I stared bitterly into the darkness. “Money will not buy freedom for Grieve, nor jewels. And power . . . power corrupts. I hate the fight I’m immersed in, but I will persevere. Because there’s no other option. I am not the daughter of a king, with all respect, Your Majesty. I prefer to think of myself as the daughter of a witch and an owl-shifter. That suits my nature far more than the robes of a princess.”

He reached out then and took my hand. His fingers were long and thin, with sharp nails, and he squeezed gently. “Your answer pleases me more than you can possibly imagine. And just so you know: Lainule does not resent you. I speak the truth when I say your birth was her idea. We are not so beholden to having only one mate in the realm of Rivers and Rushes. You and Grieve are somewhat of an anomaly.”

Just then, Lainule returned, a serving girl behind her who carried a steaming mug that smelled like raspberries and lemon. She handed it to me and when I inhaled, the scent washed through me.

“Drink deep. I give you my word of honor, it will only help you, not hurt you. Leave Anadey to me. Do not pursue the matter.”

“She mentioned this had something to do with her exhusband, Rex, and the fact that he’s got ‘powerful allies’ and is back in town. I think she’s afraid he’ll lure Peyton away from her after all these years.” I hesitantly brought the drink to my lips and sipped. The flavor ran through me like sweet wine, and I upturned the mug and emptied it down.

As the liquid spread through me, it felt like it was undoing knots and gnarls in my aura, and I relaxed a little. I found myself smiling, feeling free, and my wolf began to warm again. I placed my hand on the tattoo and felt a low rumble.

“Grieve . . . he’s back . . .”

Lainule reached out and shook my shoulder. “I have reversed her spell, but you must listen to me. You must not follow through on your plan to rescue Grieve. I offer you this bargain: We will rescue him, but in our time, in our own way. Until then, pretend that Anadey’s spell succeeded. We want to ferret out who she’s working with, and if they see that it didn’t take, they might fade away to avoid being noticed.”

That made sense, although something felt off, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

“All right, I promise.” Again, the feeling that I’d been locked in, thoroughly and tight, rang through me. Promises to the Fae, even by a half-Fae, were binding.

I thought about what it entailed—lying to Rhiannon and the others—but I couldn’t take the chance that one of them might be working against me. Leo, for example. I wouldn’t put it past him to have been behind this mess. Now that I knew Anadey was all too willing to betray me, I couldn’t be sure of anybody. Suddenly feeling much more alone in the world, I hung my head.

“I can’t trust anyone now, can I?”

“You can trust yourself, child.” Wrath patted my shoulder. “I’m proud of you. You’ve struggled against so many hardships over the years, and look at the strength that you’ve evolved. You make me proud to be your father.”

Gazing up at him, I saw the kindly fire in his eyes. He’d never be one to hug me tight, or take in a ball game with me, but he meant what he said and that was more important to me than all the father-daughter outings in the world.

“Thank you,” I whispered. “But what will I say to them? I ran out on Anadey.”

“Keep away from her. She was trying to remove your connection to Grieve. Do your best to pretend that the venom enchantment has been severed. Let them see it’s led you to reconsider rescuing him. Continue with your business. If Grieve tries to contact you, don’t tell anyone and instruct him to do the same.”

I told them what happened when Myst beat Grieve. “I took on his injuries.”

Lainule pressed her lips together, then let out a long sigh. “Obviously, we cannot just leave him with her. Not if it’s going to hurt you. I feared this might come to pass. We have to move quickly. Go home, do as we bid, and we’ll be in touch with you soon. And meanwhile, keep your heritage secret. If Myst finds out you are Wrath’s daughter, she will throw all her efforts into capturing you. She would ignore the vampires and come after you directly.”

“This is why you didn’t tell me about my father isn’t it? You were afraid I couldn’t keep my mouth shut?”

“No, Cicely,” Lainule said softly. “I feared she’d torture it out of you and then all would be lost.”

Wrath walked me back to the edge of the portal. “You will have to tread carefully with what has happened. One misstep and we all lose. I wanted to tell you earlier, you know—about the fact that I’m your father—but we couldn’t take the chance letting you know. Now you do.”

