moment comes, when we face the necromancer, you act. No hesitation. No second-guessing. You trust your power and you end her."
She nods against my chest. "And if it's Elspeth? If my sister's corpse is the weapon she uses?"
"Then I'll handle it. You won't have to face her again." The promise comes easy. True. "Whatever it takes, I'll make sure you don't have to fight your sister."
"Thank you." The words come muffled against my shirt. "For everything."
We stand like that for long moments. Her in my arms. Me memorizing the feel of her. The scent. The warmth. Everything I'll protect with whatever it takes.
The necromancer threatened her. Used my people as messengers. Thinks fear will make me hesitate. But love doesn't make me weak. It makes me lethal.
CHAPTER 13
MOIRA
The call comes just after sunset.
Rafe's phone buzzes against the kitchen counter. His hand stays pressed against my lower back while he answers.
"Vega." His voice goes hard. "Where?" He listens, his posture tensing. "Another body. North dock, near the ruins of the old cannery." His eyes find mine. Apologetic. "I'll be back within the hour."
"I'm coming with you."
