[This post is from Hecate’s point of view.]
The weight of their gazes was heavy on her, but no gaze was as heavy as Phelan’s. The shock in his eyes almost had physical weight and Hecate looked away, down at her hands. She swallowed hard, uncertain whether she should say more than she already had.
Thom cleared his throat quietly. “So what does this all mean, exactly? Clearly we have another problem on our hands to deal with but that’s not exactly new, is it?”
“Nope,” Tala said, fixing a plate of food for Seamus—one he’d likely eat, whether he wanted to or not. “Sounds like it’s older and deeper than any of us realized, too.”
“Just like this this tends to be,” Marin said, shaking her head slowly. “At least it maybe solves the mystery about where to find Persephone.”
“It does,” Hecate said quietly. “That should put J.T. a little more at ease.”
“It should put you more at ease, too,” Matt murmured. She shivered slightly.
I wish it did, but it doesn’t. She closed her eyes, resting her head against his shoulder and neck.
“If our theory is right, anyway,” Seamus said. He took a slow sip of tea, wincing slightly as he lowered the mug. “I could be wrong.”
“You’re not,” Phelan murmured. “Your instincts on this sort of thing are too good.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I should go find J.T. and tell him.”
“There’s nothing to tell right now,” Marin said. “We only know where they are—kind of—but they don’t seem to be coming after us yet, right?”
“They will,” Hecate said softly, trying to steady herself. The words were her anchor. “He’s playing with fire out there, with the dirae. I don’t know how he learned their song, how to control them, but he did. There’s only one reason he’d be playing with that kind of power and it’s to take revenge.” Her gaze flicked toward Seamus for a few seconds, then over to Thom and Marin. “We know who he’ll come for, we just don’t know when.”
