Blackbird Crowned (The Witch King's Crown #3) - Keri Arthur Page 0,16

Noelle. “She’ll remain asleep until you reach your destination. It’s safer for all of you.”

Luc handed Jason the black sword, then bent, undid the twine, and carefully scooped up his sister. When he turned, our gazes met. Those vivid depths were still filled with concern, but this time, it was for me. “Whatever you’re planning to do next, be careful. I don’t need the additional worry right now.”

A smile twitched my lips. “Careful is my middle name.”

He snorted. “Which is like saying reserved is Mo’s.”

“I’ll have you know I certainly can be, young man.” Her voice was severe, but her blue eyes twinkled.

“Hmm” was all he said to that.

I smiled and followed them over to the door, locking it behind them.

“Will she survive the extraction process?” I crossed my arms and watched them walk down to the illegally parked black van.

“In all honesty, I don’t know. Many didn’t.” She sighed and moved back to the stairs. “Even if she does, there’s no guarantee she’ll ever be the same. No one can be so intimately touched by darkness without side effects.”

Then I could only hope that for Luc’s—and his family’s—sake, she was an exception to the rule.

I followed her up the stairs. “Did you tell the High Council about the apartment and the possible gateway?”

“Yes. They’re sending a team over to deal with both.”

“They’ve still got teams that deal with this sort of thing?” I said, surprised. “I thought wraiths hadn’t been active since the last war?”

“For the most part, that’s true. But the High Council learned the foolishness of disbanding such a specialist unit after a situation that developed eons ago—one that almost wiped out the entire council.” She motioned to the next set of stairs. “You might want to go change into something warmer. I checked the forecast for Bodmin Moor, and it’s going to be a perfectly shitty day.”

“Fabulous,” I muttered. “There’s nothing nicer than flying in foul weather.”

She grinned. “You’re young. You’ll survive.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I have to freaking like it.”

She laughed and disappeared into her room. Once I was in full waterproof gear, I pulled the ring out from under my breast and tucked it safely into the bottom of Vita’s scabbard. Like the knives, the ring was made of silver, which was one of the few substances immune to the shifting magic. Then I lashed the two knives together so that they were easier to pick up with my claws.

Mo walked in. The backpack slung over her shoulders had two sets of wellies roughly tied onto it. “Thought I’d better bring along some proper footwear and some food. I know how grouchy you get if you don’t have breakfast.”

I grinned, although it was true enough. “There are villages in and around the Moor, you know, and they do have such things as cafés.”

“Yes, but I’m thinking it might be better not to be seen in too many locations within the area. It’s possible they’re keeping a watchful eye on all the ancient sites.”

“Why would they be doing that? Max has drawn the sword from the King’s Stone, and they have no idea it’s not the real one.”

“Perhaps, but there are plenty of other god-gifted artifacts lost to the mists of time I bet they wouldn’t mind getting their hands on.”

I frowned and waved her to the window. “Like what? And why is this the first time you’ve mentioned such things?”

“Because in the current situation, it’s hardly worth getting all het up trying to find them. Besides, I actually have no idea where to even start looking for them. Ready?”

“Yes. And you didn’t answer the first part of that question.”

“No, I didn’t, did I?”

She laughed, changed shape, and flew out the window. I shook my head and called to the magic that allowed us to shift. It rose swiftly, a thick wave of heat that swept through muscle, sinew, and bone, altering and miniaturizing all that I was in human form and shifting it across to my bird persona. As the power reached a peak, there was a moment of nothingness—a moment where I was neither human nor blackbird but held in unfeeling suspension somewhere between the two—and then I was winged, and the freedom and the glory of the skies was mine.

I scooped up the knives and flew out the window, following the brown speck that was Mo. The night was crisp and cold, and despite the ominous-looking clouds that curtained the sky and blocked the moon from sight, the storm had ceased.