Brilliant daylight spilled into Viktor's penthouse, and Lu marveled at the floor-to-ceiling windows. Apparently, the Rogue Minister had installed a special kind of glass that allowed natural light in but didn't cause discomfort for the sensitive eyes of Serafi. It must have cost a small fortune.
Lu savored the warmth of it on her skin. She'd always envied Nefili for their resilient bodies, their ability to bask in sunlight for hours and hours without worrying about breaking out in hives.
"Will someone tell me what this is about?"
Saran Maksimova's voice yanked her attention back to the spacious, modern living room of the apartment. The Winter Wolf lounged on a couch, her skin like dusted gold as it contrasted with the white material.
"Not until Misha and the High Keeper arrive," was all Lu said. Saran grunted, her brown eyes sliding to Jade, who stood next to Lu, peering at the city that hugged the base of a mountain. There was enough suspicion in Saran's gaze for Lu to add, "They'll be here soon."
At least, she hoped. It had already been fifteen minutes since Lu, Jade, Nika, and Ren had arrived at the lavish apartment, having been summoned by Misha and High Keeper Steele to discuss the events at Hekate's Cauldron two days ago. And, more importantly, to pry from Misha's cousin the truth of her mysterious blade. But, until Steele was present to oversee the "interrogation," Lu and her companions had been ordered not to say a word about their findings.
Her focus drifted to the couch across from Saran, where Nika and Ren sat in conversation. His brawny arm lay across the pillows into which she leaned, and an invisible force seemed to pull them together. Lu couldn't catch any distinct words or phrases, but there was something intimate about their hushed tones and close proximity that she felt the urge to look away. Ren's eyes harbored an uncharacteristic brightness, despite the injured leg currently propped on the coffee table. And after witnessing that kiss, Lu was almost certain that the rift between them had finally been stitched back together.
A bittersweet feeling bloomed inside her. She was happy for her sister-friend, but watching them conjured memories of Elliot. Of the shadow he'd left on her heart.
Scuffling footsteps echoed through the apartment before she could dwell on it further, and heartbeats later, Misha and Steele emerged from a hallway that lead to the elevator.
Jade tore away from the sprawling cityscape and muttered, "Finally."
"Thank you for coming," Steele announced, giving a sweeping survey of the room. If she was impressed by the opulence of it, she gave no indication of it. Once her eyes landed on Nika and Ren, she said, "Romanovich. I heard we almost lost you. Have you seen a medic yet?"
Ren shook his head. "I'm fine."
"Good. Then you won't be opposed to telling me all about it later." She glanced around the room. "The rest of you, too. As far as the Ministry knows, the events at the hedgewitch's shop never happened. But I still want your unofficial statements."
"Why keep it quiet?" Nika asked, eyes narrowing. "Don't you need to be on your best behavior or risk losing control of the Vigil?"
"We're at war. My duty as a High Keeper is to ensure the safety of North America's Daemonstri community, and the way I see it, the people in this room are the vanguard of that battle. The Prime Minister would demand to interview everyone involved, tip off the Fellowship of Mizelle Mitra's location, and probably place all of you under house arrest for unauthorized contact with humans and Volkari. And then there's the use of magic on Miss Lazarov's part, as well your mere existence, Nika. I don't have time for politics and bureaucracy. That is why I'm keeping this quiet."
Nika looked amused. "Well, alright then."
After finding a wall to lean against, Steele nodded to Misha, who then removed Dusha and the scabbard from his pocket and tossed it onto the cushions near his cousin.
"You lied."
Rage rippled through the words, as well as the handsome planes of his face. Unlike most keepers, Misha Kovac didn't seem fond of masking his emotions all the time. At least not when it came to matters that involved family and friends.
Saran didn't blink. She almost looked bored. The lack of reaction only agitated Misha further, and he dove into a brief, but no less heated, explanation of what had unfolded two days ago. The truth that Mizelle had exposed.
"The hedgewitch says those you're the only one who can read those runes. You know what that knife is capable of. And you're going to tell us. Now."
"You will not believe me. You will say it is fantasy and superstition," Saran countered, her lips curling back. "And why should I trust any of you? You locked me up in a basement and nearly got me sent to a Vigil prison."
Misha glanced at the High Keeper, eyebrows raised in question. It suddenly occurred to Lu that his sudden display of intensity was perhaps just an interrogation tactic.
Steele remained distant and composed as she said, "You have my word that no harm will come to you, no matter what you tell us."
Saran's expression yielded nothing but icy resistance, and Lu was beginning to lose hope in this method when Misha approached. He picked up Dusha before sitting down and meeting his cousin's forceful gaze.
