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And?

And they offered to teach us to control and protect this place in the same manner as a full Fenna if I am willing to let you step into my spring.

If they’re asking rather than demanding, that surely has to mean they can’t break the hold you and Gabe have on the spring.

They never said that.

Well, they wouldn’t, would they?

Nocame Gabe’s comment, his tone deep and warm,but in many respects, they didn’t need to, as that was the implication of them seeking permission.Katie is this spring’s protector, and I’m hers. She might not be Fenna, but our dual presence gives us Fenna-like control over our clearing. But while we can watch over the greater reservation, we have no means to protect it. That is what they offered to teach us.

It would be brilliant if that were true, because it would definitely take some of the pressure from me, at least until my daughter was old enough to step into the position. Presuming, of course, that shewantedto step into it. Between my stubbornness and her father’s alpha, often single-minded tendencies, it was always possible she’d refuse the life I’d committed her to. God only knew what would happen then, but I would back that choice if she made it. No matter what it might cost me.

Because there would be a cost. The Fenna might not be gods, but they were powerful, omniscient beings, and probably the closest we got to them these days. I rather suspected they would not appreciate a promise broken.

Did they say why they want me to step into your spring?

This spring is newer, fresher, and far less powerful than the main one,Gabe replied.They said you cannot control the old, that you are too old, too untrained, and it would destroy you. But that would not be the case with ours, apparently.

They also said,Katie added,you will need every ounce of power you can muster if you wish to defeat that which infests this place.

Oh, that was fucking good to know.Would me stepping into your spring mean I usurp your position and become its defender?

It hadn’t with the older wellspring, but possibly only because they’d rejected me as unsuitable for all the reasons Gabe hadmentioned, although at the time that hadn’t really been clear. I’d just gotten stuck on the whole rejection point of it.

No,Katie said.It will simply allow you to use this one in the same manner as you do the older, but without the immediate danger of being consumed.

“Immediate” meaning it remained a threat if I overused it. I frowned.But I can already call to your spring’s power.

Not to the same extent. That which entwines through your magic has mostly been old.

I leaned back against the truck and contemplated the building ahead, though I wasn’t really seeing anything other than the multiple layering of bright magic that sparkled like a dark and dangerous rainbow in the heat of the day. That rainbow was definitely more intricate—more deadly looking—than it had been earlier.

Belle, what do you think?

Does it matter what either of us think? If you don’t do it, the Fenna will throw another tanty.

I mentally snorted.You can hardly call threatening to destroy the whole compound a mere tanty.

Perhaps. Doesn’t alter the truth of the comment, though.

Frustration and no small amount of angst stirred through me. While the thought of having the younger wellspring’s power at my call—without fear of refusal or a personal physical cost—was undoubtedly tempting, I couldn’t help but worry what it would mean for my daughter. I’d already bound her to one. Dare I risk further consequences—to her life, and to her freedom to choose what she wanted—by stepping into a second and possibly binding her to it? Because I suspected that’s what might lie behind this request, even if it was couched as a means of helping me.What’s your feeling on the whole thing, Katie?

I don’t like what is gathering in this place. These vampires do not care for anything or anyone other than their own wantsand desires. The killings will not stop no matter who wins their war. Their darkness will spread. I can see it, hear it, in the faint voices that rise from my wellspring.

Could the voices be telling you what you fear in order to get you to do what they want?

She hesitated. That’s possible, I guess.

Gabe? Your thoughts?

I think we need to know more about the Fenna and their power before any further decisions are made,he said gravely.For what it is worth, though, I do believe they intend to help you.

I believed that too, but like he’d already said, we just didn’t know enough about them to be certain we weren’t causing future problems.

Tell them I’ll think about it.I hesitated.Tell them to talk to me if they want me to do this, not you.

Katie’s chuckle ran softly around me.Oh, I pity my mother. Between you and Aiden, your child is going to have one hell of a wild and stubborn streak.