Keeper(80)

Serena flinched away at my words, but I gripped her tighter. “You’ve seen it. If I do die, I want to know I died fulfilling my destiny. Or at least giving it my best shot.”

“We’re not sentencing you to death just yet, Lainey,” Ty said, his voice low and serious. “The vision can change.”

“I hope you’re right, but if it doesn’t, I need to know I’ve done everything in my power to keep the Master from getting his hands on that spell. Or else Josephine, the others, my mother—everything they have done has been in vain.” I stood a little taller. “I’m the Keeper, and I’m going to get that book back.”

Ty’s eyes were pulsing with gold—his Praetorian senses on high alert. “Lainey,” he said, “we can find another way.”

I reached for his hand. “You told me that I have a choice in all of this. That I’m the one who chooses my own path, my own destiny.” I gave him a small smile. “Ty, this is what I choose. Are you with me or not?”

He stared at me for several long moments. Then, with a deep breath, he nodded, leaning forward to whisper in my ear. “My hands, my blade, and my life. Yours.”

I squeezed his hand. “Thank you.”

“We’re really going to do this?” Serena asked, sinking down onto the couch. “I don’t know. I don’t think this is a good idea. Gareth—”

She looked at me, her eyes wide as she choked on the words.

Then all sound cut off from her throat, and her entire body went rigid.

“What’s happening?” Maggie asked, her voice shaky.

“I think she’s having a vision,” I said, my own heart pounding in my chest. I reached for her, but Ty held me back.

“Don’t touch her,” he said. “It can be dangerous to interrupt a Seer’s Sight. All we can do is wait for it to pass.”

I nodded, and we all stood frozen, waiting for Serena to come back to us.





CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT


Serena shot up from the couch.

It startled Maggie and me so much we both jumped, butting heads. “Ow,” she mumbled, as I moved over to Serena. I rubbed the throbbing pain in my temple but didn’t comment.

“Serena! Are you okay? What did you see?”

Her face was pale, but life danced in her eyes. “I didn’t think it was possible,” she said, propping herself up on the pillow. “We heard whisperings and rumors, but we never thought—” She laughed then, covering her mouth as tears sprang up in her eyes.

I stared at her, wondering what in the world she was talking about. Ty and Maggie looked equally puzzled.

“Um . . . Serena?”

“Sorry,” she said, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Let me explain. You see, no one’s been able to confirm it, but I Saw it myself. Just now. The Hetaeria has gathered.”

The painting Gareth had shown me what felt like years ago popped up in my mind. The faction leaders, the balance keepers, the Hetaeria.

“But . . .” I was confused. “But I thought the Master destroyed the Hetaeria.”

Serena nodded. “He did, and for thousands of years the factions have lived in fear of what another alliance might cost us, but I saw them, Lainey. Supernaturals who are no longer afraid, who are willing to fight. Don’t you see? This is the answer.”

I shook my head, but before I could speak, she leaned forward and gripped my hands. “We need some sort of plan to steal the Grimoire, right? In my vision, I heard the leaders of the Hetaeria talking about a Gathering.”

“A Gathering?” The word in this context was unfamiliar to me.

“The Master likes to throw extravagant parties as a way to reward his followers and flaunt his power to anyone who would dare oppose him,” Ty answered. “He throws one every few months.”

“The Hetaeria must be planning some kind of coup or takedown. We can ally with them. They’ll help us, I know they will.” Serena ran a hand over her excited face. “If we can rendezvous with them at the Gathering, they can help us find the Grimoire. They have far more resources at their disposal, and we wouldn’t be going in blind.” She was smiling now, her eyes bright.

“Can’t we just call them?” Maggie asked. “It seems to me that the best plan is to avoid showing up at the Gathering at all if it’s possible. The Master wants Lainey. If we can get to the Grimoire without putting Lainey at risk, then—”

“No,” Serena said. “It’s too dangerous to try to reach out to them, through human channels or otherwise. If the Master gets wind of this . . .” The little color that had returned to her cheeks drained away. “No, our best plan is to go to the Gathering and try to find the Hetaeria before the Master finds us first.”

I swallowed, trying to wrap my head around the plan. “But how?”

“I don’t know,” Serena said, wringing her hands. “But if we’re to have any shot at finding the Grimoire, stealing it, and getting out alive, we’ll need the Hetaeria’s help.”

“The Scavenger will have reported to the Master by now,” Ty argued. “If he attends the Gathering and catches Lainey’s scent—”

“We won’t need long. I saw their faces,” Serena said. “If we can just get into that room, I can find them. I know I can.” She looked at me, her expression fierce. “It’s what Gareth would say if he were here. He wouldn’t want us to do this alone.”