There was a haunted look on Neil’s face. “Declan is a miracle,” he murmured. “And he needs to be protected—and given a normal life. A happy, normal life.”

“I want that too,” I said wearily. “Believe me, I do.”

“Adrian?” Maude’s voice came through to where we were sitting on the back porch, enjoying the warm evening. “You have some guests.”

In a flash, Neil and I were back inside, my heart racing. Sure enough, there was Sydney, standing in the living room and back to her normal appearance. I swept her into my arms, spinning her around so much that she laughed and told me to set her down before she got dizzy. I cupped her face in my hands.

“You’re okay,” I said happily.

She gave me a teasing punch. “You knew I was.”

“A phone call is different from seeing,” I said. I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I mean, I knew you were competent and brave and awesome, but, well . . . it’s still not easy having your wife off risking her life with a bunch of vampire-hating freaks.” I reached into my pocket. “Oh, and don’t forget this.” I got down on my knees and slipped on her diamond and ruby rings, which I’d been holding on to while she was away. “As promised. I mean, except for the naked part. But we can worry about that later.”

I expected a chastising “Adrian,” but she smiled, her face filled with love and happiness. She took my hands and helped me up, looking as though she might even kiss me, until she remembered we had an audience. Flustered, she stepped back and crossed her arms in an attempt to look professional. Eddie and Marcus looked amused by all of this. Neil, oddly, looked intrigued as he glanced back and forth between Sydney and me.

“Time to get back to business,” she said.

“It’s happening,” said Eddie eagerly. “We’re getting Jill back.”

“What’s the plan?” I asked. Once I’d called and told Rose and Dimitri the information about Jill and the Alchemists, I’d lost track of what was happening. I knew Sydney had been part of the strategizing, though.

“The Alchemists have confirmed that the place they knew about in St. George is the same as the one in the records we had on the laptop. So they and the guardians are analyzing all the schematics to make sure they’ve got a solid course of action,” Sydney explained.

I felt a bit of smugness at that. Alicia had been so cocky that we wouldn’t be prepared to go for Jill, but she hadn’t counted on Sydney’s sleuthing. I was proud of myself for holding back in truly turning on the spirit. In fact, I’d been very cautious of it the last couple of days, and amazingly, Aunt Tatiana had stayed mostly quiet.

“We also currently have amnesty, so we can move around freely and go join them in St. George,” Sydney said, nodding to me. “Not that you and I’ll do much as far as action, but we can at least monitor things and be there when Jill’s released. Neil, Eddie, and some of the others will be at the actual rescue.”

“I look forward to it,” said Neil, a dangerous edge in his voice. Eddie’s fierce expression answered for him.

“We’ll all get more details once we’re in St. George,” continued Sydney. “We can hit the road as soon as everyone’s ready. It’s about a six-hour drive, and we should end up there right about the time the raid is scheduled to happen.”

“I’m ready to go any time,” said Neil.

“Me too,” I said. “Just give me two minutes to gather my things.”

Sydney followed me to Maude’s guest room and watched as I shoved my spare clothes and laptop into the tote bag I’d been hauling around on this adventure. “Rose called me,” she said, shutting the door. “She and Dimitri wanted to see if it was okay for them to go to St. George—leaving your mom and Declan at Clarence’s. I told them it was. I hope that’s all right.”

I paused, momentarily alarmed, then gave a slow nod. “Yeah, I think so. The Alchemists will have given up watching your hangouts, now that they know where you’re headed. And really, as long as no one’s looking for Declan . . .”

“That’s what I thought too,” agreed Sydney. “Though I could tell Rose was dying to know why we’ve been so secretive about him.”

I slung my bag over my shoulder and put my free arm around her, noticing that she had a small bag tucked in the crook of her elbow. “I think we should tell them when this is over—and once we’ve figured things out with Neil. They’re trustworthy . . . and they deserve to know. You know what it means for them.”

“I do. Plus, whatever we end up doing to help Declan and Neil . . . well, I think we’re going to need a few allies. They’re good ones to have. I don’t suppose Neil’s changed his mind?”

“No,” I said in exasperation. “He still keeps wanting to take the moral high ground, saying it’s best for Declan.”

“We’ll talk him out of it,” she said. “Once this is all over and Jill’s back.”

“Once Jill’s back,” I reiterated. The floodgate holding back all the emotions I felt about Jill threatened to burst. “God, I can’t believe we’re so close. It’s been so long, and I’ve been so worried about her.”

Sydney squeezed my hand. “I know, I know. And we’re almost there.”

“I wanted to rip Alicia apart,” I admitted. “For what she’d done. I wanted to pulverize her with spirit.”

“You didn’t, did you?” asked Sydney, her eyes widening.

I exhaled. “No. I wanted to, but no. I kept it in check. I only used as much spirit as I needed. And I’ve been keeping it under control ever since.”

The smile that lit Sydney’s features warmed me all over. “I’m so proud of you, Adrian. I know it can’t be easy.”

“It’s not,” I admitted. “But I’m trying. And I think I can do it—I think I can control myself. I don’t need the meds. I can just hold back on spirit.”

Her smile faltered, like she might disagree, but then she surprised me by saying, “I’ll support you and be there for you, whatever you choose to do, for the rest of our lives.” She handed me the bag under her arm. “I got you a gift. Well, it’s kind of for both of us.”