Cian nearly laughed but he knew better. Even if Ashlynn weren’t pregnant, he’d know better. “He’s still mourning. She’s just being a good friend.”
Ashlynn’s eyes rolled so hard he was sure she’d lose them. She shook her head with a chuckle. “Silly man, look.” She tilted his head towards them but he saw nothing different. “Watch her fingers on his arm.”
He did. Faith’s fingers lay atop Troy’s arm, just as any reassuring friend’s would. As he watched, though, he noticed her fingers twitch up then relax several times. Cian frowned.
“She wants to squeeze him, to hold him, but she’s holding back,” Ashlynn whispered. “Now watch what she does with her other hand.”
He kept his gaze on their friends for a minute until, finally, Faith looked down, lifted her hand, and flipped a lock of her long hair over her shoulder, then tilted her head up to look at Troy. This time he saw it. He made a surprised sound.
“See, I’m always right.” Ashlynn bumped her shoulder against his chest and smiled. “I hope they see each other.
He knew what she meant. People could go a lifetime without really seeing one another. It took vulnerability and strength to lay your heart bare when it’s been damaged by loss already. Cian shifted his gaze to watch his wife and his heart squeezed tight. She’d changed everything for him. She’d replaced a future he’d wanted to ignore with one he couldn’t wait to experience. He lifted a hand to her cheek.
“I love you so much,” he whispered.
Her gaze danced to his and, in her eyes, he saw surprise, then desire, then deep abiding love that filled all the little cracks in his soul. She leaned into his caress and turned to kiss his palm. “I love you,” she murmured against his skin.
Pain shot through Cian’s palm like wildfire burning a forest. He yelped and pulled his hand back quickly, cradling it against his chest. He blew out a deep breath to regulate the pain and looked up to see Ashlynn’s eyes lose focus and turn a milky white. Her head lolled back and power, so intense and huge it blinded him, burst from her body and exploded like fireworks in the night sky.
Chapter Eight
Ashlynn could feel the concern lines etching her face as she quietly slipped out of bed, careful not to wake a sleeping Cian. She dressed and headed into the kitchen where she went straight to the coffee maker. She hadn’t slept well, worried about her lack of control over the power that had been unexpectedly gifted to her.
And perhaps her child.
Last night’s incident was no fluke, and she was relieved that Cian managed to cover for her. His fireworks were so beautiful and distracting that no one picked up on her own explosion of power, and it drove home just how amazing a man and sorcerer he actually was. That he could cover for her so quickly, even while in serious pain.
But he shouldn’t have to do that.
How could she have singed her own husband’s hand? To her credit, Ashlynn had been able to heal it before anyone saw, as soon as the wild burst of power she’d released fully let go of its hold on her. But she was frightened. And she knew Cian was distraught as well. The conversation from last night still swirled in her head as she poured herself a fresh cup of coffee and stared off in thought.
“What happened out there, Ashlynn?” he’d asked in a hushed voice.
Even in their bedroom, he feared being overheard, and she couldn’t blame him. There was no guarantee that a spy among them wouldn’t scuttle back to their leader. They couldn’t risk information being funneled through to Serena. Especially about Ashlynn’s powers or the baby.
Gulping against the tears that wanted to manifest and flow down her cheeks, Ashlynn shook her head. “I don’t have the words to explain. These powers are new and different, and they are so strong…” She trailed off and swallowed a sob. She was not a crier and would not feel sorry for herself. “The magic is overwhelming, and I’m struggling to control it. Sometimes, that control fails.”
His eyes wide, Cian had stared at her, almost horrified. But there was a deep sense of compassion as well. He was consumed with worry. “I won’t always be there to cover those mistakes, Ash. We have to be so careful, more now than ever before.”
