 
# Relativity

### A Lorcan & Lucia Novella

## Claire Farrell

### Contents

Copyright

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

About the Author

Reading Order

Books by Claire Farrell:
**Copyright © Claire Farrell**

Book cover image provided by The Cover Collection

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**Licence Notes**

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All Rights Reserved.

 Created with Vellum 

# Introduction

Relativity

A Lorcan & Lucia Novella

* * *

Best read after Tithes (Ava Delaney: Lost Souls #3)

The twins have finally returned to their father, but they discover that plenty has changed in their absence. All three have secrets they want to keep hidden, but the return of a troublemaker forces them to face their problems together—even if it breaks them.

# 1

_L orcan_

* * *

Lorcan shot a worried glance at his twin sister as the taxi they had hailed at Dublin airport finally approached their darkened home. The silhouette of the old house made his gut twist with the childish desire to run away and hide.

He nudged Lucia's arm. "Think we'll wake him? What am I saying? He never sleeps."

His sister's shoulders lifted into a silent sigh. She'd spent the entire journey gazing out of the window.

He didn't understand her anymore. She had followed him on his trip across Europe, but she hadn't enjoyed herself. He'd embraced a lifestyle they had never known—one filled with lust, indulgence, and a distinct lack of responsibilities. Lucia had shadowed him doggedly, her disapproval clear.

He knew she was running away from something, but she refused to share her reasons why. Her misery clung to her like a shroud, sucking the fun out of his days, too. The trip home obviously hadn't helped any.

The taxi pulled up outside their home. The open gates should have appeared inviting, but they made Lorcan think of a huge, gaping maw, ready to swallow him up. His fingers pinched the seat beneath him as though of their own accord.

_Too late to turn back now_.

He had tentatively agreed to return in the hope it would cheer Lucia up—but the worrying tone of his friend's voice when she called to say his father needed them both had pushed him over the edge. He'd delayed the journey for as long as he could, creating new reasons to stay away, but a slow insidious brand of guilt had eaten him up until he booked tickets home. He doubted his father needed him for anything—Phoenix was far too composed to ever actually _need_ anybody—but Ava Delaney had sounded as though _she_ could use some help, and that was enough for him.

Lorcan paid the taxi driver then got out of the car, remembering to grab Lucia's overnight bag before she wandered off without it. The driver took the rest of the bags out of the boot and dumped them by the gates before hurrying back to the vehicle as though chilled. He drove off too quickly, but he'd been rattled even in the car, constantly glancing at Lucia in the rearview mirror. She had an unsettling effect on most humans.

Lorcan looked at his twin sister. She was staring at the converted garage, her hands clenched into fists as her skirt gently blew around her ankles in the early morning breeze. Her hair was a ghostly shroud around her shoulders, and the haze of light from the main house leeched the little green that was in her eyes until they looked completely white. She spoke no words and shared no thoughts. Sometimes she unsettled him, too.

He gathered up all of the bags. "Come on," he urged. "You'll freeze."

She hesitated for another few seconds before obeying.

"You'll see Val in the morning," he said, probing for her reaction. He hadn't been able to tell if their relationship had actually ended or not.

Lucia shook her head. Her hair fell in front of her face, conveniently hiding her expression.

_Typical_.

As they approached their home, the front door opened, and the two people about to walk outside froze into place, shock clear in their eyes.

His father recovered first. Phoenix greeted them in his usual cool, reserved voice, but his long black and platinum hair was messy and free around his shoulders. Lorcan looked quizzically in Ava's direction. Her cheeks had flushed with a red sheen almost as vibrant as her hair, and her blue eyes were bright with, what was that, _shame_?

Lorcan looked from his friend to his father, trying to comprehend why anyone would be at the house in the early hours of the morning unless...

_Oh_.

"Ava?" he whispered. " _Ava_?" Lucia had laid her hand on his arm as though in warning, but he barely felt her touch. He was too busy staring at the impassive expression on his father's face—and the horrified one on Ava's. "No." He let the bags fall. "Not her. Not my _friend_. What are you doing?"

"Lorcan," Phoenix began evenly. "This isn't—"

"This isn't what at four in the morning?" Lorcan held up his hands. "Don't. Just don't. I actually came back here to make peace with you, and I find you... Of all the people..." Panic restricted his lungs. "I can't even... Are you _seriously_..." He pointed at his father. "I won't let you take advantage of my friends, Phoenix."

"He's not taking advantage of me." Ava's face drained of colour. "Lorcan, just—"

He ignored her and took a step toward his father who had moved a couple of paces away from Ava as though distancing himself. That was the side that Ava didn't see. The man was ice-cold.

"From now on, keep away from her," Lorcan said, unable to stop his upper lip from curling.

His father stared back at him, his eyes completely emotionless. "You're tired," Phoenix said in an annoyingly calm tone. "You've obviously had a long journey. Rest, and we'll talk about this in the morning."

Lucia tugged on Lorcan's sleeve, but his heartbeat thundered so loud in his ears that he couldn't pay attention to her presence. He only had eyes for his father, and his fingers itched to wrap around the man's throat.

"You should go, Ava." He made an effort to keep his voice steady. "He's not who you think he is."

Ava snapped her fingers in front of his face to get his attention. It worked. "Lorcan, I completely understand why you're angry right now, but he's not tricking me into anything. I'm an adult. I know what I'm doing."

"You're a child," he snapped. "You know less than nothing." Even he heard the coldness—the _faeness_ —in his voice.

She took a step back as though struck. Lucia kept pulling at his sleeve as though she were his silent conscience. He swallowed the urge to snap at her, too.

"All right," Ava said in a strained voice. "I'm going to go before I punch you in the nose and make this ten times worse."

Lucia ran to her and held her hands before Ava gently but firmly removed her. She turned on her heel and walked away with her chin in the air. Great. She was going to be mad for days after that. Discomfort squirmed in the pit of Lorcan's stomach until he looked at his father. Then the anger burned anew.

"She didn't deserve that." Phoenix watched Ava leave, but he made no move to follow her. "You can't speak to people like that."

"Like what?" Lorcan asked. "Like you talk to people? Like you've treated her? Haven't _you_ hurt her enough?"

Phoenix blanched. Lorcan knew he had hit a tender spot, and he had no intentions of slowing down. He would never forget how distraught he felt when his father hurt Ava to fool Lorcan's enemies. Phoenix had been playing both sides back when the stakes were a lot higher, and he'd been a magnificent actor.

"This isn't any of your business." Phoenix turned his back on his son.

"Is there anything you're not going to take from me?" Lorcan asked bitterly, desperate for a reaction, something that would prove his father were capable of actual feeling. "Or were you just planning to steal our memories of this when it all goes wrong?"

Phoenix hesitated for only a moment. "Get inside," he hissed before storming into the house himself.

Lorcan couldn't force himself to move. He had nowhere else to go, but walking into that house felt like giving up. Phoenix made him angry, and most of the time, he wasn't even sure why.

Lucia stood before him, her eyes reproachful.

"What?" he said sullenly. "Like I wasn't saying exactly what you were thinking."

She folded her arms across her chest and held his gaze. She had never needed words to make him feel guilty. But hadn't she realised what would happen?

"He's going to ruin everything," he protested. "We'll lose our friends because of him."

She shook her head slowly, giving him a meaningful look.

He shrugged sheepishly, understanding instantly. They had a silent language between them, and her gaze told him everything. He would lose his friends himself if he kept talking to them like a cold-hearted fae. Where had that even come from?

"I'll apologise," he said, too exhausted to carry on. "To her," he immediately clarified. "That man should keep well away from me. I'm tired of him getting in the way." He glanced at the garage, sick to death of sidestepping around their problems. "Christ, Lucia. Aren't you?"

He went inside with the bags, avoiding his father's study. The man escaped there more often than not, shut himself away instead of facing his mistakes—or his son. Lorcan would have preferred a blazing row. That might have felt real.

He headed straight for his own bedroom and closed the door. He leaned against it and struggled to calm his breathing. The room was plain, unchanged by Lorcan bar the addition of a gaming console setup. Even that hadn't made the room feel like home. He was running out of places to belong.

What had happened in his absence? He had realised long ago that his father had a soft spot for Ava, but surely she had more sense. She had to be perceptive enough to sense the darkness that lay under his father's carefully created mask.

He locked the door. Nobody would enter uninvited, but he liked the extra layer of security. It gave the false impression that he were choosing to be alone. He lay on the bed and ran his hands through his hair, trying to work through his complicated feelings. He didn't own Ava, but Phoenix had made him feel displaced. Again. Lorcan didn't want a relationship with Ava, but somehow, he felt the sting of jealousy, just as he had when Lucia had grown close to Phoenix and shut Lorcan out in the process.

Ava had reunited his family, had even helped him meet his mother briefly before she died an old woman. He and Lucia had a claim on her, a bond they'd never experienced before. And his father was taking her away, making his own claim. Surely _he_ was old enough to know better than anyone that it wouldn't work out.

Who even knew Phoenix's actual age. The fae lived long, epic lives—even half-fae like Lorcan and Lucia were often gifted with extended lifespans. Ava was a child in those terms, and it was vile of his father to prey on her, to use her, the one person who held everything together. Now even their friendship was poisoned because he couldn't imagine looking her in the eye without imagining... he wanted to throw up.

He should have stayed away. Coming home never fixed anything, and he had seen too much darkness in the world to believe in happy endings.

# 2

_L ucia_

* * *

_T he shadows surrounded me, catching my wrists and ankles to pin me into place. I was going to die, but I had made my peace with that. It was my time. A familiar voice shouted my name, and in one word, my serenity was swept away and destroyed._

_Not again. It was too late. I couldn't change that path either._

_A hero rushed into my line of sight, a blinding light amongst the darkness. A clock began to tick, a brief, hauntingly familiar countdown. The brave, fiery soul was doused as she took the death that was meant to be mine. The gleam of a blade had flashed for merely a second before her blood smothered the metal. Crimson streams poured in all directions, sinking into the earth and changing the world in the process. My hero lay dead on the ground, her arms outstretched as though crucified, and I stood alone._

* * *

I awoke with a start, breathing heavily to calm the racing of my heart. I wiped the tears I had shed in my sleep and tried to recall something, _anything_ , about the killer. My fingers clutched the sheet as I went through the scene, step by step, but all I recalled was the grief searing through my bones. It was no use. The face wasn't for me to know, and nothing I did mattered anyway. No matter where I went, death followed.

I watched Val die a different death than she had the night before or the night before that, and tomorrow would bring a new nightmare. No matter what choices I took, the woman I cared for most died in sacrifice. Death and a ticking clock were the only constants. I had never managed to see the killer's face. My fingernails pricked the soft skin of my palms. _Something_ had to change the course of the future. Nothing was set in stone. Every step I took sent ripples outward that changed somebody's life; I just had to find the right path to save her.

The vision dream left me drained as usual, but I rose from the bed, knowing sleep wouldn't bring rest. I slept only when necessary, set alarms to wake me frequently, and yet still, I dreamed. Our tragic destiny chased me relentlessly. If I could just outrun it a little longer...

I strode around the room, touching surfaces to feel connected with the real world. The house was made for a family, but the previous owners had never had children, leaving many of the rooms without memories. I'd chosen one of those for my own. My bedroom was the kind of comfort I'd wished for as a child slave, all pastels and soft fabrics, and most importantly, privacy. That impossible fantasy was born when we slept on cold floors and kept as quiet as possible to survive. I'd had nothing but dreams and my twin brother's optimism to keep me buoyed in those days. Lately, Lorcan had grown bitter. Hope was fleeing as surely as the rising of the morning sun.

We'd both changed. For the first time in my life, I had everything I ever wished for, but I had never been more miserable. My visions had become a curse. I couldn't remember the last time I had actually managed to help someone. The rest of the world had been pushed out in favour of Val's impending death; I avoided her because I only ever saw her end reflected back at me in her eyes. The fae said our ancestors were speaking to me through the visions, but why would dead fae be so interested in the death of a hellhound?

In the bathroom, I splashed my clammy face with cool water and gazed at myself in the mirror. A ghost stared back at me, a dead girl waiting to happen. Death followed me, and still, I couldn't muster the strength to live alone in order to keep the rest of the world safe. I had turned out to be a coward. Lorcan would be so ashamed if he knew, and that was why I had to keep it from him, from everyone.

I switched off the tap, bristling from the persistent memories of everyone who had ever touched the faucet—thankfully few. I was sensitive, some times more than others, to the presence of both the past and the future. Time bent around me; I sometimes wondered if it was because there was something wrong with me, an imperfection that broke reality. Or maybe I was crazy, and the voices in my head were my imagination. Those thoughts were growing stronger lately. Either I was cursed with an uncontrollable gift, or I stood too few steps away from madness.

Back in my room, I moved to the window and watched in silence as the sun rose, dashing the sky with colours I couldn't even imagine. My visions were always full of darkness and death, and so matched my dreams—the beauty of the world forever absent.

The flowers on my windowsill were surrounded by moist dirt. My father had taken care of them in my absence. He had a good heart. I knew it. So did Lorcan, deep down. They both took different paths to the same destination, but that didn't mean either of them were _bad_.

I hadn't been surprised to see Ava with Phoenix—a part of me had been expecting it—but that didn't mean I was pleased about it. I knew without a vision to confirm it that my father needed somebody desperately, and that things would likely get worse before improving, but somebody had to believe in him, or he would forget to believe in himself.

I blanked out the argument from the night before and hoped neither man would make it worse in the light of day. I, for one, was glad to be back. I had left for two reasons, and only one was out of concern for my brother. His headspace had darkened in the last year, and I couldn't pinpoint what exactly had triggered the change in him. He was the fun, light-hearted one, but life was burning its way through his happy nature.

I felt sure he wasn't angry with Ava, but I feared nonetheless. Ava was the best friend and the worst enemy—just like Phoenix. We needed powerful friends to survive. If Lorcan wasn't careful...

I shivered as the front door to the garage opened. A familiar figure stepped outside, driving all other worries out of my mind.

I hid behind the curtain, unable to breathe as I watched Val walk outside with a bag of rubbish. The half-hellhound moved with purpose, her confident stride hypnotic. Her honey coloured hair glistened in a thick plait that passed her shoulder blades. Her hair was her only vanity, and when I twisted it around my fingers, Val relaxed as though all of her troubles had just fled for good. When I massaged her scalp, she released a sound of pleasure that never failed to make me smile. And when she kissed me, I finally belonged, finally became whole, finally found home. Not as a belonging or a weapon or an asset. No labels or judgement or fear. Just two lives entwined in mutual respect and unconditional love.

Until my visions ruined it.

The longing to run outside and touch her made my head spin. A lump formed in my throat as I blinked back my tears. I knew I had to stay away, but I missed Val so terribly that seeing her felt like a kick to the chest. I pressed my fingers to my lips, trying to recall the ghost of her kiss, to finally figure out why her scent made me feel as though I were bathed in sunlight, even in the darkest hours.

I could share the truth with her, but if Val knew why I had put distance between us, she would never leave my side again. Val would always be the hero, and it would kill her. I couldn't bear the thought of being the one to cause her death, and I wasn't strong enough to mourn her. Limbo was me avoiding her until I uncovered a way to save her.

Val dumped the rubbish into the wheelie bin, her tank top exposing her muscular back and arms, and the magic-imbued tattoos that so often filled me with wonder at their making. I had never met anyone like her in my entire life, and I already knew I never would again. Where I was weak, she was strong, and I admired her as much as I cared for her. I just wished... well, I wished a lot of things lately.

On her return to the garage, Val glanced at my window. I froze, but she went back inside. She hadn't seen me, only looked in habit. How many times had she looked at my window in my absence? How long would she wait for me?

I exhaled slowly, flexing fingers I hadn't realised I was curling into fists. I couldn't set her free for fear I might die inside without her. I'd had nothing for so long that I couldn't stand to let go. I had been enthralled with Val from first sight. A warrior born from darkness only to work for the light out of choice—who wouldn't be fascinated? Val had given up her life for a baby she had no connection to, and I knew she would give lifetimes to protect those she cared for. But all most people saw were the occasional red eyes and horns, the weapons she wielded as though born with them in her hands, and the name that held meaning for many. I saw so much more, and I would be the cause of its destruction if I didn't figure something out soon.

Recovering from seeing her took a few more moments. Shaking off the longing, I went downstairs, unsurprised to find my father in the kitchen, nursing a cup of coffee that had probably long gone cold. His long hair was tied back in a bun, and his green eyes looked tired. He was tall and lean, and I saw Lorcan when I looked at his face. Lorcan had gotten our father's bravery and vitality, while I was a dim shadow, colourless and uninteresting to anyone but Val—and those who wanted to use my so-called gifts.

"Good morning," Phoenix said politely. Distantly. _Warily_.

