Page 50

M y brain felt like a bowl of soup sloshing around in my skull, and my body wasn’t much better.

The sensation reminded me of those baking videos where they iced cupcakes with a piping bag until not an ounce of icing remained, only a crumpled, pathetic tube.

At this point it felt like I was held together by duct tape and foreign magic, which probably wasn’t far off.

“I don’t know everything, but Seth can fill in the gaps.”

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. ”

“Why is she so strong?” I asked.

“Combination of being from a very powerful line and being extremely dedicated to her craft. Plus probably a few illegal things along the way. I wouldn’t put anything past her at this point.”

“What kind of illegal things?” Seth inquired.

Sharla hesitated, sharing a look with the others before responding. “Based on what you described, we’re pretty sure she was casting love spells on you, which is a huge violation of free will and banned by the Council.”

Holy shit. So Seth didn’t run away with her by choice?

“We don’t know exactly what was in the tea,” Sharla continued, “but since she was pairing them with charms, I’m going to assume the tea was to make you more susceptible and the bracelets bound the spell to you. Did she do the same to your brother?”

“Not that I know of.”

Caden groaned, slowly sitting up. “She didn’t, unless she was also using something to alter my memory of her doing it.”

I leaned against him, offering my support while he oriented himself, hand pressed to his forehead.

“Explain this like I’m five,” said Caden. “I don’t have the brain cells for anything complex.”

Cecily nodded sharply. “We’re pretty sure that when Heather felt like she failed in healing the rift using you, she moved on to Seth but employed banned magic to sway him.

The fact that she used that magic at all, let alone that she was grooming him to make it easier for herself, will probably get her bound. ”

Caden turned to Seth, a tsunami of anguish and regret flooding the bond. “I’m sorry.”

Seth stared, misty-eyed, at his brother.

“She cost us all those years,” Caden whispered. “It wasn’t even your fault and I blamed you this whole time.”

“It’s not your fault either,” Seth said softly. “I blamed myself too. I never really understood why I’d done it, but I knew that I had, so I accepted you hating me as punishment.”

I brushed away the tears sliding down my cheeks. Rachel had cost all of us. If we had known, maybe I wouldn’t have had to say goodbye to Seth for years, keeping him at a distance even when I knew down to my soul that he was supposed to be with us.

Did she even care about the damage she had done? It seemed equally likely she had simply moved on with her life.

Footsteps thundered down the hall and Anya burst into the room, breathing hard. “Holy fucking hell, I do not recommend speeding on the interstates with an invisibility spell on your vehicle so you don’t get pulled over. Saves you from the cops, but I feel like I almost died about thirty times.”

She barreled straight for me and yanked me into a hug.

“Hello there,” I said with a light laugh, squeezing her in return.

“I was already on my way. As soon as we got off the phone, I packed up and got in the car. It’s nice to see you in person, but I’m sorry it’s under such terrible circumstances.”

“We survived, so it could be worse.”

With a snap of her fingers Anya summoned an ancient tome, ink bottle, and beautiful glass quill. “Let’s get the Council stuff out of the way. I’ll be taking statements from everyone as soon as they’re in a state to do so. I’ll start with the witches, give everyone a little more recovery time.”

Another finger snap had a bubble popping up around Kyoko and Rachel that blocked all sound and obscured our view of them.

“Don’t mind that,” Sharla said. “Statements have to be taken in privacy to ensure there’s no coercion happening.”

Anya paced around the bubble. “The book takes notes itself, and the ink is charmed in preparation for the truth spells.”

“I’m going to snoop,” Cecily announced. “Pretty sure I saw kitchens on the way in and I need a snack.”

“I can show you,” I offered. Caden’s grip tightened on me and I turned to kiss his cheek. “I’ll just be a few minutes. I think we could all use some sustenance.”

He reluctantly let me go, and Cecily looped her arm through mine.

Once we were out of earshot and on the elevator, she turned to me. “What was it like in a shifter nest?”

“Chaotic, but also really cool. They made me a Protector here.”

“Holy shit, really? That’s unheard of.”

“I think it helped that we forced them into a lockdown with Godric following us, and then I was the only witch available to charge the warding. Plus I suppose being fated mates with three of the Protectors didn’t hurt.”

“That’s so rare for an omega witch to have all shifter mates.”

“Is it?”

“A lot of us just don’t intermingle, so maybe it would be more common if we did. They treat you well?”

“Yes. Admittedly, it’s been difficult to really settle into relationships with all of the life-or-death stuff hanging over our heads, but I can feel how much they love me, how easy it is now that nothing is hidden.”

“Well, consider me jealous. I’ve been around for two hundred fucking years and still don’t have my alphas.”

“How do you get through your heats, then? I feel like I would’ve died during mine if I didn’t have all of them.”

“I said I didn’t have my alphas, not that I didn’t have sexual partners. It’s frustrating knowing every witch has their fated mates out there, because sometimes finding them is a real bitch.”

“A little more time would’ve been nice,” I confessed. “I was already with Caden for a few years, and well aware of Seth. Everyone else arrived like a punch to the face.”

Cecily laughed. “I suppose there’s no perfect way to meet your mates. It sounds like you’re a very lucky omega, though. I really hope we’re able to help.”

“You don’t think the Council will be mad at me?”

“Why would they be?”

I swallowed hard, but my anxiety about telling her instantly soothed. “Because I’m an O’Clery witch, from a bound line, and I’m no longer bound.”

“In fairness, you also don’t have magic anymore, so it equates to the same thing. Plus you took care of Fiona’s beast at great sacrifice to yourself and your pack. If anything, they should declare a holiday for you.”

“You really think so?”

“I mean, I don’t know for sure, but my mom runs the Council, and I can vouch for you if I need to. Just to try to have a little faith.”

“Getting really tired of being told that,” I said with a sharp laugh.

Cecily chuckled. “Wait ’til you’re as old as me. You’ve only been an active witch for a few weeks. Try listening to those platitudes when you’re over a hundred.”

Honestly, I couldn’t wait for that. Decades upon decades with my pack?

Yes, please. I didn’t know if losing our magical core would impact our lifespan, and maybe Cecily didn’t know either, but for now I would set that question aside.

My pack needed care, and all too soon we’d be facing down the Council.

At least we would be together for it.