Page 35 of Cherish

That comment brings me up short, and I stop pacing to stare sightlessly at the bookshelves, my stomach twisting into knots. Is a war really coming? Is that what a spy in our Court means? And if so, can I choose Mekhi over everyone I’m charged with protecting?

I know the answer even before Artelya bursts into the room, my grandfather right behind her with a devastated expression on his face.

20

Not-So-Happy

Hunting

Artelya is dressed in her usual training uniform of leather leggings, a white T-shirt, and a cross harness for her weapons. Other than rushing into the room, she looks calm and collected, like she hasn’t spent half the night chasing a hunter whose main goal in life is to kill her.

“What happened?” I ask, because even in the middle of my discussion with the Bloodletter, I’ve been on tenterhooks waiting for her to come back with news of the hunters. “Did she figure out you were tailing her?”

“She had no idea we were behind her. She was nervous at first, constantly checking, but the farther away she got, the more relaxed she became.” Artelya shakes her head like she still can’t believe what she’s about to say. “She led us straight to a large group of soldiers.”

“So the Cronehasbeen amassing an army,” I tell her as my stomach sinks. We just got out of one battle. Gargoyle Army or not, what my people need right now is peace, not more war.

“How many are there?” I ask.

“It looks like she’s been amassing hunters for months. And from what I overheard, this isn’t the only hunter stronghold she has. There are several other camps.”

My stomach goes from sinking slowly to bottoming out. “How many others?”

“I don’t know.” She shakes her head.

“Any idea how many hunters we’re talking about? If not in all the camps, then at least in the one you were just at?”

“Thousands,” she answers grimly. “Their number indicates that the Crone is clearly aware of the Circle’s vulnerability right now and is hoping to attack while we’re at our weakest.”

I start to ask why we’re at our weakest, but all the pieces I’ve learned over the last several hours are finally starting to fit together.

Still, I have to ask. “Is this really about the Circle? Or is this about someone inexperienced leading the Gargoyle Army?” There, I said it, and I count to ten in an effort not to throw up on my grandmother’s very beautiful new rug.

“It’s about thevampires,” the Bloodletter informs me. “They’ve always been the most formidable group, even before Cyrus took the throne. Without your mate to lead the Vampire Court, there’s a total dearth of leadership there. The Vega line of succession ends with Hudson, as both Jaxon and Isadora are unwilling, and a millennium of Vega rule left the Court unprepared for an alternative. The remaining vampire aristocracy is feuding for control, trust and suspicions high as the Court is splintering into unlikely alliances.”

I think of Hudson frantically answering all those texts. “But this isn’t just about them, is it? The vampires alone aren’t enough to destabilize the entire Circle. There’s unrest in the Dragon Court as well.”

“So you do know about that,” she replies. “I wondered.”

“I just found out.” Still, I’m embarrassed that I didn’t see it sooner. Jaxon and Flint told me the dragons were in trouble. I knew Hudson wasn’t stepping up at the Vampire Court. How could I be so shortsighted as to not figure out what was going to happen?

But is it really as bad as they’re implying? Cyrus has been gone barely five months, and the Crone is declaring World War III on all paranormals? That seems a bit bold, even for her.

Then again, court intrigue has been a thing forever. And Aristotle wrote that power abhors a vacuum. It’s no shock that we’re here. The only shock is that I never saw it coming. Even sitting in the diner, when we talked of a dragon civil war, it never occurred to me that the entire political structure of our corner of the paranormal world might actually fail.

“This isn’t right,” I whisper. “It isn’t fair.”

“There’s nothing fair about politics, Grace.” Artelya gives me a puzzled look. “I thought you would have figured that out by now.”

I have. God knows, I have. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it. “So without the dragons and the vampires, that leaves the wolves and the witches in charge of the Circle?” It’s a horrifying thought for so many reasons.

“And you,” my grandmother reminds me, as if I can forget.

Well, shit.

Is it really any wonder the Crone sees an opportunity to take us down once and for all?

The Vampire Court has no king.

---