One step forward, two steps back. I should have smacked his and Lorcan's heads together. Instead, I moved to his side and hugged him. His back stiffened, but after a moment, he wrapped unsure arms around me and responded. Humans needed touch, I wanted to tell him, so why not fae, too?

He cleared his throat as he disengaged. "I hope you had an enjoyable trip."

_Not exactly._

I stepped back and shrugged then washed some strawberries I found in the fridge, offering half to my father. He accepted but didn't eat.

It was hard to see him as a father. I saw him as family—that wasn't difficult when he looked so like Lorcan—but he struggled to let us get close to him. Fear and regret were the things that propelled him forward, sometimes too far out of our reach, but that didn't mean I'd give up on him.

"Are you well?" he asked when I sat at the counter.

I hesitated before nodding.

The tension in his shoulders relaxed. "I missed you. Both of you. There's been... trouble here for a while now."

I knew. A storm was coming, and nobody was ready for it. If I could only see through the shadows of my visions and figure out exactly what it was, then perhaps we could prepare ourselves. At first, I had assumed the trouble was between Phoenix and Lorcan, but lately, I suspected something bigger, something that would inevitably hurt Val.

"Lorcan will calm down," he said in a lighter tone. Then he sighed and held my gaze. "I didn't expect you two back last night. I wish... well, it's too late now. Are you upset? You don't look upset. Are you?"

I cocked my head to the side. Babbling? What next? I gave him a small but hopefully reassuring smile. That was the best I could manage so soon after waking. Relief softened his features but didn't quite wipe away the worry in his eyes. I pitied him. I knew what it was like to be torn between what one wanted and what was best for the greater good.

"I'm glad you're here," he continued. "The woman I wrote to you about is visiting us today with her child. I'm certain Lavinia is a cousin of yours, and I think it might be helpful for her to meet you both. Although with Lorcan in one of his moods..."

I patted his arm. I was looking forward to meeting this witch-cousin. My mother was a witch, and it apparently ran in the family. Perhaps there was something I could learn from Lavinia. Magic was that out-of-reach treat that Lorcan and I sometimes stole a taste of—but it was never quite enough.

It was nice of my father to show such interest in our new cousin. He tended to distance himself from people. My face fell. Maybe he needed something from the young woman. There I went, listening to Lorcan too much.

Phoenix had relaxed, so that was a positive. In certain moods, I could trust him without doubt; in others, he made it too hard. But his good days held possibilities. If I could spend time with Lorcan before the men next spoke, the situation would calm itself, but when I knocked on my brother's bedroom door after breakfast, he didn't answer. This new sulking habit of his was getting on my nerves.

Lavinia arrived promptly less than an hour later. I scurried to the door after my father, barely able to contain my excitement. Most of my family had been murdered; it was hard not to feel excited about the appearance of a new cousin, particularly a female one.

The door opened to a slight young woman with long, wavy, light brown hair tied back with a ribbon. An old-fashioned baby carriage rested next to her, but her thin fingers kept a tight grip on the handle. Her pale brown eyes appeared passive, but something stronger simmered beneath, kept carefully hidden.

"Hello," she said politely. "Am I early?"

"Another one?" Lorcan said sarcastically from the stairs. "Don't you ever rest, _Father_?"

My hands flew to my lips. _Lorcan, you idiot._

Phoenix whirled around, surprisingly heated. His ire was cold and long-lasting, but he generally kept it well hidden. This was raw and wild, the kind of anger that sent the hairs on my arms standing on end.

"Don't you dare," he said. "Mock me all you like, but this disrespect for our guests ends now."

"Oh, why don't you—"

Lorcan's eyes bulged as his lips moved, his Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and yet no sound released from his mouth. Magic. I looked at Lavinia with interest. She was already far more fascinating than I had anticipated.

Lavinia stared back at me with an owl-like expression. "Mother always said if you don't have anything nice to say then you shouldn't say anything at all."

I smiled in spite of myself.

Even Phoenix's lips twitched. "Lavinia, could you please allow your cousin to speak long enough for me to have a private conversation with him?"

Lavinia's fist loosened, and Lorcan coughed and spluttered. He shot a glare at Lavinia before heading back to his room.

Phoenix gazed after him. "Lucia, please welcome your cousin inside while I deal with your brother."

Phoenix ran up the stairs after Lorcan, leaving me to beckon the new arrivals inside. Lavinia maneuvered the pram over the step without waking the baby. I showed her into the study. I froze for a moment as I took in the scene. The floor and furniture were both covered with enough paperwork to clear a forest. I quickly made a path for the pram then shifted pages around just to give Lavinia a place to seat. She sat amongst the paper piles, looking completely nonplussed.

Back in the kitchen, I made tea as slowly as humanly possible to avoid being alone with Lavinia. Experience dictated my silence to be disturbing to most. When I couldn't avoid it any longer, I returned to the study to join my cousin.

The room now smelled of violets. My cousin appeared not to have moved an inch in my absence. A whimper from the pram caught my attention. I was curious about the baby—yet another new blood relative—but I had little experience with children.

"You can look at her if you like. Robin doesn't do much while she sleeps." Lavinia smoothed her below-knee length skirt. "But you can look."

I left the tray on the coffee table in front of Lavinia then peeked nervously into the pram. The baby slept, her lower lip protruding in a pout. I found no similarities in her features, nothing that marked her as family. And as my cousin had warned, the child wasn't doing anything, so I wasn't sure what to do myself.

"I like tea parties," Lavinia remarked as she took a cup, her little finger sticking out in the air.

I perched on a chair and stared at my new cousin. Very little of the woman looked familiar either, but a ghost of a dimple that appeared at the corner of her mouth when she spoke reminded me of my brother.

"You should find your voice," Lavinia continued. "It doesn't like being lost."

That rattled me. Not the words, exactly, but the look in the young woman's eyes as she mentioned it. While Lavinia didn't look much younger than me, she had no fae in her blood, which meant she had to be at least a generation younger. But the things that unsettled people about me were present in Lavinia. She would never fit in. Just like me.

She gave the appearance of one attuned with honesty. Her clear eyes seemed capable of seeking out even the best-kept secrets. Few liked to feel as though their inner thoughts had been figured out. Even me. But the truth was a valuable commodity, rare in our world. I found myself wanting to hear more of it.

Phoenix entered the room, his expression too careful. I doubted the private chat with Lorcan had gone well. He moved to the pram and looked upon the sleeping child with a soft smile. "Robin's grown since I last saw her. Is that a new blanket?"

"It smells like magic," Lavinia said. "Ava brought it to us. She said it will protect Robin better than she ever could. It was a lie, I think."

Phoenix wrapped the blanket a little more snugly around the child. Warmth flooded my soul. Sometimes, when Phoenix relaxed and let the world see the side of him that cared, I couldn't help but think that he had been the leader the country really needed, back before his mother had ruined his life. That man was still there under the surface. If he could just hold on for a while longer, everything would be all right.

"I'd keep it with her, just in case." His expression had softened further. "She reminds me..." He shook his head. "Never mind. Are you both well? Coping with..."

"Freedom?" Lavinia took a long sip of her tea, her eyes still on me. "Tomas helps. He doesn't like to be alone. It's best to stick together."

"If you have any problems with the house, let me know immediately." Phoenix looked at me. "I arranged for them to move into a house close by, within walking distance. I wanted them to stay here, but Lavinia is very independent."

"I'll never learn if you protect me from everything," she said quietly.

News of the house being so close by surprised me. That was unlike my father. I watched Lavinia who was still staring intently. She unnerved me, but I wasn't sure why. We had so much in common, both isolated and kept as slaves in our youth. Neither of us quite fitting into the world. Maybe she was the reflection of me that I wasn't ready to face.

"May I touch you?" Lavinia asked politely.

I shook my head. I didn't want to see Lavinia's life—or death—if I could help it.

She didn't appear surprised or offended by my answer.

Phoenix cleared his throat and took a seat at his desk. "Clementine again asked me if you would join her coven," he said. "She has an important role within the Senate and could use some extra help."

I didn't know Clementine, but my father's jaw had twitched when he said her name, hinting at a story there.

Lavinia's lips pursed together before she spoke again. "I'm not a weapon."

"It's good for witches to... join together," he said. "There's talk of it becoming almost mandatory, to keep those with magic in check."

I looked at my father in surprise. That didn't sound like something he would support. As though he heard my thoughts, he shot me an apologetic smile. "I've found I've been forced to make more allowances lately." His voice grew strained. I wished he'd turn his back on the Senate. The job only ever brought him doubt and unhappiness.

"I'd like to start a coven with Lucia," Lavinia said mildly. "I think we could be very good together."

"Lucia's not a witch," Phoenix said.

"Isn't she?" Lavinia focused on me. "Would you care to join me sometime? I might be able to help you find what you lost." She cocked her head to the side. "Or gave away."

"What?" Phoenix sounded even more confused than he looked.

I nodded at my cousin. It sounded right, and no dark omens followed the words. Lorcan and I together could sometimes perform tricks that gave off the semblance of magic, but true power had always been just out of our reach. I would gladly join Lavinia. Spending time with a witch was exactly the kind of excuse to keep me away from Val's questions for just a while longer.

# 3

_L orcan_

* * *

Lorcan headed into the kitchen once he was sure the visitors were gone. He had shamed himself, immediately assumed the worst, and potentially embarrassed a new member of his own family. He couldn't seem to help himself.

Going away hadn't done him any favours. He'd still felt the burn of anger towards Phoenix, still felt the pressure of the expectations of the fae. As a race, they had shunned half-breeds like Lorcan until Phoenix took control, and not all of them were happy with the new status quo. He could tell many of the fae were expecting him to make a mistake, patiently waiting for the day they could return to the old ways. And all the while, he waited on the outside looking in, at his family, his race, and now even his friends.

He had no purpose now that Lucia didn't need him, and there wasn't anywhere he could go without being recognised as Phoenix's son. His trip across Europe had quickly taught him that. Even crossing seas couldn't free him from his father's influence.

Something in his gut screamed at him not to trust Phoenix, but that wasn't about Ava or anyone else, not really. He just couldn't reconcile himself with Phoenix, the man who had willingly given up his memories of his children. The fact the reasons had been noble didn't matter. If it happened once, it could happen again.

Lorcan and Lucia had ended up as slaves to a group of overly-ambitious vampires after a less than perfect childhood. Lorcan's worth hinged on his transcriptions of his sister's visions. Now he didn't even have that. Nothing would take the past back, not when even Phoenix couldn't be sure of his own original intentions. Some part of Lorcan would always blame his father—because it was only thing he could control about the entire situation.

The worst part was the natural longing to trust his father, to make connections to those with the same blood. For so long, he had trusted Lucia because he knew her every thought. He'd been able to trust others because they openly wore their hearts on their sleeves. He could never tell what his father was thinking. Then again, he no longer knew what his sister was thinking either.

He sighed as he searched in the fridge for something sweet. How was he supposed to trust a man who didn't even buy chocolate? How could Ava... _Ugh, not going there_.

He froze as he sensed his father's presence enter the room.

"Have you calmed down yet?" Phoenix asked.

Lorcan turned on his heel to glare at his father. "You can't actually be surprised when I expect the worst from somebody like you."

"What have I done to you that's so terrible?" Phoenix slammed his hand on the counter. "We're all victims, Lorcan. I'm overwhelmed by the amount of ruined lives I've to atone for on my mother's behalf while you waste your youth and talent on misadventures abroad."

Lorcan's mouth fell open. "You spied on me?"

"Oh, I didn't have to spy. I couldn't hide from the constant reports on your behaviour. But even if I did, it'd be my right. It's my job to protect you."

Lorcan turned away, forcing out a scoffing laugh. "Yeah, we all know how well that went the first time."

"This again!" Phoenix flung a plate across the room.

The smash made Lorcan turn his head, almost impressed that his father was actually reacting for a change. "Mature of you," were the words he couldn't stop from blurting out of his mouth.

"I'm tired of this argument," Phoenix said sharply. "Maybe stop feeling so sorry for yourself and help for a change!"

Lorcan blinked. He'd had no purpose for a long time, and maybe it was easier to hang on to anger than fall to fear. Maybe. "Help _who_? Nothing I do even matters anymore. Who the hell am I supposed to be able to help? I can't even help _me_!"

"You must see how lucky you are!"

"Lucky?" Lorcan was incredulous. "Have you forgotten how we wound up here? How quickly this can all be taken away from me again? What happens if you lose your bloody memories yet again, or you die, or you just change your mind about being a father!"

Phoenix appeared to crumple. He pressed his hand against his chest. "No, Lorcan. That could never... I wouldn't do that to you."

Lorcan panted, scared and relieved by his own honesty. "You can't promise me that."

Phoenix's hands shook. "I can promise you this isn't something I'll walk away from. You're my son. You'll always be my child. I don't know the right words to say, but our family means so much to me. If I didn't have you..."

Lorcan took a wary step backward as his father approached.

"I'm so sorry for what happened to you," Phoenix said hoarsely. "I can't change that, but I'm trying to undo as much of my mother's evil as I can. I can't do it alone. I need you."

"You don't need me." But Lorcan so badly wanted it to be true.

"There are so many others crying out still for justice, and I'm getting nowhere fast enough." Phoenix took a deep breath. "There are those you—above anyone—can help. People like you, taken from their families and unable to find a way home. _You_ could help them. You understand them, what they're going through, their suspicions and fears."

Lorcan gazed at his feet. The tense atmosphere had almost completely diffused. He could drag out the arguments, or he could do something worthy for a change. The precipice of his future waited for him to decide.

"How can I help them?" Lorcan asked. The idea of being the one people looked to for aid... now that sounded good. But where would he even start?

"There are so many children still in the home who have no idea where they come from. They might not be alone. They might have family out there. And when Egan died, we found sources of information, old ledgers and a savant who remembers literally everything. He remembers my mother. I need to wipe her clean from this earth, and that can't happen when there are still people out there waiting to be freed from the chains she helped create."

Lorcan bit. "Is that what you've been working on? Why you're overwhelmed?"

"Mostly, yes." Conflicted emotions crossed Phoenix's face. "But it's not just that. There are things I discovered when we found Lavinia. I think... you might be cursed. Your bloodline, your mother's family, all of you."

Lorcan sank into the nearest chair. "As if your family wasn't bad enough?"

Phoenix shrugged then joined him at the kitchen table. "We don't choose our families."

Lorcan snorted. "Don't I know it. So you think we're cursed. Explains a lot, I suppose."

"I'm not certain of anything. And perhaps you being trapped as a child was the worst of it. But it can't be a coincidence that the only family we know you have on your mother's side were slaves, too. You can't be _that_ unlucky."

Lorcan mulled it over. He'd been so bored while on his travels. The lure of exciting temptations and unknowns had quickly turned into tedium. The grass wasn't always greener. Making himself useful might have been the right solution to his problems all along.

"There's one more thing," Phoenix said hesitantly. "Lavinia... I think your mother was a slave when I met her. I don't know for sure, but I've uncovered bits of information that lead me to believe it. I think that I helped free her, but in doing so, I may have just condemned Lavinia's line instead."

"That's why you're helping her," Lorcan said. "Because you feel guilty?"

Phoenix lifted his shoulder into a shrug. "Perhaps."

Lorcan doubted that was the only reason. "Is that why you created the sanctuary in the past, do you think? To save my mother."

"I can't know why I did things back then," Phoenix said. "Not unless I meet somebody who was there." He gestured around the room. "It makes sense that Folsom hid slaves here, that this was the place your mother ended up in. Maybe she knew about it all along. Perhaps it was her idea. My mother thought there was a rebel group growing under her nose. It's possible she feared I'd made progress before she took my memories."

"Féinics," Lorcan said, remembering. "That's what they called themselves to freak her out."

"I hope it shook her to her core," Phoenix said. "She deserved worse."

"You started something in those days," Lorcan said. "Maybe that's why you're so intent on helping slaves."

"I hope I was as good a man as you make me sound," Phoenix said with a soft laugh. "But I'm just one man. I need your help. We're weaker when we're apart. I've been lost without you both. But together, we can do great things. All three of us."

Lorcan almost believed him. "Isn't this Senate work?"

Phoenix snorted. "It should be." He drummed his fingers on the table. "Our... interests no longer converge. My side of the table is smaller than my opponents who are more concerned with strengthening their own positions. My work against slavery is making waves, and most of the Senate is inclined to allow cases of indentured slavery under the right conditions. The Senate is failing this country almost as badly as the old Council did. Corruption is too deeply entwined with power when there's nobody to keep a check on it, and the strength of our opposition makes us too scared to force change."

"You still have the fae on your side."

A pensive look settled on Phoenix's features. "They're asking more from me than I'm willing to give." He twisted the ring around his finger. "I'm not my father."

"Neither am I." Lorcan met his father's questioning gaze. "The fae expect a lot. Half of them look at me like I'm some kind of god, and the rest get off on the idea of me being an embarrassment to you."

"The fae can wait," Phoenix said. "They've waited this long for me. They can hold on for a while longer."

