she’d shielded him. Even I couldn’t see into him at first. And that’s when I knew. She’s not as clever as she thinks. In any case, we’ll fix that. You’re okay?” she asked Hannah.
“Yeah. I feel it.” She winced as she rubbed her ass. “Small price to pay.”
“Have Duncan and Tonia make you a charm. They’ll know what to do. Wear it, twenty-four-seven.”
“Right now, we’re going to exam so I can look you over.”
“I’m fine, Rach. I landed on my butt. But maybe a little something for the headache.”
“It’s from being pulled out of the trance abruptly, and not by the one who put you in,” Fallon explained. “The herbal remedy’s better for that than the chemical.”
“Got it covered. Come on, Hannah.”
“Okay, okay. Thanks, Fallon.”
Rachel led her away, glanced back. “So much for the quiet morning.”
Fallon went directly to Will to report the breach, left it to him to work out how to tighten security. Then she went to her mother to work together on a magickal overlayment.
That left her little time to check on the prisoner transfers and the progress of the delegation to Quebec. She spent the evening trying various locator spells, searching the crystal, but could find no trace of Petra or Allegra.
“I’ll get through,” she said aloud. “Sooner or later.”
By the time she dropped into bed, the two hours in the woods, the simple kiss, the quiet, seemed incredibly far away. And very precious.
She’d just drifted off when she felt a snap in the air.
“Just me,” Duncan hissed before she hurled something nasty at him.
He lay down beside her, wrapped around her. “Hannah. I’m stupid grateful you were there.”
“She’s okay, right?”
“Thanks to you.” He kissed the nape of her neck. “I can’t stay. I want to stick close another night.”
“You made the charm for her.”
“Yeah. Had to be pretty—she insisted.” He nuzzled Fallon again. “Tonia handled the design so it would be. So it’s pretty enough for Hannah, and effective.”
She shifted around to nuzzle back. “Mom and I worked out an overlayment for security. I think it’s effective, too. We thought we had enough already, but—”
“Kid demon from hell. Who expects that? Fucking Petra.”
“I can’t find her, Duncan. I looked, but I couldn’t find her. I will.”
“We will. Nobody messes with my sisters.” He kissed her cheeks, her lips. “I can’t stay. But I could take an hour.”
Her lips curved against his. “This is a really good way to spend an hour.”
* * *
Fallon spent time with her maps, huddled with her father, Will, Eddie, and others over battle plans. She worked with her mother on potions, with Kim on herbals.
To keep her hand in the game, she visited the barracks for some sparring, the academy to monitor a class on spell casting.
And while she continued to search for Petra through the crystal, she roamed through it to mark other areas, study, consider.
When her mother came in, Fallon sat with her maps at the dining room table. “Back at it?”
“Yeah.”
“Want some tea? After a morning in the community kitchen I’m ready for some.”
“Sure. Thanks.”
“It’s wicked cold out,” Lana continued as she moved to the stove to put on a kettle. “I think it’s a night for beef stew. Will you be here for dinner?”
“Should be.” Fallon rose as Lana ran her hands over a teapot to warm it. “Mom, I have something to ask you.”
“All right.” Lana opened a cupboard, considered her teas. Chose a ginger spice.
“I’ve pinpointed the area where Lucy and Johnny came from—the segregated community I told you about.”
“Mmm. Some people never learn, do they? We’re all in this together. Working, living, loving together makes us whole.”
“It’s that, how you’re an example of that, know how to communicate that—it’s why I want you to go.”
“Go?” Lana glanced back.
“To what Lucy calls Riverbend. There are at least a hundred people, and they’ve managed to defend themselves against the occasional raid. Some, on both sides of the river, will fight if they’re given a reason. I need you to give them one. You and Dad.”
“You want me and your father to go, try to convince people who refuse to mix together to fight together.”
“It won’t be the first time, and I can’t think of anyone better suited. You, Dad, and Ethan.”
“Ethan.”
“A family. A blended family.”
“The One’s family.”
“That’s a factor,” Fallon agreed, and moved in to measure the tea. “A witch, an NM soldier, a young animal empath. Two people who survived the Doom and made a life. The son who’s grown up in the world