I held my tongue as she took my arm. But I wanted to ask Rhea what she was doing here. Last I’d heard, she was heading out to recruit mages from around the country to build up the army the Hekate Council would need in the war that now seemed inevitable. But given the obvious tension I’d seen so far at the faery court, it made sense Orpheus would call her back to give him counsel on this delicate matter. But I could ask Adam all about that later. Right now, I needed different answers.
Orpheus led us over the bridge to a grassy island on the other side of the pond out of hearing range of the ancient vampire and her fae guards. When he turned to face us, he didn’t bother with small talk. “There’s been a change of plans,” he began. I swallowed the curse that bubbled up at the confirmation of my fears and nodded. He continued, “We’ve agreed to help Tanith if and only if her information leads to Maisie’s safe return.”
“And if she’s lying?” I asked.
“Then we will not hesitate to execute her.”
So far, that was the only part of this new plan I agreed with. “So where’s Lavinia keeping Maisie?”
“New Orleans,” Rhea said.
“That’s random,” Giguhl said. I had to agree with his verdict. I’d been expecting to hear Lavinia had my sister in some remote location in California. We never would have found out they were in Louisiana on our own.
“Why there?” I asked.
“Tanith claims it has something to do with Lavinia’s connection to the Caste,” Orpheus said. “Apparently Tanith and Persephone have been kept out of that end of things.”
“A smart move on Lavinia’s part, given how easily Tanith just rolled over on her, “said Adam.
“I don’t suppose she gave you an address?” I asked.
Orpheus grimaced and shook his head.
“Not to be ungrateful about Tanith’s generosity or anything,” I said, my voice dripping in sarcasm, “but this sounds like a wild-goose chase. How are we supposed to find Maisie in a city that size? I’ve never even been to New Orleans. Have you, Adam?” He shook his head, looking as frustrated as I felt.
“Knowing your grandmother,” Orpheus said, “I doubt she’ll hesitate to make her presence known once you’re in the city.”
“That’s comforting,” Adam said.
“I have an old friend there who may be able to help you,” Rhea said. “Her name is Zenobia Faucher. Owns a magic shop on Bourbon Street. I’ll put a call in to her.”
Well, that was something at least, I thought. “Okay, so what are you going to do with Tanith?”
“Queen Maeve is taking custody of her.”
My eyes widened. “Why her and not you guys?”
“She’s being a—” Rhea paused as if stopping herself from saying something scandalous. “Well, let’s just say she’s being difficult. She’s got her guards watching our every move and demands to be included in all our meetings. Orpheus has his hands full trying to placate her while also trying to find a new base of operations. And I’m leaving tomorrow to pay a visit to the midwestern mage communities to try to recruit some warm bodies.”
I cursed under my breath. “How do you think this is going to play out?” I nodded toward Tanith, who prowled on the other bank of the pond. Her red hair blended into scarlet leaves behind her, making it appear as if her face floated in a pool of blood.
“The Queen is quite proud of how easily she brought the Domina to justice.” Scorn soured his tone. “But you can bet she’ll be quick to place blame on our shoulders should the plan fail.”
“Of course she will,” Adam said.
“Regardless,” Orpheus said, “We’re at the mercy of the Queen’s superior resources. Namely, a tower to hold Tanith in until we know whether she’s telling the truth.”
My fingernails carved half-moons into the palm of my free hand. “I’d like the record to reflect that I think we should just kill Tanith now. She’s a liability.”
“Ditto,” Giguhl said. I shot him a grateful look. Sometimes it was good to have a minion.
Adam shot me an annoyed look. I ignored him. Someone had to say it. He never would, out of respect for his leader and his aunt, but I had no such qualms.
“Taken and noted,” Orpheus said. “But not possible. If she’s telling the truth, she could be our best chance of preventing a war we have no hope of winning at this point.”
Rhea sighed. “Orpheus is right. This is all we’ve got right now.”
“There’s something else,” Orpheus said. His already grave tone took on a don’t-test-me-on-this edginess. “I know this is not the outcome you’d hoped for. But it is imperative Lavinia doesn’t find out we have Tanith in our custody.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but Orpheus cut me off.
“No. Lavinia must believe Tanith is dead. When the Dominae guards find nothing but ashes in her limo, they’ll believe she perished. You will not tell Lavinia otherwise.”
