Little did she know, loyalty ran deep with this pack.
When I looked down, though, she was staring directly at me. “Everything okay?” I murmured, not wanting to detract from Reed’s talk to the feisty crowd.
She nodded, solemn, considering. “You lack a wise one, but perhaps honor is enough. And you have behaved with honor to our people.”
“Thank you?”
She snorted, rolling her eyes. “Many underestimate goblins. We are small, and we look different, and many of us are unserious, as you well know by now.”
It was my turn to snort. “Yeah.”
“But those beings overlook our greatest strength. Community. We are many, and we are spread over the world as easily as grass seeds on the wind.”
I nodded, unsure where she was going with this little visit.
“There are no living phoenixes currently in the world. The New York clan reported the only one remaining-she was hiding in plain sight as a socialite-disappeared last Christmas, presumed dead by the police.”
Fuck.
“Do not despair, silly wolf. Much like we do not store our valuables in our cities, the phoenixes of old would not have left their prized possessions just anywhere. Turn back the pages of time and go to the history. Where did they store their valuables then?” To my surprise, she patted me on the hand, as if she approved. “You are a smart, silly wolf. You will find it.”
With that, she turned and walked away, leaving me to puzzle over everything she’d said.
By the time we’d made it back to our safe house, the mood had lifted. The goblin piece was nearby, as best as we could tell, hidden behind Niagara Falls. And I hadn’t stopped thinking about the clue that Batten had given me, about where phoenixes had hidden things back then.
The second the door shut behind us, though, all attention turned to Shay and Dirge.
“Well, we have a lot to catch up on.” Leigh, as usual, wasn’t afraid to get the party started. She had settled the still-recovering Gael onto the couch and immediately turned toward her friend. “Can you fill in some gaps for us?”
Shay and Dirge shared a loaded look, and then Dirge pulled a small, glowing pouch from a pocket, shaking out the smallest glowing shard we’d seen yet into his palm.
A cheer went up, the females hugging and the males slapping each other on the backs.
“Okay, so, that’s three. We know where the goblin’s piece is, and we can get that before we leave. All that leaves is the phoenix piece,” Reed summarized, right back to business.
“I think I know where it might be.”
My announcement was met by all heads turning my way, even Gael, who looked close to dozing off over there.
“You’ve been holding out on us?” Olivia said, poking me lightly in the ribs with her elbow as she grinned up at me.
“No, actually. Batten gave me a hint before we left. She said there are no living phoenixes, per the goblin network. Even if a new phoenix has been born, they’re probably not old enough yet to be of any help.”
“Failing to see the good news here,” Leigh grumbled under her breath, but our shifter hearing still picked it up.
“The hint was to not worry about who was alive right now, and think about where they would have hidden the piece back then. ‘Turn back the pages of time,’ specifically.”
The confusion on everyone’s faces led me to continue.
“Egypt, guys. The phoenixes’ ancestral home was Egypt. I believe that’s where their nesting grounds were originally.”
Everyone began talking at once. Eventually, Olivia clapped twice, surprising me as everyone’s fractured conversations ground to a halt.
She blushed when I looked down, blinking in surprise. “I was an assistant teacher at a preschool. Sometimes you need a little clap to get people to focus. So, if we have two pieces, do we split up? Gael isn’t ready to go hiking off to the falls or tramping through the desert in Egypt.”
Ever the healer, thinking of others’ needs first before her own. I slid my arm around her waist and pulled her in close to my side, dropping a kiss on the top of her head and stealing a whiff of her delicious scent.
My wolf rumbled happily in my chest, enjoying this new phase where our bond was coming as soon as the moon was right, and we were safe.
“As much as I hate to split the pack further, I agree. Gael and Leigh need time to rest and heal.” Kane scanned the group, calculating.
Elodie spoke up. “Head Priestess Marciana called me yesterday. The last few watchers the ODL left at the enclave finally gave up and left after the battle, since they had hard evidence you weren’t there. They should be perfectly fine to go back, take some R&R. Actually… Brielle could go back, also. Where she’s safely behind the barrier.”
While most of the pack would take that as good news-having a safe haven was good; there was no arguing that even if it was temporary at best-I found it concerning. If we didn’t know where the ODL were, we wouldn’t know where to watch for the next strike.
We need to get the fuck out of Canada. Tension radiated through me as the mounting risk of every minute we stayed here seemed to pile like boulders right onto my shoulders. Olivia wasn’t safe here. And as her mate, it was my job to keep her safe.
A whole new wave of inadequacy threatened to swamp me. I didn’t know shit about protecting a female. The only one who’d ever depended on me was gone.
Not a good track record.
Olivia frowned up at me in confusion as if she could tell something was bothering me, and I quickly forced a smile. I didn’t want her to worry about her safety or about our relationship. We’d had enough ups and downs. It was time to move forward.
“If one of the pieces is behind a waterfall, I could probably help with that,” Fiona offered, wiggling her fingers and making thunder rumble overhead. “I can manipulate the water if needed, make it a little easier to get where we’re going safely. Reed can protect me, and we can bring it back to the enclave after we get it.”
“But you can’t go alone. We don’t want anyone to be alone, not with the ODL regrouping, and Goddess knows what the Hungarians are up to right now.” Brielle shuddered, looking up at Kane with tortured eyes.
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