Page 24 of Incoronate
“And if he doesn’t give himself away?” she pressed. Her eyes moved between them expectantly.
“Then we’ll simply help him along,” said Dominic, his voice deceptively sweet.
“Good. Then it’s settled,” said Gabriel, his expression remaining mostly neutral, but there was a faint darkness in his eyes that suggested he more than approved of theapproach. “I’m going to do a quick sweep of the house before Caleb gets here and see if I can find any sign of a talisman. The fewer variables we’re dealing with when he arrives, the better it’ll be,” he said and straightened.
“I’ll come with you,” said Tessa, pushing back from the table as the chair legs scraped against the floor. Her plate was still half-full, but she didn’t seem to care anymore. “Two sets of eyes are better than one.”
They stood together and headed for the door. Gabriel fell into step without hesitation, his pace brisk and his posture straight as Tessa followed close behind, her hand briefly touching her stomach before falling away again.
As they disappeared into the hallway, the kitchen felt suddenly smaller. Just me, Trace, and Dominic, with the storm building outside and Caleb on his way. The rain was coming down harder now, drumming against the windows in a rhythm that matched the tension coiling in my chest. Water streaked down the glass in rivulets, distorting the view until the world outside looked like a watercolor left out in the rain.
Dominic stood and crossed to the window, his hands sliding into his pockets as he watched the storm roll in beneath a ceiling of cloud so dense it choked out the sun entirely. His reflection in the glass was dark and hard-edged, more shadow than substance. “He’ll never admit to it,” he said matter-of-factly. “When we ask him about the wards. He’ll look us in the eye and lie.”
“You don’t know that,” I argued, though the conviction in my voice was fading by the minute. I pushed the eggs around my plate without eating them, creating grooves in the scrambled yellow.
“Believe me, angel. I know.” He glanced back at me over his shoulder. The gray wash from outside carved his face in half-shadows, making him look sinister enough to mean everyword of it. “Because if I were in his position, that’s exactly what I would do.”
Trace’s hand twitched against my knee, his eyes moving between me and Dominic. “Then we make sure he knows that lying won’t save him.”
Somewhere in the distance, thunder rumbled again, only this time, it felt like a warning. Like the world itself were bracing for impact. One way or another, we were going to get answers today. And if Caleb had betrayed us, if he’d helped the Order put their hands on me, then God help him.
Because we sure as hell wouldn’t.
8. THE PRICE OF MAGIC
The doorbell rang just as the storm reached its peak, the sound cutting through the drumming of rain and the low rumble of thunder in the distance. I’d been sitting in the living room for the past ten minutes, waiting for Caleb to arrive, though it had felt a lot less like waiting and more like an ambush.
Dominic had positioned himself near the fireplace, his posture doing its best impression of relaxed as Trace sat on the arm of the sofa, close enough to me that his presence was a constant, reassuring hum at my side. Neither one of us had said very much. There wasn’t anything left to say that we hadn’t already turned over from every possible angle. All that remained now was to hear what Caleb had to say for himself—and pray to God it was the truth and that the guys believed him.
I heard Gabriel’s footsteps in the hallway followed by the creak of the front door opening. Voices carried through the house, muffled by the distance and the pattering of rain outside the windows, but I recognized Caleb’s easy tone immediately as he made small talk with Gabriel. That smooth, laid-back confidence of his, like the world had never once pushed back on him for anything.
A moment later, he stalked into the living room with Gabriel close behind him. His desert-colored eyes moved across the space, touching on each of us in turn as a cocky grin pulled at the corner of his mouth.
My stomach dropped a little at the sight of it.
“I got here as fast as I could,” he said, brushing water from his shoulders. “The roads are a mess with this storm.You’d think people around here would be used to it by now.” His gaze found mine, and the smile softened. “What’s up, Blackburn. You okay?”
“Yeah.” I swallowed roughly as though a piece of cotton had lodged itself in my throat. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t know.” He cocked his head and studied me. “You look like you’re about to cry or something.”
I opened my mouth to answer, but Dominic spoke first.
“Leave us, brother. We’ll take it from here.”
Gabriel stared back at Dominic for a brief moment, his jaw tightening as a hint of unease moved through his expression. He’d seemed firmly on board earlier, but the reality of what was actually about to unfold appeared to be sitting differently with him now. If he’d changed his mind though, he didn’t move to stop it.
After a tense beat, he gave a single, clipped nod and then stepped back and left the room without another word, his footsteps receding down the hall.
Caleb’s smile faltered. His attention shifted from me to Dominic, then to Trace, reading the room the way all Descendants had been trained to do. “What’s going on?”
“That’s precisely what we’d like to know.” Dominic’s voice was calm, conversational even, but there was an edge beneath it that made my stomach pinch with worry.
“I don’t—” Caleb started, but Trace cut him off.
“When was the last time you checked the wards?” he asked without preamble.
“I don’t know. A few days ago. Why?” Caleb frowned, confusion furrowing his brows.
