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SKYE

L ulu glanced around at the hundreds of copper wires around us on the grass later that day. The pieces of metal glinted in the fading evening sun in the backyard. Lulu sat before them, looking better, but still tired.

“Are you sure you don’t want to wait until tomorrow when you’re strong?” Dimitri tried from where he stood with Remy, off to the side.

Lulu frowned at him. “No. A few hours won’t make a huge difference, and the sooner we do this, the sooner Skye and I can start recovering.”

Remy bristled at that word, and I shot him an encouraging smile.

After we had talked with Damien, Lulu had asked if we could work on the charmed bracelets tonight instead of tomorrow. The only problem, other than Dimitri and Remy’s reluctance, was finding five hundred copper bracelets.

Apparently copper was the best conduit for this type of magic. Lulu had muttered something about it being a war metal that imbued protection.

Actual bracelets made of copper were limited, so Ryder suggested copper wiring. He had dropped off several spools of it from the construction site a couple of hours ago. Katy, Larkin, Tate, Dimitri, and I had spent the better part of two hours fashioning the spools into five hundred identical pieces that would be used as bracelets when the planes arrived.

“How does this work?” I asked, slowly sinking into the grass beside Lulu.

She had requested to perform the magic outside, hoping to tap into the raw magic of the earth and trees as well as me.

Lulu frowned and shifted to face me. “It’s hard to explain.”

“Try,” Remy said loudly from the sidelines where he stood next to an anxious looking Dimitri.

I frowned at him.

“Take my hands,” Lulu said, reaching for me with her palms up.

I slid mine against hers, jumping when I felt the surge of energy pulse between us like a living thing. It was like getting shocked by static in the winter.

“Hmm,” Lulu murmured, looking down at our hands.

“Is that a good hmm ?” I asked carefully.

She nodded. “I can feel it. Your magic, I mean.”

“Okay,” I said, dragging out the word carefully. “So, I have magic?”

Her gray eyes lifted to mine. “You have a lot more than I expected. Maybe because there hasn’t been a Dashkov female in centuries it all funneled into you?”

I shrugged helplessly.

She smiled faintly. “You don’t feel anything?”

My hands felt warm, but that was about it.

“Not really,” I admitted. “Maybe I will when we start?”

Her lips blossomed into a full grin. “I already did.”

My eyes narrowed and I realized her skin already had more of a healthy glow, and the circles under her eyes had disappeared.

“Huh,” I said softly, looking down.

“Do you feel this?” She squinted at our joined hands, focusing on our connection.

I paused, feeling the warmth spread into my wrists. It didn’t hurt at all.

“My wrists feel a little tingly, but it doesn’t hurt,” I added, glancing back at Remy. I gave him a smile, hoping to put him at ease.

He stared back stonily, his arms folded over his chest as he watched us like his shifter form was a hawk, not a wolf. Dimitri seemed to have relaxed a bit, but his brows were still drawn with worry.

“You could power a small city,” Lulu remarked lightly. “I’ve never felt anything like this. Your power is... different.”

“Different?” I echoed.

An almost dreamy look painted on her features. “You’re like, liquid gold and honey.”

My brows lifted as the warmth spread up my arms, licking around my shoulders.

“Gold and honey?” I started to laugh.

She nodded, her eyes half-lidded and unfocused. “Yeah.”

The feeling swept across my shoulders and down my chest until I felt it curl around my heart. For a second, the sensation was sweet and rhythmic, pulling me in.

My wolf was the first to react, whining uneasily and alerting me that something was wrong.

The heat crawled up my throat languidly as the coil around my heart tugged and then squeezed.

“Lulu,” I whispered, feeling the pinch in my lungs as my heart struggled to beat around the oppressive binding of the magic.

She swayed slightly, her eyes closed now as she smiled. It was like she was on some high, completely oblivious to what was happening to me.

I swallowed down a wave of panic as the heat flared in my chest and twisted over my jaw. My lungs seized for a second.

“Lulu.” Her name came out on a whimper as I winced.

With a sharp hiss, Remy was between us and trying to wrench my hands from hers, but there was no give. Like they were fused together.

“Enough!” he snapped, ready to rip Lulu’s arms off if she didn’t let me go.

Dimitri joined him, reaching for Lulu. “Lu, stop!”

Her eyes flared open, her pupils blown and completely eclipsing her irises. My lungs started to seize, struggling to get in air. A second later she let me go.

The warmth and heat seeped out of my skin, the stranglehold on my chest and throat easing. The empty, hollow feeling that sucked out with the warmth made me shiver hard enough for my teeth to chatter.

I gasped, pressing a hand to my chest as Remy pulled me back.

“What the fuck was that?” he demanded, glaring at Lulu.

“Is she okay?” Dimitri asked Remy, still hovered beside Lulu, but his worried green eyes searched my face.

She blinked, her eyes starting to focus and return to normal, guilt in her eyes. “Skye, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to... I just...” She started to reach for my hand.

“Don’t touch her,” Remy ordered, pulling me out of reach with a growl.

I coughed, feeling cold and exhausted. “What just happened?”

“Are you okay?” she asked instead. The horror in her eyes was unmistakable. She flinched away when Dimitri touched her shoulder.

“Yeah,” I replied softly, my temples starting to pound. I lifted a hand to massage them, but the act of raising my arm was too taxing. I sagged against Remy.

“I never should have done this,” Lulu whispered, looking down at her hands.

“What exactly did you do?” Remy demanded, glaring at her like she was the enemy.

Lulu ignored him. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Tired,” I mumbled back. “Did you get what you needed?”

“Yes,” she whispered hoarsely. “More than I needed. Skye, I’m so sorry.”

“Then we’re done here,” Remy said finitely, standing and lifting me into his arms. He stared at Lulu. “Finish what you need to do and go home.”

Dimitri stood up, his gaze warily going from Lulu to me and then back. “Are you okay?”

I nodded, unable to form the words as my head dropped against Remy’s shoulder as my eyes drooped closed.

I just needed to rest for a minute.

That was the last thought I could form before I drifted away.