Blackbird Crowned (The Witch King's Crown #3) - Keri Arthur Page 0,27

really love it if some winged demons came out to play. Haven’t shot any of those bastards for a while now.”

Mo snorted. “Just make sure you keep undercover. I don’t need to be rescuing your ass tonight.”

“The scars I got from our last little jaunt are all the reminder I’ll ever want about the need for caution.” She dragged a long case from the car, slung it over her shoulder, and then saluted lightly. “See you all on the other side of this.”

She disappeared into the trees. Mo glanced at her watch. “Right, we’d better get in place. Tim, Jun, no matter what happens—no matter what you hear or see—your absolute priority is to get Mia out of here. Clear?”

The two men nodded and headed down to the shore. Mo’s gaze swept me and came up concerned. “You okay?”

“Luc hasn’t confirmed he’s here yet, I’m about to walk into a trap, and I’m doing so without the two weapons I’ve come to rely on so heavily over the past few weeks.” I waved a hand. “I’m perfectly okay.”

A smile tugged at her lips. “We both know which of those three items worries you the most.”

“I can’t help but think they’ll be waiting for him.”

“Even dark elves can’t see a Blackbird in full cover.”

They didn’t have to see him; they just had to hear him. Blackbirds might be able to manipulate light and shadow to disappear from sight, but they couldn’t similarly manipulate sound … I shoved the thought away. Luc was a soldier—the modern-day version of the knights of old. Aside from Mo, he was the most capable person I knew.

And that included me.

I squinted up at the sky and felt the wash of its vibrancy deep inside. Which was an utterly weird sensation and yet one that oddly filled me with hope. Darkness might lie on the horizon, but it wasn’t holding court here just yet.

We could do this.

I could do this.

I just had to keep trusting the people around me, even though trust had already betrayed me twice. I also had to believe in my own abilities, even though they were still so new and raw.

But I also knew that while it might eventually come down to a confrontation between Max and me, there was a whole lot of ugly to traverse before that happened. This was but the starting battle—and one we had to win. And not just for Mia’s sake.

It was time to send Darkside the message that we were done fooling around. Done with reacting rather than acting. If they wanted a fight, then they were damn well going to get it—and with Elysian in my hands rather than Max’s, we had every chance of winning.

I lowered my gaze to Mo’s. “Are you sure the concealment spell will stop anyone spotting the sword and the crown?”

She nodded. “Even if someone decided to steal the SUV, they won’t find either item. Not without the coronation ring.”

I lightly touched the ring that now hung on a chain around my neck. Though the contact wasn’t direct—the ring was tucked safely under my singlet, between my breasts—heat nevertheless pulsed through the stone. In the trunk of the SUV, the crown responded, sending a small but jagged bite of light through the air—something I felt rather than saw.

The spell—though only a temporary one—was working exactly as Mo had said it would. I drew in a breath and released it slowly. It didn’t do a whole lot to calm the gathering nerves. “Please be careful up there. They’ll be watching for you.”

“They can watch all they want, darling girl. Blackbirds aren’t the only ones who can disappear in plain sight, though my method somewhat differs to theirs.” She leaned forward and kissed my cheek. “Keep alert, keep aware, and listen to the whispers of the air and the earth. They’ll guide you when I can’t.”

With that, she shifted shape and disappeared into the treetops. A few seconds later, I felt the surge of her magic, but I wasn’t close enough to see the telltale wisps the spell would have left behind to understand its intent.

After another deep breath that did little to calm the churning in my gut, I resolutely took off my shoes and socks. Plotting and planning hadn’t been the only thing we’d done on the long drive to get here. Mo had used the time to give me a few quick lessons on mage-craft. It’d been extremely bare-bones stuff, and had basically centered on the need for a