Page 55 of Unbound

“Aren’t you already a rich man?”

Xavier ignores us both, looking me up and down like he needs physical confirmation that I’m actually okay.

I wave a hand. “Come on. I’ll tell you everything, but I want to sit down first.” We move into the family room, and I sit close to Xavier on the couch. Antonio and Leo follow us in, and before long, basically the entire family is gathered around for an impromptu meeting.

I tell them everything Larkin said, anxiety bubbling unpleasantly in my stomach as I repeat her warning. The coalition is destabilizing fast.

“And that’s not all,” I say once I finish recounting what happened with the Reapers. “There’s another witch I think the Order had in their grasp. Another witch whose blood could potentially be used to free a demon.”

“Instead of taking bets, I think I need to make a bingo card,” Theo mutters under his breath.

“Not a bad idea,” Antonio surprisingly agrees. “Though I don’t know how we’d predict half this crazy-ass shit.”

“You’re telling me,” Theo scoffs.

“Another witch?” Mabel asks. “Kidnapped like you?”

“Maybe.” I lean closer to Xavier and shift my gaze toward Leo. “You think you can hack into the Fairmont group home?”

“Think?” Leo asks, eyebrows shooting up as he gives me an exaggerated look of offense. “I know I can hack into their system. Give me an hour and I’ll get you everything on Eudora Claire Bellamy.”

“Why are you hacking into a group home’s system?” Zeke asks.

“Fairmont is a group home for kids getting close to aging out of foster care,” I explain quickly

“And the Bellamys are a prominent magical family, like the Blackwoods.”

“Right,” Devon says. “That’s what you were talking about last night.”

I nod, knowing I’m repeating some of this so Mabel, Theo, and Zeke can catch up. “As far as I can tell, Claire is alive. The last report I found was from a couple weeks ago. She ran away.”

“What’s significant about her?” Theo asks.

“From what Marie was able to find, Claire’s mother, Eudora Bellamy, had some kind of summer fling with a non-magical guy, got pregnant, and was forced to give up the baby.” I swallow. “Eudora died in a car accident about a year later, but apparently a lot of people suspected it wasn’t actually an accident. They think she killed herself.”

The room goes quiet.

“And a half-blood witch might not show signs of magic until much later,” I continue. “Usually around seventeen or eighteen.” I look around at everyone. “Claire is seventeen.”

“Just now coming into her powers,” Mabel says quietly.

“Yeah.”

Leo stands. “Do you have a computer I can use?”

Devon gets up too, waving him over. “Come with me. I always thought I was decent with coding, but I’ve never hacked into a secure system. Mind if I join?”

“Not at all.” The two of them leave the room together. Silence settles over the rest of us. And I can practically hear Theo’s thoughts screaming. The Reapers can’t just shoot at me and walk away. Not only because Xavier is furious they went after his wife, but because the family has to maintain control. One of the 409 Reapers tried to murder me in broad daylight in the middle of downtown Charlotte. There has to be some kind of response. What that response looks like, I have no idea. And right now, I don’t want to know.

I’m not exactly well-versed in supernatural politics, but something inside me keeps saying that more threats and fear aren’t the answer. Everyone is already afraid of the vampires. The coalition works partly because of that fear, sure. But it also works because they respect Xavier. Because they can count on him. Because being allied with him gives them something beyond simply not getting their blood drained by hungry vampires.

“I’m fine,” I say before Xavier can start fussing over me. My phone dings. I lean forward and grab it from the coffee table. Not Marie. Not yet.

It’s Delphi, asking if I’m okay because Larkin filled her in on what happened.

Physically I’m fine. Just a little shaken and really tired of getting shot at.

A response comes almost immediately.