Chapter Nine
Skylar
“We’ve got a problem,” David said as he walked in the door.
I set down the book I was pretending to read. Since I’d learned to live without sleep, the days were a lot longer. The last few days had been exhausting, but sitting and resting was enough to recharge me.
“What’s going on?” I asked. I felt Xander tense next to me. He set down the hand-held video game he was playing.
“I think the wolf better go check out the palace,” David said. “There were visitors again tonight. A lot of them. And I’m pretty sure they were all shifters this time. Something was messing with my senses and I can’t confirm. I think we need a shifter to check it out.”
It felt like ice was sliding down my veins. “You think she’s using the stone?”
“I’m not sure,” he said. “They appeared to be going of their own accord, but why would she invite them in if not using the stone?”
“We need to know if she’s using it already. I thought we’d have more time before she could crack the magic,” David said.
“I thought she’d need a demon to help her,” I said.
“Maybe she has one,” David said, his upper lip curling in a snarl. “If she’s using Clara’s magic…”
“We’ll go check it out,” I said.
“Not you,” David said. “He can do it alone.”
I laughed. “It’s cute when you get protective. But between the two of us, only one of us has actual experience doing a stake out and investigating marks.”
“She’s got a point,” Xander said.
“I’m going,” I said.
“Be careful, and be fast,” he said. “Don’t let her see you. We need her to think you’re off somewhere with your tail between your legs.”
“Or that she’s dead,” Xander said. “She was in bad shape after the queen showed up.”
I moved my hand to my throat, feeling the phantom sting of the blade. I would be dead if not for my mates’ quick thinking and Shelly’s healing. Even being supernatural, our bodies had limits.
“We’ll be careful,” Xander said.
I lowered my hand. “Let the others know we might move up our timeline. See if Madison can think of any other options.”
“Where’s the human now?” David looked around.
“Sleeping,” I said. “It is three in the morning.”
David shook his head. “All those fragile human traits.”
“Maybe give her another hour,” I suggested. “She’s been through a lot.”
“We all have,” David said. “But this war.”
“It’s not war, yet,” I clarified. “We’re trying to prevent that.”
“Come on.” Xander handed me a helmet. “Let’s go take a look for ourselves.”
We arrived near the Queen’s Palace a few hours before sunrise. It was that dark, unwelcoming time of the evening when it was the coldest of the whole day. I shivered and rubbed my arms to warm them. Of all the rides I’ve taken with Xander on his bike, early morning had to be my least favorite.
A heavy sense of dread settled into my gut as we crept through the shadows. We didn’t speak for fear of drawing attention to ourselves but I wasn’t sure what to say anyway. I could feel Xander’s unease and I didn’t think it came from our situation. It came from the news we might uncover. We couldn’t afford the queen to be using the stone already. We needed the cover of the party to get into her home.