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“He also amassed a lot more across other flashpoints,” Owen said. “He must intend to use it at one of the medicine wheels.”

In theory, Owen was right, but if it were that simple, Blackstone would’ve done it already. “We’re still missing a piece,” I said. “All that energy Blackstone’s collected isn’t enough to tear down the Ward. If it was, he wouldn’t need Ailpein.”

No one told me I was wrong.

T he medicine wheel site was tucked into a remote part of the state, surrounded by dense evergreens.

We were met by the three elves sent to assist us, but the introductions were so quick, I never caught their names.

Not that it mattered—they spent all their time speaking with Ignatius, Darius, Eldwin, and Hro.

From their expressions, it wasn’t happy greetings.

I walked along the perimeter, looking for… I had no idea what. The need to always do something was a character flaw, or so my teachers always told me. They were probably right because Bart and Avie never had a problem sitting quietly to assess the situation.

Halfway around the wheel, Lysandor and Owen met me from the other direction. “This feels wrong,” Lysandor said. “Earth magic shouldn’t feel like this.”

I wasn’t as Earth Magic sensitive as some of my siblings, so I didn’t understand the concern. “Can you be more specific? What about the feel is wrong?”

“I can’t point to any one thing, but ever since Transylvania, we’ve become very attuned to the rhythm of the Earth,” Owen said. “The magic outside differs from what’s inside. It’s subtle, barely noticeable, really. I’d be surprised if even the elves could detect it.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” I said, examining the area more carefully. “Can you pinpoint where the difference is strongest?”

Lysandor closed his eyes for a moment, then gestured to a section between two of the larger stones. “There. The energy feels... contained, like it’s been redirected somehow.”

I approached the spot, my diamond stone in hand. There was indeed something different about this section—a subtle distortion in the magical field that wouldn’t be noticeable unless you were specifically looking for it.

“Owen’s right,” I said quietly. “Something’s been altered here.”

As I studied the pattern more closely, a prickle of awareness ran down my spine. My mage stone warmed against my palm, responding to a presence I couldn’t yet see. I straightened slowly, careful not to make any sudden movements, and surveyed our surroundings with heightened focus.

The dense trees surrounding the clearing suddenly seemed too perfect for concealment. We weren’t alone.

Without turning my head, I reached for my siblings and pulled them into a silent conversation. “Don’t react, but we’re being watched.”

I felt their acknowledgment through our connection. “ Where?” Avie asked.

If I knew that, I’d have told them, but I swallowed that snarky comment. “Not sure. Let’s spread out and take positions at the cardinal points. I’ll take North, Jan, you go East, Owen, South, and Avie take the West. Let’s pretend we’re still investigating.”

“Let’s go around again,” I said out loud and pointed North. “I’ll start over there.”

I tried to follow their movements, but didn’t want to raise my head. From what little I could see from my peripheral vision, my siblings were casually walking toward their positions, pretending to examine the ground as they walked.

Jan filled in the guardians, and I expected Avie would alert Elspeth.

Extending my magical awareness into the forest beyond, something caught my attention.

Or rather, it was the lack of something.

Dead spots didn’t occur naturally, so these were carefully constructed to hide something…

or someone. I didn’t want to probe too hard because that would alert them before we were ready.

“Dead zone outside my area,” I said through our link. “It’s subtle and well made. These aren’t novices.”

“Same to the South,” Owen said. “It’s large enough to hold multiple people.”

“At least two mages to the West,” Avie added. “Like you said, whoever did this has some talent.”

“Big empty space to the East,” Jan reported. “Appears they’ve got us surrounded.”

I took a slow, deep breath, weighing our options. “Did we alert everyone else?”

“I took care of it,” Avie said. “They’re ready for an attack.”

The fact that whoever was out there hadn’t attacked was concerning.

It didn’t make sense to just observe us, not with the level of work that went into concealing themselves.

Which meant they were probably waiting for reinforcements.

“We should force their hand. I don’t like waiting for them to decide when to attack. ”

“Agreed,” Avie said. “The Guardians and the elves are ready to support us. I suggest a wide burst of mage fire at the same time. The way they’re concealed, they can’t be very well shielded.”

“On your mark,” Jan said.

“Ready,” Owen chimed in.

I debated whether to use lethal force or not, and decided not to hold back. “Say when.”

Keeping my gaze down, I pretended to run my stone over a specific location. Any decent mage watching would know I wasn’t doing anything of substance, so it was with relief I received Avie’s signal.

“Now!”

White, green, purple, and blue energy exploded from inside the circle.

Surprised shouts came out of nowhere, followed by groans of pain and angry curses.

The surrounding trees suddenly appeared full of mages and gems. We were outnumbered, but it appeared we’d taken more than a few out of the fight.

Some of those who faced us were not as steady on their feet as they should be for entering a mage fight.

A volley of spells flew toward us from all directions.

“Incoming!” someone shouted as I raised my shield.