by V. M. Marsh
“You’re engaged?” Lars snarled. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”
My smile slipped. “I didn’t know how to. It’s not something you just blurt out.”
“He did. This is bullshit, Emma. I can’t believe this. I can’t believe you.” He slammed his fist on the counter. “I have to get out of here.”
He jumped off his stool so quickly it fell over. He didn’t notice as he stormed from the room and possibly my life.
I rose, barely keeping my smile in place. “Excuse us. My fiancé and I need to have a moment alone.”
Leaving my still shocked friends behind, I pulled Jace to an empty table. “What the hell, Jace? How could you and whoever told you to pull that little stunt jeopardize the plan like that? There is a good possibility he will leave for good now and we will lose our chance at defeating the Power Thief. This is bigger than you and me or Lars and me. And you guys could have just ruined it all for the entire magical world.”
“I’m sorry. The Elders thought it would be best for all involved if Lars realized he doesn’t have a chance with you. I don’t think they thought it through. I’m sure it never occurred to them he might leave.”
I blew out a frustrated breath. “It’s not your fault. Well, not entirely. However, you shouldn’t have done anything without talking to me first.”
I didn’t bother to disguise the hurt in my voice. “I thought we were a team, but you just went on a blitz alone.”
He pulled me into a hug, which I reluctantly allowed. “I know. I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say. These were orders I shouldn’t have followed.”
Rubbing my back in soothing circles, he added, “At least he knows about me now, and I can be involved in procuring his agreement.”
I snorted. “Fat chance. He’s not going to spend time with my fiancé.”
“He might to check out the competition and find a way to come between us. It would be a smart strategy.”
“That is ridiculous.” Shaking my head, I sighed. “I’d better get to him before he leaves again. You just stay here, and I don’t know, talk to my friends or something. Hey, do you already know Charlie?”
“Of course. I work with the M.E.A. quite a lot, actually. I’ve sewn him up a time or two as a matter-of-fact.”
My eyes widened as I whispered in his ear. “Don’t mention that here. He’s undercover.”
Jace chuckled and whispered back. “Yes, I know. Didn’t you notice I didn’t ask any bumbling questions regarding his bartending activities?”
Stepping back, I eyed Jace in a new light. He was slyer and knew more than I thought. My respect for him grew.
“Well, then good doctor. Go smooth things over with my friends over there, and I’ll see what I can do to save our mission.”
Saluting me, he casually strolled to my friends. As he reached them, he turned and blew me a kiss. Surprised, I pretended to catch it and put it to my heart. Sending him a fond smile and everyone a friendly wave, I marched to the door preparing for war because that was exactly what I was heading towards.
Lars was angrily pacing on my porch when I arrived. He wouldn’t look at me, but his glower deepened. I took a deep breath and prepared for battle.
“I’m sorry you found out that way. I told you we couldn’t be together. I just couldn’t figure out how to tell you why we couldn’t when you were so set on us getting back together.” I stumbled over my words as he turned the full force of his black mood on me.
The weight of his anger felt like a heavy cloud smothering me, and I struggled to breathe beneath it.
“You should have told me. I made a fool of myself fawning over you. I never stood a chance.”
I shrugged in apology as tears slid down my face. This hurt just as much as the first time we broke up because of my engagement to Jace. The Circle had commanded our union, so I had to let Lars go.
Everyone told me time would heal that gaping wound, but it hadn’t. It had only gotten worse. What was happening now made it a wide chasm that felt as hollow as a black hole.
He still glared at me, but his stomping paused when he noticed my tears. It was no use trying to wipe them away; they came too fast and furiously to do anything other than let them come.
Some of the hardness fell from his face. “I love you, Emma. I have from the first moment I saw you, and I will until my last breath. Even if you do marry that other guy.”
Hesitantly stepping towards me, he reached out to dry my cheeks. “I can’t let you go that easily. I only did before because I thought I was doing you a favor and giving you what you wanted, but I can’t do it again. Not this time.”
