Page 151 of Last Gift: Supernatural Battle

“It had to be to make up for my size elsewhere.” Sven laughed nervously. “But seriously, she’s not going to march in there and demand the game resumes, is she? You two have been out of it for two days. The supernaturals haven’t been in touch. The other covens don’t appear to know about her demon side yet, but they will soon enough. The advisors have received a list of transfer applications the length of my… well, it’s big, I’ll say that much.”

I kept walking, and as the rumble of shouts and crashing from the coven increased, and I made to enter the eating chamber, Sven bodily stepped in front of me.

“I can’t let you do this,” he said, half begging. “You need to lead this coven, and this isn’t the way. They need…”

I waited. “Time?”

“We don’t have any of that.”

“No,” I agreed, then studied his pathways. “We have seventy-two hours, in fact. You have done so much more than most here to keep this coven together. Thank you, Sven. It’s been hard on you, and it’s harder still to think that you may need to relinquish control when your life and Rooke’s are on the line along with everyone you know and love. But it’s time to let go.”

He closed his eyes. “You said that Rooke and I would have a child.”

“If we take the pathway I see, then that is a possibility. It is not in all other possibilities, except for the one where you and she run tonight and leave the coven to their fate. If you do that, then you will definitely have a child. Multiple. Though your parents won’t be involved in that future.”

Sven opened his gaze and looked down into mine. “If we leave, then she’ll be safe. If we don’t, she may not be safe.”

“You can exist in safety alone and out in the human world. Or you can risk death in the coven to fight for a life here with those who love you.” There was no judgment in my words. Those were just his options.

Sven took a breath. “Fuck. What a choice.”

I nodded. “It is. Get out of my way, large man.”

He paused, then dipped his head. “You got it, small woman.”

I entered the chamber, reaching back to take Wild’s hand in mine. We walked through the ranks of the quietening magus. They’d been shouting at each other not to shout so they could shout at the row of very stressed advisors lined up on the stage in front of the authority. Or something to that effect. No wonder the red smoke had spilled out of the ravines.

Slow.

Sven had mentioned the smoke moved slowly. That wasn’t usual for him, the demon wing in my mind informed me. Something was amiss in his realm, or he wasn’t at full strength. What, I couldn’t say, and yet I sensed that my demon did know. She simply believed the knowledge either wasn’t useful or that she wasn’t ready to share at this time. It wasn’t the first time I’d felt that from her, but now we’d merged, it was far more obvious that she was concealing something.

Part of possessing this quipu was also respecting that there should be limits to what I peered at. Like Sven, I’d figure that out in time, but I wouldn’t disrespect my demon’s wishes by prying. She had our best interests at heart.

“They’re awake,” someone said.

There was relief in her voice. For the most part, I wasn’t sure what to make of the opinions and emotions in the room, only that everyone was feeling very strongly, whatever emotion they’d settled on.

The coven did part ways for me to access the stage, and when I climbed the few stairs there, the advisors stepped back to allow me space.

I ran my gaze over them, seeing any number of thoughts on their faces. These people had been closest to me in the last few weeks, and yet that could have left them feeling angriest at my revelation of four days prior. Varden looked terrible. This was his worst fear come true. Winona was set on a solution to the red smoke. Delta had taken my betrayal hard, as had Ruby, but she could admit that I’d always had an edge, and this explained why. My edge should be utilized.

Opal hadn’t liked much of what I’d done. My unusual approach to the supernatural alliance made sense to her now. She’d never seen harm in me, and she felt for my grandmother, though she couldn’t fathom what my mother had seen in a demon. She expected my mother was taken forcefully by him.

Huxley was 100 percent on board.

Barrow… he felt embarrassed most of all. He liked to think his position made him privy to inside information. He’d been put on the spot and made to look foolish.

I regarded them all. “I’m sorry for the turmoil you feel, and for the turmoil you’ve had to deal with since.”

Meanwhile, I’d passed out again. How many times was this now? I really had slept—or undergone a series of transformations—for most of my leadership.

Facing the coven, I reeled back as hundreds of thousands of threads surged forward to greet me.

My knees hit the stage, and I squeezed my eyes shut.

Wild was crouched next to me, and I clung to him as we went through a more intense version of the centering process of this new quipu magic. I was panting by the end of it, and as I recovered, I became painfully aware of the white glow of Wild’s magic surrounding us.

Wild looked up at the coven. “There’s been a development in Tempest’s magic. A good one, but one that will take time for her to grow used to.”

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