Page 76 of Premonition of Peace

“How did you end up here?” August asked, standing over Kat and shaking with unbridled rage.

“The Morrigan set the trap for Nathalie, but I couldn’t do anything to stop her, okay? Backseat. I literally watched it all happen, and there was nothing I could fucking do, you get it?”

I pointed to Sasha. “And this?”

Kat narrowed her eyes at me, even as they filled with tears, she glared at me just as angrily as I glared at her. “I didn’t do anything, you delusional asshole! I wouldn’t hurt my sister, and I have no reason to kill Sasha.” She rubbed her throat, turning her head to stretch. Bruises were beginning to take shape on her delicate skin. “The Morrigan taunted Nathalie. Sliced her open knowing there was nothing Nat could do, then told her how she was going to fuck you for the immortal aurae bond,” she said, pointing at August. She looked at me. “Said fucking you was going to be a victory.” She waved her hand haphazardly. “Said you’d be the ones to kill me, thinking I’d hurt my sister”—she gave us a dirty look—“seems like she was on the money with that part of her plan.”

“How are you here now?” Marcel asked, extending a hand to Kat and pulling her up. I refrained from slapping him away until I had all my answers.

She shook her head. “I don’t know. Nathalie did something I couldn’t understand. Shears appeared out of thin air, and she cut the air. Nothing was there. Then she just collapsed as I felt The Morrigan leave my body.”

August and I looked at each other, both understanding exactly what that meant. “She cut The Morrigan’s thread to Kat,” August said quietly.

“And it tied to hers,” I finished.

“Fuck!” Marcel yelled, running his hand through his hair as he started pacing.

Katherine’s brows shot up in surprise. “She found the objects of fate?”

“Wait,” August said, holding his hand up for us to stop talking. “The Morrigan needs Kat to die before she can fully take over Natalie, right? We just need to keep Kat alive.”

“Easier said than done,” Marcel grumbled.

“You have no idea how many people want me dead,” Kat said in agreement. “And even then, I’m still mortal.”

Completely ignoring the other three, I gently lifted Nathalie’s head onto my lap, my hands gripping either side of her head as I tried to concentrate. I’d never forced my way into her memory loci on purpose, but this was the perfect time to try.

I’d told her to escape into her loci. To find safety there if this happened. I also warned her that The Morrigan could find her way there as well. For once, I hoped I was wrong. The space around me grew silent and I could feel the others watching me, their curiosity and concern palpable.

“What are you doing?” Marcel asked, his voice tight with anxiety.

“I’m trying to reach her mind,” I replied, my eyes closed in concentration.

“You can do that?” August asked incredulously.

“It’s weird. The familiar bond. I can connect with her mind.” I measured my next words, balancing guarding Nathalie’s privacy while still giving necessary information. “She organizes her thoughts in one space, with all her memories filed away. That has to be where she went. I’m going to try to push into her mind and see if I can find Nathalie and help her. Now shut up so I can focus.”

I closed my eyes tighter and took a deep breath, pushing myself into the mental connection we shared. At first, nothinghappened, and I started to fear that I couldn’t find her loci on purpose. That I could only get there when it was pulling her, thereby calling out to me as well. But then, the familiar sensation of slipping into Nathalie’s loci washed over me, and I felt myself slide into her mind.

But everything was wrong.

I stood outside of the house she’d built, where all her inner-Nats lived.

A scream rent the air, coming from inside, and I thundered up the porch steps. When I grabbed the doorknob, it jiggled but wouldn’t turn. The metal began to burn, searing into my palm and burning my skin. I yanked it back and then banged on the door, throwing myself against it, but it wouldn’t budge. It didn’t crack. Nothing. The powers of an immortal demon couldn’t even break it down. I couldn’t make a dent.

“Nathalie!” I shouted, desperation seeping into my voice. I could hear voices and more screaming on the other side. I called her name, over and over while I kept trying to bust into the house. I called the other Nats, yelling for Peace or Ann—any of them—but there was no response.

A nauseating resignation took hold of me. There was nothing I could do. I pulled out of her mind, snapping back to reality and facing the others.

Three sets of expectant eyes held my gaze, waiting with bated breath.

“I can’t reach her,” I said, my voice hollow.

A familiar presence appeared, and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end.

“Ronan,” I said flatly. “What are you doing here?”

His features held a darkness there that answered my question when he looked at Nat’s prone body. Scanning each of us, he landed on Kat, and he narrowed his eyes. “You’re alive.”

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