We followed Cade and Hedy out of the tower and up the slope of the mountain toward the massive castle. As we walked, the clouds parted to reveal a warm yellow sun. It was nothing like Death Valley, where the arrival of the sun meant sweating and eventual death if you weren’t on your guard.

No, this was warm and lovely. Even the damp grass beneath my feet was nice. The crisp breeze cooled my cheeks. I’d bet this place would be intense in the winter, but in August, it was pretty sweet.

Despite the lovely weather and beautiful surroundings, power and wealth radiated from this place.

They had all the resources we lacked.

I gave Cade a sidelong glance, taking in his powerful stride and confident gaze. This was a guy for whom the world stopped.

Well, I wasn’t going to be one of the stoppers. “So, what exactly are you?”

He glanced at me. “Errand boy.”

“Sure.” I’d believe that when Ana let me have the last slice of pizza. But since he clearly wasn’t going to cooperate, I shifted tactics. “When was this place built? And what the hell is it?”

“It was built nearly a thousand years ago, though there have been renovations.” His green eyes met mine. “And you’ll learn the rest very shortly.”

“You’d better be taking us to the queen or something,” I said. “Only royalty would be worth all this trouble.”

“Is this Balmoral?” Ana frowned skeptically. “Somehow, I’m doubtful. The landscaping is lacking.”

“Too hodgepodge.” I stifled a laugh. We might be poisoned and slowly turning into stone, but we were clearly going to handle it how we knew best—suppress the worry with jokes.

That whole ‘laugh instead of crying’ thing? Yeah, that’d gotten us through some hard times. Now, it was second nature.

Cade grinned. “I doubt you’ll be unimpressed.”

We neared the massive castle that was built of huge blocks of gray stone. Sparkling mullioned glass shone in the windows. A large courtyard paved in great slabs of granite led up to the huge front doors.

Cade led us across the stone courtyard. The massive wooden door swung open as we neared. Magic sparked in the air.

Neat.

Inside, the foyer was huge, with a sweeping, double-sided staircase leading up to a second level. Other doors led off the main entrance room, along with a couple more staircases. A great chandelier shed glittering light over the rough stone walls and floor. Huge paintings hung on the walls, but I didn’t take the time to study them.

It was so big and so fantastical that it was hard to get a real handle on it.

A few people climbed the stairs to the second floor, their arms full of heavy books. Others bustled through the main hall, all of them possessing unique magical signatures. Clashing sounds and smells indicated that their magic was all very different.

Everyone turned to stare at us. Some looked mistrusting, others just curious.

“Fancy.” I whistled, just to show them I didn’t care.

“Practical.” Cade turned down the hall to the right. “This way.”

I looked at Ana, whose eyes were as round as the full moon.

“This is nuts,” she whispered.

“Seconded.” We’d never been in a place this nice before. Most of our early life, after running from our original home, had been spent at our homestead cabin in Alaska or Death Valley Junction.

I was having a serious country mouse moment but suppressed it. From here on out, we had to be alert and tough.

As we neared a door at the end of the hallway, varying magical signatures swelled on the air. The smell of old paper, the feeling of a steel sword hilt in my hand, the scent of a wet field. My steps faltered.

“Who’s in there?” I demanded.

“We don’t go into rooms full of powerful supernaturals that we don’t know,” Ana said.

“Scared?” Cade asked.

I glared at him. “Smart. We don’t like ambushes.”

He nodded. “Fair enough. There are four other members of the Undercover Protectorate in the room. Each runs a division of our operations. Their magic is strong because everyone here is strong. But we mean you no harm. We want to make you an offer.”

Undercover Protectorate. Why was that name familiar? I focused on the signatures, picking up four. He wasn’t lying. I glanced at Ana, who nodded.

“We’ll go in, but make it quick,” I said. “We obviously don’t have a lot of time. And if you make one move against us, I’ll blow you apart.”

He grinned, sexy as hell and clearly liking my threat.

Weirdo.

I followed him into the room, Ana at my side and Hedy behind us. It was a nicely decorated little library, with a round table in the middle. Four people sat around it. Two men and two women.

One woman caught my eye. Her piercing blue eyes were set off by her dark skin and braids. They sparkled like stars, and were nearly impossible to look away from. There was magic in her eyes, no question. Her scrutiny made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Man, if she interrogated me, I’d have a hard time not giving up the info she wanted.