I clenched my jaw so hard my teeth ached. Finally, I looked him dead in the eye. “Even if telling her would save Maisie’s life?”
The leader of the mage race leaned in, his height formidable and his anger palpable. “Don’t you dare imply I don’t care about Maisie’s safety. I helped raise that child like she was my own.”
My stomach cramped with guilt as I finally noticed the dark circles and tension lining his face. I’d been so wrapped up in my own challenges, I’d failed to consider that he might be as upset as me. The mages had sustained extensive loss of both life and resources when the Dominae attacked them. In addition to mourning those deaths, it had to be a major blow to Orpheus’s pride to rely on the Queen’s help and suffer her whims, especially since she obviously had no qualms about taking advantage of the mages’ weakened power structure. And while he played political chess with the Queen, he was obviously also worried about Maisie. She was like a daughter to him, yes, but as the ceremonial head of the mage government and an oracle who helped him make decisions, she was also his friend and confidante.
Feeling like an ass, I took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I know you’re doing the best you can.”
Orpheus executed a dignified nod. “Just as I know you and Adam will make sure Maisie gets home safely.”
“And once you find Maisie,” Rhea said, “we can figure out how to best use Tanith’s defection to our advantage.”
“One thing’s for sure,” I began, “Tanith won’t have a chance in hell of taking over as long as Lavinia’s alive.”
“That may be true, but finding Maisie is your priority.” Orpheus looked me dead in the eyes.
“Of course it is,” I said automatically.
“That said, if you get an opening, take it.”
A quickening began in my midsection. It was one thing to want to kill my grandmother. It was something else to be ordered to kill her by the leader of the mage race. It was like getting a green light from the universe. Then a thought occurred to me. “The Queen is down with that part of the plan?”
“She wants to capture Lavinia for questioning.” Orpheus winked. “But she couldn’t complain if you accidentally killed that bitch during a rescue attempt.”
A slow smile spread across my lips. “Now, that’s a plan I can definitely get behind.”
“We thought you’d enjoy that,” Orpheus said.
Rhea shifted uneasily. “I wish we’d had more time to train. Your skills are still too raw. Plus there are the emotional aspects of the task in front of you …..”
Up until recently, the silver-haired mage had spent weeks training me in the finer points of magic. We’d only just gotten to the good stuff when all hell broke loose in New York. The good stuff being my ability to harness the Chthonic magic I’d inherited from my long-dead mage father. Chthonic magic is what most humans call black magic. The truth is, no magic is entirely black or white. But, even on the grayscale, Chthonic magic definitely trended toward the darker side with its emphasis on death and fertility magic. I still didn’t know enough to commune with the dead— not that I was eager to do that — but I did know how to torch someone from twenty paces. So that was something.
As for the emotional aspects she mentioned—
“Don’t worry,” I said. “I won’t let my temper get the best of me.”
Four dubious expressions greeted my statement. I put my hands on my hips. “Okay, fine. We all know I’ll lose my temper, but at least I’m better at channeling my anger now.”
Rhea patted my arm. “Yes, you are. Just remember that Lavinia’s going to try to knock you off balance. Use your head and you’ll be fine.”
Giguhl threw an arm around Rhea’s shoulders. “Don’t worry about Sabina. She’s got us to back her up.”
Rhea frowned at the demon. “Wait, where’s Valva?”
Giguhl cringed away from Rhea with a hiss.
“Ixnay on the Alva-vay,” I said under my breath. After the “incident” at Fang’s strip club just after we arrived in Los Angeles a couple of days earlier, Valva had become She Whose Name We Dare Not Speak.
Rhea’s expression bordered on dumbfounded. “Sorry?”
Luckily, Adam stepped in with an appropriately diplomatic response. “Let’s just say she won’t be joining us and leave it at that.” He shot a pointed look toward the pouting demon. Rhea’s mouth formed an O and she nodded.
“Understood.”
“As much as I hate to interrupt this intriguing discussion, we need to get moving. The Queen wasn’t happy when I told her you’d want a word with Tanith before you left.”
I frowned. Normally Orpheus was the man in charge. Hearing him admit he needed the Queen’s leave worried me.
Rhea nodded. “I’ll just go call Zenobia now and let her know to expect you tonight.” She excused herself to make the call while Orpheus, Adam, Giguhl, and I went back to where Tanith and the guards stood.