Page 63 of Sacrifice

Michaels paused in his recollection to reflect on the moment. When he’d delved into her memories to find out where she lived so he could take her home, he hadn’t seen anything of the power he now knew her to possess.

Maybe, at the time, he had mistaken her lack of aura for a diminishing spirit. Now he understood that Lucien must have already done something to conceal her. Even then he must have known she was someone special. But why? What made her so unique? How had she come to harness the quintessence?

A tapping on the roof beside him brought Michaels back to the present. “Jesper.”

The fawn had found him. His hooves clicked against the slate as he crossed the roof to come to his side.

“Nice night for it.” Jesper nodded to the clear, starry sky and squatted down.

“It’s been quite a day. Where have you been?”

“Missed my cooking?”

Michaels huffed out a laugh and turned to look at him. Jesper’s cheek was swollen, and a swathe of deep purple bloomed under his eye. “What happened?”

Jesper’s brow furrowed, and he touched the swelling gingerly. “The Dark Fae are restless. They’re getting ready for an uprising. I got jumped on a shadow path by a fae guard while I was trying to leave.”

“Skovanka?” Michaels asked.

Jesper shook his head. “Nah, it’s coming from the outside. They are talking about the Reaver. Don’t get me wrong, Skovanka is leading them, but he’s just a pawn. The Reaver has promised them their freedom, and they are in,really in. Mobilizing the other noble houses. I’ve never seen the Dark Fae generals so excited.”

“What’s the target?”

Jesper shrugged. “They’re awaiting orders. I managed to glean that much. The Reaver has got them convinced he has a special weapon. One that is going to tip the balance of power.”

Michaels rubbed his ribs, remembering Eve’s display in the tube station. “He’s definitely on to something. That girl he pulled out of the river, she can channel the quintessence.”

Jesper grimaced. “A girl? A mortal? Really? I got the impression the plan was more celestial. There was a lot of talk about it beingwritten in the stars.” Jesper scored air-quotes with his fingers. “You know how the Dark Fae get about destiny. They’re talking about planetary alignments—apparently, it’s all about the timing. There’s a celestial alignment that they think signifies divine justice.”

“A celestial alignment?” Michaels scratched at his head. Lucien’s exhibition was all about communicating with the gods and what was better for that than a celestial alignment. His collection of artefacts now took on a more worrying tone. Urgency filled Michael's whole being. Planetary alignments were unstoppable.

“Get the star charts, Jesper. If something is coming, we needed to know about it now.”

They scrambled down from the roof and hot-footed it inside. The tall cupboards of the vestry held dozens of manuscripts, among them historical star charts. Jesper unrolled scroll after scroll searching for something that matched the current date. Michaels leafed frantically through his astronomy almanac and scribbled notes as he went.

“Venus,” he breathed at last, “It’s in transit of the sun.” He consulted his calculations. “If my calculations are correct, it’s already started.” What did Lucien have in his collection relating to Venus?

“The Crown of Ishtar,” he murmured. “God’s, he’s going to use her to channel.” He looked out of the window at the lightening sky. “We need to get her before the sun comes up.”

Thirty-Three

Eve stretchedlike a cat as consciousness crept through her. They’d fallen asleep in Lucien’s dressing room, limbs wrapped around each other on the floor. Their wild lovemaking had exhausted them both to the point where they’d fallen asleep where they lay. Lucien stirred at her movement.

“Let’s go to my bed,” he said sleepily.

Eve levered up onto her elbows and blinked the sleep away. “I should go home.”

“You should stay with me.” Lucien looped an arm around her waist to pull her back. He planted a soft kiss on her forehead. Eve smiled at the buzz in her skin that radiated away from it. The sensations that came with Lucien’s touch were more intense than ever. The fear she’d felt earlier in the evening had abated now, panic replaced with a growing inner confidence.

“The exhibition opens tomorrow. We’ve got an early start. There’s a press call at eight and I want to get in a good hour before.”

Lucien sighed. “None of that matters now.”

Eve laughed. “It does to me. It’s been a lot of work, Lucien.” She got to her feet.

“Then I’m coming with you. I’m not letting you out of my sight again.”

Eve shook her head at him. “I’m not sure what my mum and dad would make of that. I still live with my parents, remember?” Eve wasn’t in the habit of taking men back to her childhood bedroom. She couldn’t imagine how they would react.

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