A Den of Tricks (A Shade of Vampire #54)(23)

Jax took a long sip from his cup, then let out a long, exhausted sigh.

“I don’t know, Caia,” he replied, shaking his head slowly. “They should’ve been here by now, and frankly, I’ve been telling myself ‘any minute now’ for a couple of days… I do know that they would definitely try to come for us if they couldn’t reach us via Telluris. Without a doubt, that I can guarantee you.”

“But they’re not here, so… what now?” I shrugged, crossing my arms over my chest. I lost my appetite, thinking about my parents, my sister, and everyone else who was waiting for us to come back safely. Worst of all, I was beginning to worry that maybe they’d already sent help, and something terrible might have happened along the way. Those were thoughts so terrible that I didn’t want to voice them—voicing them would make them real.

“So, it’s true, then. The asteroid belt is hindering GASP’s access to Neraka,” Fiona said, pouring herself a cup of spiced blood. “It isn’t just stopping us from leaving; it’s doing something to outside forces, too?”

Several moments passed as we let the possibility really sink in. We’d already considered this earlier, but it still didn’t make me feel any better. Nevertheless, it sounded reasonable enough to pass as a valid theory.

“It’s already hindering communications, and it’s keeping the planet hidden from the Daughters,” Hansa mused, absently pushing steamed vegetables around her plate with a fork. “Maybe its effect was amplified over the past couple of days…”

“Disrupting interplanetary spells altogether?” Jax raised an eyebrow. “If that’s true, then anyone who tried to pierce Neraka’s atmosphere could very easily blow up in a ball of flames, too, like what Avril experienced—”

“But out of orbit,” Avril interjected, her eyes wide with fear. “But wouldn’t we have seen something in the sky, if that were the case?”

“Maybe… The interplanetary spell is quite accurate,” Patrik said. “It brought us straight to Azure Heights. The Nerakian samples that Rewa left with Viola are from here, too. So it wouldn’t be a question of an interplanetary spell landing on the wrong side of Neraka, for us not to see at all.”

“What if it’s cutting off magic altogether?” Fiona asked.

“That is possible,” Patrik replied. “We’ll definitely look into the asteroid belt while Jax and his team are out. There must be a way to disrupt its effect. Otherwise it would mean we’re stuck here, with no way for GASP to reach us.”

The idea fell heavily on all our shoulders. My stomach churned, and angst clawed its way up my throat. There was no way I’d be spending my life here. It was absurd, unacceptable, downright horrific.

Blaze’s hand found mine under the table, and gave me a gentle squeeze.

“We’ll find a way out, Caia,” he said, his midnight-blue eyes settled on mine. “Even if I have to fly out there, as high as I can, and blow those things out of the sky…”

“I think that’s physically impossible,” I muttered, though grateful for his attempt to reassure me.

“Don’t underestimate my abilities,” he replied. “We are not staying here forever.”

A couple of minutes went by in grim silence as we all looked at each other. I reached out for my glass of water but stilled as I noticed Vincent and Rewa approaching our table. Blaze didn’t let go of my hand.

“Thank you all for attending the funeral today,” Rewa said, her gaze settling on Blaze. “It meant a lot to me… to us.”

“It was the least we could do, given everything that’s happened,” he replied softly.

“Yes… Well, in light of last night’s event, I understand that you will head back to the gorges this afternoon.” Rewa frowned, and Blaze nodded in response. “I suppose we’ll have to postpone our dinner, then, until you return safely from your mission.”

Even in mourning, Rewa was sweet on Blaze, judging by the faint smile on her face. Had she not just cremated her father, I would’ve been a lot more annoyed, but, given the circumstances, all I could do was stop myself from rolling my eyes. Blaze squeezed my hand again, a secret gesture under the table that made me feel better.

“Thank you for understanding, Rewa,” he replied.

My skin caught fire, not just from his touch but from the meaning of his gesture. Blaze knew how much I disliked Rewa’s advances, and he was quite adamant about making it clear to me that he had no interest in her whatsoever. It made me want to wrap my arms around him and never let him go, but we were still at a funeral luncheon, and Rewa was still standing there, her gaze filled with sadness and longing as she smiled at Blaze.

“Fiona, I understand that you will be staying in the city with the rest of the team,” Vincent said from where he stood next to her chair, his hands behind his back.

“That’s right, we have a lot of work to do in the city, too,” she replied with a nod.

“In that case, I was wondering if you would like to join me for dinner tonight. You’ve been through enough already, and I’d like to do something to lighten things up a little…”

Fiona’s eyes grew wide, and she glanced around the table at us. She noticed my eyebrows rising with surprise, and she definitely registered Heron’s mischievous grin, along with the nudge he got from Avril.