"You're already their leader," Lorcan said, confused.

"Let's just say they want more. But I'm more interested in what you want."

Lorcan looked away. "There might be a way to help the children who were rescued from Hell, but there's not a lot we can do about curses and whatnot."

"If there's a curse, there's a way to break it. There's something out there. Somebody has to know _something_ that can help us. Come into the study and take a look. I've been working on this since that man died." Phoenix's tone grew excited. "I might not have been able to force Egan to take his rightful punishment, but I can try to clean up the mess he and my mother left behind. And if you help me, there's no knowing what we could accomplish."

Lorcan nodded then followed his father. He may not fully trust him, but now that Lucia had grown coy with sharing her visions, he had no worth. If his father could give him a task that might have an impact on the world, he would take it with both hands. Survival offered him little other choice.

He stepped into the office then froze. "Did something explode in here?" The normally spotless room was covered in papers, folders, and boxes. The only clean space had been created by Lucia so she could sit in a chair and read. She looked up at him with a knowing smile. He started; it had been too long since he saw her smile.

"I told you I've been busy." Phoenix opened a locked safe in the corner and took out a number of stuffed binders to join the mass of loose pages on his desk. "Stay here," he told Lucia who stood as though to leave her sanctuary by the window. "I want you both to hear this."

"I think the word busy is an understatement," Lorcan remarked, taking in the sheer volume of paper around the room.

"Stops me thinking too much," Phoenix said offhandedly.

"Is that what Ava is? A distraction?"

Phoenix stopped what he was doing to look back at his son. "She knows what my intentions are. You don't have the right to interfere."

"What about my mother? Doesn't that matter at all?" But he was curious more than angry. In Italy, his father had appeared to grieve the losses he had suffered, but how did he really feel? His family had been taken away from him, but he couldn't even remember having one in the first place. Had his sorrow been real or manufactured?

Lucia moved to his side as though to wordlessly echo his question. At least they agreed on something.

Phoenix looked helplessly from one twin to the other. "What do you expect me to say? I don't remember your mother. I know that I loved her, but I don't remember it, and I can't... I just can't, Lorcan."

His regret seemed genuine, but still, Lorcan had to be sure Phoenix understood the cost of his choices. "Ava's not a replacement. You can't use her just to feel normal. She's our friend. I won't let you hurt her."

"Why do you think so little of me?" Phoenix said pleadingly. "Haven't I proven myself to you yet?"

"Not yet," Lorcan said stubbornly. "Because every time I think I know you, something happens to prove me wrong. Can you promise me none of my friends will get hurt? That this isn't some kind of game?"

Phoenix opened his mouth to speak, but the sound of the front door slamming shut drew all of their attention. Phoenix instantly went on guard, leaping across the desk to stand in front of Lorcan while armed with a letter opener that looked better suited to opening veins. Lorcan glanced at Lucia. The surprise on her face made him push her behind him.

A stunning blonde strolled into the room, looking faux surprised at the weapon being brandished before her. "Is that any way to greet an old friend?" she asked with a grin.

"Rosa," Phoenix breathed.

"Is this a joke?" Lorcan demanded, whirling his father around to face him. " _Her_ again?"

"You don't honestly think I invited her?"

"Now, now." Rosa stepped between them. Her hands lingered on their chests. She looked far too pleased with herself. "No violence, please. There are far more convenient times for you two to fight over me."

Phoenix brushed her away from him. " _Rosa_."

She rolled her eyes. "Settle down. I'm actually here on business."

"What business?" Lorcan scoffed.

"Paragon business." Her smile was gone, and only a terse look remained. "And I think you're all going to be more than eager to help me this time."

Lucia gripped Lorcan's sleeve, her face taut with apprehension. A shiver ran down Lorcan's spine. Paragon business never boded well for anyone.

# 4

_L ucia_

* * *

Even I was surprised to see Rosa walk into the room—I hadn't had so much as a sniff of a vision—but I wasn't at all shocked to witness Lorcan's fingers curl into fists as though about to strike Phoenix. There was a definite rivalry between both of them—partly because of Rosa. While she was charming and beautiful and everything a person needed her to be in the moment, she could never be trusted. We all knew that after Italy.

The tension was expected, but the fear pouring out from Rosa was unprecedented. I'd never seen even a split second of true fear from her before. The paragon ruled a little village we had stayed in—the people there treated her like a queen—but she was far more dangerous than that. The paragons as a group were a higher power who decided if and when they didn't like how supernatural leading bodies took care of business. The average person was unlikely to be aware of their existence, but the paragons kept armies at the ready, and the presence of one made everyone nervous. And now a paragon herself was terrified.

I drew my cardigan closer around my shoulders. The storm was approaching faster than I had expected.

"Well," Rosa said as she crossed the room. "It's lovely to see you all again."

She relaxed in an armchair and gestured for me to sit next to her. I obeyed to get closer to her in an attempt to understand why she had returned to us.

She crossed one bare leg over the other. "Isn't anyone going to get me a drink?"

"What do you want, Rosa?" Phoenix demanded.

"I'm too parched to speak," she said with a smile.

"I'll get you a drink, but if you don't talk then, you can leave," Phoenix snapped before storming out of the room.

"Oh, be a dear and let him know I'm half-starved, too," Rosa said, batting her eyelids at Lorcan.

In a few words, Rosa had completely taken control of the situation, but as soon as both men had left the room, she turned to me and took my hands, kissing my knuckles with a fervency that implied devotion of some kind.

"My sweet Lucia," she murmured. "If only you would tell me what those eyes see. I'm walking blind, and the path keeps narrowing."

I gently removed herself from Rosa's grasp. I already knew what she wanted from me, and that was an advantage over everyone else. Everybody wanted a seer, but I was a broken one, no help to anybody.

"So loyal." Rosa leaned back and looked me over with a critical eye. "Far too pale, too. You've lost weight, haven't you? Haven't our boys been behaving since your return?"

I raised an eyebrow in answer. She was the cause of half the problems between them. Or rather, she had been the conduit that forced those problems out into the open in a silly, testosterone-fuelled manner.

Rosa laughed. "I suppose it was a stupid question." She reached out and twisted a lock of my hair around her fingers. I would have shrank back, but I knew Rosa saw through me. "I did miss your family drama, I must admit. But my usual fortune teller has been having many bad days lately, so have _you_ seen anything I might need to know? It's important. Any portent, anything at all?"

I shook my head. I wished there was something. The visions had been frequent while Lorcan and I were slaves, but since then, something had made me blind. It might have been love. My visions mostly featured Val's fate, crowding my mind and giving me no room for anything else.

Or perhaps the dead fae had simply stopped talking to me, and my imagination was filling out the rest.

Rosa looked disappointed. "Well, maybe no sign is a good sign." She looked up as Phoenix walked in with a tray. "And here come our boys now."

Lorcan stood at the door, his arms folded across his chest. Phoenix set the tray before Rosa and gave her a meaningful look.

She blew out an exaggerated sigh. "I should probably let you know that your little secret remains hidden in Italy. Adela is well, but I rarely see her face. She's far too busy keeping secrets for handsome fae than to meet with me." Rosa bared her teeth as though in a smile. "And you've all been so quiet. Not even a phone call or an email to tide me over."

"Get to the point," Phoenix said wearily. "Why are you here?"

Rosa sat up straight and ignored the tray of food and drinks. "You should have expected my return, no? More strange circumstances involving you and that peculiar tainted nephal. Is she a pet of yours like the werewolves, I wonder? Or do you just enjoy collecting the weird and wonderful?"

"Careful," Lorcan said. "You almost sound jealous."

Rosa's smile darkened. "Not in the way you might think. No matter. Tell me about the man who died. Declan Egan."

Phoenix swallowed hard. "What business is a suicide to the paragons?"

"Call it a personal interest then. What actually happened? We've been hearing disturbing rumours, and I'd like to keep the others at bay until I know what occurred that night. Tell me the truth about him, Phoenix."

I leaned forward with interest. I wanted to hear the whole story from my father's lips, too. It had been an odd case, according to the newspapers. A respected businessman accused of sordid acts such as human trafficking had committed suicide in the presence of two members of the Senate... and some others. Popular opinion on whether that was the truth remained divided.

Phoenix stared at his feet. "You know the truth. He was dealing in slaves and who knows what else, blackmailing people to do his bidding besides. When we finally caught up to him, he committed suicide rather than face a trial. That's it."

"That's it," Rosa scoffed. "Except the witch there that night earned herself a place on the Senate, while the tainted nephal received a huge pay day. A mere boy was granted an escape from the children's home that's more prison than protection—no matter how you sugarcoat the facts—and Egan's permanent slaves are living in a house you're paying for. That doesn't sound dodgy to you?"

I exchanged a surprised look with my brother. Rosa's slant on events didn't sound possible. He gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head then returned to his busy schedule of glaring at Rosa.

"Paragons have a problem with the children's home now?" Lorcan asked, apparently incapable of keeping the sharpness out of his words.

"Only that it's far too lenient," Rosa said teasingly.

Phoenix took a seat and made an effort to look relaxed. "The pay day, as you put it, was shared between a number of people who helped track Egan down. Over time the boy has fairly earned himself a life away from the children's home, and the witch had already made an agreement to take a seat on the Senate. There is no story here, Rosa."

"Except that Egan's bloodline is important, and the man was buying up favours like no tomorrow. Slavery itself isn't the issue—the paragons don't care—but we've heard disturbing rumours of magical items that should no longer exist."

"He was a collector." Phoenix shrugged. "According to his brother, he inherited most of it."

"People don't buy favours to collect them," Rosa said coldly. "How on earth did you think I became a paragon?"

I watched them both carefully. A trickle of sweat ran down Rosa's temple, while my father had steepled his hands together to keep them steady. There was more to the story. There had to be.

"Why did he commit suicide?" Rosa asked. "What was the point?"

"We... don't know," Phoenix said, and a certain inflection hinted that he desperately wanted to know. "He kept nothing that told us of his future intentions."

"Interesting," Rosa said. "The story sounds similar no matter who tells it. I'll be sure to relay that on to the rest of the paragons." She didn't make an effort to get up.

"Oh, enough bullshit," Lorcan said impatiently. "Just tell us why you're really here, Rosa."

The woman grinned. "I was getting to that, my love. There's just a little thing really. But if I don't get back to the rest of the paragons with the right answers within the next week, they may just see it as a good enough excuse to invade this little country." The smile died. "I would have an escape route ready. Just in case."

# 5

_L orcan_

* * *

Lorcan glared at the woman who had tricked him into believing she liked him—the one he had walked in on kissing his father—and resisted the urge to sulk like a child. She'd bruised his ego, but he was surprised by how quickly the strength of those feelings had waned.

He glanced at Lucia. She was staring intently at Rosa, a disturbed expression making her eyebrows furrow. He sensed her concern and felt his own rise. This was a different Rosa than the self-assured, confident woman he had met in Italy. This Rosa was scared, of all things.

"There have been... unfortunate rumours for a while," she said in a quiet voice, her gaze directed nowhere in particular. "Most of us have accepted the fact that humans are now in the know—in fact, it's often beneficial."

"But?" Phoenix said.

She licked her lower lip. "But humans are loose-lipped, and we've heard disturbing stories. Powerful artefacts on the move, ones that haven't been heard of in centuries, and one that was supposed to be destroyed."

"Like the werewolves?" Lorcan asked dryly. Fantastic. More power plays. Just what they needed.

She made a face. "I imagine so."

"Rumours are meaningless without proof," Phoenix said.

Rosa nodded. "I'm here for proof. Because if it's true, and a certain object still exists, then somebody did an excellent job of convincing a group of paragons otherwise. They don't like to be fooled." She released a shaky laugh. "They're quite irritable about it, actually. Regis was the one who convinced them, and I killed him for you."

"Meaning they can't question him, and now they're blaming you," Phoenix said.

"That's the short version," she said. "But if this particular object really does exist, they won't hold back when it comes to retrieving it and punishing those involved. This kind of thing is partly why we paragons exist. It stops... any truly unfair advantages."

Phoenix frowned. "You exist to destroy relics?"

She waved a hand. "Oh, we're supposed to restore order when the balance gets screwed up."

Phoenix made an odd face, scornful and disbelieving at once.

Lorcan didn't particularly care why the paragons had originally formed. What mattered was Rosa's current agenda. "A week isn't very long to investigate rumours."

"They're itching for some entertainment. It wouldn't take much to move them to action." She shivered slightly. "It so happens that rumours have reached us that this object not only exists, but is in Ireland at this very moment, waiting to be sold to the highest bidder."

"What is this object?" Phoenix demanded. "And stop being so mysterious about it."

"From what I hear, it's a mirror," Rosa said hesitantly.

"From what you hear?" Lorcan said.

"That's what I said." She uncrossed her legs, her lips twisted as though a bad taste had filled her mouth. "There are some things I have to learn the hard way. This mirror is a small unassuming looking object, but it's extremely powerful. The owner can communicate with those on the other side."

"What? The dead?" Lorcan wasn't impressed. "Plenty of people can do that without the help of a mirror."

"Not the dead. Or at least, not just the dead. I'm talking about anyone anywhere, any plane of existence, any dimension. Any cage or prison." Rosa shot Phoenix a pointed look.

Lucia shivered. Lorcan felt a chill, too. It was nice to be attuned for a change.

"What kind of mirror could do such a thing?" Phoenix asked, almost completely covering the hint of fear in his words.

"A dangerous one. It's called Narcissus Glass—it's one of a number that were destroyed—and any fool can free monsters from their cages with the right information. This mirror was said to give you your heart's desire, but if you looked long enough, you might lose something in exchange."

Her unspoken words hung heavily in the air.

"I see," Phoenix said, looking uncomfortable. "It's easier to be compelled by a demon if you're looking into the eyes of one."

"Exactly," Rosa said. "That's my understanding of it, and that's the reason why the mirrors were destroyed a long time ago."

"But one escaped the purge." Phoenix looked as though he might throw up.

Lorcan didn't blame him. They both knew that demons had escaped from their captivity within an ancient book before. If something as simple as a mirror could help someone unleash demons, then who knew what could happen next?

"The paragons will come for the mirror," she said. "I'm here to find it, one way or another, and hopefully prevent them from invading. They'll take time to move. If I can locate the mirror first—or prove the rumours were false—then I can circumvent a dangerous battle."

"Not for love of us," Lorcan said. "So what's your game this time?"

"I like your family better than you choose to believe." She glanced at Lucia. "Brave enough to see what happens when paragons invade?" She pulled a chain out from under her shirt. A silver locket hung on the end, but she opened it to reveal a large black jewel.

Lorcan blinked. Smoke appeared to swirl inside the stone, curling as though beckoning him to it.

"Lucia, stop!" Phoenix shouted, knocking Lorcan out of his daze.

He looked at his sister in time to see her grip the jewel eagerly. Her body arched then convulsed, the veins in her neck straining. Her fingers held the jewel even more tightly, but pain sent colour flooding through her cheeks.

She needed him. Visions nudged at him, images he'd long wanted to witness, but he ignored them and rushed to help his sister.

"Let her see it," Rosa cried. "Let her watch what will come."

He reached out and grabbed Lucia's hand to free her from the jewel, but as soon as their skin met, the vision gripped him entirely, sucking him into its grasp.

Darkness suffocated him. The sounds of death throes haunted his ears. A shadowy scene engulfed him, filled with screams and mutilated bodies, a ruined place where all survivors were hunted down and murdered.

Blood tainted his tastebuds, decay filled his nostrils, and the sounds of pain and misery assaulted his ears. He knew in a second that the paragons didn't just invade. They tortured and reveled in the pain. The so-called higher power was just waiting for a reason to destroy.

The vision vanished so suddenly that it took Lorcan a moment to find an anchor in the real world. Phoenix had released Lucia's hand from the necklace, freeing them both from the vision. Lucia gripped his hand so tightly it hurt, her eyes wide with fear that echoed his own. Seconds had likely passed, but he'd witnessed the suffering in the vision for hours, it seemed.

"Get out," Phoenix snarled at Rosa.

"Wait," Lorcan panted, trying to catch his breath. He knew enough about visions to realise that Rosa's one had been real. "We can't let the paragons invade, Phoenix. No matter what."

Phoenix took a step back, obviously reluctant. "We can't trust _her_."

"That was a real memory." Rosa snapped the locket shut and hid it under her shirt. "That's what will come if you don't help me stop it. Look through my memories if you doubt."

Phoenix's lips curled. "I don't want to see through your eyes."

She flinched, almost imperceptibly, but it happened. "That's what's coming your way if you don't do something to stop it."

"Why do you care?" Lorcan asked, his shaky legs forcing him to sit on the floor next to his sister's feet. "Why are you even here?"

