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“I’m not wrong,” Jerry sighs. “Cassian said he was going to take her hostage and then get rid of her. He needed to know what she knew, and that was it. She’s long dead, Leanna.”

I break into sobs, unable to stop myself. This is my fault. I dragged her into this.

Two small hands cup my face. “Don’t cry, Mom. Please don’t cry.”

Finn’s voice jerks me out of my despair temporarily. My sweet boy has shifted back. I hold him in my arms, trying to swallow my sobs. I hear him crying, as well. It takes a lot of effort to force myself to calm down. This is not the time to grieve.

I look at Erik. “What about her mother?”

My voice is thick, and Jerry says, “I’ll keep looking after her. Even if Maya isn’t here anymore, I will keep my end of the bargain and give her mother the best life I possibly can.”

Erik puts his hand on my shoulder. “You should go home, Leanna. You barely survived. Cedric nearly lost his mind. Go back to the North and rebuild your life. Maya is gone, but your son is here, and so is your mate. From what I know of your friend, she would have wanted you to live a happy life.”

Two fat tears roll down my cheeks, and I nod. “I know.” I take a deep breath before asking, “Have you looked into how Cassian got involved in all this?”

“He visited the East for a study program,” Erik tells me. “It was for two years. When he returned, he began working for me. He had asked Jerry if he could work in the royal palace. Nobody suspected him because he was Jerry’s nephew.”

I look at Jerry. “And he tried to kill you?”

The healer’s face is drawn. “He didn’t say anything. He simply cut me down and told Maya he needed to use her as a hostage. I still can’t understand it. But I heard him tell her about the Silver Ring Organization. I couldn’t remember much, but what I did, I told Erik. Everything else Erik and Cedric found out was from Vivian’s uncle. But even that information was sparse.”

Finn is clinging to me, and I hold him tight. “If you want me and Cedric to go back, are you saying you don’t need our help?”

“I will always need your help, Leanna,” Erik admits. “But for now we have to put a pin in some things and focus on picking up the pieces. We have identified our enemy. But the Eastern Kingdom and the Northern Kingdom have taken massive hits. There have been enormous changes in the hierarchies. The kingdoms need time to recover and heal. And I need to do damage control here.” He looks at Jerry. “I’m going to increase security around the palace, and Jerry will keep investigating whatever Maya left him with. But I don’t think we are going to include any more humans in our world. She managed to get results, but the price she paid was far too high, even for us. We’re going to remember Maya and what she did for us for a long time.”

I look at the child in my arms. Maya would have wanted me to look after Finn. She loved him.

“Okay,” I murmur. “We’ll go home. If you need anything, please let us know.” I take a step toward Erik to hug him. “Thank you for being a friend to me all these years.”

He holds me for a moment before backing away. “I hope to be invited to your mating ceremony.”

I smile at him sadly. “Of course.”

I look down at Finn and stroke his hair. “Let’s go home. We’ve been here long enough.”

Chapter 29

Leanna Avery

It’s been two months since we returned to the North.

I can feel my wolf now, but the shock of the temporary disconnect really shook me up. I never knew such a thing was even possible. It just goes to show how dangerous the enemy truly is.

I may have recovered, but there is a lingering weakness within me. Vivian’s claws had been laced with some kind of poison, which is probably what affected my wolf. The lingering traces of the poison on her claws was mixed with her blood when Cedric killed her, but without Maya and her research, there is no way of knowing what it was.

According to Healer Pat, it will take time to regain my full strength. But once I have, I don’t have any intention to just leave this matter be, even though Cedric has decided to limit how much information he shares with me about the Silver Ring Organization. I understand his reasoning, and I can’t blame him, but I’m still going to see what I can find out. My anger at Maya’s death is fueling me to do so, and I don’t have to be in the human world to start my investigation. The Eastern Kingdom was involved with that group, and that’s where I’ll start hunting. I’m trusting Erik, however, to keep looking into Maya’s disappearance.

It warms my heart that Finn has begun to enjoy his life here in the North. He grieved for Maya because he understood that she was gone and he would no longer see her. But his new life here was too exciting. As children normally do, he moved on. He still mentions her, though. Everyone has their own way of grieving. And when I see him run around so happily, I know that Maya would want me to step back and focus on Finn. But my heart aches, and her name is etched on a broken piece of it.

From the moment we returned, Cedric has been working nonstop to reduce the powers of the nobles. They protested, but the fall of the Asher household has shaken the families enough to make them remember their place. Derrick and Edgar have been given titles.

I know Cedric is busy making sure our home is safe for us, but I miss seeing him all the time. These past two months, I’ve stayed in the castle, barely venturing out, although I have called in artisans and reestablished relationships with the villagers. The castle was stripped bare in my absence, and I have to redecorate it. This time, I want it to be colorful and majestic.