I shook my head. “I don’t want to disrespect you or any member of the Seven, but I heard a lot of if’s in there.”

“I understand that,” Donovan said. He was getting emotional, and his Irish was showing a little more, making his t’s sound harder than normal. “But there’s not much choice, lass. Turning you into a wolf isn’t an option, so you’re going to have to find one of your own that will break it.”

I blew out a breath. “There’s one more option.”

“What’s that?”

The others knew Cosette was fey, but they had no idea how pure her blood was. They’d assumed she was lesser because she was here with us, but a lesser fey wouldn’t have an aura like hers. Not that I was an expert either, but I could tell she was special. “There might be a fey we can ask.” At the very least, she might give us more information if we asked directly.

Raphael grabbed my arm. “No. If she could break it, she would’ve offered already.”

“It might not be that simple.” I shrugged, not wanting to give away any more of her secrets than I already had. “There’s no harm in asking and if she can’t help, then I’ll think about Peru.” As brave as I liked to think I was, I wasn’t deluded enough to believe I could go through with getting bitten. I didn’t have a mate to anchor me, and after being bound to a fiancé I didn’t want, I wasn’t about to tie myself to some wolf on a whim.

No. If Cosette couldn’t help, then I’d sit down with Muraco and try to get some specifics out of him.

As the rest of them finished their tea and visited with Rosa, I said a prayer. Please, for once, let me find the answers I need.

Chapter Four

The afternoon hadn’t turned out the way I wanted, but that didn’t mean something couldn’t change. We stopped for food on the way back, and the sun was setting by the time we pulled through St. Ailbe’s gates.

I’d been quiet all through the drive. The trip into Austin hadn’t been a total waste of time. I knew more now than I’d known before. And knowing was half the battle.

The next step was getting Cosette to either help or point us to the fey who could. But something told me Raphael was right—if she could’ve done more, she would’ve done it already. She’d witnessed enough of Luciana’s type of witchcraft to claim that the fey would be on our side when the next battle came. Days had passed and she hadn’t said a word about any of her people headed this way, so I could only assume that there were other forces at work.

Maybe I hadn’t said the right thing. Offered up the proper incentive to get her to work her magic on my behalf. Fey liked to make bargains—or so I’d read—and I’d rather end up bound to Cosette than to Luciana or any of the alternatives.