"I don't have so many allies that I can afford to lose them," Rosa said sharply. "I don't win if this country is destroyed. The paragons will start with the Senate, and I'll lose you all and the werewolves, too. I can't afford that, and I can't fight back against all of the paragons. I need this to end before it begins. Do you understand me?"

"What can we do? We've never even heard of this mirror," Phoenix said.

"Good. You shouldn't have." Rosa massaged her temples. "If it's going on sale, then there must be a seller. Somehow, somebody in this country has gotten their hands on things they shouldn't, but if I can be there, find it, steal it, buy it even, then I can take it back to the paragons and let them witness its destruction personally."

"And if you can't find it?" Lorcan asked.

"Then I'll be leaving before the others arrive," she said shortly.

"I can ask around," Phoenix said, "but I have other work to do. In fact, I have an appointment this afternoon. I can't just stop it all to help you. I don't trust you."

But doubt marred his features and tinted his words. He couldn't afford not to believe in Rosa's story. And that was why Lorcan had to swallow his pride.

"I'll help," Lorcan said. Lucia patted his hand gratefully. "If you need me to help finding this mirror, I'll do it. If not, I'll take over all of that." He gestured at the desk. "Even your big appointment. Whatever it takes to get _her_ out of my life." And avoid the destruction Rosa seemed sure would follow. The vision had shaken him more than he liked to admit, even to himself.

"All right," Phoenix said, doubt still wrapped up in his words. "I'll ask around. If there's been a big shipment of anything important, somebody is bound to have heard of it."

"Good," Rosa said. "I'd like to keep a low profile until you have something more concrete to work with. As soon as you have a lead, I'm in. But for now, I need rest. I've been travelling all night. I'll stay here, park on the sofa." She grinned. "Unless anyone wants to share a bed."

"The sofa in the living room is free," Phoenix said. "Unless you want to make up the box room upstairs yourself."

She faked a pout, looking pleased with herself as she caught Lorcan's eye. "Maybe I will."

She followed Phoenix out of the room, leaving Lorcan with his sister.

"There has to be something you can see," he said immediately. "It's been so long, Lucia. What are you hiding from me?"

She shook her head, avoiding his enquiring gaze. She was keeping secrets again, and he didn't like it. The smell of Rosa's perfume lingered in the air. He felt sure Lucia wasn't the only one with secrets.

# 6

_L ucia_

* * *

I didn't trust Rosa, but that vision or memory or whatever it was had been real. I'd felt pain and suffering, even guilt. I'd smelled death and tasted fear. It was as real to me as my own face in the mirror.

The idea of a memory being trapped in Rosa's necklace disturbed me, but I wasn't sure why. It pinged in a distant part of my brain, like a warning or maybe a familiarity. Still, that wasn't the biggest issue at hand. If the paragons really did arrive, death would follow. But I was confident my father would uncover the truth, even the truths Rosa was too afraid to utter.

Rosa made herself comfortable in the living room as Phoenix prepared to leave.

"Stay out of trouble," he warned Rosa as he shrugged on his jacket. "If you want my help, you'll earn it, one way or another."

"Sounds exciting," she practically purred. Then she laughed at his expression. "I'll be a good girl for the fae, don't you worry."

"I'll be back in a couple of hours at most. Lorcan, can you welcome Tomas if I'm not back in time to greet him?"

Lorcan nodded. "I'll keep him company until you get back."

Phoenix hesitated. "Maybe keep a pen and paper handy. You might need to take notes. He can be... informative when you're not expecting it."

"I'll be fine," Lorcan said. "Where are you going exactly?"

"To... see a friend." Phoenix's face blanked over, which made me curious. "Call my mobile if you need me." He glanced at Rosa. "Don't be afraid to kick that one out if she causes trouble."

I escorted Phoenix to the door and watched him frantically search in his jacket pocket for his keys. Normally unflappable, I found his onset of panic to be endearing. I took his hand and squeezed, giving him a meaningful look.

He took a deep breath and nodded before renewing his search in a more controlled manner. "Found them." He unlocked the car. "Be wary around Rosa. She has a hidden motive. The power hungry always do."

He got into the car, but a sound had attracted my attention. I turned to look at the garage just as Val walked outside. Time stopped for me. Val caught my eye, looking as though she had just seen a ghost. I froze for a split second, my mind torn between running to her and running away. I wasn't ready to see Val, not until I figured out how to stop her death. I needed to keep her at arms length. Val would forgive me—eventually. I jumped into the passenger seat and tugged at my father's sleeve for him to hurry.

Phoenix took one glance in Val's direction before obeying. I couldn't resist looking back, but the look of hurt on her face as we drove away chipped at my soul.

"You know you have to resolve that... situation sometime," Phoenix said when we were safely away from the house.

I shrugged and looked out the window at the scenery we passed. I wasn't ready to say goodbye yet, not when there was a chance I could figure out how to change Val's destiny. I switched on the radio and let the music lull me into a relaxed state. Life back home was already far too exciting.

"There's Lavinia's home. You could easily walk to see her." My father pointed out an old rusty gate not far from our home. It was easily missed, but that was likely on purpose. The laneway beyond the gate obviously led to a house, but it was hidden by thickset groves of trees on either side. We had few neighbours and were rarely disturbed apart from the occasional news van that inevitably got sent on its way after attempting to intrude on our peace. I enjoyed the privacy, but sometimes I worried we were too secluded and aloof.

We took a familiar route, avoiding the city centre. I looked at my father expectantly.

"I'm going to see Ava," he said when he couldn't avoid it any longer. "If you don't want to see her, you can stay in the car, but she deals with sellers of antiques and treasures. She might know something. That's why I'm visiting her."

I bit back my smile. I had never heard my father sound so nervous. It was almost sweet. Almost _human_.

"If we can't find this artefact of Rosa's, you'll have to leave again and take Lorcan with you," he continued.

Frowning, I poked his shoulder, but he shook his head.

"Not me. I'm staying until the end. There has to be a way to stop the paragons even if they do come for us. But I can't take care of things if I'm worrying about you and your brother. You're both important." He glanced at me. "The fae need a leader, and the fae will look to you and Lorcan when I'm gone. Especially you. Do you realise that?"

I shook my head in disgust. I wasn't more important than my brother by any stretch of the imagination.

"I'm serious," he said. "You're the one our elders speak to. You're more... fae than Lorcan is to many of them. You'll be able to lead them, and Lorcan will be your voice."

I folded my arms across my chest, sending clear signals to my father that I didn't want to discuss any of that again. I wasn't prepared to let Phoenix die, and I certainly wasn't ready to lead any fae anywhere. That wasn't me.

"I was thinking about what Lavinia said this morning," he added. "Maybe it wouldn't do you any harm to spend time with her. Magic or not, a loyal witch will be a good friend to have. She seems to prefer defensive magic, and you have a lot in common, really."

Lavinia fascinated me. If I had access to true magic—and that was a huge if—I'd rather be helped by a lone witch than an entire staring coven of them. I didn't completely trust Lavinia yet, but I liked her, and sometimes blood was enough. Sometimes, it had to be.

"Almost here," Phoenix said nervously.

We pulled in at the cul-de-sac where he sat in silence, his hand on the key. I squeezed his arm in an attempt to reassure him.

"Thank you," he said hoarsely. He opened his mouth as though to say something else then snapped it shut. I could wait.

We got out of the car and walked toward Ava's house. Fourteen cottages lined either side of the street, ending in my friend's house. Lorcan and I had stayed in one of the houses for a while, and we would probably have continued living there if we hadn't been reunited with our father. There was something warm and welcoming in the air itself, and I often missed our time there, even if it had been under strained circumstances.

Ava opened the door before we reached it. She hesitated when she saw me. My heart sank. Ava was one of the few people who understood me, who didn't shy away from me, and now it was awkward for both of us. I had to do something before I lost everyone.

"Hi," she said shyly. "Everything... okay?"

"Not exactly," Phoenix said. "May we come in?"

Ava stood aside. I waited for my father to go inside. Ava glanced at me, fearful and hesitant. I took her hand and held her gaze, trying to show her I still cared for her. She would understand me. She always did.

"Thanks," she whispered, her vulnerability weaving around her like a shroud.

I patted her cheek. It was nice to be the one providing comfort and reassurance for a change. I went inside and found Phoenix in the living room. He glanced at me before taking a seat on the sofa. I joined him.

Ava perched on the arm of an old chair, apparently unable to relax.

"Rosa is back," Phoenix said.

"What? The paragon?" Ava straightened. "What now?"

Phoenix glanced at me. When he looked back at Ava, his expression changed as though he had just seen her for the first time. He looked younger, all of a sudden. For an instant, I caught a glimpse of a side to him I hadn't met yet. I wondered if that was who he was to Ava. My father, the many-faced man. "First, I wanted to apologise for Lorcan."

"Forget it," Ava said dismissively. "That's between me and Lorcan. What's the deal with Rosa?"

I wondered at how easily she pushed the issue aside. Hadn't she worried about our reactions to her relationship with our father? I supposed she had, but "business" shoved all of that to the background for now.

"She came to ask about Declan Egan," Phoenix said. Some inflection in his voice told me he wanted to talk about that even less than the problems with Lorcan. And even Ava looked uncomfortable with the subject.

"What does she have to do with Egan?" she asked sharply.

"I'm not sure yet. She's also supposedly here to warn us that the paragons believe a dangerous trinket is in Ireland, waiting to be sold."

"You don't trust her."

Phoenix shot me a wry glance. "I don't think anyone could trust Rosa."

"A trinket. That was sort of Egan's thing, right?" Ava paced the room. "How dangerous are we talking anyway?"

"It's a communicative device, but it enables the user to communicate with anyone in any dimension."

Ava only needed a couple of seconds to catch up. "Wait, you mean including demons who may be trapped in books or wherever."

"Exactly," Phoenix said. "And I need to help Rosa find it before the paragons turn up to destroy us _and_ the mirror."

"What if she wants the mirror for herself?"

"I have wondered," he said. "She seems scared of the thing, more scared that the paragons will invade us."

"Why would they do that?"

"Lucia and Lorcan saw a memory of an invasion," Phoenix explained. "They're both confident that it's possible and not something we want happening."

Ava looked at me and held out her hand in question. I shook my head and shrank back. She didn't need to see it.

"Lorcan made it sound... bad," Phoenix said gently, as though explaining for me. "I get the impression that the paragons are looking for an excuse, maybe just to weaken Rosa's link to the werewolves, maybe something more."

Ava sank into the nearest chair, her face paling. "Where do we start?"

Phoenix leaned forward. "You're in the business of buying and selling magical trinkets. Any ideas?"

"That sounds a bit big for my wallet," she said thoughtfully. "My crowd is minor to middling. But what about Kenneth Egan? His family were big time, right? He could still have connections, or maybe he can find something in his family's treasure trove. He wants to help out now that his brother's dead, so I'd start there." She rubbed her palms against her jeans. "I can ask around, too, but he's closer to the source, I bet."

"You're right." Phoenix stood. "I'll contact him."

Ava stood, too. "Want company for that?"

I pretended not to notice Phoenix's surreptitious glance my way.

"Maybe not this time," Phoenix said in a quiet voice.

"Yeah, sure." Ava sounded disappointed. "It's good to see you again, Lu." She shrugged. "I'll let you two go take care of... stuff."

"You could ask your friend Moses if he knows of anything. The mirror could have been stolen, or be part of a larger shipment. Who knows what might pop up?"

Ava nodded then escorted us to the door. I waved goodbye then hurried to the car, not looking back to see how my father said goodbye to Ava. Some things were a little harder to know than others.

Kenneth Egan lived in a hotel room, despite having inherited his family home and everything his brother had stolen from him. Now that the brother was dead, Kenneth was free to take everything that was his, but as far as I could tell, he wasn't ready to do that.

We met him in the bar where he was already working his way toward being half-drunk. "Ah," he said when he saw us approach. "What's gone wrong now?"

Phoenix sat next to Kenenth, making a point to keep me separated from the man. I could see that Kenneth was harmless but in pain. I just couldn't tell if it was a physical or mental manifestation.

"Not as much as what could go wrong," Phoenix replied.

Kenneth leaned forward to take a good look at me. When he held my gaze, I felt as though something crept across my skin. He carried ghosts with him, perhaps not literally, but they held him back all the same.

"Is this your girl?" he asked a little too loudly, exaggerating his level of intoxication, I thought. "I should apologise on behalf of my brother, I suppose. Etiquette, you know?"

"That won't be necessary," Phoenix said.

"And where's the bossy redhead today? I almost miss her forcing me to eat instead of drink."

"Ava?" Phoenix sounded surprised.

"That's the one. Nosy little mite, isn't she?" He pushed his drink away. "Go on then. Give me the bad news. Tell me that my brother's evil goddaughter inherited everything instead of me."

Phoenix's lips twitched. I could tell he was amused, but I wasn't sure if I found Kenneth funny at all. He was far too sad. "The evil goddaughter will be arrested if she's seen in this country again," Phoenix reassured the man. "But I need your help."

"The intrepid hero turns to the drunk again." Kenneth sounded completely sober now.

"Your family collected very expensive magical items, and I am in search of a lost item supposed destroyed. I need to get it back before it causes an international incident. Have you any idea who might be selling something extremely rare and dangerous in this country?"

Kenneth chewed on his lip. "I'd have some ideas. I'll have to make some calls to confirm. I take it this item is worth a lot of money."

"I suppose it would be—to the wrong person." Phoenix frowned. "I've heard it's part of a shipment already sent to Ireland. We think it might be for sale along with other items. I need to find it before anyone else does. This is a once in a lifetime kind of opportunity that plenty of people would be interested in. I'd rather not uncover the ramifications the hard way."

"All right, Mr. Mysterious. I'll have a go. I have your number. I'll call you tomorrow if I've heard anything." He grinned, his nose purple and red. "These kinds of people work hard at night."

"Thank you." Phoenix stood.

Kenneth grabbed his drink again, shooting me only a cursory glance.

I reached for him in one slow movement, unable to help myself, but Phoenix stopped me and shook his head.

"Actually, Kenneth," he said, clearing his throat. "There is one other thing. I'm in need of something else. A curse breaker."

"Curses are no big deal," Kenneth said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Plenty of those around."

"It's a serious curse." He'd already told me his concerns about the possible curse, but it was odd to hear him speak of it to an outsider. "A blood curse that's travelled through generations of the same family. A curse that's on my children and Lavinia, too. Which means the baby could still be at risk."

Kenneth froze then twisted his lips into a sneer. "Using the child is below the belt."

"And yet still true. Your brother caused enough harm to this family. If you can help, we'd be grateful."

"I'll see what I can do," Kenneth said grumpily, waving away the bartender who offered to top up his drink. "Now leave an old man to drown his sorrows."

As I walked away with Phoenix, I took a final glance toward Kenneth. The man had left his drink and was already speaking on the phone, a look of determination in his gaze. He would help us because his guilt wouldn't let him do otherwise. And my father knew that.

I shot Phoenix an admonishing glare.

"I know," he said softly. "But trust me, it's better for him to have something to do before he drinks himself to death. Let's get home before Rosa corrupts your brother any further. There's not much else we can do here."

I slipped my hand in his in answer. He did the wrong things for the right reasons sometimes, but that didn't make him _bad_.

# 7

Lorcan

* * *

Rosa perched on the edge of the desk, revealing a distracting amount of tanned thigh.

"Go away," Lorcan said without raising his head.

"I'm bored," she said playfully. "You weren't this dull back home."

She had been different, too. He met her gaze. "I didn't know what you were really like then."

Her look hardened. "What do you want? An innocent little girl who shies away from everything? Or maybe somebody who'll obey the young prince's every word? Come on. We both know what _you_ want."

He dropped his pen. "You think you know me now?"

"Apparently better than you know yourself." She swung her legs over the desk, deliberately sweeping papers in every direction. She straddled him. "People like us don't even know how to live without trouble."

He snorted. "I could do without your kind of trouble, Rosa."

She ran her hand through his hair, her nails leaving a pleasant trail of sensation across his scalp. "I like you better here, you know." She grinned. "Less eager to please."

"I like you less."

She tweaked his nose. "That stings."

The humour fled her eyes. She leaned in, and he weakened. Her kiss wasn't a poor way to spend his time.

The doorbell rang. He reluctantly pushed her off his lap. The woman was a nightmare. A beautiful, sexy nightmare, but a nightmare all the same.

"Go back to your room," he said. "I've grownup business to attend to."

Her amused laughter followed him into the hallway and made him smile in spite of himself. He'd had fun with her in Italy, that was true, but he'd thought more of the fling than she obviously had. He'd had plenty of flings while he travelled, but some were more notable than others. None had managed to wipe the memory of one particular face, but Rosa had come closest.

He gave his mouth a cursory wipe with the back of his hand before opening the front door. A short, curly haired man wearing over-sized glasses stared up at him. "You're not him."

"If by him, you mean Phoenix, then no, I'm not. I'm Lorcan. Phoenix is my dad. You must be Tomas. Come on in. He had to run out for a bit. He'd like to see you if you can wait, but you and I can get started anyway."

