Page 129 of The Omega's Bloodlinem: Part Two

Rachel moved from Caden to the rando that had popped out of the air before she arrived. “Sharla, this one feels different.”

“Be there in a second.” Sharla laid a palm over Caden’s chest, giving him a straight shot of energy that dragged him out of unconsciousness. Not enough for him to sit up, it seemed, but at least I didn’t have to count his breaths to make sure he was still alive.

“They’re all alive,” the blue-haired witch yelled. “They’ll need recovery time, and there’s no magic left in any of them, but they survived.”

They sparked in the bond one by one, not strong enough yet for me to feel much of anything, but at least existing once more.

I couldn’t go to anyone and I couldn’t even beg Rachel to free me from whatever magical prison she had put on me. Panic slipped through me, my heart pounding like a jackrabbit’s in the eyes of the fox. Was this what it felt like to be awake on the operating table?

Sharla glanced at me. “You okay?”

All at once the magic binding me released and I shot a vicious glare at Rachel. She gave me a warning look in response. “I’m fine.”

With a nod, Sharla joined Rachel, checking over the mysterious newcomer. “A dual core?”

“Sure feels like it,” Sharla replied.

I crawled over to Caden, clutching both him and Logan to me.

“We have to report it to the Council,” Sharla said.

Fucking Councils. They could’ve helped us, but they take so fucking long to respond we hadn’t even heard from them yet.

“Cecily,” the blue-haired witch asked, “can you help me get them inside?”

“Fuck no. My orange is juiced. Give me an hour and I can, but not fucking yet.”

“I’ll do it,” Rachel announced. She spared the three of us a half-second glance before sweeping around the fence. Her magic levitated my sleeping pack.

“I’ll be right back,” I whispered to Logan and Caden, setting them comfortably on the moss. I walked unsteadily over to the other three witches. “I’ll show you where you can put them. Why not bring everyone at once?”

Rachel rolled her eyes, but with a flick of her hand, Logan, Caden, and the newcomer shot into the air and over the fence to join the others.

“Holy shit. What the fuck is happening?” Logan gasped.

I scooped her into my arms and out of the thrall of Rachel’s magic, leading them all up the stairs. The nest was silent, like it had been left for dead, the air still tainted by the fear of those who’d fled.

It was a long walk on the stairs, but I didn’t want to chance being stuck in a metal box with Rachel.

“Seth, where the hell are we going?”

“All the Protector suites are on the top floor. They’ll have enough beds for everyone.”

Yelena didn’t have enough space for everyone, but Kendrick did. Rachel flicked open the lock like a movie supervillain, and I held the door open as she floated everyone else through, depositing one after the other on the line of twin beds. Ipushed Logan’s right up to Caden’s since they were the most recent bond, and moved their arms enough they had some skin touching.

Rachel stared down at Caden. “He could’ve killed me with his stunt.”

“You’ll forgive me if my sympathy for you is a little worn out.”

She almost smiled. “You’ve gotten confident over the years.”

“Did you expect me to stagnate after you left?”

Rachel merely shrugged.

“Why did you come? I can’t imagine it was out of the goodness of your heart. Not even sure you have one of those, to be honest.”

That got a laugh out of her. “I’ll let that one slide, but you won’t speak to me like that again.”