“But wait. Fae pass on their knowledge through the awakening. What if it’s similar?”
“I hope, but what if they take control?”
He shook his head. “Then your grandfather finds a way to deal with that.”
“And if he can’t?”
“He would,” Chatan promised. “But listen to me. They won’t take control. They won’t possess either of us. They’re passing on knowledge. It’s what our ancestors did. Pass on the knowledge when possible.”
“This is so much pressure. I thought they were safe. Figured if they were dead it was over. Maybe I need to go back to the pillar. See if I can find my dad again and ask him.”
“I could try going on the journey with you.”
She nodded. “Yeah, maybe you’ll see your mother. Maybe you can ask her about why she did what she did.”
His brow pinched. “Yeah, maybe. After Taryn brings by a coffee pot, I plan to look in the basement for some clue. Maybe she left me something.”
“Want help?”
“You have something to focus on. I need to do this on my own.”
“I could move down there, bring the journals. Then if you need me, I’m right there.”
He smiled. “I’ll need to clear a spot you can sit before that happens.”
“A break may help me. I can sort through what I’ve read while I help organize or search.”
“Only if you’re sure. I want to do everything I can to help you, not make this harder.”
“You aren’t making anything harder.”
He touched her cheek. “Have a sip of your hot chocolate. I’ll be right back.”
She grabbed her cup and took a drink, then picked up the book again.
He had a notebook and pens somewhere. Maybe she would like to have them handy. Working with code had to be hard and time-consuming.
There was a knock and he set the notebook and pen on the table.
She glanced up. “Thank you.”
“No prob.” He moved to the door and opened it. “Hey, Taryn, Loval. Come in.”
Loval carried a brand-new coffee pot and a bag of stuff to the kitchen. Taryn stepped in and hugged him before moving to sit next to Jacinda.
Jacinda smiled sadly. “Sorry if we worried you.”
“Don’t. You’re fine. I get it. You needed to see your mother. Maybe I should have told you about my dream, but you still would have gone. Just maybe not alone.”
“Clairvoyant?” Jacinda asked.
Taryn dipped her head. “Yes, but sharing the future doesn’t always help. If anything, you would have hurried faster, and the result would have been the same. I wasn’t sure who the woman was. Wasn’t sure of much of anything, but I definitely saw what is after you.”
“Can you blame me for leaving Chatan here?”
She shook her head. “You were scared, and you wanted to do right by him. I get it, but don’t do that next time. He couldn’t have been happy knowing you were out there, alone, facing something evil.”
“I keep hearing that. Trust me, I get it.”
She smiled. “These are your father’s?” Taryn asked.
Jacinda nodded. “Yeah. I just hope I don’t disappoint him.”
“You won’t.”
“You don’t know that.”
Taryn smiled. “You’re not going to. You were meant to stop Thanatos and do so much more.”
“Like what?” she asked.
She lifted a shoulder. “That I can’t answer. I just know that you and Chatan were meant to do great things.”
“I feel like I should be doing more.”
“Well, stop worrying. You will. But I guess I need to leave you alone. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
She nodded. “I’ll be more social then.”
Chatan squeezed Jacinda’s shoulders. “No one expects you to be.”
Jacinda leaned over to hug Taryn. “Thank you.”
“Don’t worry about it. It was a small thing.” She hopped up. Loval came over and patted her shoulder. “See you tomorrow?”
Jacinda nodded.
Chatan walked them out.
Loval glanced back at Jacinda. “She looks so sad.”
“She lost her mother. What else would she look like?” Chatan asked.
“Yeah, but almost like she’s lost hope.”
“I’m not letting her give up, so stop. Besides, we keep getting new information and it’s disconcerting. We’ll get through this, though.”
“You will. We’ll be there at breakfast.” Taryn pulled Loval toward the car. He stepped inside and went to the basement to move enough stuff around she would have some place to sit.
* * * *
Jacinda heard something bang and looked up from the journal. She quickly slung back the rest of the cocoa, which had grown cold, and hurried toward the sound. She found a set of stairs leading down.
Funny, she hadn’t noticed those before. But she had no reason to look for the basement. She made her way down the stairs and found Chatan moving boxes. One lay on its side on the floor, its contents spilled out.
She knelt in front of the box and started picking things up.
Chatan jumped when he saw her there. “Sorry, it’s a mess.”
She lifted a shoulder and picked up a picture of Chatan and his mother. “She was beautiful.”
Chatan crouched beside her. “Yeah.”
“You were a cute kid.”
He chuckled. “If you say so.”
“I do.” She leaned over for a quick kiss. When she sat back she turned over the picture. “What’s this mean?” It was the same symbols in her book. The ones in his language.
His head tilted. “Check the last place you would look? What the…” Then his mouth dropped open. “Damn it.” He hopped up and ran up the stairs, to the bedroom. She followed as fast as she could.
He stood in the closet, reaching for a wooden chest in the back corner of the shelf.
“What’s that?”
“Her jewelry box. Dad made it for her.”
