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I tuck my hands into my jacket pockets to shield the distinct tremor running through them from Darius, a physical vibration born solely from the pure adrenaline and exhilaration of how much I enjoyed that spike of power.

22

DARIUS

Idrive the SUV off the highway into an abandoned rest stop, gravel crunching under the tires as we escape the chaos consuming Chicago's skyline. The red sky hangs above the distant city, more crimson than it was an hour ago but building—a slow, magical tide that won't crest for another day or two. Already, though, it casts everything in shades of violence.

Serenity slumps against the passenger seat, exhaustion written across her features despite the opalescent shimmer flickering beneath her skin. All of those assassins she vaporized—the sheer, unblinking simplicity of her reducing them to ash—it should terrify me. Instead, all I can think about is how naturally she moved, like the power was always meant to flow through her that way.

"Get some rest." I kill the engine and step outside. "I need to make some calls."

She nods without fighting back, which tells me more about her condition than any medical scan could. Serenity never agrees to rest willingly.

My phone connects on the second ring.

"Please tell me you're both still breathing." Kellan's voice sounds stronger than the last time I heard it—the healer must have done her job. He sounds rougher than usual, but the sharpness is back.

"For now." I walk toward a cluster of oak trees at the lot's edge, putting distance between myself and the car. "But we need to change tactics. The coven's got the entire paranormal authority dancing to their tune."

"Yeah, I've been monitoring emergency channels. Half the PA leadership is either compromised or dead."

I lean against the nearest tree and feel bark dig into my shoulders through the armored vest. "What about our old contacts? The rogues or the ones who never trusted official channels anyway?"

"You thinking what I think you're thinking?"

"We need a resistance to coordinate strikes against coven strongholds while they're focused on the ritual. We can hit their supply lines and disrupt their timeline with rescue operations."

Kellan's pause lasts long enough that I wonder if the connection dropped. When he speaks again, the air grows heavy with the same brutal cadence he used during our worst pack battles. "I can reach out to the Detroit shifters, maybe some of Lynn's people if they survived the nightclub attack. Give me a few hours."

"You have two. The blood moon will peak in a matter of days, and they're accelerating everything."

"Copy that. Oh, and I reached out to Grizzon Holt and the other safe house contacts along our route. They got out ahead of the coven's sweep and went to ground—they're safe. What's your status?"

I glance back at the SUV where Serenity sits motionless, selenic resonance vibrating faintly around her silhouette. "Serenity took out a dozen coven assassins in Millennium Park single-handedly."

"Jesus, how?"

"She used pure and controlled moon magic." I choose that phrasing carefully, though the reality of what I witnessed transcends standard control. It was effortless and natural, like watching an apex predator hunt.

"Controlled? Darius, listen to yourself. She vaporized a dozen coven assassins, the movement barely registering as a challenge. We have a different definition of control—what she does is something else."

I shift my body against the tree, bark scraping through my vest. "She hasn't hurt anyone who didn't deserve it."

"Yet. From everything you've told me about the episodes and the consistent spikes of power during emotional stress, her connection to that entity is accelerating quickly."

The moon intensifies another shade, the crimson shadows across the abandoned lot lasting longer than they were when we arrived. A normal lunar cycle would have peaked and faded by now, but this one keeps climbing—ancient magic dragging the transformation out. I watch Serenity through the SUV's rear window, noting how the light beneath her skin flickers in rhythm with the moon cycle above us.

"I'm handling it."

"You keep saying that, but⁠—"

"I won't let her spiral." My voice projects the finality that usually ends arguments, but Kellan knows me too well to back down.

"And what happens when your presence isn't enough anymore? When whatever's keeping her grounded stops working?"

I push off from the tree and head toward the lot's edge, gravel crunching under my boots. "There has to be something more, because my touch actually quiets her magic and reins it back from the edge."

"Yeah, I've noticed. Every time you describe one of her episodes, physical contact brings her back. That's unheard-of protective behavior, Morvane."