Page 65 of Transfiguration

“You okay?” Con asked Kaine.

Kaine gave him a light smile. “Good to see you back, Uncle Con.”

“I spaced out there for a bit, didn’t I?”

Kaine nodded and tugged Con away from the giant pit formed by the wind. Con’s stomach clenched in worry that he was about to face Father Earth’s wrath, but Seiran threw his arms around Con and hugged him hard.

“What the fuck, Rou?” Con protested, not breaking away. His resolve was fading, exhaustion and pain, both physical and emotional, weakening him. He wasn’t meant to be alone, and was tired, but didn’t think he could close his eyes and not see the brutality visited on Luca. He’d had more than a decade to settle into the strength of having his guys when he needed them. Without them, he didn’t feel like he could truly rest.

“We nearly lost you,” Seiran said.

“I’m right here.”

Kaine didn’t let go of his hand.

“Maybe stop sending your kid into danger, yeah?” Con reprimanded when Seiran didn’t let go. “I could have hurt him.”

Bryar snorted. Kaine squeezed Con’s fingers.

“He needs to be grounded,” Kaine said. “A Focus bond maybe?”

“My vampire is in the ground, half-pint. Hopefully, two vampires. Not sure I can be a Focus for both? And I’m fine. Aboveground and kicking.” Which was a thousand percent opposite of his wishes.

Seiran finally let him go. “Maybe we should go home and get some rest?”

Too tired to sleep and dreading waking alone, he shook his head. “No.”

“Constantine…” Seiran said.

“What? What the fuck would you do if someone had used your lover in a spell? Pinned him to a door with magical daggers like a fucking bug on display and set him on fire? Would you be sleeping? Let the nightmares replay? Didn’t you reflect a fire spell that killedhundredsof witches when they attacked Gabe? Don’t tell me how to grieve or we will really test who’s more powerful here, earth or wind, and I just dug a fucking hole in the earth larger than an atomic bomb.”

“That’s the problem, Con. You shouldn’t have this level of power.”

“Fuck you.”

“This is Pillar level power. Did you do a ceremony or accept the will of Wind? I was dying when it happened to me. So was Kelly.”

“I’m not a Pillar. No ceremony. I’ve not died or accepted some great magic. This is just me pissed off at the fucking world, wishing it would all burn down for taking my guys from me.”

“And we found the Pillar of Fire dead a few hours ago. What if Wind is dead too, and the element is searching for a scion?”

“It can fuck off. I’m no one’s bitch. I belong to no one but my guys. And they are in the fucking ground.” He longed to call up the wind and tear it all apart, like the destruction of everything could somehow heal his pain.

Kaine tightened his grip on Con’s hand. “You wouldn’t hurt us, right?”

Con sucked in a hard breath, his racing heart slowing as he looked down into that little face. His heartbreak over losing Bella, and fear of what she might suffer waiting for him to find her, made him hesitate. Kaine hugged him, small arms wrapped around Con’s middle. Clarifying and separating everything. The magic wanted everything to implode and used his pain to justify it. He’d always been the rational one, slow to anger, easygoing, but practical. The rage of the element wasn’t his.

“These symbols are doing something to me,” Con said as he examined his connection to his element. It had never been this wild or demanding. Part of having his guys gone, or, like Seiran suggested, Wind was calling for a scion? “I’ve been living with Sam’s amplifier ability for ages and never struggled this much to hold it back.”

“That’s what I mean,” Seiran said. “It’s not meant to be this wild.”

“Let’s go home,” Kaine said, squeezing Con tight.

Con’s heart hurt at the idea of being close to Sam and Luca and not able to touch them or even know if they would return. Tears stung his eyes. “I’m not sure I can survive this,” he admitted. Alone, what was the point? But Kaine held him tight, like any kid unfettered might, a grip strong enough to hurt, but grounding. He had to find Bella and give her a chance to be a kid. Even if he didn’t make it, he knew Rou would take care of her.

“I can probably make you sleep for a few hours. If you deactivate that anti-magic rune of yours,” Seiran offered. “It might help clear your head and give you strength to control your element.”

Con focused on Kaine for another minute. “Fine. Let’s go back.” Maybe he’d sleep a few hours and wake to find his guys there.