he was a fucking murderer, and I would never forgive him.
I shoved the baggie under my pillow in anger and stood.
There was no time to sort through my emotions and find understanding. I needed those crystals back now.
Chapter 3
“Morning,” Mara called out from behind her desk. Her red hair was braided over one shoulder, and she looked refreshed after a good night’s sleep. My gaze fell to her cuffs.
“Shit! I forgot to ask Indra about the cuffs again.” I was really fucking up this temp Queen thing.
Mara waved me off. “Don’t worry about it. Like I said, I was told the spell can’t be broken while I’m still living, and a few more days won’t hurt.”
I just couldn’t believe that. “Well, when things settle, I’ll find out for sure.”
She nodded, but her eyes were blank like she didn’t believe I’d find any answers.
Jasper, Trissa, and Elle filed in behind me. I decided to leave the others until I actually found something. I had a plan. It went outside my comfort zone, but it was a solid plan.
“Where to, love?” Mara started to tinker with the dials on her desk.
“Anywhere,” I stated.
She raised an eyebrow. “Okay… How about Colorado? I think that was next in our sweep.”
I sank into the seat and clipped into the wire harness. “Sure.”
Didn’t matter for my plan. Anywhere would work.
We traveled to Colorado, and I stepped out into a beautifully treed garden.
“I would love a real estate portfolio like this,” Jasper observed.
I looked up at my small group of friends and pulled out my knife, pricking the tip of my finger.
“Lily!” Elle gasped.
Blood magic.
It was the only way to do this. I’d seen Liam do it before, and I was sick of playing by the rules. We needed those crystals back now.
“I have to,” was all I said.
The red droplet welled on my fingertip, and Jasper laid his greedy gaze upon it. “I could reverse a woman’s age back fifty years with that single drop.”
Trissa pulled her sword and glared at him.
The warlock rolled his eyes. “I’m just saying.” He put up his hands in defense.
“Lily, are you sure you want to do this?” Trissa asked me.
Blood magic was dark. My mother always warned against it, but then she used it for her journal. That told me that in desperate times, it was okay to use.
I nodded.
Letting the drop fall to the earth, I sucked in a breath. “Show me where the crystals are.”
Then, I plunged my finger into the dirt, and my mind was suddenly squeezed like a vise. Pressure built on my brain, and I hissed. A strong gust of wind slammed into my back and nearly knocked me over.
“Lily!” Elle shrieked.
“I’m okay,” I mumbled.
The pressure built, and I closed my eyes, imagining the crystal. The shape of it, the weight in my hand, the light blue coloring. The wind ripped through the space, but I held my footing.
Then, like an intrusive flash into my mind, the Welcome to North Carolina sign flashed into my mind’s eye followed by the cabin where Liam and I first made love. My heart panged at the memory for a split second before I sobered. The pressure left just as quickly as it began, taking the wind with it, and it was almost like it never happened.
“Got it.” I grinned. “North Carolina.”
“Hate that place,” Jasper said, and we collectively eye-rolled.
It wasn’t lost on me that North Carolina was where Liam had Mara drop him and his brothers off. Maybe he did have all the crystals and had given me one out of pity…
The second we stepped into Mara’s, I gave her a huge smile. “It’s in North Carolina. Can you take us to that cabin in Asheville again?”
She nodded. “Should we get the others from Faerie first?”
I thought about it. Three semi-useless fae might just slow us down. “No, let’s just go before we lose track of it.”
Five minutes later, I was stepping into the cabin where I had amazing ceiling sex with my soulmate. Something that brought anger and grief crashing into me with equal measure. I didn’t dare let my eyes gaze at the couch and fireplace where we’d made love. Instead, I headed straight for the front door, head down.
“Someone’s been here recently,” Elle spoke behind me, and I froze.
Looking up, I noticed she was in the kitchen. Bags of chips and soda were strewn across the counter, dishes piled in the sink.
Liam.
That mother fucker. He was using our safe houses.
“Let’s go!” I snapped. If