I stood under Harvard, in the tomb of my ancestors with a heavy heart, the drach leader and the lóng I now called friend standing behind me, allowing me to take the lead. While I'd already seen my mother, I wasn't looking forward to a second visit so soon after the first, not with the way I'd left things this time. Though I wasn't sure warding myself against her would do much good, I built shields between the catacombs under Harvard and the power of the North American council leader. Telling myself it was about privacy, that Mom didn't need to be part of this experiment.
Knowing I was just being a coward.
At least I had Max and Jiao with me to act as buffers if Mom did make an appearance. Mabel I'd left back at the Stronghold, though "left" might have been too strong a word. She'd let me go without her, silently, after waiting and watching as I filled Max in on what happened on Demonicon. At least with my sister. The conversation between Mabel and me, that I kept to myself.