Page 131 of The Omega's Bloodlinem: Part Two

Kyoko took my hand in hers, feeding me a slow, steady drip of power to help me recover further.

I told them the identities we knew Rachel had assumed, everything we had figured out about Godric, though no one was sure how he was physically here now, plus what we had found out from Anya about her targeting Caden and then Seth.

“Okay, so what went down with Seth and Maeve?” Sharla asked. “How old were you when she made her first appearance?”

“Fifteen,” said Seth. “She was with Caden for a little over two years. A few months before she left, she started getting cozier with me. In fairness, I could be remembering incorrectly since I had a wicked crush on her at the time, but I remember specifically not knowing what to do with the fact that she was obviously flirting with me and was putting herself in a lot closer physical proximity than she used to. I don’t know. She invited me to tea a lot and started making me all these little keepsakes.”

Kyoko’s grip on me tightened. “What kind of keepsakes? And what kind of tea?”

“Not sure about the tea, but it didn’t taste very good. I just drank it so she wouldn’t feel bad. As for keepsakes, she used to make those woven friendship bracelets, the ones you’re supposed to make a wish on and never cut off until it falls apart.”

“Would you have run away with her before all of that?”

“I can’t give a definitive no because I was young and stupid, but I love Caden and I never wanted to hurt him.”

The guest witches shared a look and Sharla furiously typed something one-handed. “Anya is already on her way. She can’t teleport, but she’s on the road.”

“Why is Anya coming here?”

“She’s our historian,” Cecily explained as she slipped back inside the room. “She’ll conduct interviews on what everyone knows, and the Council can do some truth spells on the text.”

“You guys can’t do that without them?” I asked.

“I forgot you’re a baby witch. We all have our specialties, so we’re limited in a lot of ways. That’s why they needed me to get here, and why Sharla and Kyoko are in charge of your healing. What was your power based in?”

My cheeks warmed. “Sex and fire.”

“Oh, and you were coming up on a heat, weren’t you? Amelie talked to me about it, but she’s kind of a cunt so don’t feel bad she tried to weasel payment out of you. Damn. I’m surprised you didn’t burn the whole place down, being so new to everything and diving straight into a heat. If that hadn’t coincided to give you a boost, I feel like none of you would’ve made it out of this.”

“We barely did as it is.” I sighed, leaning more of my weight against Seth. “If Caden hadn’t bonded me at the last second I wouldn’t have had access to his and Rachel’s magic to finish the job.”

“You weren’t even breathing anymore when the monster evaporated,” Seth told me.

“So, if I’ve got everything clear,” said Sharla, “the fellow with the dual core was inside the monster?”

“I’m pretty sure he’s Fiona’s mate and has been trapped in stasis or something this whole time.”

Kyoko whistled low. “Sucks for him. What are we supposed to do with him?”

“I’m sure the Council will figure something out,” Cecily replied, staring at him like she couldn’t tear her eyes away. “He’s caused a lot of damage, and I know it wasn’t his fault, but people are still dead.”

Part of me wanted to intervene on his behalf even though I had been among his potential victims. I didn’t have the energy to worry about Godric when the majority of my pack hadn’t woken up yet.

“Kyo, my love,” Sharla said, “can you take over keeping our little liar in temporary stasis? I’d like to check over the others myself.”

“You’ve got it, babe.” Kyoko abandoned her position with me, trading off with Sharla.

Sharla moved toward my pack, her gorgeous braids swaying as she walked. She dipped down to check each in turn and gave what looked like an extra power boost. “There’s the lightest bit of magic lingering, but their cores are gone. It feels bizarre. Are the bonds still intact?”

“They’re quiet, but they’re still there,” I replied.

“Good.” Sharla nodded. “We’ve never tested how the bonds respond to a loss of magic. I guess that means they’re tied to the soul and not the core.”

At least that was something. Maybe the bond carried its own sort of magic, and it would make sense since Seth was still able to communicate with unbonded parties after he lost his core, but was still bonded to me, unless that ability was only retained because the bond let him use my magic to do so. I shook my head. I’d probably never know for sure.

“What are we supposed to do about Rachel? Or Heather? I’m not sure what we should call her.”

“We’ll have to keep her under stasis until the Council gets here,” Sharla explained. “I caught her by surprise, but it was the only way. She’s way too strong to face head-on, and the Council members should probably be strong enough to manage her, certainly as a group, if not on an individual level.”