So strange.
The bird took flight, launching itself into the gentle wind. It whirled on the breeze, then flew off toward the Shadow Guild tower.
I watched the dark, glossy wings glint in the sun, feeling like the creature was calling to me, drawing me along.
It had never done that before.
I rubbed a hand over my face as I walked toward the bedside table and grabbed my phone, then typed a quick text to Eve:
Saw your raven. Did you need me for something?
I set the phone back down and hopped in the shower, making quick work of getting cleaned up for the job ahead. It had only been two days since the fight at the Temple of Anat—and two days since I had seen Grey.
The Cursed Mate bond between us was as strong as ever, and I could feel it pulling on me. Like it had grown, leaving an imprint on my soul. A sensory memory of Grey.
I knew he was away, trying to find a solution to our terrible problem, and I was doing the same. My gift told me that there were answers in the Shadow Guild tower. I knew it. I was drawn to that place like we were two enormous magnets, and there was no fighting the pull.
More than that, there were answers there that could possibly save Grey and me. It was like my power had been building toward this moment, growing stronger and stronger. And now it told me that there were answers in the many boxes that filled the long-abandoned rooms.
I hopped out of the shower and dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, both appropriately ragged for the dirty job to come. Today was the day. I could feel it. I was going to find something. And damn it, I would use it to figure out how to save us.
Eve never responded to my text. She claimed she couldn’t see the bird, but I swore that I occasionally caught her looking at it. Especially lately.
I shoved the phone into my pocket and pulled on my boots, then headed out into the living room. Cordelia, my raccoon familiar, lay on the sofa, passed out next to an empty bag of crisps. Her little paw was still shoved into the bag, and her fluffy belly faced the ceiling. I left her sleeping and stepped out on the landing outside my apartment.
The narrow stairs disappeared down toward street level. I lived on the top floor, with Mac on the one below me. She stepped out of her flat and looked up at me, grinning. “Perfect timing.”
“You coming to the tower?”
She nodded. “I don’t start at the Hound until later tonight, so I thought I’d help you out this morning.”
We still didn’t know whether we would live in our guild tower like some of the other guilds did, but we needed it cleaned out, no matter what. And she knew I hoped to find answers there.
“Thanks.”
“No problem. Cordelia still sleeping?”
“Yeah. With an entire bag of crisps next to her.” I shook my head. “I swear, I have to work on her diet, or she’ll have a heart attack.”
Mac grinned. “I helped her with those last night, so she didn’t eat the whole bag.”
“Really?” I’d had no idea she’d been over.
“Yeah, we watched the old Twilight movie while you were asleep.”
“My raccoon has a better social life than I do.”
Mac laughed. “You need to work on that.”
“I will, just as soon as I sort out this Cursed Mate situation with Grey.” I had no idea how long we had left before the curse took over his mind entirely, forcing him to drink me to death in order to save his own life. But it felt like the time was nearing. There was a heaviness to the air that was impossible to ignore.
Mac and I reached the main street, and she turned back to lock the green door behind us. The kebab place under our flats was still closed due to the early hour, but the coffee shop down the street was open and bustling.
“I’m dying for a coffee,” Mac said.
“Same.”
We stopped in at the little place, joining the short queue that waited along the left wall. Ten minutes later, we each clutched a steaming coffee. Mine was enchanted with a shot of mental clarity, and I was hoping it would come in handy. Mac had requested charm, though I had no clue why she thought she needed it. After all, it was just going to be the two of us getting dirty while cleaning the tower.
“The weirdest thing happened this morning,” I said.
“Yeah?”
“Eve’s raven visited me, then flew off toward the guild tower, as if it was leading me there.”
“That’s weird.”
“Yeah. Why doesn't she see it?”
Mac shrugged. “Maybe she’s lying. I’ve wondered about that. Or maybe it’s not really hers. It’s only been around about a year.”
“What?” I flashed a look at her. “Only a year?”
She nodded. “Showed up one day, but she never saw it. So maybe it’s just attracted to her Fae energy.”
“What do you mean, ‘Fae energy?’”
“They’re earth Magica, for the most part. Connected to the life force of the earth. Animals, plants, all of that. It’s one reason why Eve is so good with potions. So maybe that’s what the raven likes.”
“Weird to be followed by a magical animal you can’t see.”
“Very.”
We reached the abandoned courtyard in front of our tower. Morning sunlight gleamed on the flowers filling the ramshackle space. It looked vastly better than when we’d discovered the tower a couple weeks ago. The plants had grown, green and bright, climbing up the remains of the pedestal upon which the statue of Councilor Rasla had stood.
Mac gestured to the wild garden. “I think this is Seraphia’s work, don’t you?”
I nodded. Our librarian friend had some kind of power over plants, though she never mentioned it. We never asked. The topic felt off limits.
The stone statue of the bastard who’d nearly destroyed the Shadow Guild in the seventeenth century was now gone, blasted into rubble, but his shadow remained. I’d been obsessed since I’d learned of him. Why had he done such terrible things to the Shadow Guild, all but destroying it and wiping it from the city’s memory?
A bird’s shriek sounded from the tower, and I spotted the raven sitting on the roof.
“There’s your buddy.” Mac tilted her head. “Does it seem a little different?”
I shrugged. “Maybe.”
The raven launched itself into the air and swooped toward me. For the longest moment, I felt like I recognized the gleam in its eye.
Weird.
I shook my head and walked toward the door. Mac came with me, and we unlocked the heavy wooden thing. Pushing it open, I revealed the newly spotless room. After all our elbow grease, it looked gorgeous. The stone walls almost sparkled, and the large hearth looked inviting.
My gaze landed on the heavy wooden chair that sat next to the hearth. Cordelia had dragged it into the front room last week, and I’d avoided it ever since.
Mac caught me looking at it. “That’s the leader’s chair, you know. Every guild has one.”
She’d told me that before, about a week ago. Apparently, she felt the need to repeat it. Probably because I’d ignored her the first time, pretending to be distracted. I studied the beautifully carved wood. It was an impressive thing, far too good for me.
“You haven’t sat in it yet,” Mac said. “In fact, you’ve hardly mentioned being leader at all.”