by Kimber White
“He has. And I trust he’s explained to you the problem.”
Avelina tilted her head slightly. “Let me make myself perfectly clear. I will act to protect my family. My history with the Circean covens goes back centuries, my dear. I know what your land means to you.”
“And we don’t respond well to threats,” Gemma said.
“Do you speak for the entire coven?” Avelina asked.
“Right now, I speak for me. But, in Durness, I’m a member of the Five. Your request goes nowhere if I don’t want it to.”
“Gemma.” I stepped in. “Let’s talk in private.”
“No,” Avelina said. “I think the two of you have done enough in private. It’s not working. And there’s no more time to waste.”
“She’s right,” Gemma said. “Finn, we’ve made things worse for both of our families. It’s time we came clean. I have to go home. I have to tell them what’s happened. I have to try to figure out a way to fix it. And I need to know if Jonas is okay.”
“Your family,” Avelina said. She walked a circle around Gemma. Gemma held her posture under my mother’s scrutiny. “You lost them. The coven has merely fostered you. Am I right? I heard about what happened to your coven when you were a child. A thing like that doesn’t stay a secret.”
“We were attacked,” Gemma said. “A group of dark mages from further south tried to break our bond. They failed. My parents paid the price. But, you should know, that’s what happened the last time outsiders tried to take our land from us. I know what you are. I know your power. And I think you know how powerful we are.”
A beat passed between them. My mother finally smiled. “Fair enough. Maybe you’re right. Maybe there was another way to approach this. What if I decided to trust you, instead?”
Gemma’s next move thrilled me. It took everything in me not to take her in my arms and kiss her. She took a step forward and met my mother eye to eye. “I’d say you have no other choice.”
Gemma turned, stepping back to the ledge. It left my mother staring right at me. Her lip twitched as she held back a laugh. This had been a test. Gemma had passed. I gave my mother a nod and went to my mate.
“Finn,” she said, reaching for me. “I can’t promise you anything. But, it’s time for me to go home.”
Chapter Sixteen
Gemma
Finn’s fire skittered along his arms. His eyes flashed. We stood near the waterfall in the place we first met. It was easier for him to cloak himself here. Going back to the boarding house was out of the question. I wasn’t even sure how much of it was left standing.
“It has to be this way,” I said. “If things were reversed, you wouldn’t want me anywhere near it if you had to go confront your brothers like this.”
He was practically nonverbal. He let out a roar and a snort. Smoke wafted from his flared nostrils. The odd thing was, I knew he was better. Just like it had for me, our being together made it easier to control his magic. Right now, he was just in an old-fashioned alpha male fury.
“I don’t like it,” he said, stating the obvious. “Are you going to try telling me Jonas wouldn’t have done some damage to you if I hadn’t been there?”
I felt remarkably calm under the circumstances. “If you hadn’t been there, he probably wouldn’t have gone on the attack in the first place. I’m not blaming you. Let me make that clear. But we have our ways. You have yours. If you march into the middle of a council meeting with me, the Five will react. They’ll have no choice. We’re doing this my way. No matter what else is going on, I owe them an explanation. Jonas is hurt. I have to see how badly, and I have to make them understand what happened. They won’t listen if you’re there. You’ve been asking me to trust you all this time. Now you have to trust me. Wait here. Stay cloaked. If there’s trouble, I’ll call you.”
“You won’t have to call me,” he said, his voice low, dripping with menace. “I’ll know in an instant if anyone tries to hurt you. No power on this earth can stop me from getting to you.”
I swallowed hard. He wanted to talk of power. He’d never seen the full force of the Five before. I just prayed it wasn’t too late to get the council to listen to reason.
“One hour,” he said. “If you’re not back here by then, I’m coming after you.”
I went up on my tiptoes and kissed him. It placated him for an instant, but only just. I just had to hope emotions weren’t running too high back in town. I pressed a palm to Finn’s face. He was fire and steel all at once. My dragon. My protector. My mate.
“I’ll be back.” Smiling, I turned away from him and headed toward town.