The other woman was slender and pale, with magic that smelled of calming lavender. One man was ancient, with stooped shoulders and magic that smelled like the forest, while the other was as bulky as a football player.

Cade lurked toward the back of the room, standing with his arms crossed like a bouncer on duty. His magical power filled the room, making me seriously aware of him.

Hedy stepped forward and gestured to the small crowd. “Bree and Ana, we are the Undercover Protectorate, and these are the heads of the individual divisions of our operation. There’s the Demon Trackers Unit, Interspecies Mediation, Research and Development, and the Paranormal Investigative Team.”

The Paranormal Investigative Team? The PITs? Oof.

Each person nodded at us.

“The five of us are equal here,” Hedy said. “But I will speak because you know me best.” She pointed to the chairs. “Please, take a seat.”

I sat. “I’m going to need you to cut straight to the chase. Because Ana and I don’t have a lot of time.” We needed to start hunting Ricketts immediately if we wanted a cure in time. I was hoping they could help us, but I wasn’t counting on it.

“Bold,” Star-eyes said.

“My middle name.” I grinned, which was really more of a teeth-baring.

“The Undercover Protectorate was created hundreds of years ago to protect the magical world from threats, both supernatural and human,” Hedy said.

Protect from threats.

Suddenly the pieces slammed together in my head. That’s where I’d heard their name before. My gaze flashed to Ana, who had paled.

Our mother had spoken of these people. When we’d been running from the ones who’d attacked our home when we were children, aiming to kidnap me and my sisters, our mother had fled with us, saying that she was trying to take us here.

To the secret, fabled organization that protected those in need. That investigated the crimes no one else would. The government certainly wasn’t a safe bet for Unknowns like us. But we’d never found the Protectorate, ending up in remote Alaska instead. Our mother had been convinced they’d help us.

I’d always thought that if my mother couldn’t find them, then they didn’t want to be found.

“Why us?” I asked. Did they know that we were Unknowns? They shouldn’t. We’d kept it secret so no one could use that against us. Our mother, a powerful seer, had made it clear that hiding our true selves was vital to our survival.

“We hire only the strongest, rarest supernaturals in the world,” Hedy said. “It’s one of the reasons we’re so secretive. The Order of the Magica doesn’t like it when another organization possesses so much power. Whereas they would persecute some of our members, we welcome them.”

I nodded, understanding all too well. The government of magic users was committed to keeping magic secret from humans. In their eyes, that meant keeping a handle on the most powerful supernaturals—sometimes by force.

“When we heard of two women willing to fight their way across Death Valley, we became interested,” Hedy said. “The strength and skill it took to do that is the kind of thing we want here. We’d like you to join our operation. Train at the academy and then work for one of our divisions.”

So they didn’t know exactly what we were. Or, they weren’t saying.

“We don’t want to work for you,” Ana said. “We work for ourselves.”

“Right now, you won’t work for anyone if you don’t find a cure for the Lithica poisoning,” Hedy said.

Burn.

She turned to the other members of the organization and explained our situation. Frowns spread through the group.

“That is a problem.” Star-eyes looked at us. “I’m Jude. I run the Paranormal Investigative Team. Ricketts, the man who poisoned you, has been on our radar for a long time. But we’ve never been able to catch him. He’s too cunning, and his clients are too frightened to speak up. He must really want you if he hit you with the Lithica poison. He only uses that to draw the most powerful to him.”

Why did he want us though? To pay our debts? Smelled fishy to me. “So you want to catch him, and you also want us to work for you.”

“Yes, though your connection to Ricketts is more of a coincidence,” Jude said. “We want you to work for us because you’ve proven your skill and determination in Death Valley. Ricketts is a bonus.”

I nodded, my mind racing. We could use this. We had to use this.

Because right now, we were shit out of luck. Poisoned, with no money, no house, no buggy—so no way to get anywhere or make a living.

I shared a glance with Ana, able to see the wheels turning in her head. We didn’t want to work for these people—we didn’t know them. But we could use them.

I hiked my thumb toward Cade. “The big guy back there said you could help us catch Ricketts. But how? I already know how to find him. What can you do for us?”

I was being a hard ass, but I was also fighting for Ana. Being sweet hadn’t gotten me far in life, but being tough? Yeah, that had worked.

“Did the mage who hit you with the poison bomb deliver the address for the antidote?” Jude asked.

