Page 13 of Magic & Secrets (Twisted Magic #1)
OPAL OUTPOST PROVED to be a quiet location. Not a single threat stirred in the woodlands. Except for the hushed steps of the night sentry, the settlement fell silent at midnight.
Despite the quiet, I couldn’t rest. I watched the inn and imagined Calla inside. Would she clean herself after a day of travel and battle? Was her golden hair untied from her braids and hanging loosely? Did Calla rest comfortably knowing I was nearby, or was she going mad with need like I was?
Eventually, I forced myself to slumber and silence my questions.
A dream quickly found me. I saw through Calla’s eyes.
Not the grown female who enthralled me, but a youngling version.
Unlike my earlier dreams, this one brought clarity.
I understood what was said. I recognized the faces around me.
I was witnessing a memory from her life.
Calla ran through the woodlands, chasing her sisters. They weren’t playing games but training. I heard the harsh tone of a Witch barking at them to remain focused. When the younglings turned toward the Witch, I spotted a familiar castle in the distance.
The Citadel was located within the Arbdorre Territory, north of this outpost. The castle and its land had changed hands many times over the centuries. Who controlled it when Calla was a youngling?
In the dream, I saw how Calla studied her sword. How did such small hands wield something so heavy and powerful?
Running again, the younglings were now chased by a Hyena Shifter. Rather than truly hunting them, he was part of their training. I'd endured similar trials before the Murade unleashed the Bane Shifters upon the world.
The younglings leapt over rocks and downed trees, trying to outmaneuver the larger predator. They stopped in a clearing, thinking they’d lost him. Calla looked at Enya and then Mina. Her dark-haired sister appeared ready to cry.
“Where is he?” Mina whimpered, sounding overly afraid.
Beckoned by her words, the Hyena Shifter leapt from the brush and smashed into the three younglings. Calla cried out as she flew back into a tree. Enya ended up in the air before dropping hard against a rock.
The Hyena Shifter held a mixed form: half human, half beast. He pinned Mina to the ground, snarling in her little face. She cried out, genuinely frightened despite this being part of her training. Her wails sparked waves of fear and rage within Calla.
I stared at Mina held to the ground by the large hand of a predator. My heart raced faster when a magenta mist crackled around Mina.
“No!” Calla called out to her sister. “Don’t lose control!”
The Hyena Shifter howled, staggering back. Mina levitated into the air, wrapped in the magenta mist. Her green eyes shone with the color.
“Mina, no!” Enya cried as she and Calla ran toward their sister.
The dark-haired warrior turned her gaze toward her sisters before screaming in rage.
Jerking awake, I growled at the inn. What had my dream shown me? Was I supposed to view Calla as my enemy?
I refused to do so. Whatever Mina did in the dream was the act of a fearful youngling. Bane Shifters had lashed out at their trainers back at Operation Overlord. My packmate September nearly killed two humans when he lost control of his power as a youngling.
The strange power brandished by Calla’s sister did pique my curiosity.
I hadn’t seen such magic before. However, the Hyena Shifter didn’t look seriously harmed as the dream ended.
She also hadn’t used the magic during the Lion Shifter battle yesterday.
Why had the Murade given her such power if she weren’t meant to use it?
Unable to rest after my dream, I shifted into my wolf form and explored the forest around the settlement. I wasn’t hunting for food as much as solace. Ever since the fetching warrior dropped into my arms, I’d felt as if the world was askew.
I settled in a clearing amongst the oak trees. Every time I closed my eyes, Calla’s face appeared before me. Her voice danced along the wind. Her scent covered everything.
My senses were in a free fall. How could I hunt the enemy today? My instincts misread every signal. I could barely find my way back to the settlement. Only when I concentrated on Calla was I able to track again.
Arriving back in the settlement, I met with Delta and Koda in the main road.
“The humans have offered us a farewell meal,” Koda said and glanced at the inn. “The warriors are still inside. Should we wait for them?”
“I’m surprised they didn’t escape during the night,” Delta muttered. “I doubt their masters want them working with us.”
Considering Calla’s behavior last evening, I insisted, “Rather than imagine the worst, let’s enjoy a meal before we begin our hunt anew.”
The humans did little to hide how they longed for the Bane Shifters to return to the Territories. They asked if we missed hunting troublemakers. What did a ruined mountain offer us that power and glory couldn’t?