"I don't have a job," Tomas said as though that explained everything.

Rosa peeked out the doorway and gasped. "He's so adorable." She dashed across the hallway to run her hand through Tomas's curls. He stood as still as a beaten dog, wary but unable to run.

"That's enough," Lorcan said, sharply enough for Rosa to actually listen to him for a change.

He showed Tomas into the study, only turning back long enough to whisper to Rosa. "He's a man, not a pet. Don't be so bloody patronising."

She grinned, but there was no humour in her eyes. "Have I told you how handsome you are when you're angry, faeling?"

"Back off," he said before entering the study. "Sorry about her."

Tomas sat quietly on a chair, his back straight. He didn't reply, and Lorcan couldn't tell if he was offended or merely used to being manhandled by others. Lorcan recalled the sting of absolute obedience.

"So." Lorcan took a seat behind his father's desk, hurriedly picking up the pages that Rosa had dropped. He felt like a child pretending to be an adult, so he grabbed a notebook and pen and sat in the seat across from Tomas instead. "Lavinia was here earlier. With the baby." He cleared his throat. "I hope you're finding... life okay. After everything you've been through."

Tomas merely stared back at him. The silence rattled Lorcan, which was odd, given he'd grown up with a mute sister. Tomas probably saw through him as easily as she did. Time to cut the bullshit then.

"I... I know what it's like." Lorcan rubbed the back of his neck. "My sister and I were slaves to vampires in England. I don't know how long..." He frowned at the notebook. How could he forget something like _that_?

"You're free now."

"Yeah." Lorcan exhaled loudly. "Somebody came, and we got away."

"Somebody came for us, too."

"Somebody should come for everybody who needs help." He noted a flicker of interest in Tomas's eyes. "My dad said you know a lot about Egan's deals. There are a lot of ex-slave children who don't know where they were stolen from. I want to be the one who helps them find their way home. Can you help?"

"You want to be the somebody who comes," Tomas said drily. "The hero."

"I don't know what else to do," Lorcan admitted. "Being the hero doesn't sound so bad."

"I don't have a job anymore." Tomas looked relaxed for the first time. "I don't know what else to do either, and when Phoenix asks me questions, I sometimes get muddled. I would help if I could, but I don't know what helps. Lavinia said we forgot how to think for ourselves."

"Maybe we can figure it out together."

They spoke for a while, trying to piece together what could be valuable information. Tomas knew a lot of things, but as Lorcan soon discovered, he was never given the entire story to remember.

"Do you think there's somebody out there like you?" Lorcan asked at last. "Somebody who knows the bits you don't?"

Tomas shrugged. "If they do, I don't know of them. The ledgers might help."

"We can look at them. Will they help you remember?"

"There was a code." Tomas bit his lip, looking distressed for the first time. "I wasn't allowed to remember everything all of the time. But he would show me a code, an image, and I would instantly recall a set of memories. But it doesn't last. Eventually, I forget again. It's hard to know if I've remembered everything without the codes. That's why I get confused."

"I'm so sorry," Lorcan said. "Memories are important. I know that."

"He probably burned the code book," Tomas said, "but perhaps there's something he forgot to wipe clean in the rest of his books."

"Good idea," Lorcan said, reaching for a box of ledgers under his father's desk. They were copies—the real thing was in the possession of the Senate—but perhaps the code would work the same way no matter what. "There were some symbols that bothered me. They kept popping up, but I couldn't figure out the relevance. Maybe they're codes, too."

He flipped through a couple of pages of the first book. "Here." He pointed. "Is that a code?"

"No," Tomas said. "It's shorthand for worthless."

"Worthless?" Lorcan's stomach turned. "This entry is for a six year old boy."

Tomas shrugged. "Worthless meant no magic, no power. Only suitable for hard labour."

"Not everyone is suitable for hard labour," Lorcan said.

Tomas looked at him. "Not everyone is worth feeding."

"Can you tell what happened to this boy from the other entries?"

Tomas looked at the page and frowned. "Passed on to somebody else, probably to train as a guard or to be re-examined." He pointed at another symbol. "This is who he was sent to. After that, I can't tell. Further entries would be in their records, if they kept them."

Lorcan stared at the symbol. He recognized it. "My grandmother."

"I've seen her symbol many times," Tomas said. "Master kept the most detailed records on her."

Lorcan cringed at the use of the word, 'Master'.

Rosa strolled into the room. "What are you doing?" She sounded impatient, and he wondered if sitting back and relaxing was driving her crazy.

"Truth seeking," Lorcan said, barely looking up at her. "Sit down if you want to help."

He passed out ledgers and explained to Rosa what they were looking for.

"All this effort for a couple of kids?" she said with a sigh, but she opened a ledger all the same and peered over it.

"Everyone is important," Lorcan said.

She looked at him directly. "If you knew one of these children would grow up to be me, would you still want to help them?"

That threw him. He cleared his throat. "Like I said. Everyone is important."

She pressed her lips together then ducked her head and stared at her page.

After a half hour of silence, she tutted. "The things in this book... If this man was still alive, I'd bet anything he was the one with his hands on the mirror."

"Mirror?" Tomas said.

"Rosa's looking for a special mirror that might be dangerous in the wrong hands." Lorcan exchanged a smile with Rosa. "I don't suppose Egan ever mentioned Narcissus Glass."

"Oh, yes," Tomas said matter-of-factly.

Rosa's smile dropped. "Are you serious?"

"He couldn't find it," Tomas said. "I remember he sent people to Russia to search for a mirror that had been hidden for centuries, but nobody found it, and then he died."

Lorcan shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Coincidence or fate? He could never tell. "Maybe it's not the same mirror."

"Maybe." Rosa stared at Tomas for a long time, and Lorcan shivered at the intensity in her gaze.

# 8

Lucia

* * *

I awoke early as usual, dressed quickly, then left my room to have some breakfast before Lavinia arrived.

In the hallway, Lorcan's door opened quietly, and Rosa stepped into the hall. She noticed me and smiled, brushing her tangled hair off her face. Smudges under her eyes from her mascara made her look ill.

"Morning," she said, completely unabashed. I envied her ability to shrug off the expectations of others.

I went downstairs, leaving Rosa to use the bathroom. I didn't want to think about the sleeping arrangements too closely.

In the kitchen, my father sat in front of a newspaper, looking as though he hadn't slept. When I gave him a questioning look, his smile was wry. "Rosa didn't sleep on the sofa."

He thought more of it than he should. I pressed my fingers against his temples and let him see fleeting images of numerous girls who hadn't slept on sofas while we travelled.

Being able to share so easily with him had been a revelation, but I'd known the instant I first laid my eyes on him. We were on the same wavelength in a way that was completely different to Lorcan. My twin was my other half, both of us missing pieces the other made up for.

The concern left Phoenix's eyes. Rosa wasn't special. She was just another number while Lorcan kept trying to find whatever it was he was looking for. Even I wasn't sure what that might be. I doubted he knew either.

"Your brother is more like the fae than I thought," my father said wryly. "Perhaps he'll settle down in a few decades."

I hoped he was just spreading his wings after a lifetime of servitude.

"I have to meet with the Senate today," Phoenix said as I searched for some fresh fruit. "Will you be all right here with... everyone?"

I met his gaze and nodded. Most of the time, the people around me forgot I existed, and I preferred it that way. Nobody would bother me.

"Good." He glanced at the time. "I should leave soon. I wouldn't want to miss being outvoted on important issues."

Lavinia and the baby arrived not long after Phoenix left. Rosa and Lorcan had yet to show themselves downstairs. I was glad. I didn't fear Rosa, but I preferred it if the paragon kept away from the child. I wasn't sure why. The feelings came long before the visions ever did— _if_ they ever did. And by then, the reason might appear too late. For now, I felt more comfortable with Rosa upstairs.

"Have you ever used magic?" Lavinia asked as she breastfed the baby. She seemed more comfortable with the child than I could ever be. Not that I would ever reproduce. Besides, it was probably better for the world if my grandmother's bloodline died out.

Lavinia was still looking at me expectantly. I shrugged in answer to her question. What Lorcan and I did didn't feel like magic, not in the way Lavinia used it.

"You will," Lavinia said with confidence. "Asleep already," she murmured, removing the baby from her breast. "I like to watch her sleep sometimes. It's peaceful."

The phone rang, and she handed the baby to me, ignoring my silent protests. I held the baby at arm's length, unsure of what else to do. Robin stirred, her face crumpling with dissatisfaction as though she knew an inexperienced stranger held her.

Lavinia answered the phone without hesitation.

"Oh, hello," she said. "This is Lavinia. Yes, yes, I remember. I will, thank you. I'll pass on that message then. Okay. Goodbye."

She hung up the phone and took the baby, hushing the whimpers. Lavinia's face had drained of the little colour it had. I moved and knelt at my cousin's feet, tapping her knees.

"It's... He feels guilty because he's afraid he knew deep down. But I don't think he did. Oh, he left a message for your father. His name is Kenneth Egan, and there's an auction tonight that Phoenix will be interested in."

One of those feelings surged within. I _had_ to go to the auction. I just didn't know why.

When Phoenix had assumed I wanted to join him to escape Rosa and Lorcan, I didn't try to clarify the situation. Whatever worked. Even if I had words, I couldn't have explained it. Sometimes, a feeling came to me, one I couldn't ignore. It made me go places, touch people, find things that weren't meant for me. It was as though my path in life were already mapped out—I just had to follow the right steps.

We met Kenneth outside an old shopping centre that had closed down two years previously. Like many places, nobody had deemed it worth reopening yet. Many parts of the city were almost completely abandoned. But when Kenneth ushered us inside the empty building, I wondered if perhaps there was another reason for that.

"This way," Kenneth said. "There's a warehouse underneath us. That's where the auction is being held."

"Have you been here before?" Phoenix asked.

"Not me. It's an old black market that was once notorious. Whether it's the same one or somebody taking the name, I don't know, but I'm told Meribo is open downstairs tonight, and if it moves on, we may not find it again. I had to exchange a valuable coin to get access, so try not to make a mess down there. Any idea what this mirror actually looks like?"

"None, actually," Phoenix said. "But how many magical mirrors can there be?"

Kenneth grunted. "You'd be surprised." He gestured toward a stairwell. "Down here."

On the way down the stairs, the temperature plunged into an icy chill. I shivered. Not just from the cold. The atmosphere made my senses feel blocked.

At the bottom of the stairs, a shaggy-haired shifter blocked our way. He bared stained teeth at us. Behind him was an archway, and beyond that a simple door, but we were shrouded in darkness. It was hard to see much else apart from the sign hanging over the tall arch. Meribo was written on the board in old-fashioned script, and while the wood it had been painted on was old and chipped, the words were vibrant in a way that only came from magic. I wanted to touch the sign, but it was too high. I'd never reach. A nagging feeling bit at my fingertips, urging me to try, but I'd heard Kenneth. I couldn't make a scene—just in case.

"Invitation only," the shifter said with a growl.

Kenneth held up his wrist. It looked as though it had been bitten. "Got one."

"And these two?"

"My assistants," Kenneth said.

The shifter stared at Phoenix for too long. Lucia held her breath as her father took a step forward, a cold glint in his eye.

"All right," the shifter said, bowing his head too quickly. "Go on in." He reached into a bag next to him and pulled out a vial full of green liquid. He handed it to Kenneth. "You may want to drink that before sunrise."

"Now?" Kenneth asked, eyeing up the vial with suspicion.

"Depends on how much of a gambler you are," the shifter said with a grin. Something about him was off. Maybe he wasn't a shifter, at least not the kind I knew of.

"A poor one," Kenneth said, pulling the cork off the vial and knocking back the liquid. He held up his wrist. The bite steamed a little. "Well," he said. "That was anti-climatic. Shall we?"

The guard stepped aside, and we walked under the arch. I looked behind me and could no longer see the shifter, but I felt his gaze.

"What was that about?" Phoenix asked under his breath.

"Security measures," Kenneth said, pulling his sleeve down. He reached for the door and opened it. A gust of warm air beat us back a step. "Let's go," he said. "Before they change their minds."

We stepped through the doorway. My senses were immediately overwhelmed. A darkened basement stretched out for at least a mile before us, only lit by lanterns that hung from a high ceiling. I called it a basement, but when I looked up and squinted, I thought I saw stars.

On distant walls were many doors of various sizes. Above all of the doors hung clocks marking different times, perhaps time zones? I couldn't tell for sure. Stalls, both large and small, luxurious and humble, filled up the massive space within. The place smelled of exotic spices, sweat, and wet dog. People came through different doors, many wearing cloaks, shawls, and veils to cover themselves. How they stood the heat, I didn't know. Others wore far more revealing clothing, though none of it appeared to be in the current trends.

"What an odd place," Phoenix murmured. "So this is Meribo?"

"An imitation, I assume," Kenneth said as he looked around the room. "This is where the wares are displayed, then later, there's an auction to sell off the big items. We should take a look around. We won't know how long it'll be before the auction starts."

We wandered around the room, but it was so large, I felt sure we would never find what we were looking for. We drifted amongst the crowds roaming the room. Most of the suppliers needed translators to make transactions for them, while others rose their voices to shout about their wares in a variety of accents and dialects.

My father kept a sharp eye on those around us, while I was drawn to fabrics and colours I had never seen before. Strange looking fish and fresh herbs hung side by side along a row of tiny stalls. The smells were pungent, making my eyes water. I imagined I heard a clock ticking, and my discomfort grew.

An alarmed shout came from across the room. A scuffle ensued, overturning one stall. A bitter stench and a coiling green puff of smoke rose from the area.

Phoenix sighed. "I'll have to deal with this. I don't want IAs turning up to ask questions. Stay close to my daughter, Egan. Get her out of here if anything goes wrong."

Kenneth grunted in answer, seemingly fascinated by a musical box that sang a song that reminded me of the sirens. His eyes had glazed over, so I tugged at his jacket to urge him on.

He wiped his face with his sleeve, blinking fast. "I wasn't expecting that one tonight," he said with a choked laugh.

The farther along we walked, the stranger the stalls, the smaller the crowd, and the more expensive the items.

"The auction is later," Kenneth repeated in a shaky voice, clearly still rattled by the musical box. He kept touching a ring on his finger, but it didn't seem to help. "People take a look here, but they don't buy until later."

I stopped walking. In front of us, the only item in a large stall, surrounded by red curtains, was a small ornate mirror.

"Is that it?" Kenneth whispered when he saw what I was staring at.

I stepped forward. Nobody stood behind the glass, but there was a sign displayed there.

* * *

_Narcissus Glass - the last of its kind._

* * *

" _T his_ is what you've been looking for?" Kenneth asked, sounding horrified.

I gave him a quizzical look. His fear felt like a warning, so why wasn't I terrified of the mirror, too?

He shivered. "Narcissus Glass. I've heard of it, or at least, read about it. It was a way to communicate with those in other worlds and places, but it could draw in the soul."

I looked at him, concerned by the tremor in his voice. Sweat had trickled down his temples.

"I can't believe it." He rubbed the back of his neck. "There used to be lots of them. Some demonolatrist found a witch who could create them. They used them to trick people, said the mirror would help you find your counterpart." He shot me a sheepish glance. "Your soulmate."

I shuffled toward the mirror. Would I see Val in its depths?

He touched my arm and gently guided me backward. "It was a trick. If a demon managed to converse long enough though the mirror, it could steal your body and leave your soul trapped in the place it came from." Kenneth took a step back. "I thought it was a myth. There are lots of myths about mirrors and souls. If this is real... this can't be real."

I shivered at the memory of the fear in Rosa's voice when she spoke of the mirror. We approached the stall slowly and warily. The mirror was covered by a sheet that was so thin, it was transparent. Was that another safety measure? I doubted a thin gauze would protect us from something so powerful.

"Is she for sale?" came a clear voice from next to the stall.

"What?" Kenneth said, his head snapping away from the mirror. "What did you just say?"

"I want to buy her," a bald man said calmly. He'd obviously been watching us. "I'd be willing to trade. You seemed interested in the mirror. I can't give it away, but perhaps we can come to some sort of arrangement. I have access to many other relics."

Kenneth laughed, a strangely high-pitched sound, then lunged at the man's throat. Both men collided with the next stall, knocking over everything even as the woman tending the booth protested loudly in expletives.

I looked around, having no idea what to do. I spotted my father amongst a crowd and waved him over.

Phoenix came running. "What now?" he asked, sounding exasperated. He hauled the men apart.

"He..." Kenneth panted and pointed at me. "The baldy cretin wanted to _buy_ her."

Phoenix's hold on the seller tightened. His jaw twitched. "We don't sell people here."

"I... I didn't know." The man squirmed, looking terrified. "Please." His salesman demeanour was completely erased. Even his accent had changed.

"People like you end up Under," Phoenix said.

