Page 86 of The Bodyguard and the Alpha (Witch Twins #2)

Electra

I promise. I will keep myself safe . For you .

I was going to hold him to that promise. As I met with the rest of my conspirators in the War Room and we started the first steps of our plan for tonight, I reminded myself over and over of that promise. He would be alright. He had to be alright.

“The leaked depositions have gone viral and all the news stations will be covering the press conference,” Patrick said.

“Thousands of people are already at the venue.” And once Luc and Marguerite shifted into their Beast forms in front of the media after exposing Veder’s illegal tactics, no-one would be paying attention to anyone but them.

At seven pm, Luc and Marguerite had to leave.

Both dressed in power suits, they were intimidating, even in their human forms. Billy and Sam were there to escort the extra person who would be joining them at the press event, which started at seven forty-five.

Bastien and my team would begin his escape at eight, when the world’s attention was thoroughly on the rest of his family.

After that it was just the three of us. We would leave once we knew that Luc and Marguerite’s limo had been spotted by the media outside the prison. In the meantime, we had work to do.

We sat on the floor in a circle, hands linked. Reaching into my power well I pulled on some of my magic, letting it spill into the room. Caly and Simon would be doing the same thing. “Ready,” I said.

“Ready,” said Simon.

“Ready,” said my sister.

The next step was one I had practised before, in college.

We were taught collaborative magic, but it wasn’t something I’d done since then.

As the only caster on Bastien’s team, and with my unusual power, there was neither the need nor the opportunity to work with other Witches.

And collaborative magic had its downsides.

It enhanced the power of the spell, but it could be disrupted if any of the casters lost concentration.

My sister would be doing this for the first time.

Her hand in mine was steady and her breathing was calm.

Pride filled my chest and I squeezed her hand.

She squeezed back. I almost laughed. Before our magic came in, we had talked about being a team.

Of working together. Then when she had failed the Tests, it had seemed like it had been only a childish fantasy, never to be fulfilled.

Fuck you, mother, I thought.

Simon began the ritual. Strands of magic stroked my skin. I was familiar with Simon’s magic as he had been my instructor for this technique. Caly’s magic felt like mine. He braided the streams of our magic easily. When we cast the spell, it would need our combined will to work.

A gentle voice broke the silence. “Ma’am, it’s time to go. Is it done?” I opened my eyes and dropped my hands to my lap. The braid of magic that linked the three of us wasn’t visible to anyone without magical power, but I could feel it connecting me to Simon and Caly.

“Thank you, Michelle. We’re ready.” My legs had gone to sleep while I sat on the floor so I shook them out before standing.

Our vehicle was a nondescript blacked out SUV.

Normally when Bastien left the Palace we travelled in a limo, but tonight that had been used for Luc and Marguerite.

The flashy vehicle drew attention to them and away from us.

The SUV was large enough to hold all of us and with an armoured and warded body, once we got Bastien into the vehicle there was little that would be able to stop us.

The chopper would have been faster but Luc had vetoed it as too noticeable.

I climbed into the central seats with Simon and Caly. Michelle was driving and Bea sat in the front passenger seat. Caly’s guards took the back row of seats.

The interior of the car was quiet as we travelled through the city streets, each of us retreating into our own thoughts, saving our energy for when it would be needed.

I shut my eyes, trying to calm my racing thoughts.

There were so many things that could go wrong.

We could be spotted at the outer perimeter of the prison compound.

The guards could gas Bastien, preventing him from reaching the kitchens.

But my pre-cog was quiet. I had to believe it.

Consciously, I regulated my breathing, using the techniques I’d practised for years, slowly drawing in long breaths then letting them out again.

In, out. In, out. Gradually, my mind calmed and I found the mental space I needed for what we would have to do.

Wrapping the calm around myself, I knew I was ready.

And just in time. Michelle brought the car to a stop.

“Wait here, please, while Bea and I make sure that our instructions were followed.” Money had changed hands today so that the floodlights that normally lit this area would be dark and no-one would be patrolling this section of the fence.

But until we checked, we wouldn’t know if they had done what they had promised. Crooked men couldn’t be relied on.

I opened my eyes, my gaze meeting my sister’s. “Are we good?” she asked.

My pre-cog was still quiet. Was it too quiet? Surely our plan wasn’t foolproof? There had to be some risk in this hastily developed crazy scheme. But my magic didn’t seem to think so. I shrugged. “I think so.”

“What does that mean?”

“It’s quiet,” I said.

“Then we’re good,” she said, nodding. “I trust your magic. Don’t start doubting yourself now.”

I looked beyond her to Simon. He raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to spit out whatever was bothering me.

He was calm and steady. I needed to be more like him.

Apart from the one time at the Summit, my pre-cog had never failed me.

And even then, I’d recognised that something was wrong. I had to trust it. Trust myself.

“Let’s do this,” I muttered, giving myself a mental shake. We had three powerful magic-users and four Shifters out here and Bastien could handle himself inside.

The door beside me opened, revealing a smiling Michelle. “The coast is clear, Lady. As promised. Come with us and we’ll get you through the fence.”

We were doing this. Despite the blanket of calm I’d tried to wrap around myself, butterflies began to flutter in my belly.

Relax, baby . Bastien’s voice was like a caress down my spine.

I’m so nervous I could puke .

Sweetheart , he crooned. Nothing will stop me from being by your side tonight . And, as you always like to remind me, you are the strongest Witch in two hundred years.

The night was dark, the moon hidden by clouds. Michelle was a dark blur in front of me. With her Shifter vision she would be able to see where we were going. I just had to follow her and avoid tripping over my own feet.

What if we missed something?

Then we’ll deal with it. You have my dad and your sister with you. If you were a coven, you’d be the most powerful one ever known.

He made it sound so easy. Was I overcomplicating things? Could it really be so simple to get an inmate out of what was supposed to be the most secure prison in the country? With all our power, perhaps it was. I was so used to working alone, maybe I was failing to grasp the obvious.

A thin strand of my magic was already spooling out of me, connected to Caly and Simon. Ready to be used. Ready to be combined.

The nerves in my belly settled. Bastien was right. Inside, he had the strength to pull down walls. Outside, we had the power to conceal what he was doing. The guards were looking the other way. The plan was simple. We just had to execute it.

Caly, Simon and I had to separate. Our spell would be like a net that we threw over the building. For it to have an effect over enough area, we had to be the anchor points.

Simon stopped first, at the point indicated by Michelle. In the darkness, his white teeth flashed in a smile. “Five minutes till we cast.”

Then we dropped Caly off at her spot, her Shifter guards staying with her.

Then it was just me and my own personal security.

“Three minutes, ma’am,” Michelle whispered in my ear.