“What?” She let her glass hover in the air. “Would it be better if I called them intensely powerful cadavers that will widen the eyes of our foe?”

Jack sighed and shook his head, clinking his glass off of Zorn’s. “Odd taste in women, bro. That’s the last word on it. Odd taste in women.”

Kieran smiled, bittersweet. His gaze glued to Alexis’s face. Tears shone in her eyes.

“It’s not too late to get to safety,” he said quietly, and almost believed it.

She glanced at Mordecai, and then Daisy. “I would’ve taken you up on that for them…if they would’ve let me.” Her eyes hit his again and a tear trailed down her cheek. “I love you. I didn’t say it last night because of all the stuff happening, but I love you. I wouldn’t be anywhere else but at your side. We will live to see the sun set tomorrow. We will. All of us will.”

“See that?” Bria said in the background. “See my restraint there? She said the L-word, and I said nothing.”

“You’re saying it right now. Not cool,” Donovan said.

Kieran leaned over and kissed Alexis’s sweet lips. He ran his thumb across the glistening trail on her cheek…and prayed she was right.

33

Valens

Pinks and oranges exploded across the early morning sky, illuminating the trash-strewn beach. All of the fisherman and surfers had cleared away in anticipation of Valens’s visit. Rocky sand crunched under his battle boots.

If Kieran’s people were any good, Valens knew his son would confront him here, this morning. He no longer had any doubt that Kieran had taken down his spirit hunters and collected a ramshackle army, pieced together from old friends, cheaply hired guns, and men and women stolen from Valens’s ranks. He’d be prepared.

So would Valens.

“Sir.” Amber stalked up to him with her phone in hand. Valens’s portly Necromancer followed her at a distance, his long beard swaying in the sea breeze.

First thing was first—Valens needed to make sure part of Lyra’s ungrateful spirit, that of her selkie skin, still resided in that box, as it would for all of eternity. Then he would deal with his son.

His heart beat faster than it had in…years. Decades.

Her skin’s spirit better be in that box.

And the box better still be there.

“The Tunnel Street warehouse has been destroyed,” Amber said as she reached him. “Exploded.”

Rage bubbled up from deep within him. He didn’t let it show on his face. He turned and faced the ocean, his eyes focused on the horizon. “That’s unfortunate.”

“The other warehouses have been secured.”

“Those aren’t of value in this situation. Clearly he knows that.” Valens barely kept from grinding his teeth. “Find out who leaked the existence of that warehouse. When this is over, bring them to me.”

“Yes, sir.”

She waited just behind and to the side of him. Valens could hear the Necromancer breathing hard as he labored across the sand. The slob needed a better diet and exercise regime.

“Is everyone ready?” Valens asked, impatience clawing at him.

“Yes, sir. The beach and parking lot were cleared, as you see, and your teams are in position. Everyone is on hold. They’re waiting for the go-ahead.”

“Have you seen any of my son’s embarrassing group of magical toddlers?”

“No, sir. If they are near, we haven’t spotted them.”

“They’re near. He is the son I’ve always wanted. I see now what a mistake that was. Hindsight, as they say.”

“Yes, sir. Should I leave you?”

“No.” Valens waited for the Necromancer to reach him before moving forward. “Let me know when my son arrives.”

Kieran

Kieran stepped out of his car with a stomach of ice and mood of fire. Only two other vehicles dotted the large parking lot, both incredibly expensive—a rarity for this beach. When he neared the steps leading down to the shore, he took in the desolation. No fishermen dotted the water’s edge, and no surfers rode the rolling waves.

His father had cleared the battlefield. He’d known Kieran would come.

“Is everyone ready?” he asked into the phone.

“We’re good, sir,” Zorn said. “Our teams are in position. Bria has spotted a team led by one of Valens’s Elite. Valens’s people are waiting, as we are.”

Kieran blew out a breath.

“Wait for the signal,” he said.

“Yes, sir.”

Magic sang through the air. The ocean waves died down to nothing, and water pulled away from the base of the cliffs as two figures walked out toward the rocks. A woman dressed in battle leathers waited near the old waterline, facing him. Closer, he realized it was Amber.

“Kieran, good to see you again,” she said without a smile.

“Amber. Hello. I hear it took you some time to trace all my dead ends. Are you losing your touch?”