“I killed him before he had the chance.” I still cringed at the flub. “It happened before I even realized I’d been hit by the potion bomb.”

Otherwise, I never would have thrown it. From what I knew, the method was to hit you with the bomb and then tell you where to get the antidote.

So, my bad.

“But I have a contact who can help me find it.” I didn’t explain more. I couldn’t, not without risking my friend. “But I’d like backup in confronting Ricketts when I do find him.” My mind raced. “And we’d like your help recovering our truck.”

Ana nodded subtly at me, obviously thinking the same thing. If we could use their help to get the cure and get the buggy, we’d be in good shape to rebuild our lives once this was over.

“Why would you need your vehicle if you’re going to work here?” Cade asked from the side wall.

I went for honesty. “We might not work here.” Us working here was as likely as a naked mole rat becoming a sea captain. “But you could prove your goodwill by helping us get our truck back. And say we did decide to stick around. We’re much stronger with our buggy.”

The division leaders looked at each other and nodded, then they looked at Cade. Clearly for his approval.

But if they wanted that, why wasn’t he sitting here with them?

I turned around to see him nod, then looked back at the table.

“Normally, when a new recruit joins us, they start out in training,” Jude said. “But we’ve watched you on your trips across the desert. You’re the most impressive untrained fighters we’ve ever seen. You’re qualified to hunt Ricketts. And frankly, you need to. I’ve seen this poison before. It’s a nasty one.”

“I will accompany you,” Cade said. “When we determine that more backup is needed, we’ll get it.”

My heart thudded. Work with the sexy, kinda scary powerful dude? I both loved that idea and hated it. I also had no choice. I’d played my cards, and now they were playing theirs.

“Fine.” I looked at Ana. “You stay and go get the buggy. Make sure it’s in good working order. If Ricketts sends more men to our house, they might trash it.”

“On it,” she said.

The slightest bit of hope lit in my chest. This might actually work out for us. Getting the cure and the buggy would put us in a good position.

And I wasn’t worried about splitting from Ana. She was tougher than me, and we each had connection charms that could allow us to always find each other. After Rowan’s disappearance, we’d bought them. Now, they were going to come in handy.

“We will send a transport mage with Ana to retrieve the buggy,” Hedy said. “After that, she can get to know the organization a bit better. See that this would be a good place to work. Once you have the cure, you can do the same, Bree. Then we can talk more about terms of employment.”

“All right,” I said, even though I wasn’t sure if I meant it. I couldn’t think of anything past getting the cure and getting our buggy back.

Cade stepped forward, his gaze on me. “We should get started.”

I shivered. Time alone with him?

Oh boy.

* * *

Caro, the terrifying water woman whom I actually kinda liked, met us as soon as we left the little library.

“Here!” She thrust plastic bags into each of our hands. “You smell like dead fish. I thought you might want these.”

Normally, I’d take ‘you smell like dead fish’ to be an insult, but not coming from Caro. I looked in the bag, seeing black jeans, a black T-shirt, and leather jacket. Not my usual fight wear, but better than being covered in Lithica poison.

“Thanks,” I said. “That’s really…nice.”

I was slightly at a loss. Taken aback by her kindness. It’d just been us for so long that this kind of thing was weird.

Don’t be lured in by her kindness.

“I’ll let you change,” Cade said. “Then we can go.”

“All right.”

Caro showed Ana and I to a bathroom that looked like it’d been in the castle for centuries. Even the toilet was made of stone.

“Don’t worry. It does flush.” Caro stopped at the door. “And I know this place is weird at first, but I really think you’ll like it here.”

She went to leave, but I said, “Hang on.”

“Yeah?”

“Who is Cade? What is Cade?” He had magic I’d never seen before.

“He’s Belatucadros. The Celtic god of war.” She grinned. “Crazy, right?”

A record scratch sounded inside my head. “Wait, what? A god?”

His power had been nuts.

“Yeah. He’s one of the earth-walking gods. They’re rare.”

“What are they?” I asked. “Does that mean he’s immortal? Like, ancient?”

Had I been eyeballing a dude old enough to be my grandfather eight hundred times removed? Ew.

“No. He’s in his twenties, I think. He’s a reincarnate. The godly power passes to the souls of those who are worthy. It’s what allows him to walk the earth—because he’s mortal. Yet he has the magical power of a god. Here at the Undercover Protectorate, he does the most dangerous jobs, and only on his terms.”

