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  “Put these in your ears. Now,” she exclaimed as she strode up to Cael, Sophia and Sebastian. She shoved some of the wax into their hands.

  As straight women, she and Sophia would remain unaffected by the Sirens without earplugs.

  “What?” Cael barked incredulously. “You want to take away our hearing?”

  Briony pointed to the stage, and Cael paled before he hurriedly put his hands to his ears.

  Sebastian had already inserted the wax.

  “Alexandre and Lachlain?” he asked in a surprisingly normal voice, what with the state of his ears.

  She dropped the last of the wax into his outstretched hand.

  “You amaze me,” Sebastian said with a grin before hurrying off toward Lachlain, who was standing next to Aiyanna on the dance floor. Cael followed, muttering about pulling Alexandre from a tree by his hair.

  “How did you know?” Sophia looked impressed, but there was suspicion in her eyes.

  Briony answered quickly, knowing the were’s wariness was justified.

  “A human—I think she was human—ran into me and gave me the wax a moment ago.” She told Sophia everything, mentioning the way her gloves were spelled despite her lack of knowledge about their capabilities.

  Sophia nodded approvingly. “At least you aren’t completely helpless like the last time we got into a tough spot.”

  Then, they’d been kidnapped by a group of werewolves who were after Heath. Because of the hexes on Briony preventing her from harming another, she hadn’t been much help to Sophia when she fought them. Still, Sophia had taken down almost all of the soldiers before the cavalry arrived to rescue her.

  If anyone didn’t need rescuing, it was Sophia.

  Heath approached, putting an arm around Sophia as his eyes continuously scanned the room. He was looking for someone.

  “You need to leave, Briony.” He took a fraction of a second to give her a hard stare before regarding the crowd again. “There are half a dozen warlocks here, and two of our men are powerless. You’re a liability to us all, especially Sebastian.”

  “Don’t be an asshole, baby,” Sophia snapped, her eyes narrowing. Her expression softened when she turned to Briony. “But he’s right. Heath is going to take you and Leila home as soon as we find her and Alexandre.”

  “I understand.” Briony did; although, she didn’t like it. She’d never been great in a fight, but she hated being considered a liability.

  As a weakening mortal completely untrained in any sort of self-defense techniques, that’s exactly what she was.

  A few minutes later, the sirens began their song. The men in the room stared, transfixed, as two of the women sang while the third plucked her harp. The song was a slowed-down version of a recent hit, the sirens drawing their audience in with calculated notes and the almost imperceptible swaying of their bodies.

  They were so good, they served as a distraction to even the immune.

  Cael approached, drawing Briony out of her reverie. He was physically pushing a sobbing Leila in front of him while the banshee struggled to get away. As they got closer, Briony could see that Cael’s nose was bleeding; Leila was producing vocal noises, even if she spoke no words.

  “What’s wrong with her?” Sophia asked.

  Her heart dropping, Briony touched Sophia’s arm. “It’s not what’s wrong with Leila, but where is Alexandre.”

  Sebastian had said this was meant to be a special night for the couple; there was no way Alex and Leila became separated willingly.

  The blood drained from Sophia’s face as she made the same realization. She nodded. “Did anyone find Alex?” she asked, her tone of voice indicating that she already knew the answer.

  Cael shook his head, his lips set in a solemn line, and Leila released a cry that made Briony see stars. Warm blood fell from one of her ears and onto her dress, but she didn’t skirt away from the banshee. Hoping this wouldn’t inadvertently kill her, she moved to put her arm around Leila’s trembling shoulders.

  “Time to take you two home.” Heath stepped away from Sophia. “Before Leila accidentally kills everyone here.”

  They had no idea. Leila was immortal, making her a much more powerful banshee than Sophia and Heath realized.

  Sophia rolled her eyes at her mate, but Leila didn’t react to his words. Find him, she signed, meeting Cael, Sophia and Heath’s gazes individually. He just…disappeared. FIND HIM. Her signs were large and jerky, shaking from her sobs.

