Page 49

R iding atop Haru as he navigated the hallways of the nest was a unique experience. The residents parted easily for us. I was sure part of it was the fact that he was a wolf as tall as they were, but there was also a deference that they showed them outside of that.

Spot of privilege being a Protector’s only chosen, Haru explained. Though I suppose I’m not the only one anymore.

“Definitely still the favorite, though.”

Haru huffed a sort of laugh.

Yelena didn’t trust the other Protectors to leave us in peace, so the only way we were allowed out of her suite for the time being was with her or Haru, and Caden wasn’t as chill about riding on the wolf’s back as I was.

He was keeping an eye on Seth while Yelena was in a meeting with the other Protectors to sort out how they could deal with the lockdown.

In the meantime I was getting a full tour of the nest. The top level belonged to the Protectors, with the third and fourth floors being general housing for the nest residents.

The second floor housed the library, gym, theater, entertainment space, salon, and spa, with the main floor housing the utilitarian spaces—kitchen, dining hall, infirmary, housekeeping, and the throne room.

I hadn’t expected the nest to be so thoroughly equipped but I suppose it made sense if they were isolating themselves from the rest of the world.

“How long can a lockdown go on?”

Three months or so. Tensions will run high long before we run out of supplies.

“You think so?”

We’re all very used to running free in the woods to work out energy.

“At least you’re all set up for indoor enrichment. How opposed would everyone be to taking on their smallest forms to get their zoomies out?”

Haru snorted, his body shaking with silent laughter as he walked. Most don’t want to be in such a vulnerable form around here.

“They’re missing out. I’d be a house cat in a heartbeat.”

I assume you say that because you have been loved and are kind to the animals in your life. Not all of us have been so fortunate.

Guilt kicked me in the chest. “I didn’t think of that.”

Haru took the stairs to return me to Yelena’s suite, forcing me to cling for dear life as he took each set in a single leap.

I punched in the code Yelena had given me to access her suite and Haru carried me inside.

With my tour over, I settled into the task Yelena had assigned to me, snuggling down between Seth and Caden with Melinda’s book.

Dozens of bloodlines were recorded, but none of the names were familiar to me.

Some of the information was repetitive, things I had learned on my own over the years with my regular religious study.

But some things were new. I learned that the origin myth for witches was that the gods had mixed their divine ichor with starlight to form the first witches.

And the shifters explained their abilities through the myth of the gods tossing fallen stars to earth, where they splintered and shattered, and filled the animals they encountered with the magic they needed to change forms. There wasn’t a lot of crossover between the two, and I needed to focus on witch history anyway, but I was curious about everything.

The types of magic seemed almost endless.

They covered the elements and a wide variety of different gifts—telepathy, telekinesis, empathy, influence.

I already knew that I had some sort of fire magic, and Yelena had said that I had sex magic as well.

Melinda’s book only had a brief mention of it, which was significantly less than I had hoped for.

What it did contain was unfortunately very little I didn’t already know.

The magic was primed in the same way as the body and mind, so it could be encouraged in the same manner.

Anticipation, touch, desire, and worship could draw the magic to a spike in the same way a body was brought to release.

Some people learned to charge and hold the energy within them.

It sounded to me like edging, building up that energy, but never letting it free.

The actual release of magic tended to be unpredictable, unless it could be guided into specific sources.

That made sense, given how Yelena had used the amulet.

I would have to try charging one myself to see if I could use the magic at a later time without exhausting myself the way I did now.

A lot of the magic seemed to be based purely on will and intent. While specific skills depended on the magic of the individual witch, more common skills were a matter of the mind.

Seth jolted awake, a spasm of his fear squeezing my heart.

I reached out, laying my palm to his chest, and the anxiety ebbed away.

Ever since I had saved his life, I could feel him like a heartbeat in my body.

I knew where he was and most of the time I knew what he was feeling.

I wasn’t sure if it was some weird quirk of the magic so I had been hesitant to say anything.

Seth hadn’t said anything either so maybe I was the only one feeling something.

Yelena had mentioned a bond, but I didn’t know what that felt like and wasn’t sure if that was what had happened.

I curled closer to Seth, whispering soothing murmurs in his ear and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

Caden was still being remarkably chill about the two of us, but maybe that was simply because he had bigger fish to fry with Yelena and Haru and the whole nest situation.