He cupped my face in his hands, and I was helpless to stop him as his light brown eyes stared into mine. “I love you, and we’ve already lost too much time together because I let you go once before. I know you still have feelings for me, so I’m going to fight for you this time. You and that guy better ready for the battle of your lives because this isn’t a fight I’m willing to lose.”
His lips softly brushed mine. “We belong together, Emma. You have to see that. Please.”
Crushing his lips to mine, heat exploded within me. I hadn’t felt like this in years, and it was glorious. Ignited, I passionately returned his kiss and melted against his muscular frame. It had been so long, too long. Nothing fit or felt as right as this.
He pulled back and rested his forehead against mine. Breathing heavily, he pleaded, “Chose me.”
I reared back as the frigid truth of reality slapped me cold across the face with his words. I couldn’t choose him or my heart. I wasn’t allowed. Duty called, and it was greater than us. I had no choice in the matter.
“I’m sorry. I can’t.” I cried as my shaking hands hurried to unlock the door, and I rushed inside. I didn’t have it in me to think of how to get him to stay. I almost resorted to begging, but knew I would end up begging for something I could never have instead of begging for the greater good.
I raced into my bedroom and slammed the door shut behind me. As I shook like a leaf in a storm, the door I leaned against for support softly rattled.
I hoped he’d meant what he said about fighting for me because it meant he would stay. For the mission. It meant he would stay for the mission, so we had more time to convince him to accept the truth of my vision. Yeah, that was it. It had nothing to do with my heart.
Chapter Seven
I was rinsing my hair in the shower when the first tingles across my skin made me shiver. Goosebumps erupted while I hurried to dry off. Grimacing, I moved as quickly as my body would allow, dreading what came next.
After throwing on a hot pink sun dress, I combed my fingers through my hair. That would have to be good enough. Snatching up sandals as I ran out the door, the tingles crawling across my body grew stronger. I didn’t have much time left.
Running full tilt through the forest, I pushed my way past brambles and branches scratching at me. I was almost to the Circle when the tingles morphed into tiny zaps stinging their way up and down my arms, which I briskly rubbed to relieve the discomfort.
Staggering into the clearing was sweet relief. The Circle Calling was no joke. I had arrived just before it transformed into full body zaps to speed me along. I supposed the unpleasantness worked well enough to get us all here quickly. No one ever took very long to respond, and it was probably why so many of us lived in the Sanctuary or nearby. I shuddered to think how bad it would get if I had to come all the way across Wildwood and up the mountain.
As one of the first to arrive, I pitied the others; the call must be horribly uncomfortable by now. Sending a small friendly smile to Jace, I cocked my head at his returned look of concern.
Then I rubbed my eyes as I realized they must still be red and puffy from crying the night before. Crap. I would have to make up a reason for my appearance.
Mom and Dad frowned at me when they joined the Circle, but I plastered a bright smile across my face and waved at them enthusiastically. However, they were my p
arents and knew me, so their frowns deepened at my public persona display.
Greg was the last to join the ring in the clearing. His shirt was inside out and backwards, which made me chuckle. I didn’t envy Shifters’ frequent wardrobe malfunctions. It seemed they were constantly rushing to dress after a shift, which sounded like too much work to me. I was a bit lazy in that I preferred only having to dress once or twice a day at most.
“Thank you for coming, and I apologize for an additional call. In addition to being unpleasant, there have been an abnormal amount of them lately. However, these are unusually dangerous times, so that must be taken into account.” Elder Mage began.
“I have unfortunate news to impart. The Power Thief has gained access to the magic portion of Wildwood and has already stolen multiple powers. We don’t know the exact number, but it’s enough to have gotten the M.E.A.’s attention.”
Waiting for shocked gasps and frightened outbursts that never came, I glanced about the Circle. Every single one was stunned into silence as shock, horror, and terror played across their faces.
