Page 38 of Last Gift: Supernatural Battle

The letter was thin. A seal of black wax secured the contents. Not that Barrow couldn’t have magicked it open, but such magic would leave a trace unless the person was very, very good at the job.

In this case, Barrow hadn’t needed to.

The letter was addressed to me, and on the back, it detailed the names of the Vissimo and Luthers I’d contacted.

Barrow’s gaze was heavy on me.

Caught red-handed. Better own it. “Good, I’ve been waiting for this.”

“The letter the vampires and werewolves last sent was addressed to you.” His eyes widened. “The warning it spoke of in their letter… You were trying to tell them about the demons.”

No point denying it now. “Yes. Like I said, the Vissimo and Luthers have also been embroiled in games of their own. I thought it best to send them word. Alas, our council wasn’t in the mindset to open communications with them at the time. We could be in a better position now otherwise.”

“We had no idea about the demons,” he replied, spots of color appearing on his cheeks.

I squeezed his arm. “No, you didn’t. You operated on what information you had at the time. I’m just happy it can all be out in the open.”

He exhaled, nodding, and I lowered my arm.

“Do you seek an alliance?” Barrow asked.

I caught sight of Josie leaning against a tree nearby. “I seek a meeting with my advisors where we’ll discuss such things in private.” I gripped one of the pendants left by previous council members. I’d altered it so I could summon all my advisors and also individual advisors. That would save me some searching time. I’d need to ask Winona and Sage how to do their head portal trick that allowed them to seek out an individual in the coven too. I had an idea of how, but I also didn’t want to portal inside a person by accident. Grandmother had said I should only use that against someone I wanted to kill in a glorious, gory fashion.

I’d keep it on the back burner.

Barrow left ahead of me, and I followed at a slower pace, slitting my finger under the seal to open the message.

I read the contents and released a breath.

In the advisory chamber not long after, I sat at my authority and waited until Wild and Delta arrived and got themselves seated.

“Could I please get an update on our communication with other covens so far,” I said.

Barrow, Winona, and Opal were on that job.

Winona answered, “There remain seven covens who have openly declared their support of our coven against the demons. We are in discussion with three other covens who seem half-willing, but are concerned of giving the wrong impression.”

Opal added, “Which means they don’t want to incur the wrath of the original coven.”

She summoned a piece of parchment and slid it across the table to me.

I ran my eyes over the names of the seven covens and associated leaders. “Rguc.”

“She predicts great things of you,” Barrow explained in a vague voice. He was thinking about the letter I’d received.

I tapped on another name. “Nightlock. She was the old high esteemed. The outspoken one?”

Winona smiled. “She’s known for speaking her mind. I gather she rather likes that quality in you too. She certainly isn’t cowed by the original coven.”

I recognized two of the other names. One of the men, Bartemus, was my biggest fan during the three-hundred-year fight in Caves. I was glad for his offer of help. “What do they offer as support?”

“Four of them offer weapons and charms only,” Barrow stated. “The others offer any willing magus, along with weapons and charms. All offer knowledge.”

Huxley put in, “My team of grimoires are nearly through cataloguing the information we hold on the subject of demons. Next week, we’ll approach the other covens and add any further information they hold to our knowledge bank.”

They were that far already? That explained the dark rings around his eyes. “Please ensure your team is taking care of themselves too,” I remarked.

Varden and Wild chuckled. As did Barrow.

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