The man's reaction was visceral and immediate. He physically stepped back, his hands outstretched, and his eyes wild with fear. What did 'Under' mean specifically? Phoenix had said the word with emphasis, and the man absolutely don't want to go there.

"I'll do anything," he said pleadingly. "Don't take me. I swear I wasn't going to buy her. I was just bullshitting to get him interested. That's all."

"All right," Phoenix said calmly. "Sell me the mirror."

"The...? I can't." The man held up his hands. "It's not mine. The shipment arrived with instructions to display it before the auction. I can't sell it. It'll be in the auction tonight."

"Not good enough," Phoenix said. "I want it now."

"I can't."

"Then you'll have to come with me."

"You don't understand." He pointed at the mirror. "This is the draw for the night's auction. This is what everybody's come here for. It's going to go for millions. If I give it to you, they'll never let me back here."

"If you don't, you'll be too busy Under to come back here."

I had a headache already listening to them. Probably that and the heady scent in the air.

Kenneth folded his arms across his chest. "This is Meribo. It's supposed to give you what you wish for, right? He wishes for the bloody mirror!"

I turned away, massaging my temples. I wished for an answer to my question. I almost bumped into a woman, her entire body covered in a robe, even her hair. I only saw her lips. Her presence sent a shiver down my spine.

"Time is running out." She held up a pocket watch hanging from a chain. "You can't fight fate. Not unless you make a different choice. Variations of the same one don't work."

Anger flared within. I was getting sick and tired of fate.

Her lips curved upward into a sneer, almost as though she knew my thoughts. "Death doesn't have to be the end. Not for everyone."

I reached out for her robe. I wasn't even sure why. Some instinct urged me to do it. She dropped the pocket watch. I heard it shatter, and then time seemed to slow. The people around us moved as though they were underwater, but my hands moved faster than light. The woman held up her own hands to stop me, so I grabbed her fingers instead.

The world swam around me then, too. Only her screeching kept my feet on the ground. She wasn't human, wasn't from our world. I saw other dimensions through her eyes. There were thousands of Meribo Markets, but they were all a doorway to the same one.

The screaming intensified. My knees weakened as time resumed. Panicked figures surrounded us, pulling at my clothes and hair to separate us. My fingers refused to loosen their grip. She knew everything, and I could take it from her if I only knew how.

My head rolled back. Rough hands pulled at my limbs, and I forgot how to breathe. I couldn't explain what had just happened, not even to myself. My fingers slipped from hers, and dizziness overwhelmed me.

Kenneth helped me to my feet. "So much for not making a scene. Quickly now. Before they remember you."

He led me away from the prone woman, but I kept looking back over my shoulder. Her robes had shifted revealing skin that was dried and repulsive, full of markings that looked more like the rings of a tree than tattoos.

The crowd knelt around her, desperate to help her. Some wept openly, as though their world was ending. But she was alive. Her eyes were open, gazing at me with an accusing stare.

And where was my father? He would never leave me.

The woman's lips moved, and a number of people looked right at me, their expressions dark and angry. The atmosphere changed instantly. We had to go. I'd obviously done something terrible, but I didn't even know how. A couple of figures dashed toward us. I faced forward and upped my pace.

Kenneth kept pressing onward, through a crowd that surged against us and toward the robed woman. She was important then. We reached the nearest door, but when Kenneth pushed, the door refused to budge.

"What?" He sounded confused. "I swear I just saw somebody walk through here."

A group of the woman's people were gaining on us. We didn't have time for doors that refused to open. I urged him toward a different door only to meet the same outcome. And then I remembered what I had seen when I touched the woman with the pocket watch. We had to find the door we'd entered through.

I raced on as people shouted behind us. If we only made it through, we'd be safe from most of the crowd. They hadn't all entered through our door.

I pointed toward the door as we ran.

"Of course," he murmured. "One way in and out."

I glanced over my shoulder. We were still being followed. Kenneth knocked over a stall behind us and pushed me toward the door.

We both made it through, and right before Kenneth slammed the door behind us, two men skidded to a stop right behind us, falling back as though they had been violently pushed.

I breathed a sigh of relief, but the guard who had let us in gripped Kenneth by the neck and held him against the wall.

" _Never_ come here again," he said.

Kenneth gurgled, his face turning purple. I reached for the shifter's hands.

The shifter let go and darted away from me as though terrified of my touch. Was there something wrong with me or them? Excitement trilled through my body. Power was beautiful. I couldn't resist moving closer to the shifter until he disappeared into the shadows.

Kenneth gripped my arm. "We need to get out of here. Right now."

He pulled me after him. We ran up the stairs, and it was then I remembered my father wasn't with us. I let Kenneth lead the way until we reached the doors of the shopping centre.

I stopped moving and refused to take another step.

"What are you... come on!" he demanded.

I shook my head and pointed behind us.

"We can't go back!" Kenneth wiped his forehead with his sleeve. "He told me to get you out of there, remember?"

I looked at him pleadingly.

His determination faltered. "I... I'll get you to safety then I'll come back for him, all right?"

I nodded, gently touched his cheek without thinking. Nothing happened.

"Can you drive?" he asked, opening the front doors.

I shrugged.

"Good enough," he said. "Sit in the car and wait, but if anyone, and I mean anyone comes near you, just get out of there, even if it means running them over. Understand?"

I nodded. My heart was still racing with adrenaline. I felt as though I could do anything.

We were already a good distance away from the shopping centre when we heard the doors opening. People—humans, shifters, even vampires—hurried outside as though the place had been evacuated. Among them was my father.

"There he is," Kenneth said, looking relieved.

Phoenix ran to us. "Keep going," he commanded. "Don't look back." A bundle was gathered in his arms. It had to be the mirror.

We reached the car before Phoenix confirmed it. "I bought it at a discount," he said, breathing heavily. "Thanks to you, Lucia. You always surprise me."

"Didn't you see their reaction to whatever the hell happened back there? She could have been killed," Kenneth snapped. "Let's get out of here before anything else freaky happens to us."

We got in the car and drove away with haste, but I was excited rather than scared. We had the mirror. The paragons wouldn't have any excuse to come for us now.

# 9

_L orcan_

* * *

Lorcan threw down his pen in frustration. He frowned at the ledger in front of him, trying to remember if his father looked extra cold when he told him to stay at home with Rosa and the paperwork while the others went to some auction.

"Still sulking?" Rosa asked, lingering at the doorway. "Don't you want to have some fun?"

"I'm busy," he snapped. He wasn't angry at her, not really. When she crept into his room in the middle of the night, he'd let her stay because he was as lonely as he suspected Rosa to be.

"Grumpy." She pouted before brightening. "Why don't we go out? Your father brought me to a bar where a siren sings. Let's go see if she's performing." She licked her lips. "I've always been partial to siren songs."

"Do you ever take life seriously?" he demanded. "Is everything about the next person you can screw over?"

"Life is already serious," she said, giving her freshly painted burgundy nails a cursory glance. "It doesn't need me to add to the drama. Besides, didn't I come here to warn you all about the grave, grave danger you're in?"

"Because you want the werewolves."

"And? You still benefit from the deal. Living a long time doesn't mean you have time for a good time later."

"Was that supposed to make sense to me?"

"The only thing that's for certain is time's habit of running out." She sighed. "We could all die tomorrow. And I want to see more of your little country. Who knows when a change of scenery might become necessary."

"I'm not comfortable at that bar," he confessed after a moment. "Fae run it. I'm not interested in what they want from me."

"What do they want from you?"

"A fae," he said wryly. "Except I've no power, no magic, and an abundance of good feelings toward humans. I don't tick any of their boxes."

"You're more than that." She held his gaze for too long. "Oh, come _on_. I'll be there to protect you." She ran over and crawled onto the desk, knocking everything over once again. "Pretty please?"

"Are all paragons big kids?"

"Oh, live a little."

"I've lived a lot." But he got to his feet nonetheless. Rosa didn't take no for an answer very often, and he didn't have the energy to argue. Not when he could use a break himself.

"Perhaps one of your friends will be there," she said as she followed him out of the room.

"I bloodywell hope not," he muttered, grabbing his jacket. "I don't want to be seen with you."

She skipped in front of him to tap his nose. "That's rude. Maybe we should visit the tainted one instead. What's the deal with her anyway?"

"Are you still jealous because we all actually like her?"

She purred in his ear. "See, I know you don't mean that. And don't worry, I'm just wondering if I should charm her myself."

"Oh, I'd love to see that one backfire on you." He folded his arms across his chest. "An hour. I'll give you an hour. Then I'm coming back to work."

"We'll see," she said coquettishly.

"No spying on people," he said. "If this is a paragon thing, and you want to check up on people then—"

"You forget." She grinned. "Your father happens to be doing my job for me."

"Right." He grit his teeth. "I thought you didn't want to be noticed."

"Who would look for a paragon in a dirty little pub?" She smiled, and it made her features soften. "Maybe I just like it here."

With a sigh, he opened the front door. "Don't get used to it."

They had only taken a few steps when Val called him from the door of the garage. He glanced at Rosa, wishing he were anywhere else, but Val was already on her way over.

"Isn't this the hellhound?" Rosa murmured. "How exciting."

"Leave her alone," Lorcan said, smiling in greeting at Val. "Hey."

"You're back," Val said a little breathlessly. She looked as though she had no idea what to say next.

"Yeah, things have gotten a little... busy." He glanced at Rosa. "Lucia's trying to help Dad track down something important, something dangerous."

"Oh." Val's honey coloured eyes took in Rosa in one long suspicious glare. "Do you need help?"

"Not yet. If we do, we'll let you know. Things have been hectic, you know?"

She pressed her lips together.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "It's urgent, but, uh, secretive. We've so much to do..."

"Same. I should get back to Leah." She cleared her throat. "Maybe tell Lucia I need to see her. Soon?"

"Of course." He didn't know where to look. "I mean, as soon as this gets sorted out, she'll be over anyway."

A fleeting look of hurt crossed Val's face but was gone before it could really cement the guilt he was feeling.

"Smooth," Rose remarked as Val walked away.

"Don't _you_ start."

He knew Lucia loved Val, that they both cared for each other. He sensed the affection and trust whenever he was in their presence, had even envied it.

But Lucia was a secret keeper, and until she decided to share, none of them would know why she was avoiding Val. He had gone through that kind of frustration himself, so he felt sorry for Val as she trudged away. He couldn't help her.

The bar was full because the siren was indeed singing. Lorcan shivered as he walked into the bar, bracing himself for either confrontation or misplaced adoration. He wasn't comfortable with either. The term "royal" weighed too heavily for his liking. The fae looked at him with expectation, hoping for the next great thing—when they weren't looking at him like he was the dirt under their shoe. Being nothing and everything to so many people at the same time gave him whiplash.

Callista caught his eye and favoured him with a smile that made him forget how to walk for a moment.

Rosa pushed him, looking impressed. "She has power," she said longingly.

"And now you've seen her. We should go."

"Oh, come on," she said. "You told me a fae runs his place. That means good wine. You're more generous than your father, so let's treat ourselves."

Sighing, he followed her to the bar. He wasn't opposed to a drink, but people were already staring. Some gave him a second look because he resembled his father so closely—even after cutting his hair short. Others wanted to know what the half-fae son of a full-blooded prince was about. And the rest didn't want him around. That wasn't new, but the atmosphere in the bar was already thick and tense due to the siren. He didn't want to make it worse just by existing.

The red-haired barman looked as though his life had been made by Lorcan's appearance, on the other hand. It was too late to back out and go home. He reluctantly sat at the bar next to Rosa while Finn gaped at him.

"Welcome," he said at last. "Can I get you anything? My treat."

"Oh, surely you have something special hidden away," Rosa said with a wide smile. "Something suitable for royalty, perhaps?"

"Of course," Finn said, his eyes widening. "Royalty." He backed away, the dragon tattoo on his arm moving rapidly.

"Tone it down just a bit," Lorcan said, feeling uncomfortable. Too many eyes on his back. No way to escape without Lucia there to help. Instead of feeling royal, it made him feel... enslaved.

"You take everything so seriously." Rosa reached for a nut from the bowl on the counter, but it was whipped out of her reach. Her eyes narrowed at the hulking male next to her.

"A bit out of the way for a prince," the dark-haired man said.

Lorcan inwardly groaned. The man's long, sharp features looked to be old-blooded fae. Not the kind who approved of fae marrying outside their race.

Rosa grabbed the nuts. "And what do you care?"

"Half-breed mongrels make me care about the state of this country," the man snapped.

Rosa rolled her eyes. "Better to be a half-breed than purposely inbred."

He growled. "What did you say?"

She turned in her seat to make things worse. Lorcan didn't need Lucia's visions to tell him that much. He got to his feet and stepped between them. "We're not here for trouble."

"You were born trouble," the man said. "You and that traitor of a father of yours."

Anger fuelled the resting fire in Lorcan's soul. He may not agree with his father on, well, anything, but he wasn't about to let some idiot crap on his name either.

"You know nothing about my father," Lorcan snarled. "And if I were you—"

He saw the blow coming his way early enough to block it. He braced himself for a battle, but Finn appeared out of nowhere, gripped the man's hair and smashed his face onto the counter.

"How dare you?" the man mumbled, spitting blood and half a tooth onto the floor.

Finn held tight. "Number one, this is my bar, and I don't accept trouble in here. Number two, the half-breed hating days are over, and I'm happy to say goodbye to them. Number three, and most importantly, you've come into my home and insulted not just my family, but my leader and his family, too. It's time for you to leave." He smacked the man's head off the bar again. Lorcan winced at the sickening crack as his nose broke. "Don't worry. I'll help you out."

Finn looked up at Lorcan. "Excuse me for a moment." He hauled the bleeding fae out of there.

As soon as he was out of sight, a second angry buffoon squared up to Lorcan.

"What are you, multiplying?" Lorcan said impatiently. "Fine."

He heard Rosa's laugh as he swung at the fae, connecting with his jaw. At the same time, a young woman whacked a wine bottle onto the back of the man's head. They'd never know whose strike knocked the man out, but he collapsed to the floor at Lorcan's feet nonetheless.

Wringing his hand, he nodded at the petite redhead. "Thanks."

"No problem." She shrugged. "I'm Finn's family. It's only right I carry on the family business while he's busy defending my honour." She stepped over the prone body and sniffed Lorcan's chest. "I like how you smell."

"Uh, thanks?"

She beamed. "I'm a mongrel, too, you know. Only since your da made everything better, Finn's allowed to publicly talk to me. It makes him happy, so I like your da."

Lorcan nudged the man at his feet with his foot. "You're about the only one."

"The siren gets them riled up with nowhere to put it." She stood on the man's back and swung herself onto the counter.

Rosa was gone. Lorcan glanced over his shoulder. She had moved closer to Callista. Let her.

"I'm Ember," the young woman said, running her hand through her pixie cut to ruffle it up. "So you're the infamous twin. Where's the other one?"

"We're not joined at the hip."

"You should bring her in. I'd love to see her sometime."

He folded his arms across his chest. "She's not a spectacle."

"That's not..." Ember's face fell. "We heard she was a bit magical actually. We kind of thought that meant there was hope for the rest of us, that maybe there was a trick to accessing, you know," she waggled her fingers, "fae power."

"Not really. I mean, I'm not exactly magical either."

"Oh." The colour in her eyes appeared to fade. "Who isn't destined to want what they can't have?" She shot him a weak smile.

She looked so miserable that he felt the need to cheer her up. "Uh, but Lucia gets visions sometimes." Or, at least, she used to.

"I know I must sound... mental right now. It's just I heard people like us tended to have the potential to be... a bit special." She plastered on a smile. "Sounds stupid, eh?"

"I'm not special," he said with a shrug. "But who needs special?"

Her smile grew, and her blue eyes twinkled with it. "Not me. Not really. Since everything changed, I reached out to people like us. We started to get together, publicly, talk about the possibilities. You and your sister are kind of the heroes of the piece. So far, the only thing we have in common is an unrequited yearning for magic, but if you ever want to go to a party with a bunch of non-special mongrels, you know who to ask."

He was surprised to find himself interested. "I'd like that actually. I'm not really the best with the whole fitting in thing. I tend to stick with other rejects."

"And now you've found them." Her smile lit up. "Oh, look. Here's the conquering hero now."

Finn joined them and stared at the unconscious man. "The little... Take care of things for me, Em?"

"Always," she said. "I'll leave you to grovel."

"I'm not going to..." Finn sighed as Ember jumped off the counter and disappeared into the crowd. "I will apologise though. Things have been getting tense lately. Maybe watch yourself."

"Always do. I take it popular opinion has shifted a little more in the wrong direction while I've been gone."

"Being a sympathiser used to be as dangerous as being less than pure-blooded. It takes time to change the fear that comes with centuries upon centuries of persecution." Finn shrugged. "The loyal are still loyal. Those who aren't are only frustrated. It's those who aren't sure who can't be trusted. Just make sure you find more friends than enemies over the next few years."