She smiled. “Why wouldn’t you look in there?”
“Never been good at dealing with loss. She knew that.”
“Who did you lose before her?”
“You know how I shift into a husky/wolf hybrid?”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
“His name was Tala. He was my dad’s dog before mine. He died when I was eight. I spent a week shifted into his shape. My mom kept telling me I’d never shift back if I didn’t soon.” He let out a sigh.
“That seems like you were holding on.”
“Yes and no. I didn’t want to deal with his death. I made my dad pick another location to bury Tala. I didn’t want him close to the house.”
“But you went to your mother’s funeral?”
He nodded. “Yeah, but I’ve only been to the gravestone a couple times. And only when Loretta or my father dragged me.”
She looked down. “Never been to my father’s grave. Don’t even know where it’s at, if he even has one.” She blew out a breath. “Doubt my mother will have a funeral.”
“We could do a small one. Friends and family. And sure, most of them may not know her, but—”
She shook her head. “I can remember her in my own way.”
“My father was her friend. Ceridwen too. Draecyn was pretty quiet. But I’m sure some of the other Branches were friends with her. Which means they may want to do something for her.”
“When? Honestly, how are we supposed to have anything like that when it was all a secret? As far as I knew, my mother didn’t have a lot of ties with the Branches of Emrys. Or maybe I just never saw it. Damn it, I don’t know, Chatan. Right now, I need to focus on stopping Thanatos.”
“We will. I promise you. But that doesn’t mean someone who can’t decipher the journals can’t set something up.”
“Do funerals help?”
He lifted a shoulder. “Some people think so.”
She sighed. “Well, I think the closure I need will come
when I kill Thanatos, or Scathane, or whatever part of him has trapped my parents and your mother, and everyone else he’s killed over the centuries.”
“Go grab your journals. And tell me if I can do anything. Anything at all.”
“Do you have any idea how weird it is to hear that constantly? I never had help. I had to do it all on my own. And this time I need it, and I don’t know how to deal with that.”
“You’re doing fine.”
She nodded.
“You are. Go set up on the couch. I’ll bring this down there and look through it. We can both be productive.”
“All right.”
* * * *
He kissed her forehead, and they headed down. The wooden box was heavy. Or maybe it seemed that way.
She curled up with the journal in her hand and the notebook on her lap. He put the box in his lap and watched her a long moment.
Jacinda focused so easily.
While Chatan couldn’t gather his thoughts.
“Open it,” she said, without looking up.
After a long breath, he lifted the lid and found an envelope with his name. His heart sank. He wanted to believe his mother would never hurt him. And she had, even if she did it to protect him.
Why hadn’t he looked in the past?
Oh, yeah. Because he didn’t remember casting anything powerful. Not a damned thing.
Time to face his fears. He opened the envelope and pulled out the letter.
My dearest Chatan,
I love you more than anything. And I’ve done something terrible. I thought I could save you from heartache, but as my days run out, I realize how wrong I was. If only I came to that conclusion sooner, but I no longer have the ability to remove the binds.
When I realized what had happened, I tried to lock away your magic. I wanted to protect you from the fate I suffered. But your father reminded me how important love is.
When you find Jacinda, don’t let her go. She’ll undo what I did to protect you. I never should have locked away your magic, but I didn’t realize in the beginning what was happening to me. The taint from that monster stole my hope.
When you find Jacinda, if you haven’t, embrace your magic. It was always there. You were gifted. I wanted you to believe you weren’t, so you wouldn’t hurt like I did when his poison seeped into me.
But then your father reminded me why we were helping the Lavelles. Because Mina was my closest friend. We knew what she was running from. Matoskah became obsessed with stopping it before he lost a friend. Tyrell knew what would happen. He would die. Mina would die. Jacinda would finally stop him, with your help.
But I selfishly hoped you would never find Jacinda and you would live without the heartache that comes with her.
Please forgive me. I love you more than anything. I’m sorry, more sorry than you’ll ever know. Even more so because by the time I realized my mistake, it was too late to give back your magic.
I hope you find Jacinda and you two fulfill the prophecy. You were both meant for so much more, and I may have ruined everything.
Love,
Mom
Jacinda caught his face as he placed the letter in his lap.
“She really did lock away my magic.” His voice cracked.
“Do you understand why?”
In a way. He knew he would do anything to protect Jacinda. That’s what his mother attempted to do, but it was the wrong choice. It hurt knowing she fucked with his head, but he got why. Sighing, he pressed his forehead to hers. “Don’t agree with it, but she wanted to protect me.”
“From me?” Jacinda whispered.
He wrapped his hands around her wrists. “No. From Thanatos. She hoped if I didn’t find you, I wouldn’t suffer because of him.”
“I’m not letting anything happen to you. In fact, I think I have a couple ideas on how we can deal with him. I need a break from the journals. Why don’t we find something else to focus on, and I’ll sleep on my idea? I’m going to need Brent’s help anyway.”