“Now I know,” I repeated softly. Then, without thinking, I threw my arms around him and gave him a long hug. “Thank you. Thank you for being my father.”

“Don’t thank me yet, Cicely. It’s too soon to tell what the fallout of everything is going to be. But know I am watching over you—that’s why I spend so much time in owl form.”

He opened the portal. A dark green sedan was waiting for me. I frowned, staring at it, then looked back at him.

Wrath nodded. “The car will see you safely home. Don’t ask questions, don’t tip the driver. Just get in, be silent, and leave silent.”

I slipped into the backseat and as the driver glanced at me through the rearview mirror, I caught a glimpse of his face. Whatever he was, in the mirror it didn’t translate as human. But I said nothing, just nodded, and as the car pulled out from the parking lot, I settled back for the short but silent ride home.

After I climbed out of the car, I stood watching it speed off into the night. Then, turning back, I stared up at the Veil House. Had Leo been in on Anadey’s little plan? Who was backing her? All answers I needed to know. Steeling myself, I entered the house.

Peyton was there, along with Rhiannon and Kaylin, both of whom looked terribly worried. They rushed over as soon as they saw me.

“Cicely—I’m so sorry. I drove your car home for you and brought your clothes and purse. What did my mother do to you? I knew something was wrong. Why the fuck did I leave when she told me to?” Peyton’s eyes were glittering with tears.

I bit my lip. The last thing I needed was for Peyton to confront Anadey. I hated lying to my friends, to my cousin, but there was no help for it until we found out who might be working with the older witch.

“Your mother broke the venom enchantment, like we wanted. I just don’t like the way she did it—she scared me. I want nothing to do with her for now.” I held her gaze, willing myself to go through with this. “She pissed me off, although I can’t remember much of what happened.”

Peyton paused, sucking in a deep breath. “I’m so sorry. How are you feeling, physically?”

I hesitated, as if searching my feelings, then slowly shook my head. “I don’t know. Numb, I guess. All I know is she drugged me and tied me down—isn’t that enough? No spell should involve that sort of behavior, not when it’s cast on a friend.”

It bothered me to keep it from Peyton that Anadey was working to ensure that her father was out of commission, but there was too much at stake to come clean over that.

Peyton waited another beat, then slowly nodded. “Yeah, I hear you. Loud and clear. Maybe I’ll stay over here for the night—that is, if you don’t mind me being here after what happened.”

I shrugged. “No, you weren’t the one who did that to me.”

Rhiannon and Kaylin pummeled me with questions, but I played dumb and managed to get out of any protracted conversation by pleading exhaustion. Rhia followed me upstairs, and as I drew a bath, she pulled out my nightgown and robe for me. I wanted to break down, to tell her everything that was happening, but a spark of fear held me back.

Lainule and Wrath were going to rescue Grieve, and they were going to find out who was behind Anadey’s bizarre behavior. I couldn’t sell them out just because Rhia was my cousin. I felt like I was walking a razor’s edge—so many conflicting forces, so many potential enemies. But as soon as they gave the okay, I would sit her down and tell her everything.

My wolf growled slightly, but I forced my hands to keep away from my stomach. I pulled off my clothes and stepped into the bubbling tub of lavender and lemon, sliding down into the comforting water as the steam loosened my joints. Rhia sat on the edge of the tub.

“Do you want me here?” She bit her lip, looking torn. “I can leave if you want to be alone.”

“Nah, that’s okay.” I blinked back tears, thinking I’d cried all too much in the past few weeks. But these were tears of weariness and of joy. Meeting Wrath had brought with it an underlying sense of peace, even though it left me with more questions than ever. Such as: How had he enticed my mother? Had he cared for her at all, or was it simply a mission to ensure that I return as Cambyra Fae? And Krystal . . . had she fallen for him, only to be left alone and pregnant?

“Anadey . . . I don’t know what to think about this. Did her spell work, though? Do you think the venom from Grieve will still intoxicate you? Or did she . . . did she do anything else to you?” Rhia was astute, that much I already knew. And she knew something was going on.

