Page 62 of Death God

“I’m his only auntie,” I said.

“Are you sure?” Shade asked, and Sam stared hard at him.

“Jacob misses you already,” Sam said. “And I want to give Dylan and Phoebe some space.”

I smiled at her. She wanted to be in on our plans. Sam always wanted to be included even when she was a little girl. It still took some getting used to seeing my little sister all grown up and now looking a decade older than me.

They slipped in, and Shade shut the door.

Freckles put Jacob down and scanned the room.

“Is the room clean?” Shade whispered, regret and worry in his amber eyes. “I should’ve let Mage Martin check it first.”

He’d revealed that he was working with the vampire king. If the Alpha King got wind of it, he’d have Shade’s head. He wouldn’t care that Shade was the prince of the shifters and Jared’s brother.

“The spells in this room were freshly destroyed,” Freckles said, then turned to me with an intense look. Mages were always fascinated with spell works. “Did you do it?”

I grinned at him. “An honest woman has got to have her secrets too.”

“Spill it,” both Shade and Freckles demanded.

“How did you do it?” Freckles asked, showing more respect for me than ever. “I can sense the complexity of those dark spells before they were destroyed.”

One-third of my spirit court was patrolling the perimeter of the building and hallway. Two-thirds of them still perched on my cuffs, listening in. I told them to show themselves to my friends.

A dark wind blew across the room, accompanied by the sound of hundreds of flapping wings.

My companions looked wildly around the room, and Jacob hugged my leg. I picked him up. “It’s all right. No one will hurt you with your mommy and auntie here.”

Sam rubbed her forearm, and I could see the goosebumps there.

“Are you trying to spook us, Catnip?” Shade narrowed his eyes at me. “Quit it. We’re having an emergency, and you’re still fooling around, playing inappropriate pranks.”

“It’s not a prank this time.” Freckles tilted his head, his eyes brightening. “She’s making a statement.” He beamed at me. “You’ve made the connection, Pip.”

“Connection to what?” Shade demanded.

“The dead,” Freckles said.

“They’re the spirits of powerful light mages, Fae, shifters, light witches, and other hybrid beings,” I said. “They’re my new court.”

I told them how I’d stumbled into Spartoi’s forbidden library and altar, where spirits had been waiting for me for a century.

Shade cursed incredulously. Freckles grinned wider. Sam opened her warm and intelligent eyes wide. Initially, I didn’t want to get Sam involved. The less my family knew, the better, but I wanted to trust Sam and include her. My sister was smart, and she could help coordinate our escape plan.

“Your death power has grown, Pip,” Freckles said. “And that changes everything. We need to get you up to speed so you can take on War.”

They’d all gathered around the sofa. The realization that the spirits were in the room with them, watching their every move, made everyone, except for Freckles, uncomfortable. So they needed to sit down and huddle close to each other to feel a bit more secure, or normal.

I parked Jacob on Sam’s lap. My nephew had dozed off.

“I won’t be able to reach my full strength unless I can get to the great power hidden in this castle.” I briefed them on what the spirits had told me.

I rubbed my temples. There was so much explaining to do.

“We no longer have the luxury of waiting for Nyström and his vampire army to come, even if they can find us, even if they can get through the portal,” Shade said. “The Alpha King revealed to me that he plans to wed Pip in two days. Her consent doesn’t matter to him.” His face turned stormy. “He also gloated about using the final spell on Pip if she makes trouble for him. He tried to rile me up by telling me his plan, and I had to play along.” Disgust rippled across the prince’s handsome face that had lost its boyish charm. “The brother I knew is no longer in residence. This being is evil.”

My heart pounded in my chest, and fear filled my head.

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