“So he’s not the boss?” Ana asked. “You all seemed to listen to him.”

“Well, yeah. He’s the best fighter here, and we like winning. So we listen to him. He leads the most dangerous operations, normally. Picks and chooses what he wants to do.”

And he wanted to help me.

Hmmmm.

I stocked that away for later.

“Thanks, Caro.”

She saluted. “No problem. Good luck with this cure. We’d really like to have you on the Paranormal Investigative Team.”

“The PITs?”

She grinned widely. “Yep! Training is a bitch, but it’s worth it in the end.”

She departed, leaving just me and Ana.

“Is she for real? She’s so…nice. Yet badass.” I quickly tugged on the new clothes, my chest aching from the Lithica poison. The pain was steadier now—always present. But sometimes it seemed to flare.

I tossed the old ones in the trash, then tucked the pain potion that Hedy had given me into an inner pocket of the jacket, along with the wadded up bandana that held the potion bomb shards. At least they couldn’t poke through the sturdy bandana.

“I think she might be.” Ana frowned. “This place is weird.”

“Yeah.” Not quite the hardscrabble existence we were used to. Challenging, probably. But not the bullshit of scavenging for a living in an outlaw town full of criminals.

Not that I had time to worry about it now. I gave Ana a quick hug. “Be careful, okay? I’ll be in touch. We’ve got our connection charms”—which, thankfully, we hadn’t bought from Ricketts—“so I’ll come find you when I’m done.”

“If you’re not back in three days, I’m coming for you.”

I grinned and fist bumped her. “Deal.”

“You gonna be okay with Cade? Because, meeeeow. And a god to boot.”

I punched her in the shoulder.

“But seriously,” she said. “He’s a fox, and he’s got eyes for you. I caught him looking at you a few times. Like he was perplexed and yet wants you at the same time.”

I liked that even though I shouldn’t. “We can’t trust him.”

“Maybe. I’d still climb him like a tree.” She poked me in the chest. “But he looks at you. And he’s got that scary sexy thing going on. Who doesn’t like that?”

“Too scary. We can kick the ass of almost any guy who comes at us. Except him. The god.” Which I both loved and loathed. But it was too dangerous. “Anyway. Moot point. I’m off to find Ricketts, or we’re going to turn into stone. You get the buggy, so we can start over after this.”

Her gaze turned serious. Joking about hot guys only got us so far when the straights were this dire. “I’ll take care of it.”

She gave me another hug, then I left.

Walking away was weird—we usually faced life and all its dangers together. But this was the smartest way. A two prong attack increased our chances of success in the long run.

Cade waited for me in the hall. He held a small paper bag in his hand. “Ready?”

“Yeah. We’re going to Magic’s Bend, in Oregon. Do you have another transportation charm?” The things were super handy, but hard to come by.

“There’s a portal here that will take us.”

Wow. Those were also super rare. Only strong magic could keep portals running permanently. This place had everything. “Lead the way.”

Cade handed me the paper bag. His fingertips brushed mine, and an electric frisson raced up my arm.

My gaze darted to the bag. “What’s this?”

“I thought you might be hungry. And there’s no telling what we’ll face in pursuit of Ricketts.”

My stomach grumbled, as if it could hear. I’d already had an exceptionally long day, and the food would be fuel. “Thanks.”

As I dug into the bag and pulled out a sandwich, I followed Cade down the hall and through the main entryway. We passed several people, all of whom were covered in blood but looking surprisingly chipper. Until they saw me. Then their gazes turned suspicious.

I shot them challenging looks, my cheek full of sandwich like a lopsided hamster. Like what you see?

Not the best first impression, but I had to work with what I had.

“Why do people look at me like I’m going to steal the silver?” I asked.

“You’re new. Everyone’s safety relies upon everyone else. So when new people arrive, the armor of this place is weakened until that person proves loyal.”

“But you guys trust us enough to bring us here?”

“We wouldn’t bring you here otherwise. But it’s the bosses who make the decisions, not the foot soldiers. So they’re a little suspicious. You just have to prove it, and everyone will be okay with you. But there’s an adjustment period.”

Fair enough, though I didn’t like it.

I followed Cade out the main door and around the castle to the side lawn, which stretched for acres before terminating at the forest. A stone circle sat in the distance, close to the seaside cliffs that fell into the crashing waves.

“Come on.” He started down a path that cut across the grass. “The portals are in the forest.”

