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KADE WATCHED THE SORCERESS he loved more than life itself swim with some of the most vicious and deadly creatures in Nox. Sorcha had befriended the water elementals and visited them regularly. After he’d unlocked her undine magic, her affinity with water had increased exponentially. Both of them had received a boost of power after they’d become bonded for life.
He smiled fondly as he stood on the bank of the river and watched Sorcha play. She could hold her breath for several minutes without coming up for air. The water elementals flocked around her, letting her tickle their bellies while kicking their feet like puppies.
Kade scanned the bridge that led to the Vampire District to make sure no one was spying on them. He was hidden behind a camouflage spell to make him blend in with the shrubbery that lined the Fae District side of the river. He’d spotted several kisses of desperate vamps heading across the bridge to hunt, but they were few and far between.
The witches and wizards had banded together deeper in the heart of the poorer suburbs. They’d combined their meager magic to create wards that alerted them when the vampires were near. He heard a siren begin to wail right on cue and chuckled when a kiss of leeches stampeded back across the bridge.
He sensed a familiar presence getting closer and turned to see a carriage approaching. Xiara Evora was inside and her head turned as if she sensed him as well. Without quite knowing why, he dropped his camouflage spell so she could see him. She called out to the skeleton to stop, then climbed out and ambled over to join him. “Hey, Kade,” she said in greeting. “What’s going on?”
Kade camouflaged them both as the carriage took off. “Sorcha is playing with her new friends,” he said and gestured at the sorceress. Her head came out of the water, she took a gulp of air, then she descended again.
“I never thought I’d see water elementals getting along with a landlubber,” the huntress said with a grin, then turned serious and dropped her voice. “How is the rebellion going?”
He grimaced and cast a shield around them both so they could talk in private. “I have the instructions on how to use the artifact that will weaken Lord Kreaton, but I’m missing a key ingredient.”
“What ingredient do you need?” she asked.
“An alpha werewolf’s heart.”
Her eyebrows rose, then lowered. “Hmm, there aren’t many alpha werewolves left now, so a heart won’t be easy to come by.”
“I’m not willing to murder someone to get one,” the warlock said. “I haven’t told Sebastian or Raum about the heart yet. You know what would happen if I did.”
“Raum would personally hunt down an alpha and rip his still beating heart out of his chest,” Xiara said dryly.
“Exactly,” Kade agreed. “Even Sebastian would probably kill an alpha to get a heart. He wants Lord Kreaton dead with a vengeance.”
“So do I,” the huntress said grimly. “I want all three of those monsters dead.” She became thoughtful as she mused about his problem. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that the magic of Nox will always provide,” she told him. “I believe the city itself wants to get rid of the unholy trinity. If you need the heart of an alpha werewolf, one will turn up, but only when the time is right.”
Kade wished he had her faith, but he didn’t disagree with her. “I hope one turns up soon,” he said morosely.
Xiara studied him and looked into the amethyst eyes that he shared with his mother. “You’re a good man, Kade Sinclair,” she said. “Inilvian would be proud of you.”
He swallowed the lump that formed in his throat at the mention of the mother he’d never known. Another alarm sounded and the Guardian of Nox frowned and turned to face it. “I guess you’d better get back to work,” the warlock said.
“Duty calls,” she agreed, then hiked her staff over her shoulder and took off running.
Sorcha waited until Ms. Evora was gone before she waded over to the shore. Kade dried her with a flick of his hand, then teleported them both to their favorite living room in their mansion. The sorceress teleported upstairs to change into jeans and a t-shirt. She grabbed a hooded cloak, but didn’t put it on yet. She returned downstairs and sank down onto the couch next to Kade. A glass of wine and a cup of tea appeared on the coffee table. He handed the tea to the sorceress, then took the wine for himself. “What were you and Xiara talking about?” Sorcha asked.
Kade took a sip of wine and savored it for a few moments before replying. “I told her about the ingredient we need to activate the silver tablet. She thinks the magic of Nox will provide an alpha’s heart for us, but only at the right time.”
“Let’s hope she’s right,” the sorceress said grimly. “Was that all you talked about?”
“She told me I’m a good person and that my Mom would be proud of me.”
“I wish I’d gotten to meet her,” Sorcha said. “I still can’t believe we were both born in the Immortal Triumvirate’s prison.”
“We’re similar in a lot of ways,” the warlock said and pulled her against his side. She nestled against him and rested her head on his shoulder. “I just wish you’d been rescued as well, instead of being stuck there to be trained to become an assassin.”
“Be glad you didn’t become one of Wort’s students,” the sorceress said with a grimace. “That satyr is a ruthless, merciless bastard without an ounce of empathy or compassion in his hairy body.”
Kade kissed the top of her head and hugged her. “You, Eden and Malachi are all free now,” he said soothingly.
“Yeah, but now that the Immortal Triumvirate thinks we’re all dead, Wort is probably training a new crop of murderers right now,” she said dourly.
The warlock almost choked on his sip of wine and inelegantly gulped it down. “You think he’s chosen more half-breed children to train to become assassins?” he asked in horror.
“Why not?” the sorceress asked with a half shrug, being careful not to spill her tea. “Our leaders have enemies and rebels they’ll want to eliminate. It’ll take a decade or so for Wort to train a fresh batch of recruits, but the Assassin Guild will live on.”
“Those poor kids,” Kade said in anguish. He wasn’t sure exactly what his beloved had gone through. He was amazed that she and her two friends hadn’t turned into the soulless monsters that the satyr had tried to train them into becoming. “Once we’ve destroyed the Immortal Triumvirate, we’ll rescue the half-breeds from the prison,” he vowed. Guilt stabbed him at the lovely smile Sorcha gave him. It was doubtful that the prison would still exist once the war was over. The entire city was likely to disappear. Even with all of his power, he still hadn’t thought of a way he could save Nox from vanishing once its creators were dead.
They drank their beverages, then Sorcha rose to her feet. “I need to get going,” she said. “Eden and Malachi will be waiting for me.”
“Be careful,” Kade said as she bent to kiss him.
“Always,” she said with a smirk, then put her cloak on and teleported away.