  “Lachlain’s combing the place for him, sweetie.” Aiyanna put both her hands on Leila’s shoulders. “Mary asked me to look after you while she’s gone, so do me this favor: don’t completely freak out until tomorrow morning. Then we’ll have a nuclear-level meltdown.”

  “We’ll find him before then.” Cael’s words were a promise. His features were stoic, unrevealing on the surface, but Briony saw through his façade now almost as easily as she had with her previous abilities. He was furious.

  Aiyanna smiled at him gratefully, and he turned away from her, leaving Heath and Sophia shifting uncomfortably and Aiyanna with a stricken expression.

  Before Heath could herd them away, Briony disentangled herself from Leila and pushed away from the group, hoping to catch a glimpse of Sebastian.

  “I want to see him before I go back to the firehouse.” She didn’t turn around when she spoke, but she knew it was Heath who stood behind her, a moment from taking her miles away with his air abilities.

  “No.”

  Now Briony did pivot on her heel, only to see Leila signing so wildly she couldn’t make out most of her message. You…dare…fire…ashes…Alex…

  In the blink of an eye they were at the firehouse and Heath was gone. He’d put them in the bedroom Leila often used, likely as a comfort to her.

  It didn’t help.

  Leila was shaking harder than ever, yet her hair was swirling around her shoulders and back in graceful movements that belied the jerking of her body.

  Oh no. How powerful was she, exactly?

  “Remember what Aiyanna said. Wait until tomorrow,” Briony reminded her firmly.

  It was when she saw Leila’s eyes turn from ice-blue to red that Briony understood the danger she was in.

  This immortal banshee had lost what control she had over her abilities.

  She’s going to destroy the firehouse.

  The walls shook. Hairline cracks formed in the window before it shattered. Absently, Briony understood that her ears were bleeding again, as was her nose.

  “Gris-Gris!”

  Only the conduit could stop Leila now. Briony was useless, powerless, and Leila was beyond listening to reason.

  Maybe not completely powerless. Her gloves in place, she grabbed Leila’s hands, hoping it would somehow stop the progression of her fury. “Don’t do this. Wait.”

  All she’d done was upset Leila further. The banshee screamed, an ear-splitting noise that made Briony feel as if her body was tearing apart. Maybe it was. Her vision left her, as did her hearing. She was lost in a trembling void, pain the only sensation that she knew.

  On her hands and knees, powder fell over her head and down her dress, likely plaster from the walls and ceiling, or maybe ashes. The cracked floor beneath her lurched, and she discovered she was falling.

  Before she lost consciousness completely, she could have sworn she felt thick, warm fur underneath her hands.

  Chapter 13

  SEBASTIAN gripped Heath by his shirt collar. “You left Briony with an unstable banshee? She’s mortal now; Leila could kill her!”

  Heath ripped himself away, scowling. “Leila’s mortal too. What can she possibly do that would hurt a witch that badly?”

  Aiyanna cursed. “Briony’s completely powerless, Heath, and becoming weaker by the moment. Depending on Leila’s current frame of mind, Briony could already be dead.”

  Sebastian saw red. It was only because Sophia moved between Heath and himself that he didn
’t attack, despite the other werewolf’s current status as temporary Alpha.

  “Move, Sophie.”

  She didn’t budge, placing her hands on her hips. “We decided, together, that sending them home was the right thing, and it was. Briony will be fine.”

  Aiyanna cast Sophia a dry look. “Did you not see the state Leila was in? Alexandre disappeared before her eyes like a bad magic trick.”

  Damn. That reeked of warlock, and with Alexandre’s powers bound as they were, he wouldn’t be able to defend himself against them.

  The only bright side was that Alex couldn’t leave the city. The warlocks had a finite radius in which to hide him, a radius their pack would scour from top to bottom, leaving no stone unturned until they found him.

  “We need to focus on what’s happening here,” Sophia snapped. “I want to know why these sirens are beguiling all the men, and whether they’re working with the warlocks.”