We started down the path toward the trees.

“Who are we going to see in Magic’s Bend?” Cade asked.

“My friends. They’re Seekers. I have shards of the potion bomb, and they’ll be able to use their magic to find Ricketts, who made it.” Lie. They weren’t really Seekers. They were FireSouls, a deadly species that could find anything using their dragon sense.

But I wasn’t going to spill those beans to Cade, since it could totally get Cass, Del, and Nix into trouble.

“They must be powerful. We’ve had no luck finding him with Seekers.”

“They are.” And I prayed to fate they could give us a lead.

As we neared the trees, magic prickled against my skin, strong and fierce. I stepped between the trunks, spotting glowing lights floating amongst the green leaves. Green moss glowed under the little lights, and the trees were like gnarled old men, their branches twisted and bent.

My soul sighed, happy to be here. It was the most beautiful place. Haunted and magical at the same time.

“What are the lights?” I asked.

“Fairy lights. This was once an enchanted Fae grove, with a portal to their land. It’s been sealed, however. Long ago.”

“Wow.”

He led me down the winding path. A river burbled somewhere nearby, but I couldn’t see it. Eventually, we reached a clearing with three portals. They glowed in the dark night, one blue, one white, and one a faded gray.

I pointed to the gray one. “The Fae portal?”

“Yes.”

“Why’d it close?”

“I don’t know. It’s been that way for centuries.”

Cade pointed to the blue portal. “This one will take you to Edinburgh. The other, to Magic’s Bend.”

“Edinburgh?”

“Closest city with a magical community and great bars.” His lips tugged up at the corner. “The members of the Protectorate are big fans of the bars.”

That didn’t sound so bad.

I stepped toward the white portal, about to step through to Magic’s Bend, the largest magical city in the world. It was an amazing place that humans had no idea existed.

Cade touched my arm. “I’ll go first.”

“I can handle it.”

He smiled and stepped through, no doubt to scout the area for danger. I followed, letting the ether suck me through space, all the way from Scotland to Oregon.

I stepped out into an alley that smelled of burnt magic and pee. I crinkled my nose and went toward the main street, where Cade stood.

It was dark, shortly after 6:00 a.m., and the street was empty save for a few cars. On either side of the road sat pretty Victorian buildings three stories tall, each painted a different color. The first floors were all bars or restaurants. Looked pretty nice, though I hadn’t been to this part of Magic’s Bend before.

“Where are we?” I asked.

“This is the Historic District.”

“Party district, is more like.” No wonder that alley had smelled like pee.

“Hit the nail on the head.”

A taxi drove by, and he flagged it down. We climbed into the glittering purple car and sat on seats of pink leather.

A pixie with green hair turned around. “Where ya off to?”

“Factory Row. A shop called Ancient Magic,” I said.

The car peeled away from the curb.

“Ancient Magic?” Cade asked.

“Yep. My friends—” Were they really friends? I hadn’t seen them in five years. Hopefully they weren’t counting. “Um, my friends are treasure hunters. They find enchanted artifacts and sell the magic inside.”

“Isn’t it illegal to take antiquities from archaeological sites?”

I nodded. “They only take the artifacts with the most degraded magic.” Over time, magic decayed. “They choose the pieces that are about to explode and remove the magic. That’s what they sell. Then they return the original artifact to the archaeological site.”

“Brilliant.” Cade nodded. “That keeps them on the right side of the law, and they make a tidy profit.”

“Exactly.”

The taxi turned onto Factory Row, a street on the edge of town that housed all the old factories from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It’d been converted into a trendy part of town with apartments and antique shops.

We drove by Potions & Pastilles, a coffee shop/bar that I’d been to a few times before. The lights glowed from within, and a dark-haired guy worked behind the counter, getting set up for the day. Connor, I thought his name was, but it’d been a while.

“Here!” I pointed to the spot where their shop, Ancient Magic, sat.

“Bit early for shopping.” The driver pulled over.

“I know the owners.” I reached into my pocket for my little wallet, but Cade handed over a wad of bills. “Thanks.”

He nodded, and we got out of the car. It pulled off into the gloaming. I hurried onto the sidewalk, drawn by the golden light gleaming from the windows of Ancient Magic.

The owners—Cass, Del, and Nix—lived above the shop, but if the lights were on inside Ancient Magic, maybe I’d get lucky. Since my alternative was tossing pebbles at their windows above, I was hoping for lucky.