“Not at all. You’re just that good.” A tiny smile graced her lips. “Not quite good enough, though.”

He smirked at her and continued on. “I bet you wish you believed that.”

His father was standing at the box Kieran had planted, covered in pictures of Kieran’s mother when she was in the hospital. One of Kieran’s mermaid friends had waterproofed it.

Kieran stopped twenty feet away. His father could move fast, and he’d be hopped up on adrenaline. Kieran didn’t want the meeting ending before it had begun.

“Not what you were expecting to find?” Kieran asked, changing the air currents so his voice carried.

His father straightened much too slowly, clearly fighting the rage that no doubt filled every ounce of his being. “Where is it?”

“Buried.”

Valens turned to him slowly. “And the spirit?”

“Released. The magic had to be constantly reapplied. The spell would have completely dissipated after three weeks.” Kieran widened his stance, something he knew would translate to his father as a show of power. “But I didn’t need to wait. The Necromancer’s magic was applied with air. Take away the air…”

Valens didn’t so much as twitch. “Your Necromancer is a clever girl.”

“Yes, she is. But she wasn’t the one who figured it out. It was the woman who holds my mark.”

There it was: tightened shoulders. Emotion had finally slipped into his father’s bearing.

“Alexis freed my mother,” Kieran pushed, anger rising. “Do you feel any remorse for what you did?”

“What I did?” Valens took a purposeful step forward. “And what did I do?”

“Trap her on that island without her skin. Torture her. Leave her to rot.”

His father tsked. “I left her there with you. Is your presence really that torturous?” He took another step forward. His shoulders hadn’t relaxed.

“I ask you again, do you have any remorse?” Kieran ground out, pain cutting through him.

His father smiled, an expression that didn’t reach his eyes. “Remorse? Yes. I have a lot of remorse. Had I known the sniffling weakling you would become, applying a mark to a poor nothing who will only bring shame and ridicule on this family, I would’ve stomped on you as a baby and taken my sweet time making that bitch mother of yours suffer for what she did. Torture? She didn’t know the meaning of the word. She had a cushy life compared to what I wished to do to her. I didn’t get to dole out the punishment she so aptly deserved. Yes, I have remorse. Some of which I’ll ease with your death.”

Kieran couldn’t help his mouth hanging open at the raw vehemence in his father’s tone. At the harsh and brutal words he had for the people he’d once loved and cared about, Kieran included.

“That poor nothing keeps me level,” Kieran forced out through suddenly numb lips. A strange ache formed in his middle, intensifying the pain from moments before. “She keeps me from turning into you.”

His father laughed. “Then she keeps you at a disadvantage.” Another step, closing the distance, fighting to keep his rage in check. The magical energy battering Kieran was almost a palpable thing. “It was a mistake, tampering with that box. I might’ve forgiven you for killing my men and corroding my staff. Your skills are impressive for one so young and inexperienced. I could’ve used you. But this…” He swept his hand to the side, indicating the box. “This is too far.”

“Just think, I could’ve lived my whole life in your shadow.”

Without warning, his father raced forward. The waters fell in behind him, the doddering old Necromancer forgotten.

Kieran barely had time to send out the blast of emotion that would summon his people.

It had begun.

34

Alexis

Kieran’s signal blasted through me. Adrenaline pulsed through my body.

“Let’s go, let’s go!” I slapped the side of the old yellow school bus filled with animated corpses before running to my BMW. We’d set up camp in the parking lot of a thankfully closed swanky restaurant, close to the beach.

“Show time everyone. Buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy ride!” Bria pulled the lever to close up the bus. Though she’d never driven one before, she’d offered to drive. She’d asked, “How hard could it be?”

I didn’t know, which was why I was taking my car. I wanted to make sure one of us made it there alive.

“Kids, get clear.” I pointed at Mordecai and Daisy, jogging toward my car. I’d told them we’d discuss the plan before piling into the car.

Now they were seeing the real plan, which was for me to leave them behind to make sure they were safe.

“Stay alive.” I sat into the BMW, ripped the door shut, and locked the car. Daisy reached the back door and yanked on the handle. I cracked my window so they could hear me but not reach in. “You have my bank account info.” I started the car as Mordecai reached the other side, his face panicked. He didn’t want me going off to battle without him.