Page 26 of Blood & Ice

“Are you going to be okay?” Maverick asked, raising his voice to be heard over Wanda’s shouting.

It took everything I had not to burst into a fit of hysterical giggles. No, I wasnotokay. My family was in more peril than ever, and no one could seem to come to a consensus about it. Half the Council was pitching a ‘wait and see’ plan, while others (Lorcan and Wanda especially) were advocating swift and harsh action. I was a fan of kicking down Aurea’s door, shaking her until the truth spilled out, and then kicking her somewhere north of Siberia for daring to threaten my family.

Maverick sighed. “Okay, that was a stupid question. You’re clearly at your wit’s end. Is there anything I can do about it?”

Ah, Mav. Blunt and pragmatic when I needed him to be. He knew I didn’t have the emotional bandwidth to explain what I was going through. He’d zeroed in on the situation and offered what he could. It was all I could ask of him. Of anyone.

“What would you say if I asked you to hold me for a little while?” I whispered, my voice pitched so only he could hear. It was like spilling a winter wind directly into his ear. It was apparently an ability some winter Sidhe possessed and used tosend messages. We had to be in close proximity for the sound to translate properly.

Maverick shivered, reaching up to grab his ear. He disguised the motion by pushing his hair back in a practiced fashion. The womanizing warlock had perfected the role of brooding bad boy over the years. It had worked on most women he’d seduced. There was a nagging fear he’d ghost me now that we’d slept together—or we almost had. His favorite parts hadn’t been involved though, so that might make him stick around for a while.

His hand cupped my cheek again, using the other to brace my waist and draw me in close. It should have been mortifying to cuddle him like a teen at a horror flick in a room full of irate monsters. I must have finally crossed my threshold for stress because my emotions had gone distant, the way they did when I was trying to cope. I had too few fucks to give to waste it on what Wanda might think of me snuggling with her cousin.

I felt our magic meet and touch briefly, an after-effect of what we’d done in his room. There was rarely a connection so intense as those caused by a sex act. The power built and grew, making my heart pound. I wasn’t sure what was happening between us. I felt like I should pull back and retreat to safe ground, but I couldn’t move. I didn’twantto move when he kissed me, soft and heartbreakingly chaste.

I wanted more. God help me, but I wanted more of Maverick. I’d sworn I wouldn’t let myself go there when we’d started this. I still wasn’t sure it was a good idea now. There was so much potential for heartbreak. I didn’t want to lose him. Didn’t want him to exit my life the way Jonathan had, moving on to someone else the moment my back was turned.

His magic skimmed along mine like a fencer testing his opponent’s blade. It felt faintly ticklish, just a quick burst of energy, but it still left me breathless. I was glad to see the deep,almost possessive heat in his eyes when he went in for another kiss. I normally didn’t go for the caveman thing, but it worked for Maverick. I could see the desire to throw me over one shoulder and drag me back to the cave. At this point, I’d let him. It would feelso freaking goodto forget everything for an hour or two.

“Better?” he asked.

“Sort of.”

Did I tell him that being hot and bothered was preferable to the screaming panic that was currently trying to drown me? That I wanted to sprint out of here with him on my heels and not look back?

His eyes softened. “It’s an improvement from a few minutes ago. I’ll take that as a win.”

So would I. Celebrating the little things could keep you from going stark raving nuts in our line of work. The job could be so bleak and demanding at times. Maverick’s arms made me feel safe and warm in a way Jonathan’s never had.

I let myself lean into Maverick and soak in the conversations going on around me without letting the fear deafen me to everything else.

“We can end this tonight if we go now!” Wanda raged at Roy. “I say we aim a volley of hexes at that miserable old bat!”

“And then what?” Roy fired back, looming over the comparatively diminutive Wanda. He had considerable bulk to put behind his threat. I’d sooner fight a troll than a sasquatch. At least trolls were less intelligent, and you could get the drop on them. Yeti were a different breed entirely.

Fifi’s hands flew to her hips in the clearest signal of ‘backing my man’ that I’d ever seen. Her eyes were hard when she stared Wanda down. The situation was going off the rails if the two were close to blows. I could see the signs of an impending brawl and wanted to stop it in its tracks.