"Family comes first," he said quietly but not weakly. "That was the excuse my father used to lie to me about you. Those secrets ruined my relationship with him. And now, he's dead. He took something away from me because he thought it would keep me safe. But he was wrong. Family shouldn't lie. They should fight their battles together."
A crease emerged between Saran's brows, guilt and uncertainty battling in her eyes as she studied Misha.
"Trust goes both ways, Saran," he added in a whisper. "Please. I need to know what you're hiding."
With a sigh, Saran took the knife from his grip and unsheathed it. Her long fingers fit perfectly into the grooves of the handle, and Lu wondered how many times she'd wielded it against her enemies. How many lives she'd ended with one clean swipe.
Uneasiness knotted in the pit of Lu's stomach. Part of her wanted to drag Misha away from the she-wolf, but she rooted her heels to the floor instead. Watching. Waiting. Praying.
"In order to explain what Dusha is capable of, I have to tell you how it was created," Saran finally said. "It's one of many stories known only by the wolf packs of Russia. We call them Forgotten Legends, because after millennia of living among humans, the rest of the Daemonstri world has lost touch with its true heritage."
Nika scoffed. "True heritage? Like the Oldbloods? Why does every crazy, magic-wielding woman I meet spew this nonsense?"
Ren nudged her with his knee, as if advising she shut her mouth. And Misha's warning glare promised to shut it for her, should she goad Saran again.
The Winter Wolf, however, only said, "The Oldbloods, the Shadowlands—my people believe they are real."
This time, Nika refrained from speaking. But her pressed lips and shaking head told Lu that this revelation neither surprised nor pleased her. Lu supposed she didn't blame her. She'd wanted a normal summer after the insanity of last spring, and instead she'd gotten training programs, blood addictions, and impending doom. Lu made a note of that, her mind already spinning with ideas to reintroduce some merriment into both of their lives.
"Did any of you figure out how old this blade is?" Saran said, scanning the room.
"Not exactly," Jade replied, breaking her wraithlike silence. "My sources claim it dates back to the earliest stages of history. I'm talking pre-Neolithic. And despite being too sophisticated to have been made back then, the runes, the design features, even the materials—nothing about it fits within any cultural or geographical region known to man."
"Da," Saran said with a slight grin. "But what about those known to monsters?"
"Your people think Dusha was created in the Shadowlands?" Misha asked, earning a nod in response. "By who?"
"The Forgotten Legends say that primordial, omnipotent beings once roamed the Shadowlands. They had the powers of deities and the appetites of monsters. Among them were Malric, a fire-breathing dragon, and Grimwulf, a lupine creature who stood as tall as a mountain. Malric was born of light, Grimwulf of darkness. As such, they were rivals and warred with one another for centuries.
"But they had a common enemy: the beautiful trickster goddess Velsa. Her skin was blue like a night sky, and she had gossamer wings that left a trail of stardust in their wake. Velsa seduced both Malric and Grimwulf, deceiving them into handing over their wealth and territory. Each tried to seek revenge individually, but no matter how they tried to kill her, she never died.
"But her cunning magic couldn't trick Malric for long, as he was the wisest of the god-monsters. Eventually, he discovered that Velsa had cast a spell on herself, so that she would perish only when Malric and Grimwulf buried their hate for each other.
"So Malric went to Grimwulf and offered him an olive branch, which the giant wolf accepted. To bind their accord, each sacrificed a piece of themselves and forged a powerful weapon. Malric cut off crimson, fireproof scales from his shoulder while Grimwulf removed one of his indestructible claws. Using Malric's fiery breath, they molded the scales and claw into a blade, which they named Dusha. Soulstealer. And its one purpose was to consume Velsa's spirit. All they needed to do was plunge it into her heart.
"It was symbolic, you see. Malric and Grimwulf came together to forge Dusha, so the blade's purpose would be to separate Velsa's soul from her body. To kill her. A great brawl between the three deities ensued, and Grimwulf was the one to stab her in the heart. Dusha devoured her soul, transforming it into raw power. This power burned like a brilliant blue star, and it dwelled within the blade itself."
Saran tapped the empty glass receptacle near the hilt of the blade.
"For the next one thousand years, Dusha held the power of Velsa's soul. Grimwulf kept the weapon as his own, to replace the claw he sacrificed to make it. And each time he stabbed the blade into a creature's heart, the energy of a new soul was added to Dusha's power.
