Page 38 of Winterfall Destiny

"What did he say to you? I couldn't hear."

"Neither could I," I lie.

"Then Andrei is dangerous." Jamie sits back on his haunches, and he drags fingers through his hair. "What do we do?"

Jamie. Maeve's witch bond. How can I tell him Andrei broke through and saw the darkest part of me? That my need to prove that Andrei harboured dangerous desires for Maeve's blood and power backfired?

"He isn't a threat. The First left its power inside Andrei but not itself." I shuffle back to rest against the sofa. "Once he showed me the First doesn't influence him, Andrei didn't like me going any further."

"Further?"

"Into his mind. The heart of who he is now.” I rub my neck. "I guess this new Andrei doesn't like mind invasion."

Jamie looks between the open door and back to me. "But to attack you like that… Hell, Tobias, he threw you from that chair like you weighed nothing. If that's what he does when someone irritates him…"

Taking shuddery breaths, I rest my head back and focus my still-misted vision. "If you leave Andrei's mind alone and don't antagonise him, I don't think you need to worry, Jamie."

"And Maeve? Is she in danger? Because if Andrei attacked her like that then?—"

"The shadows?" I ask, catching the words from his thoughts.

He gestures. "What else could fight back against whatever that was?"

"Maeve won't need the shadows against Andrei," I say quietly. "Whatever else changed, Andrei's love for and desire to protect Maeve is unwavering."

"You saw that in his mind?" I nod. "And definitely nothing connecting his thoughts to the First?"

"They're not mentally connected, no." I hold a hand against my forehead again, nausea growing as if the dizziness came from a bang on the head.

"I still don't understand." Jamie rises to sit on the chair opposite the one Andrei occupied.

"He attacked me mentally as well as physically. Andrei's unpredictable," I say finally. "His hemia temper, and the emotions he struggles with are also heightened. Everything that makes Andrei what he is still exists, but at a level I doubt he can control himself. That's why he's partly closed down."

And the best thing about whatever the fuck just happened? Maeve is safe. From Andrei. From me. From everybody.

Because I don't rate the survival chances of anybody who so much as looks at Maeve the wrong way.

16

MAEVE

Our London plans move forward now that Andrei's back with us and seemingly himself so far. The debate whether to involve Alaric's group continues. We're worried about Matt and Amelia becoming collateral damage since Alaric takes the deaths of those who work with him as unfortunate rather than tragic. Yes, Matt and Amelia helped the night the academy fell, but that help could've cost them.

And there's another reason. Dorian. The hybrid killed Alaric's father. They've met since, Alaric shocked that his niece Eloise is now Dorian's lover. Does he know about Mia? By all accounts, Alaric maintains an understandable hatred for Dorian and that conflict and division would not help in our battle.

I'm hesitant to leave the Winterfall House. Despite the recent horrors between these walls, the place became home. I'm a little guilty about the mental magic hold on Steve, who renovated and prepared to rent the premises, and worry about that control breaking while we're away. Tobias assures me that won't happen, and he's paying rent for the portion of the house we use, anyway. I ask where that money came from, and he refuses to answer at first.

Until I guess: Oskar's still paying Tobias to watch his grandson. The Confederacy leader must know we've joined with Dorian who has plans against his organisation—specifically him. Seems that eradicating the Dominion trumps everything for Oskar—including keeping Andrei out of his mother's hands. Oskar isn't stupid; he'll ensure preparations are in place for when attention turns to him.

Even though the Confederacy covered up the true events at the academy, Oskar knows how much we're aware of. Is he aware of the First—he must be? And what will happen the day Oskar discovers Andrei's new state? Andrei's the biggest threat to the Confederacy now unless neutralised.

We settled on the idea that we'll stay at a house central enough to blend in, weighing up how close we should get to the city against how much attention we might attract. Tomas's occupation as a lawyer, and his single lifestyle leaves him with plenty of money and he arranges for a rental close amongst a more eclectic population, including a lot of students and younger people. No doubt this includes supernaturals and perhaps clues to Gabriella's whereabouts. Tomas instructs a friend to deal with the short-term lease in order to prevent any hint of a connection to us.

Hopefully we won't be in London long because Gabriella won't hang around.

Since Ash met with Ethan and Zeke, he's cagey about their conversation, stating his usual 'other things are more important' and he'll discuss everything once we're in London.

I'm suspicious.

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