I didn’t need to summon the others. I already knew where I’d find them. The air grew thicker as I came out of the woods toward the center of town. I felt a thrum of energy to the north. Paula had gathered them all. Her fury was palpable. Storm clouds moved in and the wind picked up as I made the turn toward her house at the end of Palmer Lane.
I thought about stopping at the store. Delia would still be there. She could tell me what I might be walking into. But, the less notice the Five had of my arrival, the better. Plus, I didn’t want to throw Delia in the middle of this. A part of me also worried she’d be against me. I didn’t think I could handle that right now.
Paula had thrown a protective circle around her house. Wind raged; the trees shook around the perimeter. Inside her white picket fence, the air was calm. Taking a deep breath, I pushed through the magic. It chilled me to the bone. Another day, before Finn, I might not have been able to quiet my own fire. Now, I knew my life...well...my magic might depend on it.
The Landrys lived in a two-story Victorian with intricate latticework along the roof and blue shutters. I hesitated for a moment, raising a fist to knock. Then, I thought better of it. Paula kept a key under a potted plant in the window. I let myself in, though I figured at least Miles already knew I was here.
They were all up in Jonas’s room at the top of the stairs. I heard Paula scream as she sensed my entry. Benny and Timothy said something to her in hushed voices. I made my way up and faced them all.
Paula sat at Jonas’s bedside. He was pale, lifeless, his body rigid. For an instant, I feared the worst. Then, his chest rose and fell with shaky breaths. He was alive. But, he seemed locked inside himself.
“What have you done?” Paula asked, her voice creaky, almost unrecognizable.
Timothy and Benny stood behind Paula on the right side of the bed. Miles sat in a chair in the corner. His eyes glinted gold as he watched me.
Now that I was here, I realized I had no earthly clue what to say. I let out a breath. I had to stick as close to the truth as possible. Telling them Finn’s secret was a last resort. Once again, my loyalties were split in two.
“Jonas attacked me,” I said.
“Mrs. Harris found him,” Paula said. “She said he was suspended in the air. The wall had been ripped away.”
“You’ve been seeing Finn Brandhart behind our backs,” Miles said, his tone measured, but I felt the fury of his fire bubbling just below.
“Yes,” I said. “But I’m not working against the coven. I would never do that. Jonas followed me. He got the wrong idea…”
“He knew you were working with him,” Paula spat. “Are you his whore? Is that it? I didn’t believe it. I’ve loved you like my own daughter, Gemma. I took you into my home. Jonas loves you. He was worried about you. He caught you, didn’t he? And you lashed out.”
“This was an accident,” I said.
“Only because you can’t control your fire,” Miles said. “I’ve suspected it myself for months. But I didn’t want to betray you. Not until I knew for sure.”
“She proved herself,” Timothy said. “My God, you all saw it. Miles, you’re the one who challenged her in the first place. Gemma, honey, what’s going on? You have to tell us the full truth.”
“I’m trying,” I said. “And you’re right, Miles. I have struggled with control. But, I have it now. That is the truth. That wa
s no trick the other day, and you of all people should know it.”
Paula rose. Her hair and eyes were wild. She had a small cyclone of wind around her. The picture on the wall rattled. Her magic was rising. I felt a shift of focus in the room. The rest of them were starting to fear it was Paula about to lose control.
“What did you do to him?” she shrieked. “Whatever it was, undo it. Undo it right now!”
“Let me try,” I said. The words just flew out of my mouth unbidden. The truth was, I had no idea what held Jonas. I had done nothing to him other than deflect the attack magic he’d thrown at me. If anything, his own spell had backfired.
Timothy and Benny put gentle hands on Paula’s shoulders. She let them guide her away from the bed. Miles got up. I moved to Jonas’s side where Paula had sat. Miles came to the other side, his eyes stone cold as he looked at me. His unspoken message was clear. He’d be watching. Any fire magic I tried to use, he’d be ready to counter.
