Kat shrugged. “What can I say? We live for the adrenaline rush.”
“So do we,” Brunton said, eyeing Kat.
“And I owe your mom some payback,” Jagger added with surprising enthusiasm. “I’m ready for the chance.”
Foust was quick to agree. Jase and Dean were as well.
“Liam,” my father called, “can you still make a portal?” The blond Original took a moment to focus on the air in front of him, then nodded. “Then let’s get back there.”
***
Despite how fast our encounter with the fey royals had been, injuries had still occurred that needed to be attended to, which meant that I needed to heal a shit-ton of supernaturals as quickly as possible. The New York pack was once again being held in the cells below the mansion, and I was headed to check on them when I heard voices echoing through the stairwell from the training room.
Voices I recognized.
“We might not win.”
Knox’s words slammed into me, stopping me short.
“Losing is not an option,” my father replied. “Not with everything that is riding on this.”
“Well, then you’d better figure out a way to help me get control of this fey magic shit really fucking fast, because the way I see it, Phineas dying was part of her greater plan.”
“Except she didn’t inherit his power,” Reinhardt countered, “which is what she wanted. It went to you.” I inched closer to the cracked-open door and strained to hear as his voice lowered. “You have it now, which has to be favorable for us.”
“But only if I can get it under control,” Knox argued, “and I'm still not sure the queen bitch doesn’t have something else up her sleeve. This all seems too convenient somehow…”
“Perhaps Etherian was her wild card all along—a double agent, as it were.”
“You think he was in on it?”
“With Larken, it is foolish to rule out any possibility. Phineas did, and look where that got him.” What an ominous truth that was. “That said, I cannot fathom what benefit it would be to Larken for you to have his powers. That is our advantage at the moment; one we will need to use if we are to win.”
Knox’s silence made my skin crawl.
“And if I can’t? If it uses me instead?” The pain in his voice cut right through me. I wanted to barge in there and hug him, but I knew he would clam up the second he saw me, so I stayed put. I needed to hear his fears—needed to hear him unburden himself without censure. “It’s taken so much energy to keep the New York pack at bay. At first, I hoped that Phineas’ power would help, but it didn’t. It’s only fueling the instability because of his connection to them.” Silence again. “What if—what if it works against Piper?”
I heard light footsteps creaking along the hardwood.
“You couldn’t be used against Piper even at your most vulnerable,” Reinhardt said, his tone comforting.
“I nearly beat her to death—”
“But you were able to stop because of your connection. You overrode the fey king’s power; power that you now control.” Silence. “Trust in that connection, in your bond to her.”
“I’ve never doubted that,” Knox replied, conviction in his voice.
“And I have never truly doubted you. I know you will do everything in your power to help defeat Larken, if for no other reason than to keep her safe.”
Silence again.
“But will it be enough?” Knox said, so softly I barely heard him.
“I hope so.”
I heard the sound of a hand clapping a muscular back, then footsteps nearing the door. I turned to run down the stairs, but Knox’s voice once again stopped me.
“I’d die for her if I had to.”
The soles of Reinhardt’s shoes squeaked as he turned. “As would I. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
Before they exited the room and busted me for eavesdropping, I bolted down the stairs on silent feet with the help of a little wind magic. I rounded the newel post and didn’t stop until I reached the next floor. I didn’t want to get caught and have to acknowledge what I’d heard.
I wanted to forget I’d ever heard it at all.
But that wasn’t in the cards. A heavy hand landed on my shoulder and gently spun me around. Knox looked at me, a mixture of hesitation and amusement in his eyes. He knew I’d overheard him and my father—he just didn’t know how much.
“Where are you headed?”
“I was going to check on Mack’s former wolves.”
His eyes narrowed. “Not a lie, but there’s something very lie-like buried in there.”
“Well,” I said, pushing past him to head back upstairs, “no time to unpack that right now.”
“Piper, did you—”
“Don’t ask me questions you don’t want the answers to,” I yelled over him as I ran up the stairs with him right behind me. I knew I wouldn’t make it far before he’d overtake me; a conversation was inevitable. So instead of heading toward my room, I walked back into the training room he’d just been in and wondered if my mother would show up in time to save me from his interrogation.
“Hey,” he said as he walked in behind me. “Why are you running away?”
“Because waiting for the world to end has got me on edge.” Neither one of us laughed. “You?”
He raked his fingers through his hair. “Trying to outrun my demons.”
I stifled a shiver. “How’d that work out for you?”
“I’m not sure yet.” He hovered near the doorway, staring at me.
“Funny how your escape collided with mine…”
“Yeah,” he said, running his hand through his hair, “funny, but not surprising. You always seem to be my ground zero.”
I forced a smile. “I can’t be your ground zero when you’re so far away.”
He didn’t move, so I slowly walked toward him.
“Mack’s guys were fine. No major injuries for you to deal with,” he said, jaw clenched tight as he spoke.
“That’s good, I guess…”
I kept approaching, and his body went rigid.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, though given the conversation I’d overheard, I had a pretty damn good idea.
“I just…”
“You’re worried.” Pain-filled eyes met mine. “You’re afraid that we’ll lose—that you’ll fail us. Fail me...” He nodded. I stopped right before him. “This power does not own you, Knox. Not when you have your pack to lean on. When you have me—and Merc, too. I know how scary it is to feel like you can’t control it, but you can because you have us.”
His eyes snapped shut and he inhaled sharply. When they opened, a slight golden hue stared back at me.
“It’s not as easy as you think—”
“And it’s not as hard as you assume,” I countered, placing my hand on his chest. I pulled on the tether that bound us and breathed a sense of calm and cooling into it. He exhaled hard, and his muscles loosened. “See? Not so bad.” My hand lingered against the thin cotton of his shirt, and I slowly traced the contours of his chest as I stared into his wolfish eyes.