“What the fuck have you done?” I growled. “Where is Lugh?”

“Oh, he’s perfectly fine,” she said. “He, like everyone else in that hotel, is simply sleeping the night away. As I’ve already said, I’m not being paid enough to kill.”

A comment that had worry stirring for two reasons: the first because she remembered what she’d said after the wall had exploded, and that suggested the compulsion hadn’t taken full hold. The second because she wasn’t running the show, and her bosses had a bad habit of murdering those who got in their way.

And we’d definitely gotten in their way.

Fear rose, but I pushed it down. Now was not the time.

But if they were dead, Vincentia would pay, blood curse be damned.

“How did you find me?” I asked.

“How do you think? I did warn you not to attempt deep control.”

“I don’t—”

“No, you don’t, because your mother kept so much from you.”

That was a truth I couldn’t deny, and yet I knew it hadn’t been done out of maliciousness but rather love. She simply hadn’t wanted to burden me until she knew for sure I would come into the family power.

And by the time I had, it was all too late.

I tilted my head back but couldn’t see Vincentia thanks to the dividing wall between us. The small sliding window in the middle of that wall wasn’t big enough to climb through, and the rear door had no inside handles. That there was no easy means of escape wasn’t surprising, but it was, nevertheless, annoying.

“Do you know why deep control of kin—or indeed, anyone—is forbidden?” she continued conversationally. “No? It’s because a tenuous bond is formed between minds. I didn’t have to follow you, dear Bethany, because I was aware of your presence at all times. I could even hear snatches of conversation.”

Conversation, not thoughts, I thought with relief. The latter could have put us—me—into dire straits, given the Eye remained neatly tucked under my breast. Just because I believed the ceremony would prevent her using it didn’t mean I was right. Especially given she’d been able to use the codex, even if only partially.

“If you can hear bits of conversation, why do you need me? You already have all you need to find the cave.”

“Because I have no control over what I’m hearing and, unfortunately, I didn’t catch all the relevant information. Better to have the source than fly blind.”

Being kidnapped definitely sucked, but at least it gave me the chance to stop them. “Why did you leave Killiney and head to the airport rather than attack us? You knew we were still there.”

“Because awareness did not mute the controls you placed on me. Coming here gave us more time to organize our trap.”

“One of those controls was for you to pass on any information about the Looisearch’s movements, so why didn’t you?”

She smiled benignly. “You told me to report anything related to the Claws, but you never ordered me to report any action against you. Which was dumb, cousin.”