A Shield of Glass (A Shade of Vampire #49)(36)

“Blessed be the Dearghs, then, for giving them those horses.” Jasmine nodded.

I was stunned, a thousand questions racing through my mind, all at once. Jasmine had been around this whole time, hidden beneath this cloaking spell with the White Tribe. Watching.

How did she know about Draven? I’d thought no one knew about him, that everyone believed him to have died with his mother at birth. How long had she known about him and the mansion? Why had she never reached out?

I shook the thoughts away to focus on the conversation. I was bound to get my answers later.

“That wasn’t the bad news, Mistress Jasmine,” Mairi said in a low voice. “Last night, the protective shield came down. We watched it crumble into a rain of golden sparks, the mansion and its surrounding gardens revealed. Those still beneath it were left in the open, surrounded by Destroyers.”

“Oh dear,” Jasmine croaked, leaning against the white marble balustrade of the terrace.

“There were seven of them still there. Three not from this world, three succubi of the Red Tribe, and a Lamia,” Mairi continued. “They took advantage of the Destroyers’ understandable befuddlement by running into the house first. Our guess is they grabbed whatever they could from inside before they made a run for the east. Again, we were unable to follow them for too long. There were too many hostiles.”

“What about the Daughter?” A muscle in Jasmine’s jaw twitched, and I could see the same anger I’d felt toward the Daughters darkening her face.

She knew about the Daughter, too!

“She wasn’t there, Mistress Jasmine.” Mairi shook her head. “There is something else you should know, though.”

“Go on…”

“During their diversion, we saw the Daughter come out from the shield and approach a pack of shifters that had cornered one of their youngling succubi. She did something to them, but I don’t know exactly how to describe it. I’d say she fundamentally changed their behavior. Their eyes glowed violet, and they suddenly became very protective of those beneath the shield, including the succubus they’d first attacked. Some took on the Destroyers coming after them, and even killed one. I have a feeling that whatever she did to the shifters, it amplified their strength and their natural poison. Six of them were left after that scuffle.”

“It means the Daughter is slowly coming into her own,” Jasmine concluded. “And her sisters decided to take her away, removing the protective shield in the process. That is the thanks my nephew got for keeping the Daughter safe all these years…”

She scoffed, visibly disgusted.

“We managed to follow the group for a couple of miles. It may not bring you much comfort, but you should know that the six affected shifters went with them, and protected them from the Destroyers. We saw them kill several before disappearing into the woods, going farther east,” Mairi replied. “I’m inclined to believe, or at least hold out hope, that they survived, thanks to those shifters.”

“It does bring me an ounce of comfort, thank you, Mairi. So you said Draven headed east as well?”

“Yes, Mistress Jasmine.”

“He must have found something on the east coast. There’s nothing of use on that side of Antara, besides the shore and the derelict harbors…”

Her voice trailed off as her expression brightened, the corner of her mouth twitching.

“I know where they went,” she mumbled. “I know what he’s doing! All these trips to Mount Inon, the River Pyros, now the east…”

The succubi were quiet, but all four lifted their heads to look at her. She placed her hands on her hips, nodding with newfound satisfaction.

“He’s building an alliance,” she said. “He’s reaching out to the Dearghs, the Lamias, the Red Tribe. And now he’s headed east.”

“Three of his group took indigo horses toward the northwest, during the diversion. There was a Mara with them” Mairi added.

“The Tritones, I’m guessing, and they must have been riding toward White City. The Maras are clearly on board.” Jasmine grinned.

“What about the east, Mistress Jasmine? What’s there?”

“Stonewall, my darlings.” She lifted an eyebrow. “Before he passed away, my brother was kind enough to help resettle a pack of Bajangs in Stonewall, hidden beneath a cloaking spell like ours. My guess is that Draven finally decided to reach out to them. Surely Almus must have told him about the citadel. This is it!”

She paced the terrace from left to right several times, rubbing her chin with one hand as she processed the information. I still couldn’t believe she’d been here all along, watching Draven without ever reaching out to him. What had she been doing?

“This is it, my darlings,” Jasmine finally repeated, looking at the succubi. “The war we’ve all been waiting for is finally coming. Draven, son of Almus and Genevieve, is bringing the free nations together. My guess is they’re organizing some kind of meeting at Stonewall. It’s secluded enough to hold such an event.”

“What do we do, then, Mistress Jasmine?” Mairi asked.

“Send one scout to Stonewall. Just one. You want her to be as inconspicuous as possible. Have her keep watch, as they’re all bound to meet over the next few days. Now that the mansion is revealed and the Oracles are no longer hidden, Azazel will be making a move. Once she has gathered enough information, I will make a decision and inform you all. In the meantime, get a group ready, there’s valuable information in that mansion and Azazel will want it. Draven’s identity must be protected for as long as possible. You know what you have to do…”