“Yes—we’ve always been all right. I’ve just been angry.” So angry sometimes he couldn’t even think.
“That’s what I figured.” Dage groaned. “You blew up my spleen.”
“Sorry.” Jase’s lung collapsed. “Ow.”
“Tell me now. Everything,” the king wheezed, the drill continuing outside.
So he did. Lying in blood next to his damaged brother, Jase let loose the truth. His fears, his pain, his guilt.
Dage listened quietly until he wound down. “I missed you.”
Jase sighed. “I missed you, too.”
The door flew open. Talen, Kane, and Conn ran inside, panic on their faces.
Dage chuckled and then groaned. “Our rescuers.”
Jase opened one eye. “The see, hear, and speak monkeys.” His laugh made him groan with agony.
Kane dropped between the two, his fangs slashing into his wrist before he stuck it to Jase’s mouth. Talen did the same with Dage.
“I’ll get Max. We need more blood,” Conn said, turning and running from the building.
Kane’s blood exploded down Jase’s throat. “What the hell?”
Jase swallowed. “We had a disagreement.”
Kane lifted one eyebrow. “Is it settled?”
Jase exhaled. “Yeah. It’s settled.” And it was. For the first time since being rescued, he felt whole. He turned his head to view his battered and bruised older brother.
Then he smiled.
Chapter 27
Brenna punched in keys on her laptop, muttering to herself. She’d only been gone a few days, and already the Dublin economic plan needed tweaking. The plane banked to the left, and she took a moment to say good-bye to the life she might’ve had.
“See ya, asshole,” she said into the clouds. Within thirty minutes of Jase’s heading off on his suicide mission, she’d packed and secured a plane ride home. Small private plane with six empty rows and a bedroom in the back. Being one of the Coven Nine often had its perks.
“Asshole,” she muttered again. “
Green danced along her arms, and she ruthlessly shoved it back. Setting the plane on fire would be disastrous.
Even now, as the solstice neared, energy heated her blood.
Power. Untapped and absolute.
She’d reach home just in time to watch night arrive. She fingered the pendant around her neck with its dangerous bug. Midnight was her hour, and she’d be ready. At that time, she’d cure Virus-27.
A scrape sounded from behind her. She stiffened. The two pilots were in the cockpit, and she was the only person on the plane.
Something shuffled.
Reaching for a knife in her laptop case, she slowly stood and turned.
Jane Kayrs slid outside the bedroom, one eyebrow raised. “You going to stab me?”
Brenna slid the knife back into the bag and eyed the young woman. “What are you doing here?”
Janie tugged down her sweater and moved to sit in the chair facing Brenna’s. “They took the guards off me since Garrett is home, and this was my only chance to get free.” Wise blue eyes twinkled. “I thought we’d make a break for it together.”
Brenna shook her head. “You’re in danger, and you know it.”
“I’m always in danger,” Janie said softly. “It’s my job to end this war, and I can’t do that under the heavy mantle of security. Surely you understand.”
Janie had the petite, fit frame of a normal twenty-four-year-old woman, and the stunning eyes of a centuries-old soul.
Brenna sighed. “What’s your plan?”
“I’ve been having constant visions regarding the Prophecies of Arias, and the current war. I need to read that book.” She paled even more. “Something is in there, but I don’t know what.”
Brenna patted her hand. “I’ll see what I can do, but if the book exists, no non-witch has ever seen it.”
“Understood. Plus, I need to meet Zane in person and try to talk him into ending this war. My visions have always shown the moment to come down to us and Kalin, and it’s time.” Janie slid her hands down her frayed jeans. “It is so time.”
Brenna recognized love when she saw it. Why did the sensation have to hurt so much? “You don’t even know who or what Zane is. What makes you think he’s one of the good guys?”
“He saved Garrett, didn’t he? That goes a long way to convincing me we’re on the same side.”
“Doesn’t mean you won’t get your heart broken.”
“Like you did?” Janie sighed. “Uncle Jase is confused, but I can tell he loves you.”
Brenna rolled her eyes. “He’s not confused, he’s just obsessed. So you think I should’ve stayed?”
“Hell, no.” Janie grinned. “You have to stand up to those vampires, or you’ll never get anywhere. You made the right move.”
“I didn’t leave for a move.” Brenna shook her head. “I left for good.”
“If you say so.” Janie leaned back. “You know he’ll come after you.”
Would he? If he did, what then? More empty promises? “I don’t think so, Jane.” Brenna glanced at her watch. “Great timing on revealing yourself. If we head back now, I won’t arrive home in time to prepare for the solstice.”
“That was the goal.” Janie reached to open the refrigerator and drew out a beer. “I’ll contact Zane when we’re closer to Ireland and come up with a plan.”
The woman was crazy. “You don’t think I’m going to let you meet with Zane, do you?”
Janie smiled again. “Yes, I do. By the way, happy birthday.”
Brenna snorted. “Thanks so much.”
Janie frowned, dropping the unopened can. “Something’s happening.”
The urgency in her tone made Brenna sit up straight. “What’s happening?”
An object clipped the left wing, and the plane rocked. Fire danced along the metal. Another explosion echoed from the right wing.
Panic curled Brenna’s hands around the armrest. “Secure your seat belt.” She slid her belt into the buckle as Janie did the same. An alarm blared through the cabin.
The pilot shoved open the cockpit door. “We’ve been hit. Brace yourselves for impact, because we’re going down.”
“When you call in, let them know Janet Kayrs is on board.” Brenna shoved down panic as the plane dropped several yards. Her stomach rose to her throat. She grabbed the knife from the bag and tossed it to Janie. “Be ready when we land.”
Janie caught the handle and nodded, her eyes wide.
Brenna opened another compartment and drew out a gun. The plane twisted, and she bashed into the window. “Where are we?” she yelled over the alarm.
“Over the Mexico desert,” the head pilot bellowed back.
Brenna clutched the gun, keeping the barrel pointed away from Janie. “Who’s in the desert?”
Janie’s hands turned white on her jeans. “Well, it’s probably too hot and sunny for Kurjans, and most shifters like the cold, same with vampires.”
Brenna nodded, her mind spinning. “That leaves witches and demons. Could be either.” Had she been stupid to disregard the CRAP group? They’d been organizing for years—maybe they had a presence all over the world. Of
