“What about during a lunar eclipse?” Talbot asked. “Aren’t our powers supposed to increase tenfold? Maybe if you could channel enough of the moon’s power during an eclipse, you could do a lot of good for a lot of people.”
“Or a lot of damage, if I wasn’t careful.” I looked down at my hands, thinking about how they could be weapons even more dangerous than the broadsword.
Talbot reached out and grabbed my free hand by my fingers. He drew it close to him and placed it over his heart, pressing it against his chest with his own. “Maybe you could heal the aching I feel inside my heart when I look at you.”
“Talbot. Don’t.” I pulled my hand out from under his and started to turn away.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have done that. I get it. You’re Daniel’s, and he’s yours. You’re the perfect match. But I still want to be a part of your life, Grace. Any way I can.”
“I don’t know how that could work,” I said, and stepped away.
“Hey, Talbot?” the young Urbat with the shaved head called from the lawn. “Is this right?” He swung the knife with an upward jab.
While Talbot’s attention was turned away, I took the sword and went into the farmhouse to join Daniel and the Elders at as they huddled over a drawing of the battlefield.
And I didn’t look back.
FRIDAY EVENING, TWENTY-NINE HOURS TO GO
We kept working until the sun started to set, and Gabriel announced that he and his pack were going to retire into a meditative state—as was their custom on nights when the moon was full. He told me it would be best if I took my family home, and we could resume preparations in the morning.
Mom, Dad, and Charity piled into one of the Escalades driven by Daniel, but Jude told me he wanted to be locked up for the night again.
“There’s an empty silo in one of the adjacent fields,” he said. “I can sleep there tonight during the full moon, and you can let me out in the morning.”
The idea of his not going home again with the family made my heart feel heavy, but I didn’t fight him on it. We walked silently together out to the silo. Before Jude could close the door between us, I pressed the moonstone pendant into his hand.
He folded his fingers over it and closed his eyes with a sigh so heavy I suddenly felt guilty for keeping the stone to myself all day.
“Today was a hard day, Gracie,” Jude whispered.
“I know. It’s a lot of work, but we’re getting closer to being ready for the ceremony. And we’ll get James back.”
“The preparations weren’t the hard part for me. I almost welcome the ceremony because it’s something I can focus on. It’s thinking beyond it that’s so hard. How can I ever hold James again and not burst from guilt, knowing that what happened to him was because I brought the Shadow Kings into our lives in the first place? And I have no idea how I’m going to go back to school, or walk into the parish during one of Dad’s sermons, and pretend to be normal again. The idea of it is just so hard.…”
I nodded. I’d felt the same things to some lesser degree, but I knew that didn’t really compare to how difficult it must be for him. “You can do it, though. I know you can.”
He gave the slightest nod and pulled the heavy silo door closed. I hoped my words hadn’t echoed empty in his mind.
Chapter Thirty-four
WHERE SOUL MEETS BODY
FRIDAY NIGHT, TWENTY-SIX HOURS LEFT
When I pulled into the driveway of our house, I saw Daniel balancing up in the highest branches of the walnut tree. It almost looked like he was trying to reach out and touch the bright yellow moon above him. His head was tipped back, allowing moonlight to bathe his beautiful face. He opened his mouth, and I was almost afraid he was about to send a great howl into the night—but instead, he simply said my name as I approached.
“Are you okay?” I called up to him.
“I can feel it,” he said, “the pull of the moon. It calls to me. I remember that from when I was stuck as the white wolf—feeling that undeniable pull, keeping me trapped. The white wolf wants me to heed it again. Wants me to set it free.”