"Ages passed, and the god-monsters died away. Dusha became lost until Starek, the Wolf of the Oldbloods, found it as a young boy. Many years later, during a brutal battle, an enemy used Dusha in an attempt to kill Starek. But miraculously, Starek didn't die. Instead of stealing his soul, Dusha unleashed its spirit-power until the orb was empty once again."
Saran looked around the room, meeting everyone's gazes. Her mouth twitched in amusement at whatever she found.
"It's believed that Starek was blessed by Grimwulf," she explained. "When Starek was stabbed, he imbibed Dusha's power into his own soul. The Forgotten Legends claim that, when he died, his soul split into a great number of smaller souls—creating the spirit wolves that exist today."
"And the Winter Wolf is one of them," Misha said. His cousin nodded.
Crossing her arms and slouching further into the sofa, Nika said, "I don't see how any of that relates to Capello and this war."
Saran inhaled sharply and stared at the weapon in her hands. "Dusha doesn't just steal the souls of dark deities. When the knife is stabbed into someone's heart, the soul of that person gets transformed into raw power and swallowed up by Dusha. It kills almost instantly, and no one can survive it—unless they are a spirit wolf."
Her swallow was audible.
"When the blade pierces the heart of a spirit wolf's host—like me—all of Dusha's cumulated power is released into the essence of that spirit wolf, increasing his or her strength. So, if Dusha's power receptacle had been loaded to the brim, stabbing me in the heart would fill the Winter Wolf with overwhelming strength and energy. And that kind of power is corrupting. I can only imagine what kind of damage the Winter Wolf would inflict. Perhaps turn the whole world to ice."
The temperature in the room suddenly dropped. Lu didn't know if it was some cosmic confirmation of Saran's words, or if she'd released a kernel of her power to show them just how dangerous it could be.
"Is that what Capello wants to do?" Lu asked aloud, hoping she was wrong.
Saran almost looked sympathetic as she said, "He doesn't need me because I'm the only person who can wield Dusha. It's because I'm one of a few known spirit wolves that can absorb Dusha's power. He plans to attack your people, again and again, stealing as many souls as possible. And then he'll stab me in the heart, releasing all of that energy into the Winter Wolf."
Blood rushed to Lu's head, dizzying her. This was so much worse than they'd expected.
"So he'll unleash you on the Daemonstri community," Nika said, as if to be puzzling something aloud. "But what makes him think you'll obliterate us? I may not know you well, but I know you aren't a woman who follows orders so easily."
"A trait we seem to have in common, Halfblood Bastard."
Ren grunted in agreement, adding a remark in Russian that had Saran chuckling. When Nika scowled up at him, his arm—still resting on the back of the couch—began curling around her shoulder. To pull her closer, Lu realized with no shortage of giddiness. But he seemed to remember the High Keeper's ever-watchful presence and returned the arm to his own lap.
The Winter Wolf's amusement didn't persist for long, however. Soberness settled back onto her face as she addressed Nika's question: "I'm afraid I wouldn't have much choice but to follow Capello's orders. When a spirit wolf has access to that much power, the soul of its host will be eaten, too. Right now, we share this body. But if Capello gets what he wants, she would possess me completely."
Lu didn't miss the way her knuckles turned white as she held Dusha and the scabbard. The rigidness in her posture. Suddenly, she understood why Saran had lied. Not just to be cautious of who she trusted, but because she hadn't wanted the Ministry and Vigil to see her as a weapon of terror and destruction. To take Capello's plan and use it for themselves. As if sensing the same thing, Misha placed a hand on his cousin's shoulder and squeezed in assurance.
"I refused to do it," Saran continued. "Capello chained me up, beat me and tortured me. But I never gave up the blade's location." Her eyes flickered to a frosty blue for a nanosecond. "And all along, the Winter Wolf stayed with me, giving me the strength to endure. Even when she knew what Capello wanted to do—how he wanted to violate and exploit her abilities. She could have easily unlinked herself from me to escape him, but she stayed. She fought with me. We endured every wound they inflicted. Together."
Her voice was thick, fighting back tears, and Lu's heart strained. This warrior-woman was brutal and beautiful, but still not invincible. And having been in the same position, captured by Capello and unsure of whether she'd make it out alive . . . Lu found herself fighting tears of her own.
Minutes later, it was Steele who broke the tense silence: "Miss Ramsay, how much do you think Dante Azzara knows about the alpha's plans? And how willing might he be to share with us?"
"There was definitely a lot he didn't divulge, probably because he wanted me to keep my end of the bargain. But his relationship with Capello seems pretty broken to me. And you know what they say: enemy of my enemy . . . "
Steele pondered it. "I'll give the order to ramp up the search for Azzara. Ramsay, you need to come to the base with me after we're done here. I want all the information you have on him, his known hideouts. Anything that might help."