The wide glass windows revealed a red-headed figure behind the desk, fussing with something on the shelves.

“That’s Cass.” I stepped up to the door and tried it.

It gave way, and I stepped inside, Cade behind me.

Cass turned, her red hair swinging around the shoulders of her brown leather jacket. She clutched a bronze figurine, and her eyes widened at the sight of me.

“Bree?” She stepped out from behind the counter. “It’s been ages.”

“Hi!” I waved, slightly awkwardly, and stepped farther into the shop. “You’re here early.”

She glanced at the artifact as if she’d forgotten she was holding it, and set it on the counter. “We’re having trouble with this artifact. Nix can’t get the magic out, and it’s about to blow. We need to get it out of here.”

“Oh, shit.” I stepped backward.

“Don’t worry—the artifact has a day, at least. So we have a few minutes. Live dangerously, right?” She stepped closer. She wore jeans and tall leather boots, completing her Indiana Jones/Lara Croft hybrid look. She was one of the most badass supernaturals out there, and was someone I’d always respected. “But why are you here? Not that it’s not great to see you. I’d just hoped we’d have seen you more in the last five years.”

“Yeah, sorry about that.” I was keenly aware of Cade at my side, his ears tuned to pick up every bit of the conversation. “We were busy.”

“Hmmm. If you’d needed help…” She trailed off when I stiffened.

Though I appreciated the offer, Ana and I liked to take care of ourselves. Cass understood that kind of pride.

Even though we were now at the end of our line.

“What can I do for you, then?” Cass asked.

“We need help finding something.”

“Yeah, sure, of course.” She stepped closer, then pulled up short, raising her palms. “Whoa. Hello power.”

I glanced up at Cade. “Get your magical signature under control, man.”

Magical signatures could be controlled by powerful supernaturals. Cade definitely counted. So why was he blasting his at Cass? Did he sense how powerful she was, too? She was keeping hers on the down low, from what I could tell.

“Um, not him,” Cass said. “Though I can tell he’s holding on to some serious firepower. It’s you, Bree. You’ve got some mad power going on.”

“Me?” My signature had always been pretty normal.

“Yeah.” Her gaze darted to Cade, then went blank. As if she realized that maybe I didn’t want to talk about it in front of him. As a FireSoul, one who shared a soul with a dragon, Cass knew all too well what it was like to hide your power. She’d been hiding for years. She was trying to protect me. “Anyway, what kind of help do you need? And who is your big pal here?”

“I’m Cade.” He stepped forward and held out his hand.

“Cade.” Cass shot him an appraising glance, like she was trying to figure him out. “Hang on. You’re Belatucadros!”

“Aye. But would you introduce yourself with that mouthful?”

I liked that he didn’t parade around with his godly name. He let his actions speak, not his title.

She laughed. “Fair enough, god of war.” She shook his hand, then turned to me. “Spill.”

“We need your help to track someone. We have something they used,” I said.

“Of course.”

I tugged the bandana out of my pocket and held it out. “Careful. The shards may have poison on them.”

Cass took it, then opened it and peered at the contents. “Do you know anything else about this person?”

“Yes,” I said. “We’re looking for the man who made it. A Blood Sorcerer named Ricketts. But it was deployed by another man. He’s dead.”

“All right.” She closed her eyes, no doubt calling on her dragon sense.

Because she was so powerful, I couldn’t feel a hint of her magic. She’d probably practiced long and hard to conceal something that strong. Her power came directly from dragons. Since the magical beasts were so covetous, they were able to find anything of value. FireSouls had inherited that gift.

A pretty valuable power, if you asked me.

A moment later, her eyes popped open. “Ricketts is somewhere in Europe. If I were closer, I could give you a more precise location. But the man who deployed it—he’s dead, you said?”

“Yeah,” I said.

“Well, his ashes or body are nearby.” She pulled out her phone and tapped some buttons, then held it out to me. “I think he’s in this house. I can feel it really strongly since he’s so close.”

I peered at the satellite image on Google maps. A modern mansion sat on a cliff by the sea. Several large, black SUVs sat in the drive. Exactly the kind of cars you’d think a mobster’s goons would drive. “That looks like a frat house for mob muscle.”

Cade nodded sharply. “That would make sense. We have reports that he keeps mercenaries on staff in different locations. Having his American base in Magic’s Bend is logical.”

