Page 105 of Horn of Winter

“That’s because they’re in IIT hands. Sgott had forensics going over them to glean clues?—”

“What about my knives and the Eye?”

“Lugh’s secured them. You want me to fetch a cup of tea while I’m out making the call?”

“That,” Lugh said gravely as he opened his eyes, “has to be the stupidest question ever.”

I laughed. “No, the stupidest question ever would be asking me if I wanted chocolate.”

“Which,” Mathi drawled, “you’re not allowed to have until the docs do their rounds and clear you.”

I glanced hopefully at my brother as Mathi left. “Meaning I can get out of here today?”

“No, because they want to keep you under observation for another twenty-four hours. But all things being equal, you should be out of here tomorrow.”

“Well, good, because we’ve still got shit to do and an impatient old god to deal with.”

He nodded. “Sgott has decided we need to attach a tracker to you, because you seem determined to keep getting yourself kidnapped.”

I grinned. “It’s only happened twice.”

“Neither of us wish a third time.”

“I don’t either, I can assure you of that. But I’m not having a bug in my body that allows anyone to know my location at a moment’s notice. I have a private life, and I wish it to remain that way.”

He sniffed—an indication there would be discussion on this matter at a later point.

I moved said discussion onto safer subjects, and time slipped by slowly. The healers came through late afternoon, and after a thorough examination, declared me fit to leave in the morning. Which was annoying, but there was no arguing with them.

Mathi brought me in a bag of newly purchased clothes to change into, then his driver whisked all of us back to Deva, dropping Lugh home first before continuing on to the council chambers. A white van waited out the front of the building, and Dhruv Eadevane inside.

The van’s driver wheeled her in this time, presented a clipboard to Eadevane to sign, and then cheerfully went back outside, not to his van but rather across to the smokers’ section, no doubt to wait for the return of his trolley. As he lit up a smoke, Mathi undid the bindings and then glanced at me. “Ready?”

I crossed my arms and nodded. He flipped off the shroud, revealing the fact my aunt remained wrapped in wicked wooden fingers. He hadn’t taken any chances, even after he’d crushed her.

But what I noticed, more than anything, was the fact that she looked every bit as frozen as Martha, despite the fact she would have been stored in a cool room rather than a freezer.

Borrhás had already claimed her, even if she wasn’t yet physically in his possession.

I rubbed my arms and said a silent goodbye to the woman my mother had once loved so much. While her actions had betrayed me, they’d also betrayed my mom—and it had all started withRiayn’s theft of the codex and the insane belief that her daughter deserved everything I had.

Mom, had she lived, would have grieved her sibling’s downfall but not the manner of her death. I felt that within every inch of my being.

Once Eadevane had made a record of Riayn’s receipt, Mathi tugged the shroud back over her body and secured it in place.

“Same procedure as before?”

I nodded. In truth, we could have carried her easily enough, but I just didn’t want to physically touch her. “At least this time I’m not on the cusp of collapse.”

“No, but I’ll still have a mug of tea waiting for when you come back out.”

“You really are the best friend.”

“I believe that I am, though I remain determined that it once more shall become a ‘friends with benefits’ situation.”

I laughed, kissed his cheek, then headed up in the elevator to the second floor. Once I’d reached Liadon’s door, I once again opened the door, shouted down to warn them, and then leashed my aunt with air and brought her back up. Then I sent her through the open door and followed her in. The door closed behind me, and darkness briefly dominated.

Liadon’s orb appeared. “Please follow us, Bethany.”

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