“You think I don’t know that?” she’d whispered harshly, defensive. Regretting it instantly, her shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry. I’m worried. I’ve been working with Faith, trying to gain control of it. Believe me when I say that, without her help, those explosions would happen far more frequently.” Hurrying to keep him from worrying further, she’d added, “I have the orb. It helps. I’ve learned some focus, which is likely why I burned you so. Much of the magic directed itself into you, and I’m sorry for that.”
She hated his fears, hated being the source of them. She loved Cian with all her heart, and Ashlynn wanted nothing but the best for him. For their family, the growth of which rested in her belly, not yet protruding with the life inside it. The child was such a blessing, but it also made everything more difficult and more dangerous.
Serena could not get wind of the pregnancy, and she couldn’t know about the powers Ashlynn now possessed, especially how erratic and unbound they were. Any of that could be used against them all, and Serena could use the one wish spell to ruin everything. If she used it against Ashlynn to destroy those powers, to put her into a tornado of her magic until it destroyed everything, or that jealous witch decided to destroy the unborn child, so much would be lost.
Ashlynn knew the desperate need to gain control more than anyone. But several things stood in her way, several obstacles she had to overcome to do so. She had the ability to control all five elements, something overwhelming to start with. It was why so few were endowed with such magic – it could drive a sorceress mad.
But, in addition, she had the hormonal inconsistencies that came with any pregnancy, causing her behavior to become unpredictable in the first place. The wielding of magic followed suit, and with the enhanced powers she had developed with the initiation of leadership to the clan as well as what power she received from the child she carried and the control of the elements, it built a recipe for disaster.
Ashlynn caught her reflection in the steel refrigerator and frowned. Her hair limp and disheveled, her skin pale and drawn tight from stress. “Goddess, I’m a mess.”
But she had to stay strong. That explosion has been the culmination of stuffing it down, more than controlling it, for too long, and she’d run out of the energy necessary to keep it hidden. And as Cian had so aptly reminded her, he wouldn’t always be there to safely cover for her mistakes. The only thing that had helped thus far was the orb. When she worked with the crystal ball, she felt more relaxed, more confident. It showed in the way she controlled and wielded her abilities after her excess magic was stored in the glass ball.
But the struggle continued, especially when she was away from the device. She stepped out into the world, and her body revolted, her mind fuzzed, and her magic took control. How could she harness that peace she felt with the orb after she walked away from it? Ashlynn needed to speak to Faith about it. Perhaps the Seer would have some advice. She had so much knowledge, so many eons of experience in her soul, that she must know something that could be done.
In the meantime, Ashlynn had to fortify her resolve, shove those tingling sensations she already felt growing within her and clawing at her to get out deep into her core, where she could lock them away. At least, for now. And, maybe, in the privacy of their home, she would be able to unleash them in a trickle, so they didn’t gather and brew into a storm.
She clutched her warm cup of coffee and took a moment to sniff the fresh flowers on the table. Her fingers brushed the petals of a newly opened rose, admiring the velvety red surface and thinking that Rose was a pretty name for a child. Of course, her child was too special for such a simple name, and she didn’t even know if she carried a boy or a girl. But Ashlynn was getting ahead of herself. There were far more pertinent issues to consider than what to name a child that wouldn’t be born for months.
&nb
sp; A child that wouldn’t survive if Ashlynn’s powers gave her away to Serena.
Sitting on chair, she stared across the flowers, toward pictures of her and Cian hanging on the painted brick wall. What could she do to assure the safety of her child, her husband, her new clan? Ashlynn felt so much weight on her shoulders, regardless of having a partnership with Cian, who carried a great deal of responsibility as well. But with Cian, there was no concern that his magic would wreak havoc on the world around him and lead their extremely capable enemy right to conclusions that would destroy everything.
She needed to spend more time with the orb. She loved working with Faith on defensive magic. She enjoyed training with her husband. They were stronger together, a force to be reckoned with. But she couldn’t hope to maintain stability there, either, if she couldn’t hone her powers. And that crystal seemed to be the only hope at this point.