“I love Jonas too,” I said. “Have you all forgotten that? Do you honestly think I’d knowingly do anything to hurt him?”
“You have about thirty seconds,” Paula said. She strained against Benny and Timothy.
I took Jonas’s hand. His skin was cool to the touch. His pulse was faint and erratic. I looked for something, any sign at all that he could hear me. The truth was, I didn’t even really know what I was doing here.
I closed my eyes and let out a steady breath. I reached out with my mind.
Jonas? Are you in there? Let go of it. Whatever you did. Just let go. Finn’s gone. I’m safe. We all are. Come back and let me explain.
Nothing. Jonas’s mind was completely quiet. A slight breeze lifted my hair, but that was the only other trace of magic I felt. This wasn’t my magic holding him, nor Finn’s either. If Paula could calm down enough to listen to reason or even listen to her son, she’d sense it too. This was wind magic at play. I had no doubt.
“I’m not the one doing this,” I whispered to Miles. “Can’t you tell? Listen for it. There’s no fire source here.”
Miles narrowed his eyes at me. “All I feel is a cold wall around him. I sense something powerful behind it.”
“Right, cold,” I said, looking up at the others. “We all know the source of our own magic. He’d be burning up if this was one of my spells. Open your eyes, your hearts.”
“And you haven’t answered a single question,” Paula said. “Do it now. Tell me you weren’t working with Brandhart behind our backs. Jonas suspected it. He tried to confront you. And if you weren’t the one to do this to him, it was your lover. Don’t try to deny that. I can smell his magic on you. The rest of you can too. And it’s dark.”
They closed in around me. My fire started to rise. Miles reached over the bed and caught my wrist. His eyes flashed and widened at what he felt. I’d asked him to use his senses to rule out fire magic in Jonas. He was using them now to probe for answers.
“You’ve changed,” he said. I pulled against him, trying to twist my wrist out of his grasp. “This is different. She feels different.”
“Miles, stop it.” He wouldn’t let go. I could break his hold if I really wanted to. With everyone on edge, I was afraid they’d overreact.
Benny and Timothy exchanged a pained look that got my heart racing. All around the room, there were knowing glances, movement. I had the sick feeling that Finn was right. I’d just walked into a trap.
“Is it dark magic?” Timothy asked. “Gemma, just tell the truth.”
“What do you think I’ve done?” I asked.
“We know what you’ve done,” Paula said. “You struck some kind of deal. You couldn’t control your own magic and you knew we’d find out. Jonas was right about all of it. Finn is a dark mage.”
I felt sick. Wrong. They were all wrong.
“Finn isn’t what you think he is.”
“Just a man, eh?” Miles asked. “I can smell him on you. It’s powerful. Charged. He’s charmed you or something. I’ve been arguing for years you were too young, too untested to trust with so many coven secrets.”
I let out a blast of heat, my instincts for self-preservation kicking in. It was just a little warning meant to get Miles to let go of me. But, I’d miscalculated. The rest of them reacted as if I’d just detonated a bomb.
Paula moved faster than I’d ever seen her. She wore a flowing robe. She opened it, revealing a link of gold chain she’d hidden. Benny took two round, metal cuffs from his pocket. Miles threw a spell, driving me back against the wall. I could have fought back. But if I’d thrown my own spell, it could have killed him.
All four of them came at me together. I was stronger, but I never expected them to all turn on me at once. Just a split second was all it took. Paula threw the chains around my shoulders. Benny and Miles joined forces and snapped the shackles around my wrists.
I fell to the ground under the weight of the chains. It was only then I tried to throw off a protection spell. It died in the air. The chains were heavy and laced with magic. It was something strong, deadly, and oddly familiar.
“Stay down,” Paula said. “You’ll hurt yourself if you try to cast your way out of those.”
“We don’t want to hurt you,” Timothy said, pleading. “We’re doing this for your own good.”
“Are you kidding me?” I was on my stomach, struggling to flip over. I realized with cold horror what they’d done. The chains were forged from dragonsteel. It blocked my magic, at least for now.
