Damn it. He flipped the cover open and pressed his button. Click. The shouts of soldiers echoed, and the wisp of a missile being fired from the main lodge hissed through the air. It landed toward the tree line and exploded, sending debris raining down. He glanced down at the detonator and pressed it again.

Nothing happened.

* * * *

Grace worked in her darkroom, letting the familiarity of developing pictures distract her from worrying about Adare. He’d seemed fine as he set off with Ronan and Benny that morning. Maybe he’d been right, and the mating wouldn’t cause him any harm. Perhaps her cells would even make him stronger.

She hung up a picture of him to dry. She’d taken the shot back at Realm headquarters when he’d been relaxing, his hair down, his gaze thoughtful. His black eyes expressed so much, it was difficult to look away. She then developed several pictures of Faith, a couple of Faith and Ronan, and then some landscape shots she’d taken of the lake during the storm.

Humming softly, she lifted a photograph out of the water. It was one of the shots of Brian she’d taken with her Pentax. He stood in the sun, smiling toward Bobbi, his face partially hidden by shadow. It was a good shot. It was nice to have found her friends again.

It’d be even nicer if she remembered them. She hung it up to dry and then quickly developed the pictures of Bobbi and her family before moving on to the sister and Rose. There was something odd about that sister, and maybe Grace could figure it out when she saw a photograph.

Was Adare correct? Did she have sight that was special? Could she see things nobody else saw?

Her burner phone buzzed, and she lifted it to her ear, cradling it with her shoulder. “Hello?”

“Hi, Grace,” Bobbi said, her voice chipper. “How are you feeling?”

“Good.” Grace clipped the pictures into place and leaned back, taking the phone in her hand and rolling her neck. “I’m much better. How are you guys?” It was nice to talk about normal things. She’d had a stomach ache all day, worrying about Adare being shot at by the Kurjans.

Bobbi chuckled. “We’re great. Want to meet for lunch?”

Grace grimaced. “Um, we’re not in town any longer. We’re visiting family in Montana.” She hated lying to her friend, but she’d learned five years ago to be careful on the phone, even burner phones. “We should be back in a week or so.”

“Shoot,” Bobbi murmured. “Well, okay. Brian and Rosy are outside right now building a snowman, and we thought you’d like to help with the rest of the fort later today. You used to love the snow. Do you still?”