Unmade (The Lynburn Legacy Book 3)

at him Kami looked away.
    Lillian Lynburn, Ash’s mother and Jared’s aunt, the woman who still regarded herself as the Lynburn who should rule the town, was standing at the mantelpiece. She started slightly when she saw Kami’s father; Kami was glad to see she still felt guilty about putting Ten in danger.
    â€œJon, Kami,” she said, and sounded slightly proud that she remembered both their names.
    â€œIt’s Lydia, isn’t it?” Jon asked. “No, don’t tell me, I’ll get it. It’s Laini, I’m almost positive.” He went over to Angela and Rusty’s sofa. “Move, you lazy brats,” he said, and when they made room for him he patted Angela’s shoulder.
    Holly was standing at the window with Henry Thornton, the sorcerer newest to Sorry-in-the-Vale, the stranger from London who had come to help them for no reason other than that Kami had asked. He looked worried as usual, but he was leaning against her a little, and she was smiling—at him, at Kami when she came in, and all around. Looking at Holly’s determinedly sunny smile made Kami feel stronger.
    There was no place for Kami to sit, but she didn’t want to sit. She walked over to stand at the mantelpiece beside Lillian.
    Lillian gave her a faintly quizzical look, down Lillian’s aristocratic nose since that seemed to be the only way Lillian knew how to look at people, but she did not object to Kami’s presence.
    â€œHere’s the situation,” said Jared. “Rob talked to me about his plans, and he said we had no idea what was coming.”
    â€œDid he get any more specific than that?” Angela asked skeptically.
    â€œHe said,” Jared said, and hesitated, his voice changing. “He said, ‘So many people are going to die.’ ”
    There was a pause.
    â€œI don’t want to make jokes about people dying, since people actually are,” said Rusty. “But doesn’t it sound like a fairly standard evil overlord speech? ‘Mwhahaha! You have no idea what you’re dealing with, Mr. Bond! You have gravely underestimated me. You have no idea of the depth of my iniquity! Tremble, for you and all the puny forces of good will be utterly vanquished.’ Et cetera, et cetera, megalomaniacal cackle optional. Does Rob have a cat to stroke?”
    â€œHe’s not great with animals,” said Jared, mouth curling up at one side. “I take your point. But he seemed so smug, so sure. He told me I didn’t understand yet. I really believed that there was something else he knew and didn’t want me to know, but couldn’t resist crowing about. When he was torturing me—”
    Kami felt Ash’s distress flicker through her, like a scarlet fish through clear blue water. “You don’t have to talk about that,” Ash said.
    â€œWait,” said Kami. She remembered how Jared had perceived the goodness in Holly before she had; if he thought there was something more to what Rob had done or said, she trusted his instincts. “Rob once said, to Jared, when we were linked—”
    Jared flinched, and the sudden movement caught her eye. They looked at each other for a painful minute.
    Kami swallowed and continued, “Rob said that enough magic could do a lot of things. He said that it could make you live forever.”
    Lillian raised her eyebrows.
    â€œIt can’t,” she said sharply. “Theoretically, magic could do that once, but the whole town could submit to Rob, he could demand sacrifices four times a year for ten years, and he would still not have enough power to make himself immortal. It’s not a reasonable concern.”
    Lillian was the expert on magic, the sorcerer who had been trained to lead Sorry-in-the-Vale. Kami had only known that magic existed for a handful of months. She didn’t know how to argue with Lillian, but she did know that she wanted to try.
    â€œHe asked for his first