A few more handshakes, and we were done.
It was time to leave Nis? M?thou, but I had absolutely no idea where we were heading next.
Lucien
Something was bothering Olivia. I’d noticed it in her silence while we’d thrown our few possessions into the speedboat, in the way she hadn’t settled into my side on the ride, and in the way she looked drawn and tired now that we were boarding the private jet.
I’d worn her out last night, but she’d been happy and upbeat this morning at breakfast. No, this was something else.
And we were at least twelve hours away from enough privacy to find out what it was if we didn’t want the whole pack listening in.
We’d settled into a pair of leather seats at the front of the jet, but our pack mates surrounded us, chattering happily about how we had two pieces, and that only left two to go, besides the one Shay and Dirge had gone to get from the fae realm. All except Samuel, who was still blessedly giving me and Olivia as wide a berth as possible in an enclosed space. It wasn’t enough, but it was manageable.
Halfway there! was the mood, and I just wasn’t feeling it. Going over my capture and torture this morning for Fortier had brought all my rage and desire for revenge burning back to the surface.
Was that what Olivia was reacting to? I cast a sideways glance her way, but at the moment, her head was bent as she read quietly on her phone. She was more empathetic than anyone I’d ever known, so it very well could be.
I sighed, kicking back in the seat as I thought it over. I knew I needed to get my shit together-but every time I thought I had, something brought it all back up as if it were yesterday.
“Hey, guys, I’ve got a heading for us,” Reed called out from farther back in the jet.
Everyone turned or rose from their seats to see him better.
“I wasn’t able to get in touch with Councilman Lug, but I just spoke with Xeor Blaise, a powerful warlock acquaintance in Las Vegas. He’s hooked into the supernatural world well enough to keep tabs on pretty much everyone. He says the goblin leader was last seen in eastern Canada, near Toronto.”
“Toronto? Don’t goblins usually form colonies farther away from major population centers?” Leigh asked, the only person who still had her feet up.
“Yes, but he was sure of it. Frankly, that’s good for us. The Hungarians won’t start anything with enough humans around, not unless they want the entire supernatural world gunning for them for exposing the secret.”
“Toronto it is, then.” Brielle smiled, walking up the aisle to go tell the pilot.
“Any word on a phoenix?” I asked, worried about the fourth piece more than any of the others.
Reed grimaced, and I knew the answer. “No, not a peep. They’re rare in every century, but it seems wolves aren’t the only species in decline. There would usually be eight to ten alive at any given time, but Blaise wasn’t aware of any he could direct us toward. He sends his apologies and promises to call again if he gets a lead.”
I nodded. It was exactly as I’d suspected.
“I had no idea any of the species were so rare,” Olivia said, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as we settled back into our seats. I reached over and freed it with my thumb, earning me a fleeting smile.
Deciding to remind her of this morning, I leaned in and whispered, “I’m the only one who bites this lip now.”
She shuddered, heat filling the depths of those green eyes. Damn, she was so responsive. If we weren’t in the middle of a pack shitstorm, I’d have kept her in bed for a month, until we were so tangled up, we were ready to bond.
The realization struck me momentarily mute, but her expectant expression snapped me out of it.
“Each species has its own natural population set point. Humans are the only ones expanding like ants at this point, though vampires… They’ve had their ebbs and flows over the centuries. Phoenixes, though, are unique. One of the rarest species out there, except perhaps djinn, like Fiona.” I shrugged. “No one really knows the why of it, but there are only ever a handful at any given time. They keep to themselves, because their feathers are potently magical, and they’ve been hunted over the years and held in captivity many times.”
“Sentient magical beings, held in captivity for their feathers
?” Olivia’s horror was appropriate. What I’d learned in my IGC briefings was ugly. The council’s enforcers were actively searching for any living phoenix, but it was feared they were either extinct or enslaved.
“Yes. Usually, the fear is that humans will discover us and experiment on us, but in this case, it’s other magical races who want to amplify their own powers.”
“Despicable.” The little healer practically shook with anger, and I had to work not to find her cute in the moment. But damn it, she was objectively adorable, like a kitten squaring off against a mastiff, entirely certain she was going to take him.
“I agree. But hopefully, the IGC is wrong about the phoenixes, or we’re going to be stuck.”
She nodded, resigned, glancing back down at her phone.
“Go ahead, read. Relax a little. I’m sure as soon as we land, there won’t be a quiet moment.” I dropped a kiss on her forehead, and finally felt like I could exhale when she lifted the armrest between us and shifted so that our sides touched.
Olivia
By the time we’d made several “throw the ODL off the scent” stops at various airports and then finally landed in Canada, it felt like we’d been on the jet for a month. In actuality, it was about a full day and a half of travel.
As we all exited the jet, the sun was setting over Toronto. But I didn’t care because I was just so, so glad to be on solid ground again. It felt weird in the best possible way to be on pavement that wasn’t moving under my feet.
There were black SUVs waiting, courtesy of Reed’s endless business contacts, I had no doubt, and Lucien and I climbed into the back seat of one together.
We were all exhausted, so it was quiet as we drove to our temporary safe house, from which we’d look for the goblins. Lucien had arranged it from the air yesterday. There was a local witch who was willing to ward it as strongly as possible in exchange for a council member owing her coven a favor.
I tried not to let myself dwell on the fact that we weren’t sure it would be enough to keep the ODL off us. The centaurs’ special barrier had worked like a charm, but it took the might of their entire species to build and maintain that warding magic so that they had a safe haven.
Even once we found the goblins, not much was known about their powers or what kind of barrier we had. Basically, we all knew we were on borrowed time here, but we didn’t have another choice. With no stone, we had no way to get the rest of the wolf packs to band together with us instead of against us because of the fear of omegas.
It didn’t take us long to get to the safe house, and when we rolled to a stop, my jaw dropped. It was the most conspicuous home I could have imagined.
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