by Linsey Hall
“Thank you, Alex,” Aidan said as he took the keys from the man. “Give my best to your mum.”
“Will do, sir.” Alex grinned and headed off toward the only building on the tarmac.
We all climbed into Aidan’s car and set off toward his remote childhood home. It was so deep in the boonies that sheep were the only witnesses to our progress, their beady eyes trained on our car.
When we reached Aidan’s land, the car rolled slowly through the familiar protective spells that prickled against my skin. Aidan’s dad, a fugitive from the Alpha Council fifteen years ago, had decked this place out in protective charms before he’d died. My concealment charm had started working again, keeping me hidden from Victor Orriodor’s seers, but the added protection on Aidan’s property made me feel even more secure.
“Home sweet home,” Aidan said as he pulled up to the shack where he’d lived for part of his youth. His tone indicated that this was in no way a sweet home. Even his shoulders were tense. I knew he didn’t like this place, and his tension reminded me how much.
But it was perfectly located in relation to Glencarrough, the Alpha Council headquarters, and it was well protected.
“Thanks for letting us use this place,” I said as I climbed out of the car.
“Not a problem,” Aidan said.
I didn’t think he realized that he was scowling at the wooden front door. It was a problem for Aidan to be here—he’d spent some miserable childhood years here—but he pushed that aside for me, and I appreciated it.
I reached out and squeezed his hand. He looked down at me, a small smile tugging at the side of his mouth.
“You know me pretty well, don’t you?” he murmured.
“Getting there,” I said.
He pressed a kiss to my forehead, then set off toward the house. The sun was heading toward the horizon as Nix, Del, and I followed him. The earlier warmth had departed, leaving a bite to the air despite the fact that it was late summer.
Aidan stepped onto the stoop and ran his hands along the perimeter of the wooden door, unlocking the protection spell. When the spell deactivated, some of the prickling feeling of the charm dissipated. My shoulders loosened.
Aidan pushed on the door and stepped inside, waving his hand to ignite the lanterns scattered around the cottage. They burst to life with a golden glow, illuminating the rustic kitchen that held only an ancient refrigerator, sink, and some dinged-up counters. The living room and dining nook were tiny, the furnishings rough.
“I’m going to drop my stuff in the bedroom, then head out to practice my magic,” I said.
“I’ll come,” Aidan said.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” I thought of the roof I’d dropped on Dermot and the sonic boom that I’d knocked my friends out with before. “I don’t want to pulverize your insides if I get it wrong.”
“Yeah, she’s pretty dangerous.” Del rubbed her chest, no doubt in memory of the blast I’d hit her with last week when my new magic had gone awry. “You should listen to her.”
“All right,” Aidan said. “I’ll cut some wood for the fire. You have an hour. After that, I’m coming for you.”
“Deal.” He could test how I was controlling my signature. I was definitely much better at keeping my secret when I used my magic, but my new power made it more difficult. I thought I had a handle on it, but I sure wouldn’t mind confirming that.
I dropped my bag in the bedroom I’d used before, then headed out to the kitchen.
“Good luck,” Nix said. “Call us on your comms charm if you need us.”
“Will do.” I zipped up my jacket as I stepped out into the cool air.
The woods were silent as I made my way through the forest to the clearing on the east side of Aidan’s land. I’d practiced my powers there once before, learning to shift into a fox. It felt like ages ago, though it hadn’t even been two months.
I cleared my mind as I walked, calling upon my power to enhance my hearing, a talent that I’d gained by stealing a Shifter’s gift. The forest was no longer silent. Leaves rustled and squirrels chittered. I’d be able to hear anyone sneak up on me.
My stolen Shifter senses were such an asset.
I shoved my hands into my pockets and hunched my shoulders. Prickly guilt streaked through me at the thought of Lorena, the wolf Shifter whose power I’d stolen. She’d been a bad person—she’d enslaved a child named Amara and tried to give her to Victor. I didn’t doubt that she’d done terrible things and deserved to be punished.
But had I needed to be the one to mete out that punishment? Should it have been death? When I’d killed her and taken her power, I’d thought she deserved it.
But I hadn’t been thinking about how she’d been acting out of grief, seeking vengeance for the death of her father. What would I do if someone killed Nix or Del?
I wouldn’t hurt a child, but I’d probably go on some kind of rampage. Her grief didn’t justify her actions. But her actions didn’t justify mine, either.
I wished I hadn’t killed her.