Even Elder Mage seemed surprised he didn’t have to ask for silence. “We must all be especially alert now. I fear it is only a matter of time before he discovers the Sanctuary.”
Elder Mage looked towards me. Crap. Everyone followed almost in unison. Double crap. However, there was something to be said about following leaders in times of stress. It was a bit creepy the way everyone was so quiet and obedient.
“Tell us how everything is progressing with Lars. Is he ready to aid our cause yet?”
“We had just begun to implement our plan to get him on board when someone,” I paused to threw eye daggers at the Council before clearing my throat. “When someone tossed Jace into the mix. To say Lars was displeased to discover my engagement to Jace is an understatement. I have no idea of Lars’s physical location at this point, and this move might have ruined all our chances with him.”
“If that is the case, then he is even more unworthy of you and this task than we thought. If he has run off for good, there must be another way to defeat the Power Thief before he becomes too powerful. It will present itself even if it does not come in a vision. The future always has more than one path to a desired outcome.”
I frowned. He may speak the truth, but I didn’t have to like it. Still, I reluctantly nodded in agreement.
“Emma, her parents, and now Jace will continue to change Lars’s mind when they find him. In the meantime, the Council will work on alternate plans. At least one to defend the Sanctuary if needed and another as a backup plan to defeat the Power Thief. If anyone has helpful ideas, please bring them to the Council.”
“You might need a description of who to watch for.” I mentioned.
“You’ve already told us what he looks like, back when Scarlet was still here. He’s tall, blonde, blue eyed, and muscular.”
“I may have forgotten to mention he’d changed his appearance in my last vision. He cut his hair into an uneven spiky mess, which is dyed black with random spots of reddish-orange. It looks like he tried to unsuccessfully bleach the black from his hair. He wears makeup to make his face and nose appear longer and narrower.”
I paused and shivered. “And his eyes are no longer plain blue. Unless he can get his hands on contacts that will cover them, his eyes glow now and have weird teal lights snaking through his irises. Even if he changes his hair again, his eyes will give him away.”
Murmurs of fear and concern did erupt at that. I received my fair share of glares for withholding pertinent Intel, which I completely deserved. I couldn’t believe I’d forgotten to tell them about his appearance. That was one of the most important things to know when searching for or avoiding someone. All I could do was adopt an apologetic expression and mouth, “I’m sorry.”
Elder Mage held up his hand. After looking at each one of us, he said, “That will be all. Thank you for coming.”
I had never been one to avoid others before Lars came back into my life, but I had never been in such a raw state before either. When I first broke up with Lars, my parents shielded me from the Circle and no one expected much from me since I was just a teen and new to my powers. However, now I was my own shield and so much rode on my shoulders. I couldn’t deal with all the nay-sayers and critics on top of that.
So, I ran from the clearing as soon as the Circle began to break up. I’m sure I heard Marissa call my name, but I ignored her and rushed into the brush. She could shift to catch up to me if it was that important.
Seriously, she could shift into any living thing besides another human, so there was nothing stopping her from shifting into a bird or something to get through the forest more quickly than I could. She actually shifted into the most beautiful raven I’d ever seen. It was abnormally huge, but absolutely stunning with shiny blue-black feathers.
Again, I cursed the Circle for not having an easier way to get to and from the clearing. I bet a lot of them used magic since they were all more gifted than me. It probably didn’t occur to them I struggled so much since the Sight didn’t help me at all with travel. Although, Mom and Jace were only healers, so at least they must have difficulty as well.
Lost in my thoughts, I missed the telltale signs someone was following me until it was too late. A hand reached out to cover my mouth as an arm snaked around my waist to pull me into a thicket of shrubs. I tried to fight back, but he was stronger than me and had the element of surprise on his side.
Waiting for an opportunity to find out who had taken me and to break free, I let him drag me into the bushes. When he let me go, I spun around and punched him in the nose. Well, I aimed for his nose, but he turned his head at the last second so I caught him in the jaw instead.
