Wren leaps off Halle and scrambles to the window seat.
The mate bond is just biology, Rune says. We can be more than that. We can be true friends.
It’s a nice thought, but we all know that tempering our instincts is going to be near-impossible.
Tor shakes his head and rubs the back of his neck. “I need her to be home.”
Halle hands out the drinks and then freezes. “Did you—”
“Tor!” Wren cries out. “Something’s outside.”
I sense it next, a ripple in the air. The presence of something other, acrid and abnormal. Tor’s eyes widen and Rune leaps to his feet.
I’m stripping off my clothes and out the door in seconds.
Chapter Twelve Cora
Anna stood at her study window with her back to us. “It’s happening,” she said. “The Order is making an official comeback.”
“What the fuck did we just witness, Anna?” Sloane pressed. “That thing was human, but it wasn’t.”
“A host,” Anna said. “The Order has found a way to give revenants back a body.”
“That isn’t possible,” Jessie said. “Revenants aren’t ghosts or spirits; they can’t possess people.”
“No.” Anna turned to face us. “They can’t. So whatever this is, it’s permanent. The Order feels strong enough to come out of the shadows and attack. This revenant in human skin used his ability on you, the ability to incite war. It turns allies against each other. Turns friends to foes. You’re lucky you were able to fight it. It usually results in death.”
“Cora shook it off first,” Lauris said.
Anna nodded. “Of course, you’re the anchor, the extra power you have access to would have helped you fight off the effects.” She shook her head. “This is bad.”
“You don’t say,” Jessie drawled sarcastically. “They have a steady access to humans now. They’ll feed whenever they want.”
“But they won’t kill,” Poppy said. “That woman was a mistake. They plan to spread out the revenant feedings, a sip here and a sip there.”
“Which will allow them to gain strength,” Anna said. “So far, the revenants have been unruly with hunger, difficult for the Order to control. This will make them more complacent, more…organized. The Order will use them as soldiers and swell their numbers.”
“War’s coming, isn’t it?” Poppy said.
Anna nodded. “We need to be prepared and we need to do what we can to protect the humans that will be sucked into the Order’s web.”
“We need glamour,” Sloane said. “Strong, warlock-proof glamour.”
“There is only one breed of witch in existence that can weave a glamour that powerful. The silent sisters.”
Silent sisters? “You mean the witches who run Blackmore prison?”
“Yes,” Anna said. “The ones who formed the Order. There are three origins of pure power. Cosmos, chaos, and the unnamed.”
Wait a second. “What about miasma?”
“Miasma isn’t an origin of power; it’s generated by the existence of humanity and regular witches draw from it. Grimswood witches are original witches, and although we generally utilize miasma, our main source of power is the cosmos. Warlocks use chaos, but the silent sisters draw from the unnamed. A power so potent that the price is their voice.”
“Okay, so we ask them to create this glamour,” Jessie said. “Then we go in and we kill some revenants.”
“We can ask, but they may not grant our wish.”
“What? Why the fuck not?”
“The silent sisters believe in the balance of power. They’ll judge if giving us this glamour will adversely affect it.”
This made no sense. “Well of course it will. It’ll give us the upper hand again.”
Anna shrugged. “I know. But we can only wait and see what they decide. I’ll send a message tonight. In the meantime, stay clear of that club. We don’t know how many more revenants have been given human bodies. The warlocks of the Order have the power to incite war, hunger, disease, and in rare cases cause death with a single touch. You will steer clear until we have the glamour to protect you.”
Sloane ran a hand over her face. “So, we’re useless then.”
“There are other threats to humanity.” There was a snap to Anna’s voice. “You’ll continue your patrols as usual, but you’ll steer clear of The Order club.”
She turned away to look out the window.
Looked like we’d been dismissed.
We filed out of the study.
“I’m gonna grab some food,” Jessie said.
“I’ll join you.” Poppy walked off down the corridor with Jessie.
I was alone with Sloane and very aware that we’d kissed. That I’d kissed her. “About that kiss—”
“Thank you,” she said. “You thought fast on your feet and put my mind elsewhere, giving me a chance to fight the rage.” She smirked. “It was a hot kiss, but nothing meaningful. Let’s just forget it.”
Forget it. Right. The kiss meant nothing.
Her eyes narrowed. “You okay with that?” She reached up to graze my chin with her fingertips. “Or do you need a repeat performance to be sure?”
My gaze dropped to her luscious mouth, and the memory of those soft lips on mine had my pulse kicking up. I’d enjoyed kissing her, but I had enough on my plate with the wolves and Jasper as it was; adding a thing with Sloane, the leader of The Elites, was a bad idea. Even though my gut told me it would probably be really fucking good.
I stepped back with a smile. “Let’s leave this on a high note.”
Was that disappointment in her eyes? “Get some rest, Cora. We patrol again tomorrow.”
She walked away, leaving me wondering if I’d made the right call.
Lauris was waiting for me in the main hall, perched on the windowsill and munching on an apple. He hopped to his feet as I descended the stairs and polished off the fruit, core and all.
“Done?” he said around a mouthful of chewed apple.
“Don’t talk with your mouth full.”
“Yes, Mom.” He grinned, showcasing bits
