River Cast: Part Two in the Tale of Lunarmorte Read Free Page A

children. Since Lucien and she had no idea having sex together
would cement their ‘betrothal’ they hadn’t used any
protection.
    Yeesh.
    She was sooo lucky she
hadn’t gotten pregnant.
    The close call, however,
didn’t stop her from yearning... remembering. Not once was she able
to look at her bed without a reminder of the night she had given
herself to him; the night when for once they were in total
agreement about something, safe together, passionate, happy. The
moment hadn’t lasted long, and ever since there had been a constant
tension between them despite their ‘united front’.
    She missed him.
    “ Caia.”
    The familiar voice sent a
wave a longing through her and she turned to gaze up into his
silver eyes. “Yeah?”
    Lucien threw her a
sympathetic look, acknowledging how tired she was. “Marion’s
here.”
    She smiled wearily back at
him and stood to her feet, gathering her papers in her hand. They
walked in silence down the stairs and into the sitting room, where
Marion sat having tea, and Saffron, her faerie, stood studying her
cuticles in utter boredom.
    “ Ah, Caia.”
Marion smiled warmly in greeting.
    For the past few months
Marion’s weekly visits had been the pack’s only constant. Pack runs
had dwindled - there had been two rather shabbily put-together
ventures and even then the mood of the event had been melancholy.
School was out for the summer for Mal and the others, and Caia,
lucky to have made her finals, couldn’t enjoy graduation since
Jaeden had missed it and she had only Alexa to share it with. Plus
any plan Caia had had for the future was gone: no community
college, no apprenticeships, no job, even. Her job was here,
training with Marion, writing up reports on the activities of the
Midnight Coven. As the weeks had gone on, as her reports proved
more and more helpful, the more Marion had hinted at Marita’s
growing curiosity. The day was coming when Marita would ask to meet
her, for her to come to the Centre, maybe even take a physical part
in the war. The Centre was the main training ground for Daylight
soldiers, and because a magik’s power didn’t reach its full
potential until their eighteenth birthday, you had to be eighteen
to join the Centre. The same for any other supernatural being – it
was kind of like joining the army, you had to be a legal adult to
make that choice. From what Marion had told her it not only
involved physical training and strategising, but provided classes
on how to utilise your magik and element. The majority of magiks
taught their children all they needed to know, but the most
powerful magiks tended to be those who were taught at the Centre.
It sounded like an interesting place, and Caia would go if only to
get it over with, so she could just as quickly return to the
pack.
    “ Marion.” She
smiled back at her, and sat across from her on the sofa.
“Saffron.”
    The faerie smirked at her,
which was more of a response than anyone else got out of her. She
was beginning to think the shapeshifter liked her.
    “ So.” The
magik smiled brightly, but Caia detected the strain in that
expression. “What news from the Dark Coven?”
    Caia obediently handed
over her written report. “You asked me to look specifically for any
mention of the New York Króls. I found out that Nikolai has asked
the attack be abandoned. Too risky in light of the instability of
the Midnights.”
    Nikolai Petrovsky was the
new Regent of the Midnight Coven, and had been appointed by their
Council since Ethan had gone ‘missing’. The fact that Gaia would
not imbue Nikolai with trace magik when the Council put him forward
as the new Head, led the Midnights to believe that Ethan was still
alive somewhere. For now the Council had voted in Nikolai’s rule as
Regent. Of course they were blithely unaware of Caia’s existence.
Caia sighed deeply, and looked between Marion and Lucien, unsure of
their reaction to her next piece of news. “In fact... Nikolai has
asked that all