Lorcan looked over his shoulder at Rosa who was deep in conversation with the siren. He already knew that much.

# 10

_L ucia_

* * *

I shook off new nightmares the next morning. I obviously wasn't on the right path still. Maybe the black market had been a clue—if I could ever find a way to protect Val, surely a place that sold ancient magical objects would be a start. I wouldn't listen to strange women telling me that fate couldn't be avoided. I wouldn't give up.

Lorcan was out of bed unusually early, looking less apathetic than he had of late—and even better, spending time with Phoenix without an argument. The weight on my shoulders eased a little.

"I saw Val last night," he told me hesitantly as I sat at the kitchen table next to him with my fruit. "She seems... you need to see her, Lu. One way or another."

"Don't pressure your sister," Phoenix said. "I'm sure she has her reasons."

"Right. Reasons." Lorcan pressed his lips together. He stared at his toast as though it were poison.

I sought out his hand, but he moved out of my reach. I knew I hurt his feelings by distancing my visions from him. But what else was I supposed to do? Once I shared, the control flew out of my hands.

Rosa swept into the room, perfectly made up. "Morning, family," she said teasingly. "You two got in late last night."

"Time seemed to fly." Phoenix glanced at me. "There was lots to see at the auction."

That was an understatement.

"Well," Rosa said impatiently. "Where is it?"

Phoenix rose from his seat with a sigh as the doorbell rang. "Patience, Paragon."

Rosa stole Lorcan's toast then leaned on the counter to eat it. "I'll have to leave soon."

Lorcan didn't say a word. I could have sworn a fleeting look of disappointment crossed Rosa's face, but it was gone too quickly to be sure.

Phoenix ushered Lavinia into the kitchen, offering her breakfast.

"I'm not hungry," she said, her gaze focused on Rosa who stared right back.

"Where is Robin?" Phoenix asked.

"Visiting the cul-de-sac," Lavinia said. "Just until I'm done here."

"Phoenix," Rosa said in a warning tone. "The mirror?"

"Excuse me for a moment," Phoenix told Lavinia. "Help yourself to anything you like."

Lorcan and I hesitated only for a second before following our father to the study. I was keen to see Rosa's reaction to the mirror.

In the study, the mirror was covered with a cloth for safety. Phoenix took a deep breath and removed the cloth, aiming the glass away from the rest of us.

Rosa stared for a long moment in silence.

"Is this it?" Lorcan asked, sounding impatient.

"How should I know?" Rosa replied.

"What?"

"It's not like I've seen it before." She tapped her lower lip, getting blood-red lipstick onto her fingertip. "It looks ancient."

"It feels it," Phoenix said. "And it was called Narcissus Glass at the market, but how can we really be sure?"

"I'll take it back to the paragons to confirm it," Rosa said, but she seemed unsure of herself. "But this must be Narcissus Glass."

"Except it's glamoured," came Lavinia's voice at the door.

"Who even is this person?" Rosa demanded.

"Quiet," Phoenix snapped. "Do you sense something, Lavinia? Do you know this mirror?"

She shook her head and moved to my side as though for comfort. I tried not to touch her. "I don't know it, but it's not what it appears to be."

"If you don't know the mirror, then how could you possibly know what it's supposed to look like?" Rosa asked.

"I know the spell. I helped make it, I think." Lavinia moved closer, her hands reaching for the mirror.

"Careful," Phoenix said. "It could be dangerous."

"I know danger," the young woman said softly. "This is trickery." She beckoned me to her. "Come help me."

She placed a cool hand in mine and squeezed. I wasn't ready for it, for her. No visions came, but a rush of energy shot through my nervous system. I felt my cousin's magic in a way I had never felt anything before. Life had just breathed into my soul for the first time. I never wanted it to stop.

"Touch it," Lavinia urged.

"This is ridiculous," Lorcan said in an alarmed tone. "Don't _touch_ it!"

But my hand was already reaching for the mirror, desperate to explore the magic that wasn't mine. I hadn't realised before how deep a space lay empty inside my chest, just waiting to be filled with magic. I blew out a shaky breath. Magic, real magic, was in my hands, waiting to be wielded. And the mirror was covered with it, a sticky kind of substance that I couldn't see, and likely wouldn't feel as soon as Lavinia let go of my hand.

I widened my eyes at Phoenix to show him Lavinia was right.

"I'm taking the mirror," Rosa said.

"Wait a moment," Phoenix said, holding out his hand. "Let them try to figure it out."

Lavinia shot him a grateful smile. "Cousin, I'll need your help with this. I'll give you something to hold, and you must not let it go, no matter what happens. Just remember that it's all an illusion. None of it is real, not for longer than a moment."

I nodded, although I didn't understand. But my heart beat like hummingbird wings in anticipation of what might happen next. I looked at the others. Rosa was sending suspicious glances my cousin's way, but Lavinia's calm demeanour gave me courage. My father was curious, something I was used to when he looked my way, and Lorcan was terrified for me.

But none of those people controlled me. I had to make my own decisions, and a new purpose had just opened up before me. Maybe I would never have magic of my own, but I could help someone who did. Lavinia and I shared DNA, ancestry—perhaps we could share a little magic, too. If I couldn't wield it, she obviously could, and that in turn gave me an opportunity. She preferred defensive magic, and I needed something to defend Val with. My path opened up as though bright lights had been switched on.

Lavinia sucked in a breath then ran her hand over the glass. The reflection distorted. Fear took hold of me, but then Lavinia's other hand squeezed around mine and fed me strength—and something else.

I could see nothing visible, but something had been tied to my hand, connecting me to a place outside of myself. An invisible cord tightened around my fingers, squeezing them until they throbbed. My skin pulsed uncomfortably, but I didn't let go.

A dark vine crept around Lavinia's throat, marking her skin. It pulled taut, and the veins in her neck tensed. She let out a breathless gasp, but in my head, I heard her shriek with agony. All the while, her hands didn't falter in their movements, and I couldn't stop watching. The meek girl who had been a slave was braver than I, determined to right wrongs she might have somehow been a part of.

"Stop this," Lorcan said, but I could barely hear him over a fresh crescendo of screams in my mind.

An abrupt silence fell over us. I glanced around the room, disturbed by the scene. Lorcan was on his knees, clutching his throat, apparently unable to make a sound. Phoenix and Rosa reached for us but were held back by a shroud of magic. None could touch us. None could speak. Now they knew how it felt.

I focused on Lavinia. The marks around her neck moved under her clothes. It was as though something were trying to invade her, and I was the one who held her safe. I understood it clearly. Lavinia couldn't do two things at once, and while she rid the glass of the glamour, I held her protective magic still and strong. I envied her power.

Just as I reached my limit, as a wave of fatigue threatened to drown me, it was over. Lavinia abruptly let go of my hand and sank into the closest chair. I was left standing alone, feeling empty.

The pain was gone, the marks were gone, and the mirror... looked like a cheap trinket from a corner shop. It wasn't ancient or heavy or unique. But worse was the loss of magic, of power and strength, and of victory. It was over, and I was back in my quiet shell with nothing to wield at all.

The others recovered and took in the mirror's new state.

"She did this," Rosa said at last, her voice husky.

"Don't be ridiculous," Phoenix replied. "She stopped you from embarrassing yourself is all."

"But I was so sure," Rosa said. "The paragons are convinced the mirror is here."

"Maybe... maybe it was." Lorcan slowly got to his feet, still gasping for air. "And then it got replaced with this. That glamour magic was pretty good. I mean, it fooled all of us. Why not the person who brought it to the auction, too? It could have been replaced in the market even."

I stared at Lavinia. If it had been her glamour spell, then she had to know more. As though he heard my thoughts, Lorcan spoke again.

"It's a bit strange that Lavinia's the one who removed the spell when she thinks it was her magic to begin with. Tomas told us Egan was searching for the mirror. Anything you need to tell us, Lavinia?"

Lavinia held my gaze. "I didn't know about the mirror. I made spells while I was a slave. What was done with those spells wasn't often shared with me. I'm not the only one. It's possible my spell was... reproduced." She bit her lower lip. "But I don't think so. This had my essence, only made darker. I don't like when he does that." She caught herself. "Did that."

"But Egan's dead," Phoenix said as though to himself. "Why is his hand in this of all things?"

"Most likely, it was arranged long ago," Rosa said. "Who finds an epic lost treasure overnight?"

"Why would he want it?" Lorcan asked.

"To trap his enemies perhaps?"

"He often traded spells," Lavinia said in a voice devoid of life or energy. "He may not have had contact with the mirror. Anyone could have bought or traded this spell then combined it with another."

Rosa shrugged. "It doesn't matter. This isn't the mirror, and I need to figure out the point when it was switched—if it was ever here—before I go back and let the others know what's happening. The mirror could still be here."

"And if it's not?" Phoenix asked.

"Then colour me relieved," Rosa said. "For all we know, this whole thing was a trick. Maybe the mirror doesn't even exist, but somebody wanted us to think it does. I don't really care."

"I've had people watching the market," Phoenix said. "In particular, the man who sold me the mirror. For an extortionate sum of money, I may add."

Rosa waved a dismissive hand. "You can afford it."

We weren't poor, but most of the family fortune was tied up in things that belonged to my father's mother. He didn't like to spend her ill-gotten gains himself, but he didn't argue the fact with Rosa.

"So we talk to this salesman then," Lorcan said. "He should be able to shed some light on the matter."

Phoenix drummed his fingers on the desk. "I'll have him brought here. Lavinia, would you mind being here for the questioning? You may be helpful."

My cousin nodded her acceptance.

Rosa followed Phoenix out of the room.

Lavinia moved to Lorcan's side, a hesitant look in her eye. "Have you recovered?" She reached out to touch him.

He backed away. "Don't."

"I only needed the room to be quiet," she said. "So Lucia could concentrate."

He shot me a disappointed glance. "Don't worry," he said. "I completely get it."

He left the room without another word, and I knew I'd pushed him even farther away from me.

The bald man from the market was supposed to be taken to our home that evening. Lavinia had left to check on Robin, but she returned long before the new arrival.

Rosa had been impatient all day, listlessly moving from room to room. Her fear was back. Her nervous energy appeared to infect the rest of us.

"What do you think is going on?" Lorcan asked our father under his breath when Rosa left the study to check the fridge for the umpteenth time.

"I'm not sure," Phoenix said. "There may have never been a mirror. It could all be an elaborate scam. Even a distraction. Some attempt to fool the paragons."

I didn't recognise the fae who brought the man to our house under the cover of darkness, but the pair were old-blooded, so surprisingly loyal to my father. The fae had divided over him. While they all accepted him, many still refused to acknowledge my brother and me. My father didn't seem to care, but I wondered if he ever regretted taking us in. His life would have been so much easier without us.

"Thank you," Phoenix said when the pair deposited a blindfolded man into the study.

"Any time." One of the pair hesitated then gestured toward the signet ring on my father's little finger. It had been passed down to him as a symbol of his leadership, but I often caught him staring at it as though it weighed him down. "There's so much more for you to take if you step up."

"I'll keep that in mind," my father murmured evenly. "There's no need for you to come back to collect him."

The pair left, and Phoenix called the others into the study. I hogged the best seat and stared at the man who had asked to buy me. I wondered what he had planned on doing with me. He couldn't have known about the visions. Would I have been sent through one of the other doors? His fingers trembled a little, but he wasn't as scared as I expected. Did he know who had taken him?

When my father removed his blindfold, our captive saw Lavinia and me sitting together on one chair. Realisation dawned in his eyes, and he struggled against his binds.

"Peace," Phoenix said. "It's Abel, isn't it?"

The man nodded, his eyes darting in every direction.

"We're not here to hurt you," my father said reassuringly. "We just want answers to some questions."

"Of course we won't hurt him," Rosa said, moving to Phoenix's side. "But we did spend a lot of money on a mirror that turned out to be a fake."

A number of emotions crossed the man's face. One of them was surprise. He had no idea. Realisation soon followed, and the man swore loudly.

"Something to tell us?" Rosa asked.

Abel nodded. " _I_ was fooled. I should have known better. It was too good to be true."

"Oh?"

"Somebody set me up with this shit. Narcissus Glass. Ha! Was it ever real?"

Rosa shrugged. "How did you get your hands on it?"

"I'm a go-between,' he explained. "People don't want to show their faces, so they hire people like me to act on their behalf. It's normal. Mostly anonymous. Money's enough, right?"

"Were you paid?" Phoenix asked.

"A little. A nominal fee to set up everything. I was hired to transport a shipment, including the mirror. I was supposed to store it for a while, build up the buzz."

"And you just believed it was authentic?" Lorcan said. "I doubt that."

"You don't get it. This is a big deal event," Abel said. "I'd been hearing whispers about it for years. People talking about how it was on the move. I was lucky to be chosen. It came from Russia with a bunch of junk. The mirror was hidden. I didn't even know how to unlock the spell until recently. Anyway, the rumours got intense. I had a couple of attempted break-ins, lots of trouble, and radio silence on my payday. I was getting tempted to send that thing to somebody else. It's bad luck."

"But you didn't," Phoenix said.

"Nah, I got an update. Bring it to Meribo on a specific date because rumours were planted elsewhere to attract attention."

Phoenix glanced at Rosa. "Somebody trying to lead the paragons astray, do you think?"

She shrugged. "Maybe that's what he was. I'm here because somebody planted a fake mirror on him."

"Bloody hell," Abel said. "What am I supposed to do now? Nobody paid me when some shitty teenagers broke all of the windows in my warehouse," he ranted. "I've been storing this thing with my own money, waiting for a big payout at the end, and what happens?" He looked ready to explode. "You lot cost me my livelihood! You turn up at Meribo, getting me banned for life in the process, I might add, and take away any chance I had of making money off the back of this stupid thing. And I suppose you brought me here to scare me into giving back your money. Of all the... I wish I'd never heard of that bloody mirror."

"He's telling the truth," Lavinia said.

"It was a prank," Rosa said, sounding relieved. "A scam. A ridiculous foolish story. That's all."

I wasn't so sure.

Phoenix looked doubtful, too. "Perhaps we should return to Meribo to make sure—"

"Ha!" Abel said. "If any of you are seen there again, you're as dead as I'd be. They don't like being fucked over."

There went my chances of finding help for Val at the market. I still had Lavinia though.

"Could somebody at the market have set this up?" Lorcan asked.

The dealer looked grumpy. "Why would they do that to me? I've done nothing wrong."

"Except transport an object you thought was illegal," Phoenix said warningly. "Rosa, surely you want to check out his story."

She sneered. "He's an imbecile. Where on earth would an ape like that get a forbidden object from? It was a fake all along. We were all played for fools."

"At least let me find out the full story," Phoenix persisted.

"Waste your time if you want," she said. "I've heard enough. I'll go to Russia myself to dig it up, if I have to, but that mirror was never here. And I'll soon prove it was never in Russia either. The rest of the paragons will just have to man up and get over the rumours."

She left the room.

For the next two days, my father did check out the dealer's story, but everything he uncovered merely cemented Rosa's point of view on the matter. Ava's connection to the human world of crime told us that a number of gangs had been given information on Abel's warehouse, strong enough rumours to encourage robberies. It all added up to a trick in Rosa's mind. She was gone two days later.

My nightmarish visions weren't.

# 11

_L orcan_

* * *

Rosa's goodbyes were brief and cold, typical of her, really. She had used his family once again to get what she wanted. And now Lorcan had to reconsider the past events with her and his father and wonder if she had fooled him then, too. Had he overreacted?

He was surprised to find himself unwilling to say goodbye to Rosa, but there was a definite air of relief once she left.

"Think the mirror even exists?" he asked his father in the study. They had gotten straight back into the task at hand, finding truths within the secrets.

"I'm not sure. Either somebody created an elaborate con for cash or to distract the paragons. I don't think it's a coincidence that Rosa was sent here." He sighed. "The paragons want to come after us, and I don't know why. This is an excuse that we managed to figure out in time. For all we know, the paragons set the entire thing up."

"I don't like it," Lorcan said. "It feels like unfinished business."

"It's Rosa's concern now," Phoenix said. "We have our own problems to deal with. I'm having trouble with finding a cursebreaker. From what I've read, we need the words of the original curse."

"If there was one," Lorcan murmured, more interested in the ledgers than curses.

"But what if I'm looking in the wrong direction?" Phoenix said, half to himself. "What if it's not about slavery at all but something less tangible, like happiness, for example."

Lucia looked up from her task. She'd been helping Lorcan, but he wasn't sure why she was still there with them now the drama was over. Surely she should have taken the opportunity to see Val. He couldn't interfere in case he made yet another situation worse, but he itched to tell her to grab happiness with both hands. The chance never stayed long.

"And what if we're just unlucky?" Lorcan caught sight of a hidden code among the words and earmarked it for Tomas. "There are more important things to worry about."