My thoughts ricocheted inside my head as I thought about everything I’d done and had yet to do. Over the last two months, so much had changed. I’d embraced my magic. I’d gained many new skills, often by killing and taking them. I could throw lightning, shift into a wolf, use the power of illusion to confuse my enemies.
I’d taken these powers to help protect myself and my deirfiúr. And I’d only taken them from people who had offered or who were trying to kill me.
I hadn’t been an outright evil murderer or anything, but I hadn’t been entirely good, either.
But from here on out, I wouldn’t take any more. I was strong enough. I had enough power. I just needed to learn to wield it.
I reached the clearing and stopped, running my fingertips over the golden dampening cuff I wore. This cuff made me almost normal, repressing my new magic to the point that I had access to only part of it.
But I needed it all if I was going to win.
I removed the cuff. Soul-shaking power flowed through me, lighting me up like a live wire. I trembled with power, magic coursing through me like a drug, and I let my breath whoosh out of me. Once I was steady, I set the cuff on a fallen log nearby and then straightened.
I took stock of the magic flowing through my veins. This was some serious stuff. But massive power wasn’t any good if it went out of control and hurt those I loved.
So I needed practice.
I would start with illusion. If that went awry, it hopefully wouldn’t start a forest fire or something. It seemed too dangerous to start with my lightning. I wasn’t yet ready to see the size of the bolt I could create with this amount of juice. Probably something comparable to an atom bomb. And I didn’t really want to be in the atom bomb business.
I tried to relax as I focused on the magic within me. It sparked and fizzed, almost a living thing, eager to be let out of its cage. I called on it, pushing it outward toward the trees as I envisioned an old-fashioned party that I’d seen in a movie with Del and Nix a few months ago. It was more a ball than a party, and I did my best to pretend I was back in time.
Colors flashed before my eyes. Enormous dresses on the women and men in strange suits, all lit by glittering chandeliers. I imagined the music as the dancers began to form around me, their colorful forms flitting between the trees.
Magic still vibrated under my skin, raging to be let out. I released some more, envisioning the band that had been in the corner of the massive ballroom. Slowly, they formed. Then the walls of the place appeared, covered in yellow silk wallpaper. The ceiling was supported by thick white columns.
Soon, I stood inside of history, the dancers swirling around me. My heart swelled even as my magic began to surge within me, pushing to break free. Joy at my accomplishment was overwhelmed by panic.
I was losing control of the magic. My skin sparked, little pricks of light flying off of me as the magic seeped out of my pores.
Is this what had happene
d when I’d lost control before and knocked out all my friends? The magic had exploded out of me and hurt them?
Only it was happening more slowly now, little rays of light shining from me.
Which meant I could control it.
I had to control it.
I tried to rein the magic back in, calming my breathing and my mind. But I didn’t let go of the illusion. Quitting wasn’t practice. I had to keep the illusion going while I controlled my magic.
But the dancers blurred in front of my eyes, turning transparent in places. The forest peaked through the illusion, trees bisecting bodies and walls.
My lungs felt tight and the air thick as soup. Hot, too. The light shined more brightly from me, cutting through the dancers like sunlight through a vampire.
I clenched my fists, reaching to hold on to the magic. To keep the illusion going. But pain sliced through my mind, so sharp and bright that I stumbled to my knees.
Shit.
“Cass!” Aidan’s voice cut through the forest.
Magic exploded out from me, a concussive force that blasted through the trees. It tore off tree limbs and blew dirt into the air.
Through bleary eyes, I saw Aidan on his knees about ten yards away.
Damn it.
Groggily, I climbed to my feet and raked my sweaty hair back from my face, then staggered over to Aidan. He was getting to his feet, his face wan.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
“Fine.” His color was returning. “You’re gaining control.”
“Gaining it? I totally lost it at the end there.”
“Maybe, but not nearly as bad as last time.”
I wasn’t sure if he meant the time I’d dropped a house on Dermot or knocked Aidan unconscious, but either way… “You have a point.”
“I usually do. And on the plus side, I can’t really sense your magic right now.”
Hope fluttered in my chest. “That’s a good thing, at least.”
Aidan pressed a kiss to my forehead. “It’s definitely a good thing. You’re gaining control. But come on. We’ll have dinner. Then you can practice more if you want.”
My stomach grumbled at the mention of dinner. “Good plan.”
And I would practice more. Because what I was working with now wasn’t enough to keep my friends safe or to defeat Victor. Not by a long shot.
