“Staying here is a risky move,” I warn her. “If they choose—”
“We will beef up the wards, make sure nothing gets close enough to get to us.”
“And if it does? With Ridley in Faerie, we have no easy route out of here.”
“Not yet.” Bronywyn rushes past me and into the house. I follow, wishing like hell I could talk her out of whatever plan she’s concocting. The smart move here is to re-locate. Granted, that holds a host of its own issues, mainly if Ridley pops back up, the last thing we want is him showing up in a trap.
But staying here could mean having a massive target on our backs, and that’s sure as fuck not something any of us wants.
“What the hell is she up to?” Rainey asks, as Bronywyn blows right past her and heads for the stairs.
“I’m not sure. Her father took off; keep an eye out.”
“Already on it, boss.” She winks and heads toward the front porch.
Taking the stairs two at a time, I reach the top quickly. Bronywyn is all but running down the hall, so I blur forward, reaching our door moments before her so I can push it open. She smiles softly, cheeks flush, eyes still swollen from crying, before she heads inside and rushes over to our closet.
“What are you doing?”
“Shhh.” Reaching up with both hands, she presses her palms to the door of our closet then closes her eyes as violet wraps around both forearms, snapping and singeing the wooden door.
I don’t speak and barely breathe, afraid that if I do either, I’ll interrupt her from whatever spell work she’s putting forth. Magic charges the air around me, pulling at me and snapping like static electricity.
It nips at my hands, my face, and the exposed skin of my neck as it completely surrounds the both of us. An invisible wind ruffles her hair, sending the sunshine strands in all directions, though she seems completely unaware.
Then, just as quickly as it appeared, everything vanishes.
Bronywyn turns toward me. “Backdoor created.”
“Where exactly did you link it?”
“Your pub. But we have to actually go there to complete the link. Right now, it’s a one-sided door. We can see through it,” she opens it in demonstration, and I find myself staring into my office. “But no one can pass through.” Once again to prove her point, she presses her palm against the barrier. It ripples, but nothing happens.
“You linked my pub to this house? Why my pub?”
“They won’t be looking for us there if we’re here. And by the time they decide to look for us there, we’ll be long gone.”
“Are you sure that’s such a good idea?”
“It has to be. In order for it to work, I have to actually have physical access to the other side. Your pub is the safest bet.”
Someone knocks on the door, so I blur over and open it. Drex stands on the other side, expression blank. “Elijah and Cole are back.”
“We’ll be right down.” I shut the door and turn to face Bronywyn. “You planning on telling them about your father?”
“I’m assuming Rainey already heard all of it, but I will if she hasn’t.”
I start to leave but stop and turn to face her. “Promise me something.”
“What?”
“This war won’t kill us. We’ll run before it can.”
She opens her mouth, then closes it again. The look on her face tells me everything I wanted to know and nothing I wanted to hear.
“I can’t promise you that, Tarnley. I’m too deep into this—too tangled in the council’s crimes against our kind. My only choice here is to fight. Otherwise, survival won’t matter because I won’t be able to live with myself, anyway.”
“Why?”