It wasn’t nearly as bad as I had expected.

The beginning had been terrifying, but I didn’t feel like I was in danger with Yelena.

Every time she called me precious I felt it down to my toes, like she really truly believed that I was.

We hadn’t spoken about the kiss.

I turned back to the book once Seth had fully woken and flipped to the family trees again, hoping that some sort of memory triggered or divine spark to give me an idea of where to focus. I closed my eyes and held my palm over the book.

Hecate, please help me. I don’t know what I’m looking for.

My fingertips tingled as I laid them onto the page. I traced them over the lineage, flipping the page again, and again, until the tingling turned to heat, and I was spiritually yanked from Yelena’s suite and into the forest. Hecate was there waiting for me, her skin glowing like the moon.

Hello, Logan. Hecate smiled softly and swept toward me in a pool of mist. What does that page say?

I stared down at the parchment. “It’s the O’Clery line. Is that the one Melinda mentioned where one of the old witches tried to steal the magic from her partner?”

Hecate nodded. Fiona was misguided. The two magic types don’t work the same and are not meant to inhabit the same bodies.

With children born of witches and shifters, they take after one parent or the other, but never both.

Some, like your lioness, have small traits, but can never wield both magics without the assistance of a conduit.

“Does this mean that I’m part of the O’Clery line?”

Hecate nodded again. The punishments for Fiona’s crimes resulted in her and her bloodline being bound and their magic locked away, so that none of them might have the same idea.

“So what do I have to do? I obviously haven’t committed the crimes of my ancestor.”

You have been given the opportunity to correct her mistakes.

“How am I supposed to do that?”

Even if I could give you all of the answers, you’re not ready for the task yet. Focus on growing your power and learning to wield it so you will have the best chance when the time comes.

“Couldn’t I prepare better if I knew what was coming?”

Yes, but I don’t know which path you’ll end up on. The future is not set, Logan. There are many paths you and the others can take, so we must wait.

“Okay, fair. Is there anything you can tell me that would help right now?” I stared down at the page, tracing over each of the names. The lifespans were astronomical to me. A dozen times longer than most humans would ever live. “Do you know which one of them is my birth mother?”

Yes .

One of the names illuminated in silver. Mairead O’Clery.

She had a death date listed for her in the nineties.

It crushed a spark I didn’t know I had kindled.

It would’ve been nice to have a mother again.

Below her was a space without a name, only my birth year twice with a dash between making it look like I’d passed as a baby.

Did the book think I’d stopped existing because I had been adopted by the Murphys?

It didn’t look like there were any O’Clery witches left alive.

“Should I add myself to the family tree?”

Hecate shook her head. Your bloodline is not well thought of. It is far better for you to be known as Logan Murphy than Logan O’Clery. The others of your bloodline knew it, too. You are not the only one lost to that line.

Hecate was gone as quickly as she had come, returning my consciousness to the suite, where Seth and Caden were watching me carefully.

“Anything new and exciting?” Seth asked.

I relayed to them what Hecate had told me.

“How are you supposed to make up for something that happened four hundred years ago?” Caden asked. “I know the future isn’t set, but surely the end task is?”

I shrugged. “Not like I can strong-arm a goddess to give me information.”

I read over the names, familiarizing myself with my ancestors.

Now that I knew they were mine, looking at the names felt different.

There was one name, Una O’Clery, where it said she had died as a baby too, but something about that felt deeply untrue.

I laid my fingertips over it and took a deep breath.

Show her to me.

A familiar face flashed in my mind.

Virginia Burke.

From the position of her name on the family tree, that would make her my aunt. Was that why I had been able to see her? Has she been erased and adopted out to a human family who would never know the difference since her magic was bound?

If even the magic of Melinda‘s book couldn’t tell the difference, how were we to know who was actually dead? How many witches had lived past the recorded death date? How many had taken on new names to distance themselves from the bound lines? Did they all even know that they were witches?

I slammed the book shut, my head suddenly throbbing. I didn’t know how to pace myself with my magic yet, and even what I thought would be a simple task of claircognizance had depleted my batteries. Caden took the book from my lap and I slipped down onto the bed, closing my eyes.

We needed to find Anya and get some answers.