“Roy’s right,” Fifi said. “What exactly is your plan if Aurea strikes back? Even assuming you succeed, she’s not going to take an attack lightly. She’ll attack Haven Hollow. Out you as a blood witch yet again, which will only bury this place in deeper and deeper political shit! You can’t just barge in there and assault one of the most powerful head witches in Europe, Wanda!”

Wanda stepped out of the circle of Lorcan’s arms. She’d gotten more comfortable showing affection with him of late, though they ribbed each other mercilessly afterward. I swore it was foreplay by now. They bickered and pretended they couldn’t stand one another, only to rip each other’s clothes off the second they had a private moment to do so. The gesture went a long way to how seriously Wanda was taking this whole thing. I suspected most of her ire was for Astrid, not me, but I appreciated the anger, nonetheless.

Tension crackled through the assembled council members. We all knew, without verbally acknowledging it, that this situation was going to be a catastrophe, no matter how it played out. If I succeeded, there was still the political fallout that came from going against a witch like Aurea Grimsbane. I wasn’t convinced she’d out Wanda since she despised the vampires and wouldn’t want to inflict them on another witch. But anything past that? Yes, I could imagine she’d be a huge pain in my ass from now on, no matter how this played out. And if this played out badly... if I died, well, that left them with an even larger problem. Even removing personal feelings from the equation lost the Hollow two powerful pillars of the community. They couldn’t make up for that loss easily.

I thought I’d have to put myself between Wanda and Fifi, who were posturing like pissy cats across the circle from one another. I wasn’t sure what had gotten into them tonight, but I couldn’t let the two women start slinging lust and/or magic at each other with so many bystanders nearby. In the end, I didn’thave to step away from Maverick. It was Astrid who stepped in between the two women, hands out to stop them in their tracks. I could feel autumn magic swirling off her in waves, a nippy breeze that tickled your nose and sank lightly into your skin. A pleasant amount of cold to herald the Winter season before it arrived. Our courts should have been allies. Maybe, if I defeated Janara someday, we could be.

“Wanda, chill,” Astrid said, fixing her cousin with a serious look. It was one she’d borrowed from her Uncle Fox. A mix of authority and irritation that had always raised my hackles.

“I will notchill,Astrid,” Wanda shot back, using finger quotes around the word ‘chill’ for emphasis. “That old hag is threatening Taliyah, and by proxy, a member ofmycoven. I reserve the right to kill Maverick if he pisses me off. I’m not letting someone else take the first crack at it.”

“I feel so loved,” Maverick said, deadpan. I didn’t have to look up to know he’d wear a neutral mask. He always did that when dealing with the other witches. There’d be a twinkle in his eye, though. He enjoyed being able to verbally spar with the others. It was one of the ways he showed love. He teased because he cared.

“Tell me you wouldn’t be pissed if someone tried to kill me, Mav,” Wanda continued. “If anyone is going to off me for being annoying, it will be you.”

“True,” Maverick said without a hint of shame. “I take your point, cousin mine.”

“Fifi has a point too, though,” Astrid said. “You can’t go in there, Wanda. I’m not sure if Aurea will out you or not, but it’s still not smart. I’ve seen her warding. It’s impressive. She’d know we were coming a long time before we got to her front door. Not to mention what the rest of the school might do if they think the castle is under attack. We narrowly avoided a war because Uncle Fox sent people in to battle the turned faeries. That’s still freshin everyone’s mind. You might be able to handle Aurea, but can you beat the vampires, demons, faeries, and angels that might join the fight? There should be at least a hundred students still in residence. Not everyone goes home on break. Some don’t have homes to go back to. Can you fight all of them for the chance to one-up Aurea?”

Wanda had the decency to retreat, hiding her sullen frown as she stepped backward into Lorcan’s embrace. She didn’t usually lean on him the way she did now. This whole affair must have struck a nerve for her. One named ‘Astrid.’ She’d never forgive Aurea for not finding the culprits sooner. If she had, Astrid might still be among the living. She and Maverick both blamed themselves for not stopping her murder.

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