Page 30 of Faeheart (Widdershins Supernatural Academy #2)

Wild

“ H ow are we going to feed them the wrong information?” Elias asked, clearly confused. “We’re in the middle of the Veil, our wards are twice as strong as before, and I have no idea how to get back to Widdershins.”

“We don’t need to get back,” I smiled. “We have the witch’s glass, remember?”

“Is that what that crystal looking thing is?” Atlas said, lifting an eyebrow. “The one Councilor Vael pointed out?”

“Yep.”

“But I thought it was only for emergencies?” Caden added. “She didn’t make it sound like we could use it like a telephone or something. What if it breaks once we use it? Or it goes dark? If something goes wrong, we won’t have a way to call for backup.”

“We might not need to,” I said, gesturing for all of them to follow me.

They all stood up, keeping in step with me as I wound my way through the house.

“If we can figure out a way to force the Purity Front to play their ace too early, we can stop them before they become too powerful. And after that last attack, they’re already hurting. ”

“We barely kept them out,” Elias retorted. “And we only managed to kill a couple of them. If they come back, they’ll bring their strongest enchanted items and forbidden magicks. We won’t stand a chance.”

“That’s the point,” I said, leading our group down a winding corridor that seemed to shift subtly as we walked, the mansion responding to our intentions. “They’ll bring everything they have, but to the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Atlas’s brow furrowed, his protective instincts flaring through our bond. “You want to set a trap?”

“Exactly.” I grinned, feeling the familiar rush of chaotic energy that always accompanied my best schemes. “We send a message through the witch’s glass to my parents, knowing full well it’ll be intercepted by whoever’s feeding information to the Purity Front.”

We turned a corner and found ourselves in the entrance hall to the mansion. Against one wall stood the pedestal holding the same large crystal orb we’d seen upon arriving. It pulsed with gentle silver light. This was the witch’s glass.

“And what would this message say?” Elias asked, his magic already analyzing the artifact as we approached. Through our bond, I could feel his mind working through the possibilities, calculating risks and advantages.

“That we’re wounded and vulnerable,” I said, stopping before the pedestal. “That the attack damaged the mansion’s defenses beyond repair. That we’re desperate for extraction. Maybe that the Elder Council has abandoned us.”

“So we lie,” Caden said, eyeing the witch’s glass with apprehension. “We make them think we’re easy targets.”

“Better than that,” I said, placing my hands on either side of the crystal without touching it. “We make them think they’ve already won.”

The orb pulsed brighter as I leaned closer, responding to my fae energy. Through our bond, I could feel Elias’s concern, his magic already calculating all the ways this plan could go catastrophically wrong.

“Wild,” he said, stepping closer to me, “if we tell your parents we’re vulnerable, and that information reaches the Purity Front, they’ll come at us with everything they have. What happens if they break through our defenses for real this time?”

“They won’t,” I said with more confidence than I felt. “The soul bond has doubled the mansion’s protections. And if we’re prepared for them this time, we can do more than just drive them away.”

Atlas crossed his arms, his golden eyes thoughtful. “We could eliminate a significant portion of their forces. Maybe even their leadership.”

“Exactly,” I nodded, flashing him an appreciative grin. “They think they caught us by surprise last time. This time, we’ll be the ones doing the surprising.”

Caden moved to stand beside Atlas, his gentle nature conflicting with the strategic necessity of what we were discussing. “I don’t like the idea of luring people to their deaths, even if they are Purity Front.”

“They killed innocent students,” Atlas reminded him gently. “They sacrificed a human to power their attack against us. These aren’t misguided activists, Caden. They’re murderers.”

I watched the conflict play across Caden’s face, felt his struggle through our bond. His natural compassion warring with the harsh reality of our situation. Finally, he nodded, though the movement was stiff.

“You’re right,” he conceded. “I just wish there was another way.”

“Wait,” Elias said, moving to stand beside me at the witch’s glass. “What if… What if my parents show up?”

The question hit me like a physical blow, my chaotic energy faltering as the implications sank in. Through our bond, I felt Elias’s complex tangle of emotions. Fear, guilt, and a desperate hope that somehow his parents might be different than what we’d learned about them.

“Elias,” I said softly, my hand finding his arm. “Your parents are part of the Purity Front. If they show up, it won’t be to rescue you.”

