Page 89 of The Fate of Black Hearts

“He wants to control me, maybe all of us.” She caught Efrem’s gaze. “There was something off about him. He seemed interested in me, when in the past there’s never been anything between us.”

“What angle does he think he has to force you into this?” Roman fisted his hands on the table.

“First, he says he’ll go to the Council to force it, but he knows that’s a dead end. They’re too scared of us to force us into anything. Ian then threatened us with a page two of the parchment that had your curseto the Crown. It’s an addendum he plans to activate should we not agree to his demands. He also said he’s been in contact with the king. If I don’t allow him all that, he’ll activate it.”

“What?” Roman pushed his chair back to stand. He paced back and forth, muttering.

Ky cradled his head in his hands. “I can’t go back. It’d put Vivi at too much risk.”

“We have to find out if it’s true, regardless of if Ian has it,” Efrem said.

“No one’s getting cursed again.” Evie placed her palms flat on the table. “He doesn’t know us. He doesn’t know anything about our lives now, nor when you were blood cursed. He has no clue who we’ve become or who your mates are. He doesn’t know me. He doesn’t know about your angels.”None of you know about my angel.

Shane hung his head and rocked it back and forth. “Madeline told me everything she knew when she was forced to cast the spell for the monarch. There wasn’t a page two.”

“If there was a page two and Maddie didn’t know…” Flynn unwrapped a new lollypop and put it in his mouth. “Maybe Ian gave the curse to the Crown in the first place? I say we sic Madeline on Ian. She can have her demon familiar, Baku, torture him.”

Efrem knelt next to Evie and took her free hand in his. “We have the upper hand in this. We’re strong.”

“I shouldn’t have visited him. I knew better.” She fisted her hand that held the earrings again until the sharp backings bit into her palm.

“We’ve got this, Mom.” Flynn said whileswirling his lollypop between his fingers.

She glanced up to see all of them had moved around her. “You’re right. We’ll figure it out. I just…” She dropped her head. “I can’t see the path to get out of this.” With a forced smile she said, “We have a party to get to.”

“Are you sure we’re done?” Efrem asked.

“Yes.”

Efrem’s face fell.

The boys stood and left, and Efrem whispered, “You promised.”

“It’s enough for them for now. Maybe tomorrow.”

“You don’t have that many more tomorrows.”

Evie watched Madeline’s demon dancing with Lyra in the moonlight. Baku might be quirky and grumpy, but he adored her daughter. No kid could be happier or safer than this, surrounded by the magic of witches, vampires, lycans, and a dragon demon.

Roman sat with Nova on a bench watching, holding her tight. The way he rested a hand on her belly made Evie wonder if she might get a grandchild in the next year. She dabbed the corners of her eyes when she realized she might not live to see that.

Madeline teased Shane with a few f-bombs. He pretended to be angry, but laughed. He chased after her until he caught her and kissed her.

Ky and Vivi danced in the shadows.

“I’ve made sure the accounts are adjusted to reflect we are barely scraping by should Ian push you.” Efrem appeared as if out of thin air next to her. She jumped. “They’re worried.”

She chose not to respond to that. “How long would it take to clear everything from here? We’ve stayed too long.”

“We can be gone tomorrow.”

“Do it. Transport everything to Crete to go into storage. We’re moving to Germany tomorrow. It’s been a while.”

“I will make it happen. Do we leave breadcrumbs for Ian?”

“I like this place, but it’s not my favorite. No breadcrumbs. If he thinks he can find us, let him try.”

“If the Council has decided he is in the right, they might try to force it. I can intervene.”