It was the largest magical city in the world and had a massive airport for reaching headquarters in Europe, so yeah, that made sense.

“Even if he’s not there, I bet there’s a lead there,” I said.

Cass nodded. “Try that out. If it doesn’t work, I’ll be done with this artifact in a couple days. I could help you locate Ricketts in Europe.”

“Thank you.” I definitely wanted to get started with this lead, but the backup option was nice.

“Anytime. Really.” She handed the glass shards back to me, questions in her eyes.

“I’ll meet you on the street okay, Cade?” I shot him a glance. I wanted just a moment alone with her. She’d been the closest thing to a friend outside of my sister that I’d ever had, and that was really laughable, considering that I’d barely known her.

He gave Cass a searching look, then nodded. “Good to meet you, Cass.”

I watched him walk out, then turned to Cass.

“You’re stronger than you were,” she said. “Much stronger. And five years ago, when I met you, you were no one to be trifled with. But now it’s a bit crazy.”

“I know. I’m not sure what it is. I’m an Unknown. And my power has been going wild lately. Any control I once had is gone.” Unknowns often manifested their true powers later in life. Was that what was happening to me?

For the first time ever, I found myself spilling my guts. But I could trust Cass, because she knew what it was like to hide. And she’d keep my secret. Just like I’d kept hers.

I trusted very few people in this world—less than I could count on one hand—and she was one of them. Even if my pride was too big to accept more help than absolutely necessary.

“Don’t let anyone know what you are.” Her gaze was serious. “I know what that life is like. I found my way out—to happiness and honesty—but hiding is what kept me alive for the first twenty-five years.”

“That’s exactly what my mother told me to do. She was a seer, and she prophesied that someone would hunt me because of what I am. Except, I don’t even know what I am exactly. Just that I might be changing.”

She nodded. “Keep hiding. Try to get a handle on your magic. You must. And learn to control your signature. That will save you.”

I nodded, grateful for the advice. Cass was about seven years older than me and had lived a life that was just as hard and full of secrets. She knew what was up.

“I don’t know how well you know Cade,” she said. “So I’m sorry if I blew your cover. I was just so shocked. It’s almost impossible for non-FireSouls to increase their magical power. And you aren’t a FireSoul. I’d feel it if you were.”

I hadn’t ever wanted to be—FireSouls were never Unknowns—but answers would be nice. “It’s cool. I appreciate the help.”

“Come back to see us again. Nix and Del would be happy to see you. And if you need us, we’ll help. Like you helped us.”

“Thanks. Really.” I took one last glance at her face, this almost-friend who could possibly be more if I weren’t so damned scared of getting close to people, then turned for the door.

“Hang on,” she said. “I don’t see a car out in the street. Did you take a cab? Where’s your crazy truck?”

I turned. “Temporarily out of commission.”

Cass grinned. “You’ll need a ride out to the target’s house, then. I bet Nix would let you borrow her new baby.”

From what little I knew, Cass’s sister Nix loved cars. “Really? I haven’t spoken to you guys in five years, and she’d do that?”

“You helped her a lot. And you’re going to like this car.”

“What is it?”

“A version of your truck. Nix loved yours so much she built a smaller one for herself. It’ll probably come in handy getting to the target’s house. Dollars to donuts there are protection charms around the property.”

Excitement thrummed in my veins. I was always most comfortable fighting from a vehicle, and this would come in handy. “Thanks.”

Cass nodded and pressed a finger to the golden charm at her throat. Magic thrummed in the air. “Nix? You’ll never guess who is here. Bree Blackwood. Can she borrow your truck?”

“Bree?” Nix’s voice spiked with excitement. “Heck yeah. There are spare keys in the desk, and it’s parked in the alley. Tell her she should come by more.”

“Thanks, Nix,” I said, directing my voice toward Cass’s communications charm. Ana and I really needed to get some of those.

“No problem,” Nix said. “Good luck with whatever you’re after. And Cass, I’ll see you in twenty?”

“Yeah, I’ve got the artifact and I’m coming.” Cass hung up on the comms charm and looked at me. “Let’s get you in this car, then I’ve got to get this damned artifact away from civilization while we try to sort out the magic.”

“Thanks again.” I smiled at her, my heart warmed.

Had Ana and I done the wrong things, sticking so close to ourselves all these years? I hadn’t realized that Cass and Nix had liked us so much. Maybe we’d given up something good.

Maybe.