sight. Guess her life debt didn’t really cover the message like Knox had suspected.
“Just when I think shit can’t get more interesting,” Jase muttered under his breath.
“Yeah,” I agreed.
“Dean, stay behind for now just in case she returns. Jase will work on assigning a guard rotation to make sure she doesn’t get Kingston alone. Life debt to Piper or not, I do not trust her.”
“Agreed,” Knox said.
The four of us left Dean behind and made our way out of the prison, headed for the stairs.
“So the big bad warlock has a heart somewhere in that empty chest of his,” Knox mused. “Who’d have thought?”
“Perhaps we can use the girl to leverage him into aiding us,” Merc said.
“We still don’t know who the lock is,” I pointed out. “Maybe he can’t help us find—”
“He can,” Merc and Knox said in unison just as Kat appeared in the hall.
“Then let’s go beat the answer out of him and then eat, because I’m starving.” Kat sashayed toward us, mischief in her eyes.
“Your assistance won’t be necessary,” Merc said, stopping her short.
“Oh, I’m not going to assist, your highness. I’m going to do the job. That asshole and I have a score to settle.”
She turned back to the stairs, her laughter echoing through the hall. The rest of us followed, tension weaving through the group. All kidding aside, we couldn’t afford for anyone to kill Kingston just yet.
Not until we found the lock and broke the spell.
Chapter Seventeen
I’d secretly hoped that the prior day’s shenanigans would have postponed the coronation, but much to my dismay, it was still very much on. Security for the event was a hot topic among the enforcers and wolves alike. Kat, however, took the cake with an opinion that shocked the hell out of everyone at the impromptu meeting, including me.
“Liam should be there,” she said as though that fact were obvious. “We need all hands on deck to make sure this party goes off without a hitch, and from what I’ve heard, it sounds like he has a few handy tricks up his sleeve.”
“I’m assuming you aren’t going to suggest we should let Kingston loose, too,” Merc said casually, though there was a note of concern hidden in his tone. He seemed to think Kat was being more reckless than usual.
“Fuck no. Did you miss the part about ‘without a hitch’? That fucker is exactly the kind of hitch I’m hoping to avoid.”
As the murmuring regarding her questionable sanity began to gain strength, I stepped in on her behalf.
“She’s right,” I said. “Liam proved himself yesterday. And I don’t want any casualties tomorrow night. Liam could help with that.”
“Or he could cause them,” a wolf said from the far end of the room.
“Piper and Kat are right,” Knox said, his sharp gaze slicing to the wolf who’d spoken out of turn. “I’ll talk to Liam—see if he’s got any other tricks up his sleeve we don’t know about that could be helpful.”
He got up from the table and walked out of the room.
“Good. Now, the rest of you should know your roles in this by now,” Merc said, addressing the others. “We want this coronation to be done as quickly and efficiently as possible, but not so quickly as to arouse suspicion. The vampires know there is a tentative truce at the moment, so they will be expecting a sense of ease tomorrow evening, whether or not it is warranted. The goal is to indulge that without falling victim to the façade in the process. We cannot afford to let our guard down for even a moment.”
“My uncle has updated the wards to the perimeter, but I can see if he will stay,” I said, turning to Merc, “if you think that would be helpful.”
“He can work the entrance with Knox. Ensure that no one and nothing suspicious makes it onto the premises.”
I nodded, then pulled out my phone to ask for Drake’s help. Moments later, he replied that he would.
“We will spend the rest of this evening in preparation. See Jase and Dean about the particulars.”
As if dismissed, everyone got up and made their way to whatever they were supposed to be doing. Kat caught my arm and led me to where Grizz sat in the hall, furry as the day he was born and glaring at everyone that walked by.
The bear was clearly in a mood.
“Did someone eat all the mashed potatoes again? They know those are his favorite…”
“The bear can fend for himself,” Kat said