His magic flickered with distress, the careful control he maintained, wavering. “But what if they think I’m in real danger? What if some part of them still cares about me as their son?”

Atlas stepped forward, his protective instincts flaring through our bond. “Even if they do care, they’ve made their choice. They’ve chosen ideology over their own child.”

“We can’t risk it,” Caden added gently, his growth magic reaching out to offer comfort through our connection. “If they arrive with the Purity Front forces, we have to be prepared to defend ourselves against them, too.”

I watched Elias’s face crumple slightly, the last vestiges of hope for his family’s redemption dying in his eyes. Through our soul bond, I felt his grief as acutely as if it were my own. The sharp pain of accepting that the people who should have protected him had instead become his enemies.

“I know,” he whispered, his voice barely audible. “I know they’ve made their choice. And I know they sent those people after us at the academy. It’s just... they’re still my parents.”

I pulled him against me, letting our bond carry my love and support directly to his heart. “We’ll face whatever comes together. All of us.”

“We can give them a chance,” Caden offered, placing his hand on Elias’s shoulder. “We separate them from the rest and give them a choice. If they still choose the Purity Front… well…”

“Then we deal with them the same way we’d deal with anyone else,” Atlas said, a tone of regret in his voice. “I’m not sure we have another choice, Elias.”

The silence stretched between us, heavy with the weight of what we were contemplating. Through our bond, I could feel Elias wrestling with the reality of potentially having to fight his own parents, the people who had raised him and shaped his early understanding of magic and morality.

“Alright,” he said finally, his voice steadier than I expected. “Let’s do it. But we need to be smart about this.”

I turned my attention back to the witch’s glass, studying its crystalline surface. The artifact hummed with contained power, waiting for someone to activate its communication abilities. “So, what exactly do we tell them?”

“Make it believable,” Atlas suggested, moving to stand behind us. “If whoever’s spying for the Purity Front has been watching us, they’ll know we’re not completely helpless.”

“But make us vulnerable enough to be worth the risk,” Caden added, his tactical mind surprising me again. “They know they damaged our wards. Maybe tell them they are failing, that we’re stuck here. And I like the bit about saying the Elder Council has abandoned us. That’s a good touch.”

Through our soul bond, I felt Elias’s magic beginning to weave together the framework of our deception.

“We could say the attack permanently damaged the wards,” he said, his academic mind already crafting the lie.

“That we’re losing power daily and estimate we have maybe a week before the protections collapse entirely.

That gives us a timeline and a sense of urgency for them. ”

“And that we’re injured,” I added, my fae nature reveling in the complexity of the deception we were weaving. “Maybe that one of us was seriously hurt in the fighting and needs medical attention we can’t provide here.”

“Who?” Atlas asked pragmatically. “The spy will want details.”

I glanced around at my three bond mates, considering. “Me,” I said finally. “I’ll say I overextended my fae magic calling the spirits and now I’m... what? Magically depleted? Fading?”

“Magical burnout,” Elias said immediately, recalling what Professor Blackwood had told us the day we first bonded.

“Lead them to believe that our Resonance Stones have destabilized, that the tetrad bond is breaking down. They fear the tetrad the most, so if they think it’s weak… well, it’s impossible bait to resist.”

“That’s perfect,” I nodded, feeling a surge of excitement through our bond. “The Resonance Stones destabilizing would explain why I’m supposedly fading. And if they believe the tetrad bond is collapsing, they’ll think we’re vulnerable individually.”

Atlas’s golden eyes gleamed with approval. “They’ll throw everything they have at us if they think we’re weakened and the tetrad is breaking. It’s their one chance to eliminate the threat before we reach our full potential.”

I placed my hands on either side of the witch’s glass, feeling its cool surface hum with ancient magic. The crystal responded to my touch, its silvery glow intensifying until it cast eerie shadows across our faces.

“How exactly does this thing work?” I asked, glancing at Elias.

“It’s a modified scrying crystal,” he explained.

“But instead of just viewing distant places, it allows communication. You need to focus on the recipient and channel your intent through the crystal.” He paused for a moment, his brow furrowed.

“But using it from a hidden plane like this one could stretch its magic to the limits. There’s a very good chance it will crumble. So don’t mess this up.”