  “They are.” The strange blonde who spoke stood behind Aiyanna, apparently judging the shapeshifter to be the least threatening member of their group. Wrong. Her hair was bright, almost yellow, and the black around her eyes was smudged onto her hands.

  “Who are you?” Cael growled.

  “People who’re looking out for you sent me here,” she said simply. “My, er, boss can’t reveal an identity mainly because it would be dangerous, but I’m pretty sure a flare for the dramatic influenced the decision as well.” She sighed. “I’m not telling you who I am because it will most certainly get me killed while not helping you in the least.”

  “You’re the one who gave Briony the earplugs.” Sophia folded her arms across her chest.

  The woman inclined her head. “The wax blocks the sirens’ spell, but since you’re all werewolves you should be able to hear most everything else just fine. At least, that’s what I was told.”

  It wasn’t the first time Sebastian had been entirely grateful for his superior hearing. He couldn’t imagine being completely deaf, like Leila was whenever her cochlear implants were off.

  He’d heard Alexandre talking about it months ago. His friend had been petrified for her safety when she slept or showered, as those were the times when she heard nothing. “I can’t go a night without checking up on her,” he’d said, his eyes bloodshot. “She’s stronger than she looks, but I can’t stand her being so vulnerable.”

  Yet it was Alex who’d been in danger all along. What did the warlocks want with him?

  Sebastian only hoped that when he found out, he’d also find Alexandre in one piece. Otherwise, no one would be able to stop their pack from killing each and every warlock in Radburn’s float.

  “Since you knew about the sirens, I’m sure you know why they’re here. Those creatures don’t arrive at a party for their own fun; someone’s paying a steep price for them.” Aiyanna regarded the three sirens with a sneer of disgust. As if she heard her, one of them with skin the color of dark chocolate flapped her snow-white wings threateningly, her eyes flashing. Her singing didn’t pause.

  All of the sirens had white wings that flared from their bodies, which were likely hidden from the humans now. Sometimes they revealed their wings in order to prove they were angels, after which even immune humans generally did whatever they asked.

  Aiyanna didn’t break eye contact with the siren when she continued to speak. “So what did the warlocks hire them for?”

  The blonde didn’t miss a beat. “They thought this would be a good opportunity to collect conduits.” She raised an eyebrow in Sebastian’s direction. “Recently they lost a vast collection; this is their way of catching up.”

  Piecing together her words, Sebastian wanted to be sick. “They’re taking people from here. There are children.”

  Kids didn’t stay for the whole party, but they often came along with their parents for the first few hours. There was even a hot chocolate station for them set on a table lower to the ground so they could reach it more easily. During Mardi Gras, they would be pages, riding on the king and queen’s floats for their parades and throwing doubloons into the crowds.

  “So we take out the warlocks,” Heath said simply, rubbing his hands together. “I’ll take this side of the room with Sophia. Lachlain and Cael—”

  “No.” Sebastian didn’t want to usurp Heath’s hard-won authority, but their Head Soldier had virtually no experience with warlocks. The creatures had flown under the radar for years, and besides, their pack had only just gained a position where they would have a chance against them. Even now, with Raphael gone and Alexandre nowhere to be found, their chances weren’t good enough to warrant an attack tonight.

  If they charged the warlocks, a were would die, of that Sebastian had no doubt. After his fight at their castle, he was certain the creatures would no longer underestimate werewolves.

  “Aiyanna and Cael, you two need to incapacitate the sirens. That’ll make the humans easier to deal with.” Sebastian faced the strange blonde woman, who was surreptitiously rubbing her face, wiping streaks of what looked like flesh-colored paint onto her black dress. “Do you have a list of the humans they’re after? If we can get them away, the warlocks won’t have a purpose here anymore.”

  She paused, raising her hands from her dress and balling them into fists. “I don’t, but I think I can get one.”

  A phone appeared in her hand, and she typed something so quickly Sebastian didn’t have a chance to glimpse at the name of the person she texted.