“Sounds good. I can’t wrap my head around what my mom did or why. And all I want to do is forget it all and make love to you.”
She kissed him, slow and sweet. Then she moved the paper away and climbed into his lap, her fingers combing into his hair.
He picked her up and carried her back to the bedroom, where he stood her up and pulled her shirt over her head. She started on his pants as he kicked off his shoes.
His fingers slipped under her waistband as he guided her pants and panties down her legs, caressing soft skin as he went. She slipped her shoes off and stepped out of her pants before pulling his shirt over his head.
“You’re beautiful,” Jacinda murmured, trailing her fingers along the planes of his stomach, sending ripples of pleasure through him.
A chuckle escaped. “You’re divine, Jace.” He drove his fingers into her hair, tilting her head back to kiss her lips. She pushed him onto the bed, so he was sitting on the edge and climbed into his lap as she looked into his eyes.
“Here?” he asked.
She nodded.
Reaching between them, he guided himself into her tight heat. She pushed down, taking him in. He kissed down her throat to her breast and took a tight peak into his mouth as she rocked over him. Her hands gripped his shoulders as she moved faster, her rhythm faster than where he would have started, but she felt so damned good he couldn’t complain.
He slid one hand down her lower back, guiding her as she leaned farther back, and he bent to tease her nipple, then moved to the next. He focused on her pleasure to keep from coming too soon. He wanted it to last. He wanted her to know how much he loved her.
She cried out as he sucked harder and laved his tongue over her bud. “Chatan, please.”
He stood and turned, placing her on the bed, her ass at the end of the mattress as he pushed into her hard, watching her reaction as he held her thighs open. Her hands fisted on the blanket, her back arching. “Yes, yes, yes!” she cried as he pushed the pace faster. Her head thrashed back and forth, her ankles hooking around his back.
He didn’t take it easy. No, he gave her what she wanted. Hard, fast, powerful thrusts. She came apart with a cry of sheer ecstasy. Only a second behind he held himself deep inside her.
Her eyes glazed over as she caught her breath. He climbed onto the bed, pulling her with him.
“Don’t think I can feel anymore, that was so good,” she slurred.
“Soon you can. Guess I don’t need to worry about hurting you anymore.”
She shook her head. “You were amazing.”
“Not as much as you,” he murmured.
She yawned, tucking her head under his chin as she pressed close.
Chapter 20
Brent woke with a start at the sound of his phone. He rolled over and picked it up without looking. “Yes?”
“Morning, Brent. I hope this isn’t too early, but I think I figured out a few things, and I need help putting it together. Yours to be specific.” Jacinda sounded far more hopeful than she had the night before.
“Sure, of course. Where are you?”
“I’m not sure where we can meet here. But if Robert doesn’t mind, he could take me up there or bring you here. Either way. I just want to work this out. Maybe in two hours?”
“I’ll call Robert and find out the best way to do this. And then, I want you to accept a gift from me. A cell phone, one you don’t have to worry about, but if you need to contact any one of us who can help, the numbers are already programed. You can use it for whatever, but you need a phone.”
She half-laughed. “You’re right. I just haven’t been able to deal with that yet. So, thank you.”
“It’s the least I can do. I haven’t had a chance to do much for you, and I want to do this.”
“I’m getting used to the idea, slowly but surely. Let me know the plan once you know. I’m still making notes, but I’m a lot closer to an answer.”
“I’ll talk to you very soon.” He hung up and i
mmediately dialed Robert as he grabbed a pen and paper and wrote a quick note for Amelia telling her to call when she was awake, in case he wasn’t back.
Robert answered after a few rings with a groggy voice. “Hello, Brent. Everything all right?”
“I believe so. Jacinda just called to ask me for help. She says she’s closer to figuring everything out. Someplace a lot of us can meet if we need to.”
“I can bring whoever needs to be in Wanatoga. Preston checked out the wards surrounding the reservation. I don’t know how they did it, but they certainly made it impossible for certain things to pass through. I’m impressed. Anyone else you want to call for now?”
“Matoskah. He has the most information about Thanatos. He’s going to be able to help.”
“Sure. Give me twenty minutes. Tremaine will likely come. Not sure about Preston yet. And if we need her, Liz is ready. Christian already promised to babysit.”
Brent smiled. “Make it two hours.”
“Sure,” Robert answered.
He filled in the details and hopped in the shower before getting dressed.
* * * *
Lars stood in the chilly wind, staring down the slope at a cabin hidden in the Nepal. He’d managed to steal warm clothing for the trek. Thanatos wasn’t kidding about the house being rural.
Halfway up a mountain with crazy terrain. Snow covered the area. Not a sound from any living being.
He wasn’t even sure what he was going to go up against. The only thing he knew about the woman was that she was a descendant of the woman who had wronged Thanatos in the past, and he wanted her soul to build his strength. He wasn’t sure how that all worked, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to understand.
“Go, while she still sleeps. Otherwise, you will not be able to counter her defense,” Thanatos whispered between the realms. “You need her to fuel the ritual.”
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