Page 91 of Fallen Heirs

“But Lenora Hart could have.”

“Oh my God,” Vanessa breathed.

My dad turned to me. “If this theory is correct, they’re only missing two ingredients. My blood and you, son.”

“You want to lock me down after all.”

“I want you to return to wherever Orpheus is. He can’t currently be tracked, so I assume he’s created a pocket dimension?”

“Yes,” I admitted.

“Good. Head back there and stay inside until you hear from me. Meanwhile, I need to leave for the Dark Fae Realm to speak with Alena and Saryan.”

“I can’t just leave you to deal with this on your own. Let me help you.”

“You’ve already helped. The three of us have figured this demented plan of Constantine’s out together. And—” He pulled up short as he stumbled around the table.

I sped over to him and caught his arms, steadying him. “What’s wrong?”

He blinked. “Nothing. Just a little bit of lightheadedness.” He eased from my hold, trying to offer me a reassuring smile that didn’t quite succeed. “There’s been a great deal of stress lately, so—” He stumbled again and slapped his hands to his ears with a grunt, grimacing as he did.

“El!” Vanessa cried, rushing forward.

“What is it, Dad?”

He held his hand up to me.

With the other, he called his indigo power and muttered an incantation in Latin that sought to banish foreign magical interference.

He blinked again and stood up straight, the pain seeming to have gone. “Constantine has established a link to me via the magic he stole.”

“He’s starting the spell already? Without all the ingredients?” Vanessa asked, looking him over frantically.

“A portion of it, perhaps. Or, trying to weaken me so he can get the remaining ingredients without me posing an obstacle.”

In the next moment, he swept his hand over our experiment, destroying all the samples of his blood. “He won’t get it from here. But there’s one other place where samples of my blood are stored.”

“The archives at theExemplarcompound,” Vanessa said.

“There for emergencies. I need to get there right now and remove them.” He looked at me. “Once I retrieve them, I need you to take them to Orpheus within the protection of his pocket dimension. If Constantine really is in possession of celestial magic like we believe, the ward that protects them now and other volatile items at the compound won’t hold.”

“Got it,” I assured him.

“Good. You’ll stay there while I meet with Saryan and Alena in the Dark Fae Realm.” He looked out at Vanessa. “You too, my darling.”

“El—”

He took her hands in his. “I couldn’t bear it if you were used against me, punished for being a part of my life.” He looked out at me briefly, pain flaring in his eyes, before he turned his attention back to her. “I’ve already had far too much of that.”

“The chances of Constantine knowing that you and I are together is—”

“He has spies everywhere. Just like Saryan.”

She nodded, albeit reluctantly. “Whatever you need to lessen the burden.” In a bid to lighten the mood, she looked out at me, telling me, “I’ve heard your cohorts are quite the characters. It will be a real treat meeting them.”

I chuckled. “That doesn’t even begin to describe them.”

“I look forward to it.”

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