Determined to get back to it and spend some time on her own, utilizing the funneling process the orb offered, she stood to refill her coffee mug. But she stopped, frozen, and placed her hand on her belly as a thought crossed her mind that changed her perspective entirely.
The baby inside her would be a reincarnation of Masilda, complete with all her powers. And as the vessel that would birth a child capable of wielding so much power, including control of the five elements, Ashlynn had been endowed with those powers. She believed she would carry them throughout her life, but what if she wasn’t meant to harness that magic? Had no right to it.
“Maybe that’s why I can’t control it…” she whispered to herself. “I’m not supposed to.”
It was her child who was meant to wield that kind of power, and Masilda at such a young age had complete control over such intense magic. Would her child be born with that control? What if the baby didn’t have to learn how to control its powers? So many questions with answers she’d never get because Masilda was gone.
The weight of her thoughts had her reaching for the chair again, nearly falling onto it. Was it even possible? Upon transferring her soul into the baby Ashlynn carried, had Masilda also transferred conscious thought and ability? If that was the case, then perhaps the reason she could not control the power was due to the fact that it wasn’t hers to have. The child in her womb could be practicing already. Could an unborn baby, barely beginning to form, actually practice magic?
She really needed to see Faith.
If the child performed magic, and Ashlynn tried to control it, she might only be interrupting the spells and rituals, making them dangerous when they otherwise would work perfectly. Perhaps that was something to consider, and to speak to Faith about. After all, while she could not imagine an embryo still growing, still the size of a bean, having conscious thought, she also realized that her child would not be the average baby and would grow into an extremely powerful being. It was the child of two powerful rulers, infused with the soul of someone who was more powerful than all other sorcerers.
Ashlynn bit her lip, confused and more concerned than ever. It would be such a relief if she could simply stop worrying about the magic inside her and let it manifest beautifully rather than control it and cause all sorts of damage. At the same time, if she gave up, and she was wrong – she would destroy her clan, her husband, her child, and possibly her own life in the process.
No, she had to keep working with the orb, just to be safe. She still had to discuss the possibilities with Faith before she made any decision to cut back on her efforts to contain the power. It was crucial to the survival of everything she loved, everything that mattered. She loved her clan, both the original group and the newly added rogues who had pledged fealty. All she had wanted was to lead her clan and keep it safe. While she hadn’t been able to do so in her own time, she had a second chance here. A real chance.
She couldn’t risk losing them.
Ashlynn’s stomach clenched at the realization that she, and she alone, had to get a handle on her magic. At least until the baby was born and they could figure out the next step. If she could get comfortable enough with the orb to funnel as much magic as possible, then maybe there was hope she’d get through the next few months of pregnancy. She could do this.
Invigorated by the possibilities, Ashlynn hurried to her bedroom, taking out the orb and carrying it into the study, where she felt most comfortable practicing with the device. She locked the door and took a deep breath, ready to dive into her magic headfirst. She only hoped it wouldn’t be a repeat of the night before.
Her trembling hands clutched the glass ball and she took a deep breath. “Here goes nothing.”
Chapter Nine
“It’s probably the last night I’ll be able to get out and see our friends, Cian.” Ashlynn stood with her hands on her hips and glared at him with that determined jut of chin he found so appealing. “I’m barely showing, look.” She smoothed the material of her long flowy dress over her abdomen where a slight bump was the only proof that their child grew within her womb.
He sighed. “What if something happens? The last time…” he trailed off, lifting his hands palm up with a shrug.
Ashlynn whirled around and came up holding the crystal orb of Thessula Faith had gifted her. “I’ve been using the orb more and it’s helping a lot. Cian,” she stepped into him and laid her palm over his heart. “I would never put our child in danger. I’ve got this.”
His skin tingled under her touch and a wisp of his magic rose up to weave through her fingers in response. Laying his hand over hers, Cian caved. She was right, she would never endanger their child’s life. Tonight they would celebrate with friends then tuck her and the little life inside of her away until the danger passed.