“That freaking hurts, Emma. Cut it out. It’s me, Lars.” He whispered harshly.
I glared at him. “I knew it was you before I threw that punch. You deserve it and more for scaring me like that and making me think I was being kidnapped.”
“Sorry. I didn’t know how else to talk to you here since I don’t know how close the others are.”
I crossed my arms and frowned. “What do you mean by ‘the others’?”
I didn’t like that sheepish expression he wore. “When I saw you running from the cabin earlier, I followed you. I wanted to make sure you were okay and not in danger or something.”
My eyes widened as he glanced away. “I saw everything Emma. I know about that weird cult or whatever you, your parents, and Jace are part of. Shit. I even saw Marissa belongs. That threw me for a loop. She’s a tough one; I never thought she would be into something like that.”
I crossed my arms and scowled at him. “Oh, and I am one to join a cult? Me and my parents are the type to do so?”
He rolled his eyes. “I never said that. It’s just she is the complete opposite of what I picture a cult member to be.”
I held up my hand. “Stop now before you stick your foot further in your mouth. The more you try to explain your surprise about Marissa, the worse you make your opinion of me sound.”
“Now I know why you dumped me back in high school and why you’re suddenly engaged to someone your friends had never heard of.”
I raised my brow for him to indicate he should go on. I had to hear whatever crazy story he’d concocted.
“Your parents forced you into this cult before we broke up and that’s why you started acting all weird. They told you not to be in a relationship with anyone outside of the cult, so you had to dump me. I don’t know when, but at some point, they decided you should marry that Jace guy. As a cult member, you have to do it. How close am I?”
I frowned. Besides calling it a cult, he was fairly spot on. And the whole thing did sound crazy and cultish when framed this way. Shit.
“First off, it’s not a cult. Actually, I’m not sure what to label it, but it most definitely isn’t a cult.” I rubbed my temple.
“Second, I broke up with you when they strongly suggested I marry Jace. Yes, I was onl
y a teen, but that is the match they deem best. No one forced me, I agreed for the greater good. Circle members marry Circle members or from families that used to be in it to make the Circle stronger. I couldn’t be with you once I’d agreed to marry someone else; it wasn’t right. That was my decision.”
I spun and tromped through the forest towards my cabin. After a moment, Lars followed. It didn’t take his long legs much time to catch up to me.
“So you agreed to marry someone else even though you loved me.”
I nodded.
“For what greater good? That statement is ridiculous.”
I sighed. “How did you get passed the Circle barriers? There are incredibly strong protective spells keeping people like you out of our meeting spot.”
“I was much closer to you than you knew when you entered. I suppose you let me in if that’s something you can do.”
My brows drew together. I must have been pretty distracted not to have noticed him close enough to enter the barriers with me. That was alarming. I’d have to do better at being aware my surroundings when I attended meetings from now on.
“You aren’t supposed to know any of this. The Circle is secret and only the members know about it. If someone leaves the Circle, their memory of it is erased with magic. You have no idea how much trouble we could get into for you even having inkling about it.”
He grabbed my arm to stop me. “But I am aware of it now, so fill me in on the parts I don’t yet know. I’ll find out one way or another because it involves you, us. I’m not going to let this go. Especially now that I’m certain you don’t love that guy, I’m not going to let you go.”
I shook off his hand. “I do love him.”
Hauling me into his embrace, he said, “Not like this.”
Then he kissed me, and I wanted the heat of it so very much. Just as I began to melt, I dragged my lips from his.
“I suppose you need to understand the Circle to grasp that despite my feelings for you, I will still marry Jace.”
Backing away from him to give us space, I began. “The Circle is comprised of members with gifts useful for its cause, which is to protect the Sanctuary and magic. To better influence a desired outcome, we remain hidden and guide from the shadows in secret.”
