in the water. Terrified for her people as well as for her life, she turned to Annika for advice and help.
Annika didn’t know anything about running a country, but she did know one thing well. And that was thievery. The other reason why Kieran would ultimately hate her was because of her compulsion to steal. By preying on those that helped to aid and abet abusers, and giving their wealth away to the abused, Annika felt she was striking a blow at Mason every time. She knew it was a metaphorical blow, but it was her therapy and it worked. It kept her sane. It kept her going.
During her lowest points when she had thought about taking a knife to her wrists again, it was only the thought of the women she helped that kept her going. And her ability to glamour made stealing almost easy. She couldn’t believe the cake walk it was to take The Scepter from Kestevayne.
So here she was. She had stolen a powerful magical object to help her best friend. It belonged to the family of the man who now loved her. And she was caught in the middle. Her fate was sealed. She was guilty of her crime and she would pay one way or another. Kieran would be crushed when he found out what she had done. But there was still Claire that she could help and there was no way she was going to let her down.
There was some tiny part of Annika that told her to confess everything to Kieran. To beg Kieran to help Claire. But then she thrust it aside. He may claim to love her, but when it boiled right down to it, she was too afraid to place her trust in him.
Annika was jolted out of her thoughts by Claire’s return.
“Here it is.”
She handed a small, lead bar to Annika. She turned it over and examined it carefully. It looked damned good. “Where is the real Scepter?”
“It stays locked in my bedroom.” Claire pointed at the door she just came from.
Annika had visited Claire a few nights ago, right after she had stolen the jewelry of that ogre of a woman on Park Avenue. It wasn’t a trip that she had planned, but Kieran’s forced manipulation of her to participate in The Scepter’s recovery necessitated a trip to visit Claire and make a plan. They had decided to plant a fake, and then give Kieran access to steal it back. With any luck, Kieran wouldn’t know it was a fake until he returned it to Ava. By then, Annika would be long gone. She knew the price she would pay was not only losing Kieran, but also her life as she knew it. She was going to have to pick up and start all over again. But that was another problem she would face as soon as she wiggled out of this one.
Getting Kieran to take the fake scepter was the easy part. The hard part was going to be on Claire. For them to get out of this mess, Claire was going to have to learn how to use the real Scepter soon. Like immediately. She only had a few days at most before Ava would probably show up with her entire Army once she realized what Kieran had was a fake.
“What type of progress are you making on the real scepter?”
Claire sighed. “Annika, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. Sometimes, I think I feel it responding to me, but then it’s gone. Half the time I think I’m imagining it.”
“You have to keep working at it, Claire. Hard.”
“I know, I know.” Claire grasped her hands together in worry. “Maybe we should just let Kieran steal back the real scepter.”
Annika was already shaking her head no. “We can’t, and you know that. There is going to be retribution to pay from Ava. The only way to protect yourself is to harness The Scepter’s magic. It’s the only way to protect your people.” Annika knew her voice sounded desperate.
“I’m so scared, Annika.”
Annika reached out to hug Claire. “I know, honey. Me too. Remember, worst case scenario, you and I disappear together. If you cannot get The Scepter to work, I’m taking you out of here and Balvraine be damned. You’re too important to me.”
Claire nodded her head in agreement. “Sometimes I think that may be the best. I don’t have any friends or family here. I hate it sometimes. You’re the only one I have