Necromancist (Seven Forbidden Arts 6)

She was scraping the food into the trashcan when she felt him reenter the room. She didn’t have to turn to know he was standing behind her.

Moving past her, he took the plate and knife from her hands. “I’ll finish up in here and take out the trash. Go get your things. Cain is waiting outside.”

They landed in Cape Town ten hours later. The pilot of their private plane, a man who’d introduced himself as Bono, taxied them to a private hangar where three cars waited. It was winter in the southern hemisphere, and the day was bleak and freezing cold.

Alice pulled her coat tighter around herself as she walked down the runway with Ivan, Cain, and his team. A man and woman stood in front of one of the cars. The woman was young and very pretty with shiny black hair and shockingly blue eyes. In terms of build, the man looked like he could be on Cain’s team. His muscles bulged under his T-shirt, and a green camouflage jacket stretched across his broad shoulders. He had his arm draped protectively around the woman, who was dressed in black. She had to be Nicolas’s sister.

Cain stopped in front of the couple and extended a hand. “Lily.” His smile was warm, sending a pang of envy to Alice’s heart. “It’s good to see you. You look well.” He turned to the man. “Jacob, you know my team. Let me introduce you to Ivan and my daughter.”

Lily and Jacob offered her a polite greeting as they shook hands.

“I’m sorry about your brother,” Alice said.

“So am I.” Lily stared up at Cain with a look of steel in her eyes. “I want to know everything.”

The rare smile remained on Cain’s lips. “We’ll talk at the house.”

In the car, Alice was quiet. She was glad to be here, not only from a safety point of view, but also because she wanted to be here for Ivan. The atmosphere between them was still tense, but he’d taken the place next to her in the back and held her hand while they drove. For now, she tried not to think about Henry or her answer. When all of this was over, she’d focus on her future.

They drove to a two-story, Cape Dutch style house in the middle of a vineyard overlooking the city and the bay. A small welcoming party of two women and a man waited on the front porch. They all greeted each other warmly, leaving her cold. This was the part of Cain’s life Alice and her mother had never known. She observed the group with a detached feeling. Ivan wasn’t next to her to ground her like his presence usually did. He and Bono were offloading the luggage and carrying it into the house.

A man with blond curls that clashed with his dark brown eyes took Maya in a hug. “Nostalgic to be back in the Cape?”

He kissed Maya’s lips so tenderly Alice had to look away.

“This is Timothy Fardel,” Cain said next to her, “Maya’s husband.”

Tim shook her hand, his gaze curious. “Pleased to meet you.”

She was introduced to Katherine and Asia, Lann and Sean’s wives, before Lily led them inside to a spacious lounge.

“I hope this will do,” Lily said. “It’s all we could find to rent on short notice.”

“Security?” Joss asked.

“Taken care of,” Tim said.

When they were all seated, Lily turned to Cain. “Now, tell me everything. My father said Nicolas died at birth.” She glanced at Jacob, who squeezed her shoulder and gave her a supportive smile. “I can’t believe he kept him away from me all these years.”

“Nicolas worked in your father’s research lab in Costa Rica,” Lann said. “But it’s impossible to say for how long or where Godfrey kept him before.”

“I met him,” Kat offered, her smile sympathetic. “He was a very kind person.”

Lily nodded. “Cain said he helped you escape from that lab.”

“When we were attacked, he helped me get out of the building. Without him, we wouldn’t have had the cure that made it possible for me and Clelia to have children. I’m really sorry, Lily. Nicolas didn’t deserve to die.”

“Can’t say the same for my stepbrother Adam, now, can we?” Lily said.

Lann tensed so much the veins in his neck popped out.

Lily turned her eyes on the quiet dark blonde with the cute freckles. “You met Nicolas too, Asia.”

Alice didn’t miss the way Sean took his wife’s hand and rubbed a thumb over her knuckles. The experience had to have been an unpleasant one for Asia.

“I did. I met both him and Godfrey, actually.”

“My father?” A flash of pain invaded Lily’s features for a second before she replaced it with a smile. “Eve tells me we have something in common.”

Lily pulled her blouse away to reveal a small, round scar on her shoulder. Jacob put the fabric back in place and threw an arm around her shoulder, covering the mark with his palm. If that wasn’t guilt Alice saw in his face, she didn’t know what guilt was. Lily gave him a quick peck on the cheek, as if she needed to reassure him.