Jade nodded.
"Are you kidding me?" Nika exclaimed, sitting upright. "She's a traitor! And she's had contact with humans. You can't let her go unpunished."
"She won't. But punishing Jade for her recent actions is low on my list of priorities right now." Steele's composure cracked a little as she added in a near-growl, "And I should think that, after your antics last spring, you would be sympathetic to her cause."
"Antics—?"
Ren stopped Nika from standing by clasping a hand over her knee—which earned a baleful glare in response.
Anxious to diffuse the sudden hostility, Lu cleared her throat and asked, "What do you plan to do with Dante once you catch him?"
"If he hates Capello as much as we think," said Steele, slowly pulling her eyes off Nika, "then he should be eager to take a deal and become an informant."
"Bad idea," Nika grumbled.
"If I remember correctly," Steele challenged, "you were the one who first suggested pursuing him."
Nika merely crossed her arms and stubbornly looked away. Lu didn't miss the way Ren caught her gaze, a question flaring in his eyes. But Nika snubbed him, too.
"She does have a point," Misha chimed in. "Recruiting Azzara is risky, given his past double-dealing. Is he really a necessary asset? We have Saran. We have Dusha. Capello can't easily attack us without them."
"Unless he has a back-up plan," Steele said. "Which is why a former beta like Azzara could be so significant. Capello must also have a list of targets, if he intended to steal their souls to charge up the knife. I'd like to make sure that all of those people are heavily guarded. As a precaution, I'll send out a quiet warning to ensure that Ministers and other prominent figures stay at headquarters for now. I'd advise all of you to do the same."
Disappointment flared inside Lu. "But I have plans to meet up with Mizelle Mitra soon. She's going to teach me how to siphon my power. And we were going to study Dusha more."
Steele's brows came together in consideration. "Do you think there's a way to nullify Dusha's abilities using magic?"
"Impossible," Saran scoffed. "The Forgotten Legends—"
"Are stories," Steele said. "While the essence of them might be true, that doesn't mean the details are. The one area where Capello has us beat is magic. The more Miss Lazarov can find out about it, the better. And if she can nullify Dusha's powers, then you no longer have to worry about the Winter Wolf being used as a weapon of mass destruction."
Saran nodded in acquiescence, and Steele regarded Lu again. "I won't stop you from meeting with the hedgewitch, but I would encourage you to take at least one keeper along. Just in case."
"We also need to increase security around Saran," Ren said. "Three keepers should be stationed in the apartment at all times. Perhaps another in the lobby. And separating her from Dusha would be wise, in the event that Capello tries to take them both."
A sharp nod from Steele. "Agreed."
"Viktor already has a babysitter for me," Saran groaned, her chin flicking toward the balcony. It extended from the end of the adjacent kitchen, its sliding door sealed shut so the burly keeper beyond didn't eavesdrop. "And besides, I can defend myself."
"And yet," Nika said snidely, "Capello still held you underground for weeks on end."
"Have you forgotten the feel of my Ice Gaze so soon, little girl?"
As Saran spoke, her eyes went glacial. The rich color of her skin and hair turned to a terrifying white, and the sound of crackling ice tore through the room. Lu gasped upon finding her ballet flats coated in a later of hoarfrost.
Nika, to her credit, didn't balk from the otherworldly transformation. Not even when a biting wind whirled around the space, sending her golden hair into a frenzy. Her green eyes almost seemed to glow with excitement. Like summer and winter, fire and ice. They were polar extremes, and their vicious stares didn't relent, as if they were charging toward each other on a mental battlefield.
Lu was too shocked by the showdown to move. But Steele slid between then and hissed, "That's enough! You, stop trying to freeze us all to death." She whirled toward Nika, pointing a damning finger. "And you, stop acting like a child who missed her nap."
The chill sucked out of the room a heartbeat later. Nika looked affronted but said no more.
With a sigh, the High Keeper said, "We'll have one guard of my choosing in the apartment, and Saran will check in with my office every few hours so we know she's still alive. Compromise, people. It's a beautiful thing."
As she called Ren into another room to get his unofficial statement of recent events, Jade shook her head at her former roommate. "I don't know how you put up with her all the time, Lu."
Lu opened her mouth to explain Nika's blood addiction, how irritability was a common behavior during detoxification. But, knowing her sister-friend would be humiliated if Jade found out, she instead replied, "Patience. Lots and lots of patience."