I locked eyes with Miles, hoping to borrow some of his power to counter theirs. Paula thought of that too. In one swift movement, she slid a black velvet hood over my head, pitching me into total darkness.
Chapter Seventeen
Finn
“Stop!”
There was only one force in the world that could have gotten in the way of me blazing to Gemma’s side the moment I sensed her distress. That force stood in front of me now, her white hair whipping around in the hot wind of my fury.
“Avelina,” I said through gritted teeth. “Know that I love you when I say this, but if you don’t get out of the way, I’m going to blaze right through you.”
She arched a platinum brow and crossed her arms. “And I’m sure you could, son of mine. But once again, it’s more than just your interests at stake.”
“What do you think I’m going to do?” I asked.
“I think you’re liable to charge into Durness and blast those witches to the ground just to get to Gemma. You can’t. Like it or not, we still need them.”
I had a thousand things I wanted to say to her. This had all been her idea from the outset. I was never the right choice if diplomacy was needed. And yet, if she hadn’t sent me, I wouldn’t have found Gemma when I did. Dammit all to hell. Once again, my mother proved the wisest of us all.
“Noted,” I said. “But I swear to you, if they so much as singe a hair on her head.”
She put a hand up in a conciliatory gesture. “Then you blast the shit out of them.”
My mouth dropped. I took a faltering step forward, then kissed my mother on the cheek. Two seconds later, I was airborne and heading straight for Durness.
Mrs. Harris’s boarding house was a disaster. The entire back wall of the building had caved in on itself. Guilt poured through me at that, but that could be fixed. I reached out for Gemma with my mind. Fear struck me as nothing came back but cold silence. Wherever they’d taken her she was deeply cloaked by some type of magic.
I had to breathe through my rising fire. Avelina was right. It would do me no good to level the whole town looking for her. There was one small consolation. Gemma couldn’t be far.
I went to the gift shop. It was closed for the day and dark inside. I went in anyway, unlocking the front door and dismantling the alarm with a spark of flame. Shadows danced on the walls, but the place seemed empty.
Seemed.
In the corner of the room, sitting still and silent, was a powerful presence. Her magic was ancient, by living wi
tch standards. Still, it was no match for mine.
“Well, it took you long enough,” she said. The old woman wore an old-fashioned nightgown with ruffled sleeves and a high collar. She was barefoot and held an afghan in her lap.
Delia Bradbury. Gemma had mentioned her. Paula Landry had taken her place on the council when she retired.
“Where is Gemma?” I asked.
Delia didn’t rise. I realized she might not be able to easily. Her legs were withered and bent. She had a cane beside her chair.
“Are you hers?” she asked. I paused, then realized she was speaking in that direct but riddle-like way people her age often did.
“Yes,” I said, straightening my shoulders. “And she’s mine.”
“Hmmph.” She was unimpressed. “Then you need to tell your mother she owes me a favor. Not the other way around.”
My what?
“Delia,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm and pretty much failing. “I can’t sense her. Your coven has thrown some kind of cloaking spell around her. That means Gemma isn’t entirely safe. It means they are preventing her from accessing her own magic. Now why would they do that unless they meant her harm?”
“I suppose that’s our business,” she said.
Fire shot from my fingertips. I couldn’t help it. I knocked over a row of candles on the shelf. Delia Bradbury didn’t so much as flinch.
“Did you hurt that boy?” she asked.
Boy? It took me half a beat to realize she was talking about Jonas. Then, I felt like an ass. Someone had been hurt that she cared about.
“No,” I said plainly. “He came at Gemma. I don’t think he understood what I was. I acted to protect her. That’s all.”
“Well, you better hope you can help undo it. Otherwise you’re dead in the water.”
“Where?” I asked again. With each passing second, I feared I would reach Gemma far too late.
“Best thing you can probably do is just move on, son,” she said. “Your kind and hers don’t mix. I’m sorry for it, but it’s the way of things. Nothing but trouble can come from it. It already has. Don’t you see that?”