  The blonde raised her finger.

  In that moment every one of their cell phones beeped or vibrated, indicating a new text message from an unknown sender.

  “Nice trick, witch,” Sophia murmured.

  Someone sent them a list complete with the names and faces of five humans: Two men, a woman and a young boy and girl. Under the list was a message: One has already been taken.

  Heath barked orders, spreading everyone except for Aiyanna and Cael across the country club to look for the humans. He kept to Sebastian’s plans, sending the two after the sirens.

  With almost all the human men stilled, transfixed by the band, their dates either oblivious to or annoyed with their behavior, it was surprisingly easy to survey the crowd. Sebastian found the boy within minutes and texted Heath, who had him and his parents whisked away in less than a moment.

  One down.

  His phone updated him that two more humans were found and taken to safety, leaving a man and the little girl to be found.

  Sebastian was about to check out the restrooms when the soft music stopped, interrupted by feedback amplified to earsplitting volume. Onstage, the sirens’ appearance was changing drastically. Their wings turned black while their teeth and necks elongated.

  There was nothing beguiling about these women now, and they knew it. Their anger lifted them into the air until they hovered over the confused dancers, their hands extending into birdlike talons.

  Right as he was about to intervene, Sophia sent a text through. I’m on it. Find the rest.

  Trusting his sister, Sebastian ignored the instinct to put himself between the weak and creatures willing to hurt them. He continued his search. The bathrooms were clear, but he could hear soft cries down the hall, away from the ballroom. The noise so was faint he was positive only another creature like a shapeshifter could have heard—human hears wouldn’t have picked up a trace of the noise.

  The warlocks wouldn’t have either.

  He followed the cries into an empty women’s locker room, where they became louder as he wound around walls of lockers and a dozen bathroom stalls. On the far side of the third room he entered, he found the little girl he’d been looking for. Her hands were pressed against the glass door to a sauna, tears streaming down her face.

  “I want my mama! Please take me to my mama.”

  For some reason it wasn’t her words, but the bow barely hanging from the tips of her hair that was Sebastian’s undoing. His throat tightening, he began to sprint for the door,
fully prepared to break it down if need be.

  “I’ll get you out of here,” he tried to assure her, but she only stared at him blankly for a moment before beginning to yell again. She couldn’t make out his words.

  A small sign under the handle warned that the automatic locks set at ten P.M. every night. A glance at his watch told Sebastian that was a little more than half an hour ago. Poor child. To her, that wouldn’t have felt like hours of being stuck in the small wooden room, away from her parents.

  When he moved back, gesturing for the girl to move away from the door, her eyes weren’t on him.

  They were focused on someone behind him, and becoming rounder by the moment.

  Sebastian barely whipped around before something he couldn’t see would have hit him square in the back of his head. The grinning man in front of him was most definitely a warlock. He gripped a small silver mirror in one hand while he waved the other, gathering some sort of energy that wasn’t visible to Sebastian.

  Still, he could sense the force the warlock was gathering, and the reason why shook him to the core: he was drawn to the conduit and its power, as if it belonged to him.

  He was drawn to the power before him in the same way he was drawn to fire.

  But why?

  He shoved his questions away, instead focusing on taking control of the energy before him like he’d once taught Sophia to do with fire. In ways, the tug-of-war of control was the same…but in others he found it to be severely different.

  The conduit’s magic clung to him in a way fire never had, yet the fight with his opponent was the same: it was a test of will, and the warlock before him had no intention of letting his talisman go.

  “Give up now, Sebastian,” the man said in a surprisingly reasonable tone, one Sebastian himself used at times. “You’ll only hurt your pack, Briony, and those pitiful human children by fighting us. Admit defeat now, give us back our conduit and we’ll only kill you.” He held up two fingers, his gray eyes glinting with the hidden lies within his promise.

  While the warlock spoke, Sebastian kept a tight mental rein on the conduit, refusing to let the distraction cause a lapse in control.