Hearing the shuck snort and shake its head, like something was jammed up its nose or something, Jonas paused a moment to shoot it an exasperated look. Turning back to Harper, he went on, “I was rather hoping Alethea’s ‘death’ would make you and Knox suspects, considering how much you both detest her, but—alas—that did not pan out.” His eyes flicked to the hellcat. “I should really give Alethea the credit for bringing Drew to our side. I have to say, you don’t look very surprised to see him, Harper.”

“You made a mistake taking him to the house and showing him the prison in your basement,” said Harper.

“Ah, so you found a way to untangle the spells.” Jonas gave a delicate shrug. “No matter.”

Well, it seemed to matter to dear old Charles—he looked pissed that someone had undone his work.

Harper’s eyes helplessly slid to Asher as she reached out to Knox. Alethea is alive. The incorporeal posed as her on the YouTube clip.

Anger crashed into her consciousness. That bitch, he growled. We’re close.

Clenching her fists, Harper felt her nails digging into her blistered palms; the pain distracted her from the debilitating fear. “I thought it was the Four Horsemen. Alethea would make that five.” He gave her a look that questioned her intelligence, and her brow knitted as she suddenly recalled something. “Isla recruited Roan after she started the campaign to be Monarch. He was never really a Horseman, was he?”

“Oh, he was a Horseman,” said Jonas. “He was the one who came up with the pathetic name. He would have branded us the Five Horsemen if he’d known I was involved.”

“Why didn’t you tell him?”

“I didn’t trust him not to keep his mouth shut. He wasn’t as easy for Isla to recruit as you might have thought. It wasn’t that he felt any loyalty toward you. But he did fear Knox. I’m sure you noticed that Roan was somewhat egotistical. Isla appealed to that; told him that she, Alethea, and Nora needed a man to help them; that they’d been looking for someone who they thought was strong, smart, and brave enough to help them take Knox on. He practically rolled over in delight.” Jonas sighed. “So easily manipulated. But then, so were Isla and Nora.”

It was Jonas who had started and led the group, Harper realized. “I don’t think Roan was the only person scared of Knox. I think you’re pretty terrified of him. You sat back and let the other Horsemen take all the risks. Hell, you basically set them up as sacrifices. And now you’re here with your sister and a practitioner to hold your hand—not to mention you have an incorporeal, a shuck, and a hellcat to protect you.” She gave a snort of derision. “Oh yeah, very brave, Jonas.”

Face tightening, he cut his gaze to the incorporeal and tipped his chin. The entity abandoned Heidi’s form, fading and then bursting into vapor. Harper winced as she felt a sudden pressure against her mind; like knives trying to slice through her skull. Then the pressure abruptly disappeared, and the vapor jerked back, obviously hurt by her psychic shields. It whooshed through the air and plunged into Charles, who blinked rapidly, but it didn’t seem to take control of him; simply needed to hitchhike on him.

Looking put-out, Jonas pressed his lips together. “I had a feeling you’d be too strong for it to possess you. Shame.”

With a snarl, her inner demon lunged for the surface, making Harper’s eyes bleed to black. “What do you want?” it asked.

Jonas’s eyes flickered. “Mostly, we want to see Knox die. Killing his mate and child is just a bonus.”

The demon laughed—a dark, unnerving sound that seemed thick with power. “How very foolish you are. You started a war you stand no chance of winning, and you are too dimwitted to see it. I look forward to watching you and your sibling plead for death.” Satisfied by the apprehension that flashed across his face, the entity retreated.

“Your demon is clearly very confident that Knox will save you,” Alethea said to Harper. “You yourself appear to be quite calm for someone who is caged and unable to protect your son. Relying on Knox to save you, sphinx?”

Calm? Harper was so far from calm it wasn’t even funny. She was also fighting the urge to plead with them to leave Asher be. Begging them wouldn’t work. They would get nothing but sick satisfaction from it. Her only hope was to seem confident in his ability to protect himself. “Asher isn’t as helpless as you seem to think he is.”

“Because he can raise a shield?” Alethea scoffed. “That doesn’t make him invulnerable. But don’t worry, we’re not quite ready for you both to die yet. Not until Knox is here to watch the show.”

Harper shot her an incredulous look. “Are you out of your mind? Seriously? You can’t kill Knox. And he’s not going to let you hurt us. As plans go, this one is a total flop.”

“Oh, I don’t think so,” said Alethea. “You escaped the jet, but the others didn’t. They’ll be badly hurt. I doubt that even Knox could walk away from a magick-induced plane crash without being severely wounded.” And the idea of that appeared to delight her.

Harper’s demon bared its teeth, wanting to wrap one of the ropy vines around the little bitch’s neck. They wanted him weak, Harper thought. Well, they hadn’t got what they wanted, but she didn’t let her satisfaction show in her expression.

Asher clapped, chuckling to himself, eyes on the encantada.

Alethea looked from him to Harper, brows knitting. “Why is he clapping?”

“He seems to find you funny.” Though fuck if Harper knew why.

Alethea’s face hardened. “Does he now?” She took a step toward him. Although Jonas snapped out his arm to bar his sister’s path, Harper found herself snarling.

“Bitch, you try to touch my son and—”

“You’ll do what?” Alethea asked, hiking up an amused brow.

“I never said I’d do anything. I won’t have to.”

Alethea faltered—hell, even Jonas and the practitioner seemed a little spooked by the sheer confidence in Harper’s voice. That was good, because it meant they hadn’t sensed that deep inside she was screaming.

“Do not advance on him,” Jonas told his sister. “If we make any quick or aggressive movements, he’ll pop up the shield.”

Alethea gave a dismissive flick of the hand. “I have it on good authority that he’s not very strong. I could probably punch right through it.”

“I’m not sure I’d ever describe Sherryl Malloy as ‘good authority’,” said Harper.

Alethea’s eyes narrowed. “So, she told you about our ‘friendship’ during that interrogation you subjected her to.”

“We didn’t see the clip of the interrogation, since neither of us were in the Underground at the time it was aired,” Jonas told Harper. “But I certainly heard about it from my sentinels. They were rather surprised and impressed by your voracity.”

A snort popped out of Alethea. “Killing a person who is bound and tied is easy. That doesn’t require power.”

But the interrogation hadn’t been a show of power. It was a warning not to fuck with Harper and Knox. And it seemed that the siblings were refusing to heed that warning. They weren’t willing to deviate from the plan they’d put in place years ago—they may have felt they’d come too far to turn back. Of course, they probably wouldn’t be feeling quite so confident if they didn’t have their minions with them.

Alethea sighed at Jonas. “You can move your arm—I won’t approach the child. You’re right; it would be best not to risk him raising his shield. We want Knox to be afraid for himself, his mate, and their spawn. But he won’t be so afraid for his son’s life if the child is safe within his shield.”

Barely stopping herself from grabbing a fistful of her hair, Harper lifted her chin. She wouldn’t show them her fear or desperation. No way. “Wise decision on your part.”

“Back to the subject of Malloy’s interrogation,” began Jonas. “Your video clip had the desired effect, Harper. People received the message loud and clear. That’s not good for us, since it is us they need to fear. We’re going to make a video of our own. A video of my sentinel and Drew’s hellcat ripping apart your son while both you and Knox are helpless and can do no more than watch.”