Page 57 of Last Gift: Supernatural Battle

I smiled. “I think so. I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“I did,” she said, a wrinkle between her brows. “And I have a good feeling about you, too, High Esteemed.”

“Me too,” Basilia called from the tunnel.

A knot in my chest loosened, and I observed the sensation like the strange, rare thing it was. I simply didn’t make instant connections with people. Rooke was one of very, very few. Even my relationships with the quad took time to root.

Yet somehow, I had a good feeling about these women too.

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Kyros dipped his head. “You will hear from us once I have discussed the matter with my father.”

I returned his gesture. “I look forward to it.”

The prince paused, then added, “My father hates your kind.”

“I look forward to changing his mind.”

“Good luck with that. Not that his hate is personal. You are our most formidable foe out of the main supernatural species.”

“Not demons?” They had magic also. Where magus and Luthers shared a link with nature at their roots, Vissimo and demons were similar in many ways too.

“He hates demons also.”

Then the Vissimo king would love dealing with a half magus and half demon supernatural. I’d keep that to myself.

The prince continued, “I anticipate my father will want the gates found immediately. He may wish for magus to search Bluff City for demon activity.”

There were magus around on the knolls again and ears on the conversation. Maybe it would be good for the coven to see how easily the supernaturals had accepted the possibility of demon infiltration via their games. “You can hear them, Prince Kyros. You do not require our help. Though if a map is supplied, we will happily give you our knowledge on where the gates could be.”

I was the only one who could sense demon gates in the coven. I couldn’t leave the coven unprotected.

Sascha joined us. “I should be able to locate any in Deception Valley. Can we send you a map too?”

“Of course.” I hesitated. “I suspect that there will be more gates around your territory. If I were the demon king, once I’d claimed the territory to the south, then I’d go after yours next.”

“As would I,” the Vissimo prince agreed.

Andie exhaled, hugging Sascha’s middle. “Thank you for the warning, High Esteemed. We’ve just got through one war. I don’t feel ready to face another so soon, but a surprise invasion would have been a worse fate by far.”

“We can figure it out,” Wild answered.

There was confidence to his words, and the sentiment echoed in me too. Vissimo, Luthers, and magus together…. If that didn’t save us, then nothing would.

“Pack Leader,” I addressed Sascha.

“Just Sascha, thanks,” he replied with an easy smile on his face.

I nodded. “I had Winona look into the deaths of the Luthers of your pack. She found a record of their discovery in our archives. Two Luthers were found, murdered, at the edges of our territory. The markings and wounds on them were unusual.”

“Like they’d been melted from within,” he said, his easiness gone.

“Yes,” I acknowledged, pulling a face. “Though possible for a magus to do, theoretically, it is not how we deal with a threat.”

“You don’t believe your people did it,” Andie said.

“My gut says no. The bodies were located in a ravine that is the location of a demon gate. This could be interference from demons to prevent any meeting between Luther and magus. However, there is a simple way for us to find out. I have instructed my strongest divination magus to undergo a retelling in the area. This will replay the past and allow us to see what occurred. If our ancestors were to blame for the deaths of your people, then you will receive a formal apology from this coven. If it wasn’t us, then watching the repeat may be confirmation for you that the demons have a more widespread plan than simply claiming magus territory.”

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