He leaned down to kiss her forehead softly. “We’ve got this,” he corrected. “Dump as much as you can before we leave, alright?”
Ashlynn smiled widely and nodded then turned with a lightness in her step that he hadn’t seen much of lately. With everything they’d been dealing with lately, she deserved a night off with friends.
The sun was dipping low in the cerulean sky when they stepped out of the woods into the clearing. Cian hitched the bag that held both his and Ashlynn’s belongings higher on his shoulder and winced at the weight. “What did you pack in here?” he complained.
Ashlynn arched an eyebrow at him and grinned. “Women stuff.”
“Women stuff,” Cian mumbled, wondering what in the world a woman could own that weighed a hundred pounds but fit in a duffle bag. He started to slide the strap free to look and got a slap on the hand for his efforts.
“No looking,” Ashlynn teased.
“I’m carrying it,” he grumbled. “I should at least know if you put rocks in here.”
Ashlynn leaned into him and whispered in a decidedly husky tone, “Patience, my love. You’ll find out soon enough.” The weight seemed to disappear. His manhood strained against his jeans uncomfortably as he watched his wife sashay away.
“Siren,” Cian murmured, but this time he was grinning.
He set their tent up with help from a few of his friends while Ashlynn wandered through the small group, embracing women and accepting small treats along the way. Cian never lost track of his wife, not even when he turned away from her. His soul strained to be near her, always. Even more so now that their child grew inside her.
“So,” Jared taunted with a sly grin, “looks like you and the missus are getting along well.” His arched eyebrow made Cian chuckle.
“We’re doing alright.” He let his gaze linger on the curves already beginning to blossom. Cian thought back to her promise and ran a hand through his hair. Anticipation curled in his gut. Jared slapped his ham-sized palm to Cian’s back and gave him a little shove.
“Oh, I know exactly how “alright” you’re doing. I remember when my wife and I were newly wed.” He took a long swig of his beer and began waxing poetic about his romantic past as only the Irish could do.
Cian half tuned him out and scanned the faces of his small group of friends. He’d whitt
led the clan numbers down to these dozen or so, the men and women his heart told him were completely trustworthy. Their faces were as familiar to him as his own, their lives and stories part of his own past and future, which is why the traces of doubt and fear that niggled at him turned his stomach.
He’d seen the hate in Connor’s eyes, though. A hate the boy hadn’t been capable of feeling. A hate directed firmly at him.
And those he loved.
Cian’s gaze found Ashlynn immediately, by the fire with a group of women. She was laughing, her face tilted back as joy bubbled up from her soul.
She was his world. If keeping her and their baby safe meant abandoning everyone other than his parents and Faith, then so be it.
Gods, Serena had even gotten to him. His own soul had been threatened by her corruption.
Cian patted Jared on the arm and excused himself, then crossed the field to his wife. He held a hand out to her and waited until she noticed him and slipped her hand into his.
One tug had Ashlynn in his arms, eliciting a sigh from her friends. His mouth grazed hers, softly, teasing, then he whispered, “Let’s go figure out what you have in that bag.”
***
Cian breathed in the scent of Ashlynn’s skin and sex and ran his hand lightly up her back.
“I have no bones,” her voice was barely a whisper against his bare chest but he heard her clearly and chuckled. He’d discovered a vial of honeysuckle and pomegranate oil in the bag and had enjoyed using generous amounts on every inch of her body. He’d even used a dampening spell to contain the sound of their love making from their friends so she didn’t have to hold back the moans of pleasure he’d teased out of her.
To say nothing of the scream that had erupted at the end.
A self-satisfied grin tilted Cian’s lips.
“Bones are overrated,” he murmured, moving his hand up to her to stroke her lovely hair. His fingers froze as a buzz of electricity moved from her auburn locks through his skin to his blood. “Shit.” Cian moved to sit up.
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