A ripple of energy rolls across my chest and I realize the medallion is doing this. It’s the medallion that’s making our connection so visceral. Van’s heartbeat is like a drumbeat all around me. I stare into his eyes and inhale, breathing him in.
Then he looks away and the world crashes back in around me, making me gasp.
Van’s guard is back up and I’m standing in front of him, questioning myself, doubt creeping in again.
“I need to talk to you. All of you,” Van says.
“Then it needs to happen in the kitchen. I have to get the roast on in the next five minutes or the entire day will be off schedule.” Marco sidles through the door, presses a kiss into my neck as he leaves.
Then Angus does the same, only he bends in over my shoulder to kiss me on the lips. “I thought you said something about coffee?” Angus whispers.
I nod and follow Angus down the hall, leaving Van standing in the doorway, staring after us. I glance over my shoulder once, because I can’t help it. He looks lost. Unsure. Angry, as usual, but also something else, something more.
Hopefully he’ll tell me—tell us—what this is all about.
“How long does it take to shower?” Van taps his hands on the kitchen table, impatient for Angus to join us.
Marco places a huge bowl of green beans in front of Van. “If you’re going to sit there, I’m going to put you to work.”
When the coffee is done brewing, I pour mugs for the three of us, handing Marco his and placing Van’s on the table in front of him. I sit at the table across from Van.
Angus arrives, dressed in fresh clothes, his blond hair slicked back and damp from the shower. “All right, grouch. Tell us what’s so important that it made you listen at our door all night.”
Van scoffs. “I didn’t! I wasn’t…”
“Uh huh.” Marco teases, waving a paring knife at his brother. “And your red face is one of those odd winter sunburns that you get from snowstorms at night?”
Van drops his head in defeat. When he looks up, his face is dead serious. “Look. I’m sorry. I had no idea the medallion would do anything like that. I wasn’t expecting to feel all of that. Tobias…” He closes his eyes and blows out his breath.
Angus squeezes Van’s shoulder. “Hey man, it’s all good. Don’t…”
Van shrugs him off. “No. It’s not. I shouldn’t have done that. Had I known, I wouldn’t have…” He looks up at me and I can’t read what he’s thinking.
“Known what?” I ask, feeling singled out but tired of this thing standing like a wall between us. “You wouldn’t have what, Van?”
“Never mind. It’s not important,” he says.
I shake my head. “How can you say that? Of course, it’s important. I just wish you would tell me what it is.”
“Last night, I was out running and I saw something at the Cottage.”
Van’s words stop everything. Angus pulls a chair over and Marco puts down the veggies he’s been chopping. And I pretend he didn’t totally ignore me and change the subject.
“Why were you at the Society?” Angus asks.
Van shakes his head. “I was just running. I lost track of the woods in the storm. It doesn’t matter. What does matter is there were people at the Cottage last night.”
“Is Damon back?” Marco asks.
“I don’t know. They were doing work on the roof over the part of the mansion where the Vessel was. Upstairs, in that room where they had you,” Van says, glancing at Angus.
Angus shivers and rubs his arm where the break he sustained has already healed. “I’ll be just fine if I never see that place again.”
“What did you see?” I prod.
“There were dozens of people. And it looked like some of them were working and then this other group arrived and they started fighting with each other.”
“What were they fighting about?” Marco asks.
Van shakes his head. “I couldn’t hear. The storm was blowing and the snow was crazy. And I had to keep my distance since I was there as my wolf. One of them got thrown off the roof. I think he died. I have no idea what was going on.”
We continue going over everything Van saw and heard, but we’re left with more questions than answers.
“Well, if you didn’t see Damon, that’s good right?” Marco says.
“Just because I didn’t see him doesn’t mean he isn’t back. We’ve been acting like he isn’t a threat these past few weeks, but that’s not really true is it? The only thing that’s changed is the Vessel. Without it, he can’t tell we’re nearby. That doesn’t mean he can’t still find us. And if we don’t know where he is, we’re in more danger than ever.”
“We need to figure out what’s going on at the Society,” Marco says.
“What we need is to find Underwood,” Angus says.
“What you need is to be careful,” I say. “Hold that thought.” I hurry into the living room and grab the gifts I meant to give them last night and bring them back into the kitchen.
The three of them watch me, waiting.
My heart starts racing in my chest and my mouth has gone dry. Whatever confidence I had when I woke up this morning has evaporated. I hand them each a small package wrapped in holiday tissue and tied with twine. Van looks surprised when I hand him one. As they unwrap their gifts, I grab hold of my medallion, hoping it will send a ripple of courage through me. It doesn’t.
“Before my magic sparked, I used to be able to weave small magic with thread. I used my embroidery as a way to access the part of me that I can see now