Koda, Delta, and I remained noncommittal, saying we could only follow our pack leader and the agreement with the Murade. The humans didn’t like our answers, but they kept their complaints to a minimum.
After our meal, Koda, Delta, and I stopped by the tailor’s shop and returned the pants.
“Do you know of the castle on the north end of this Territory?” I asked the owner. “A Sorcerer once controlled the land. The Elven Empire did, too.”
“I heard the Citadel has become a school for orphans. Not sure who runs it.”
“Orphans, huh?” I muttered before considering the kindness shown by this settlement. “Perhaps, the Witch who does your protection spell can use our scent to ward off predators.”
The tailor smiled at the thought. “Leaving behind your scent would no doubt do wonders.”
Koda, Delta, and I separated to find each of the settlement’s welcome signs. We tore open our hands and left bloody handprints. Few predators wanted to face a Bane Shifter. Our small gesture might bring peace to this settlement.
Not long after our feast ended, the warriors appeared from the inn and walked toward us.
Calla’s golden locks were tied back into two decorative braids, just like her sisters’ hair.
Warpaint and an incantation were printed across their beautiful faces.
I spotted a hint of white undergarment peeking from under Calla’s chain mail and wondered what else hid beneath her armor.
Admiring her lithesome body, I tried to imagine her hair loose.
Annoyed by how my mind wandered whenever she was near, I shook my head and knocked my instincts back into place. Koda frowned at me before offering a small nod.
“Their magic twists my thoughts around.”
We leveled our gazes on the approaching females. Delta lingered near the woodlands, seeming fearful of facing the warriors who brandished the power to distract us.
Calla wore a steely expression until she locked eyes with me. Her gaze quickly heated, and an inviting smile appeared across her rosy lips. Whenever her attention was focused only on me, I felt a surge of great pride. This stranger’s approval mattered far more than it should.
As she approached, I fought the impulse to admit I dreamt of her.
If I could be honest, we might share how we endured similar pressures in our childhood training.
I wanted Calla to know I understood her.
I couldn’t imagine what she saw when she looked at me.
Most viewed my kind as weapons, but I needed Calla to see more.
Rather than confess my dreams to Calla, I only nodded a greeting. She smiled warmly despite my silence. This magic swirling around us left me wary, even as I admired Calla’s beauty.
“We have devised a tracking spell for the Wolf Shifters,” Mina announced, sounding vexed. “They still travel southeast with the Sorcerer.”
“We can track them without your witchcraft,” Delta muttered.
Without looking at him, Mina explained, “We utilized the same spell to find the Chauve Vampyres and then the Lion Shifters. Our system works. You do what you want.”
Calla glanced at Delta, who paced near the woodlands. Before I could growl possessively, she focused on me. “Will we still hunt together, or are we traveling separately?”
“We’re staying together,” I said without checking with Koda and Delta. “I’m uncertain you can handle Wolf Shifters and a Sorcerer without our aid.”
Calla smiled softly. “You were very heroic yesterday.”
Narrowing my eyes, I recalled how I hadn’t killed any of the Lion Shifters. “Are you mocking me?”
“Just a tad,” Calla murmured and grinned up at me. “We’ll get our horses and head out.”
After the warriors left us, Delta stomped over and shook his head.
“Do you truly intend to follow their spell?” he demanded of me.
“No, I plan to follow the scent of the Wolf Shifters, which will take us in the same direction as the warriors. If we catch up to the Wolf Shifters and their Sorcerer, we might end our retribution campaign within a week and return to Mt. Elysium.”
Koda glanced in the direction of the warriors before his bright blue gaze returned to me. He didn’t speak, yet I heard his question. This intoxicating, troublemaking magic might refuse to allow us to walk away from the warriors. Calla had been haunting my dreams long before she fell into my arms.
“These females know the Territories,” Koda told Delta.
“They’re well-studied on the ancient ones.
If this Ivitithi creature directed its followers to Mt.
Elysium, we should learn more. Killing the ones who attacked Haven Junction might not be enough to end the threat. The Bane Shifters could be facing war.”
Delta stopped pacing and considered Koda’s words. Though this strange magic clouded our minds and overloaded our instincts, we were clearheaded enough to recognize that the Bane Shifters faced an unknown future.