I closed my eyes, leaning back against the warm porcelain as the water soaked through my aching muscles. After a moment, I shrugged. “I doubt the venom will be a bother anymore.”

“Peyton says you flew away into the night. Were you wearing your pendant? I thought you left it at home.”

“No . . . I had it with me. But the transformations are getting easier.” I sat very still.

“You’re changing, evolving. Very quickly. I hope it’s not too much for you.”

“I think I’d like to just relax now,” I said, closing my eyes. “Can you light a candle and turn off the overhead on your way out?”

Rhia stood, brushing the front of her skirt nervously. “Cicely, are you going to go after Anadey for what she did to you?”

And then I realized she was afraid I’d attack the older woman, that I’d go off half-cocked and kill her or something. I laughed softly. “No, don’t worry yourself over that. Trust me. I don’t really consider her a friend right now—not after drugging me—but attack her? No.” At least not now.

With a sigh of relief, Rhiannon lit a candle and turned to leave, softly closing the door behind her. As soon as she was gone, I let everything go and suddenly found myself weeping, silently and uncontrollably. I let the tears run down my face, not bothering to wipe them away. I was crying for Grieve and our people—the Cambyra Fae. I cried for Chatter, whom I’d betrayed in my former life. And for Rhiannon and Heather. For Anadey, who had proved herself to be false-tongued. I cried for Leo, so caught up in his need for validation that he’d actually slap a woman. I cried for Kaylin, tied to the Bat People, who seemed so very harsh.

And lastly, I cried for myself . . . because I had no clue how we were going to come out of this with any sense of happiness. In fact, happiness seemed a million miles away.

Chapter 17

I slept uneasy, guarding my dreams. The thought that Kaylin might be able to slip in, to sense them, bothered me more than I thought it had. I wanted something private, that was my own, and each time someone linked to me, it took a little of my privacy away.

Early in the morning, I woke to the sound of the owl outside my window. Wrath was perching in the oak. I opened the window and saw that he was carrying a note in his beak. Cautiously, I crawled out on the snow and ice, shivering, and he flew by, dropping the paper on the roof, then soared off to the tree line again.

I snatched up the folded paper and headed back inside, slamming the window again. As I unfolded the thick, papyrus-like paper, a thin spidery writing leaped out to catch my eye. Not from the vampires, that was for sure. The paper reeked of Fae energy. Glancing at the signature, I saw that it was from Lainule.

It read:

Cicely, I’m going to talk to Geoffrey about these issues.

Keep strong. Keep to our agreement.

Tucking it away in a desk drawer, I stared at myself in the mirror. I looked haggard. My wolf growled and I gently rubbed across it, sending soothing thoughts to Grieve. Thank the gods that Anadey hadn’t been able to complete her spell or I’d be dead.

With that thought, I took a quick shower, dressed, and ran down the stairs. As I shot into the kitchen, I skidded to a halt. Everybody was gathered around the kitchen table: Rhia, Leo, Kaylin, Chatter, and Peyton. They all looked up at me, as if expecting a thundercloud to break.

“What? What’s going on?”

“How are you doing?” Rhia looked uncomfortable.

I shrugged. “Fine, I guess. I feel a bit discombobulated, but it was probably just Anadey’s magic. It’s different than my own.”

“Did you want to go dreamwalking at Geoffrey’s today?” Kaylin gave me a long look, speculative, and I realized he didn’t believe me.

With a shake of the head, I let out a short sigh. “No, there’s too much at stake for us to chance it right now.” Before anybody could say anything, I turned to Peyton. “We’d better make sure the parlor and waiting room are clean. Our ad hit the paper this morning and my guess is that we’re going to have a busy day.”

At least, I prayed it would be a busy day—that way I wouldn’t have time to think. I wolfed down my breakfast, waffles and eggs and bacon, without looking up at the others, even though I was all too aware of their attention focused on me.

“But I thought you needed to get the antidote as soon as possible?” Rhia asked slowly.