"What is that you're doing?" Phoenix asked.

"There are codes within the texts," he explained. "When Tomas sees them, it's like a kind of codebreaker to his hidden memories. Some turned out to be shorthand, but plenty have been unlocking specific memories in Tomas's head."

Phoenix froze. "Can I see?"

Lorcan's chest knotted. "Yeah, but it's designed for Tomas's memories."

Phoenix gave him a wry smile. "One can still hope."

Lorcan crossed the room to show him the latest hidden code. Phoenix gazed at it for a long time before giving up. Pity grew in Lorcan's heart. How would he feel if his memories had been ripped away and destroyed forever?

"It's a clever system really," Phoenix said slowly. "Find somebody who remembers everything then restrict them to only let them remember what you want them to in any given moment. The ultimate security system."

"Only until he dies."

"Of course." Phoenix perked up. "Then there must be a backup somewhere."

"What are the odds of coming across another savant slave like Tomas?" Lorcan said. But it was an interesting thought.

"Has Tomas revealed anything worth knowing in any case?"

"Mostly Egan's idea on value," Lorcan said wryly. "If anyone was considered worthless, they were either passed on to people like your lovely mother or..."

Phoenix stared at the ledger. "I don't understand how things like this can go on, escaping the notice of the rest of the world."

"This is tip of the iceberg stuff," Lorcan said, taking back the ledger. "Declan Egan didn't see anyone as a person. He had no limits, no morals that told him when to stop, and that's what keeps me going on this. I get what you mean about undoing his and Fionnuala's work. Egan was definitely a monster. We're just lucky he didn't have any real power."

"It felt real enough when we failed to catch him for so long," Phoenix murmured.

Lorcan sensed a darker worry beneath his father's well put together mask. "Hey," he said. "He's dead. You caught him and saved the people who needed you. That's not failure."

Phoenix reached for his hand. A moment passed between them in which Lorcan felt the lure of family and kin. Surely, _that_ , he could trust.

The following morning, Tomas arrived to take a look at the newest codes that Lorcan had found. Phoenix and Lucia joined them, an unspoken agreement between the family to work together.

"What about this one?" Lorcan asked.

Tomas stared at the page, then blinked rapidly. "This is a couple of decades old. It tells how a new shipment arrived from a shifter tribe in Western Africa. They stole children from their rivals to weaken them. One male and four females. The male had strong magic. He's marked as more valuable than the others, but they all share a bloodline." He blinked again. "That's all I have."

"No, that's useful," Lorcan said. "It matches up with some unfinished entries in another book."

"How did you even notice that?" Phoenix asked, peering over Lorcan's shoulder. "It looks like an extra stroke from a hasty hand rather than an intentional entry."

"I don't know," Lorcan said. "I just get a feel for it. It's easier the longer I look at the pages."

He could almost taste the victory that came from connecting dots nobody else could see. Everything that Tomas revealed was recorded and noted, and when he left, the family once again tried to piece together the information.

"You have a knack for this." Phoenix actually sounded impressed.

Lorcan grinned. "Maybe because it's personal. These names... these kids... any of them could have been me or Lucia. Even Lavinia. It's words and numbers to people like Egan, but to us they're souls, real people with feelings who've suffered because of greed."

"I'm proud of the work you're doing," Phoenix said.

Lucia lifted her head long enough to wink at Lorcan. That boosted him enough to continue.

"Take this one." He pointed at a number of entries he'd highlighted on the pages he'd copied to work on. "I think this could be Noah's story. The timing fits pretty well, and I don't know, I just get a feeling when I read about these people. He was taken from abroad, brought here, passed through Fionnuala's system via Egan's connections, and see this?" He found a mark that had been bothering him all day. "I think this might mean he's not for sale, but he has a use. There are values on all of these people. How can you possibly put a value on a person so arbitrarily unless you're completely without feeling?"

"Noah deserves to find out where he came from," Phoenix said. "I'm proud of you, Lorcan. Keep working on this. You see past the words. Maybe that's your gift."

Lorcan beamed, unable to hide his pleasure. He wanted to measure up to Phoenix's expectations of him, and perhaps that was why he had found it so hard to adjust. He'd seen himself as having no value. It was time to envision himself as worthy of the future he'd been gifted. There was purpose out in the world. He just had to look for it.

# 12

_L ucia_

* * *

The dreams hadn't changed. Val always died. I'd tried to make choices that would change the outcome, but they never worked. Because the problem wasn't the killer. The problem was me. Val would give her life for _me_.

I finally saw what the woman from the market meant. I'd been making the same choices all along, with only minor variations. I needed a complete departure to swerve off a path full of death and pain. I had to change my place in Val's life until I gathered enough power to my side to push the balance in our favour.

It all made sense now. I was afflicted with a blood curse, and I could never be happy. The curse wanted me to be a slave to something, and for now, it was to my dark visions of death and horror. Val would be the one who lost, while I would only live to mourn her. I'd watched my family members overcome adversity and face up to their fears while I'd clung to a vain hope because I wasn't strong enough to live without Val. It was time to let her go before the real damage was done. It was time for me to be brave.

I left my home and walked over to the converted garage before I chickened out. I knocked on the door, hoping Val was alone. She opened the door almost immediately, as though she had been expecting me, a mix of emotions in her eyes.

For a moment, we just stared at each other, and my resolve wavered. I looked away from her, unable to bear the weight of her questioning gaze. I saw memories of good—no, great—days in her eyes. I needed to focus on the nightmarish visions of her death instead.

"Come in," she said with a grunt. "Leah's not here."

I hesitated. Once inside, I would weaken. Once inside, I would lose courage. I couldn't let that happen. Breaking Val's heart was far better than letting her die.

I shook my head, backing up to put more space between us. I chanced a look at her face and wished I hadn't.

Val's jaw clenched. "I haven't seen you since..." She shrugged. "So why are you here now?"

I reached out and took her hand, giving her a meaningful look. Realisation dawned in her eyes, and it took everything I had to stay strong as her face crumpled. I'd never seen her so vulnerable, not ever.

"No." She shook her head, clutching my hand as though it gave her life. "This is wrong, and we both know it. Just let me in, Lucia. Tell me what's really going on. I swear I'll fix it. What are you running from?"

It wasn't enough. There had to be more. I should have known better. She knew me too well to just let me go so easily. I had to make her hate me. I knew exactly how.

I shrugged her off then pointed at her chest.

"Me?" Val's voice hitched. "What have I done wrong?"

I forced my lips to press together, called upon every fae relative to help me look appropriately sneering, and that was all it took. A look to end everything we had gone through. A look to sever our ties and end the threat on Val's life. For an instant, I feared I'd made a mistake, that I read the visions wrong, but it was too late. Val's face had gone blank, her honey-coloured eyes turned bloody, and it was time to leave.

I turned my back, flinching at the pained sound emitting from Val's throat, then left my love behind. I would never love again. _Never_.

I held in my grief until I reached my home and had safely closed the door behind me. Then and only then, I let the tears free. My heart was breaking, and I couldn't fix it alone. My father was there—I hadn't even noticed his presence—and he wrapped me up in his arms and told me everything would be okay.

I held on to Phoenix and chose to believe his words, but the tears kept coming. I deserved the pain. Val was suffering alone because of me, but I at least had my family. My father comforted me, and I knew I would never doubt him again. I couldn't afford to. Only his arms stopped me from running back to Val and condemning us both to death and misery.

That night, I slept peacefully—when I wasn't struggling to breathe with the pain of loss. It had been enough. The threat of death was gone from over Val's head. And I knew for sure that the curse wanted me to be alone. But I wouldn't give up. Fate would have to fight me because I had a new ally, one who could teach me. I'd find a way to protect Val from fate, to fix what I had ruined, no matter what it cost me.

# 13

_L orcan_

* * *

He knocked on his friend's front door, waiting with a sheepish look on his face until she answered.

Ava started when she saw his face, then visibly braced herself as though preparing for an onslaught.

That hurt him sharply, more than he'd expected. "Don't," he said pleadingly. "What I said before... you know I didn't mean it. You know I was just... in shock."

She folded her arms across her chest. "Right."

"I wasn't mad at you." He held out his hands. "Can I at least come in and explain?"

"I get it." She made a face then stepped aside. "You don't have to go over the details."

"I have to explain myself. After everything we've been through, I don't want it to end like this." He went inside, his heart hammering in his chest. For all the good show he put on, he was a child aping the others to be normal. Not so unlike his father, after all.

Ava directed him to the kitchen where she filled up the kettle. That was her trick for buying time, he'd learned.

"I'm sorry." He took a seat at the table. "I just don't know how to feel about it."

She turned and gave him a pitying smile. "Neither do I." She sank into the chair across from him. "I'm not trying to be a part of your family, Lorcan. I'm not trying to get between you or replace anyone."

She probably understood him more than most. That was what made it harder to deal with. "Do you remember when we first met?"

She cringed. "How could I forget?"

"We were scared of you before you arrived. That's why we didn't reveal ourselves to you at first."

"You don't ever cloak yourselves anymore," she said. "Was I really that terrifying?"

"Sort of," he said with a gruff laugh. "Although I doubt we could even manage that anymore. We're not so close lately."

She bit the corner of her lip. "Change is hard for everyone, Lorcan."

"Don't I know it." He cleared his throat. "You showing up worked out though. You turned out to be this quirky little oddball—just like us. You weren't the monster we'd heard about. You were just a person who went out of their way to help us."

Her cheeks flushed. "Quirky is a polite way to describe your first impressions of me."

He gazed at the scars on her arms. He'd made a deal with her, and her tardiness had caused scarred rings to form around her wrists and elbows, joined by deep lines along her forearms. "But we're friends, right? I know it's my fault you have those scars, but you still think of us as friends, don't you?"

She self-consciously pulled down her sleeves. "I know that there are consequences to deals. I don't blame you for the scars. And, yeah, of course I see you as my friend. All of you are important to me. We've all been through so much together that you'll always be important to me, no matter what."

"You're more than a friend to us though." He hesitated to make a claim on her, knowing how uncomfortable it often made her. "You saved us in a way that nobody else could. If it wasn't for you... Well, we both know that things wouldn't be great for my sister and me right now. And I don't see how you can stay friends with us if things go bad between you and our father. I mean, it's Phoenix. _Nobody_ trusts him." Although Lorcan was starting to.

She stared at her palms. "I do." She met his gaze, her cheeks flushing with colour. "I like spending time with him. I like having... company. And I know it's not love's young dream or anything, but does it have to be? Does everything have to be perfect all of the time?"

"I get that it's not my place to judge, but I know you. I see how you care about people. So just... be careful, okay? I won't make life weird for you, but if you need help, just come to me. Talk to me. Don't forget that we were friends first."

She reached out and took his hand. "We're good, Lorcan. We always will be. This place... everything we've been through made us a kind of family, too. I won't forget that if you don't." She squeezed his fingers. "But if I'm taking advice, then I can give it, too. Give him a chance to show you what you mean to him. Trusting him doesn't make you weak, no matter what happens. It's bitterness that makes us brittle and easy to break. You're so much happier when you're open to possibilities."

He squeezed back. He already knew it was past time for him to learn how to trust again.

Lorcan watched a film with his sister and father as though there was no darkness in the world, no pain or fear, no suffering and confusion. For the first time in a long time, his family were truly able to enjoy each other's company, although Lorcan couldn't help but hold his breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop. They had never had a chance to just get to know each other without some threat hanging over their shoulders, forcing them to team up. Ava was right. Phoenix had been making all the right moves. Now it was Lorcan's turn.

When Lucia left the room to make popcorn, Lorcan took his chance.

"Listen, Dad," he said hesitantly.

Phoenix beamed at the word. Who could fake that kind of joy? "What is it?"

"Look, I'm sorry for how I've been acting." Lorcan stared down at his hands. "I get that I can't tell you what to do. Or Ava, for that matter."

"Lorcan, I—"

"Just let me talk. I don't like it. I don't get it. I don't even want to think about it too closely. But I have to tell you how I feel about it. I know you're not going to stop because I say so, but think about when it goes wrong. Just... don't make me choose between the two of you."

"All right," Phoenix said softly, surprising him.

"I won't interfere, as long as you remember that she's special to me and Lucia. She's the one who came, the one who saved us, the one who helped us get," he gestured around the room, "all of this. She hides it well, but she cares too much about people. Try not to hurt her."

Phoenix held out his hand. "Will it help if we make a deal on it?"

Lorcan hesitated. "No. I'd rather... trust you."

Phoenix grinned broadly.

"What?"

Phoenix shook his head. "I'm just so very proud to know you sometimes."

Lorcan made a face. "Don't get soppy."

"But I do care about this family," Phoenix said. "I hope I can show you how much."

"You do show us," Lorcan said. "And I don't want to be angry all the time. I want to try harder. I just feel... screwed up most of the time. Left out sometimes, too. You and Lucia have so much more in common with each other than me, and now there's Ava, too."

"Lorcan," Phoenix said softly.

"Don't. I already feel like an idiot as is. I just wanted to clear the air with you. I want to be part of this family, and I'll try not to embarrass you in front of the fae." He scratched his head. "I'm on your side. All right?"

"And I'm on yours," Phoenix said resolutely. "If the fae don't want you and your sister, they won't have me either. Besides, we need you to connect us with the lost ones. We're all stronger together. As a race and as a family. But nothing is going to get between the three of us. I mean that. Nothing."

Lorcan believed him. Lucia returned, they went back to watching the film as a family, and the elephant in the room was pinned to the side for a while.

There was only one thing that Lorcan was sure of: Phoenix would do anything to keep his family safe. He would find the curse breaker if they needed one, and if the fae or the Senate decided the twins needed to go, Phoenix would be the first to fight back. He might not trust everything, but he trusted that one thing. His father wanted to keep his family this time. On that one thing, father and son were finally in complete agreement.

# About the Author

Thanks for reading Relativity. The next story set in Ava's world will be Bad Blood - a Val & Peter novel.

For more information, check out Claire Farrell's blog or email the author. Sign up to be notified of new releases or like the Facebook page for more regular updates. Click here for an updated series reading order.

Contact Me:

  *     @doingitwritenow
  *     clairefarrellauthor

www.clairefarrellauthor.com

claire_farrell@live.ie

# Reading Order

**A va Delaney World \- Chronological Order**

**Includes upcoming stories**

  * Zombie Moon Rising – A Peter Brannigan novella
  * Original Ava Delaney series – books 1 through 6
  * Tested – unfinished story available on Wattpad only
  * Tainted – Ava Delaney: Lost Souls #1
  * Ghost Moon Rising – A Peter Brannigan Novella
  * Demon Dog – VBI #1
  * Crucible – A Phoenix Novella
  * Tethers – Ava Delaney: Lost Souls #2
  * Bind – An Esther Novella
  * Tithes – Ava Delaney: Lost Souls #3
  * Relativity - A Lorcan & Lucia Novella
  * Bad Blood - VBI #2
  * Secret Self - VBI #3
  * Crossroads - A Phoenix Novella
  * Magic Thief
  * Faery Dust - An Ember Novella

# Books by Claire Farrell:

**C haos Series:**

One Night with the Fae (Companion Prequel)

Soul (Chaos #1)

Fade (Chaos #2)

Queen (Chaos #3)

Usurper (Chaos #4)

Blight (Chaos #5)

Kings (Chaos #5.5)

Sacrifice (Chaos #6)

* * *

**A va Delaney Series (Completed):**

Thirst (Ava Delaney #1)

Taunt (Ava Delaney #2)

Tempt (Ava Delaney #3)

Taken (Ava Delaney #4)

Taste (Ava Delaney #5)

Traitor (Ava Delaney #6)

Awakening (Ava Delaney Volume I – Books 1-3)

Uprising (Ava Delaney Volume II – Books 4-6)

* * *

**L ost Souls Series:**

Tainted (Ava Delaney: Lost Souls #1)

Tethers (Ava Delaney: Lost Souls #2)

Tithes (Ava Delaney: Lost Souls #3)

Bundle (Lost Souls Volume 1)

* * *

**V BI Series:**

Demon Dog (VBI #1)

* * *

**C ursed Series (Completed):**

Verity (Cursed #1)

Clarity (Cursed #2)

Adversity (Cursed #2.5)

Purity (Cursed #3)

Cursed Omnibus (Entire Cursed Series)

* * *

**S take You Series (Completed):**

Stake You (Stake You #1)

Make You (Stake You #2)

Break You (Stake You #3)

* * *

**S hort Story Collections:**

Sixty Seconds

A Little Girl in my Room

* * *

**O ther:**

Death is a Gift (A standalone banshee novel)

Zombie Moon Rising (A Peter Brannigan Novella)

Ghost Moon Rising (A Peter Brannigan Novella)

Crucible (A Phoenix Novella)

Bind (An Esther Novella)

Relativity (A Lorcan & Lucia Novella)