CHAPTER SIX
At ten ‘til ten the next morning, Aidan’s car crested the hill in front of Glencarrough. Nix and Del had stayed behind, but they had Del’s comms charms in case I needed to call for backup. Del had saved up her power, so she was ready to transport to us in an instant. Aidan was wearing Nix’s charm so that I could listen in.
Aidan pulled over on the side of the road, hiding the car mostly behind a patch of scrubby trees. I looked down at his destination, an enormous stone structure crouched between two hulking mountains. The Alpha Council headquarters was a monstrosity of towers and walls that spread across a Highland valley in central Scotland.
“This place gives me the creeps,” I said. When I’d first seen this place, I’d thought it looked like a fairytale villain’s castle. It wasn’t as bad as Victor’s definitely haunted castle, but it was plenty scary.
“Me too,” Aidan said. Sheep scurried in front of the car, their little white legs kicking up as they bounded away. “I didn’t like growing up at my father’s hovel, but this place was no better.”
Though I remembered the inside of Glencarrough as being beautiful, the outside did not reflect that. And it was full of Shifters who hated FireSouls. I sure hoped Aidan didn’t need my help in there.
Aidan pulled out some binoculars and peered through them at the walls, then handed them to me. I raised them, having to move them around a bit to find a patch through the scrubby trees.
At least two dozen guards paced the ramparts. Quickly, I dropped the binoculars. They couldn’t see us well through our cover, but we needed to be quick.
“I don’t think they’ve replaced the Heartstone yet,” I said.
“Yeah.” Aidan peered up at the guards. “There’d be far fewer guards if they had.”
“So you know what you’re heading into,” I said.
“I do.” He leaned over and kissed me quickly, then said, “You should shift now.”
I nodded, reaching out for his magic, getting ready to mirror his ability to turn into any animal. Though I could turn into a wolf with my own stolen power, I needed to be a bird for this.
Aidan would drive through the gates alone. I would stay outside, shifted into falcon form. If he needed my help, I could fly over the ramparts and rescue him. Hopefully no one would think twice of one native bird. Once inside, I could use my powers—illusion, lightning, whatever it took—to get him out of whatever pickle he was in.
“I really don’t think you need to do this, though,” Aidan said. “It will be fine.”
“I know it will. I just want to be on hand in case it isn’t, okay?”
He nodded sharply.
I grinned, taking off my comms charm and handing it to him, then let the magic flow through me, warming my limbs. A second later, the world flashed before my eyes, and I shrunk into falcon form.
I sat on the passenger seat as Aidan shortened the cord on my comms charm and fastened it around my neck. It hung a bit awkwardly, but it worked. I’d have preferred to shift into a sparrow or smaller bird, but they weren’t big enough to support the weight of the charm.
He touched his charm and said, “I’ll be back soon.”
The words echoed out of the charm around my neck, and I tilted my head as a nod. The charms worked.
Aidan lowered the car’s side window, and I hopped onto the window sill and flew out, catching the breeze beneath my wings.
I flew away from Aidan’s car, approaching Glencarrough from the south. About a quarter mile from the gates, I found a tree branch to sit on so that I could watch.
Aidan’s car pulled up to the gate and stopped.
“See you when this is over,” he said through the comms charm.
A heavy groaning noise came from the charm, the heavy wooden gate lifting.
This was it.
My feathers prickled.
I watched him drive through, catching sight of a man with wild yellow hair walking along the ramparts, then disappearing, presumably down some stairs.
Only one man had hair like that. Mathias. The lion Shifter who knew I was a FireSoul, but who’d kept my secret. I’d managed to convince him I wasn’t a threat, but it’d been hard. I doubted I could convince the rest of the Council if they figured out what I was. I may have helped them save Amara, the little girl who’d tended the Heartstone, but that wouldn’t buy me complete immunity from their fears and superstitions.
“Mathias is approaching,” Aidan murmured through the charm.
I could just imagine Mathias walking down the long steps pressed against the interior wall of Glencarrough. He’d greeted me from that direction last time I visited.
I heard a car door slam and assumed that Aidan had gotten out of the car and stepped into the enormous cobblestone courtyard of Glencarrough. As I remembered it, cars would be parked at the edges in front of the large stone buildings.
Worry gnawed at me. There were at least a hundred Shifters in there, many of whom would be watching Aidan from their position guarding the walls. Aidan was more powerful than any of them, but he was vastly outnumbered.
“You’re back soon,” Mathias’s voice echoed through my comms charm.
“I have something important to discuss,” Aidan said.
“It’s a good thing that Cass didn’t come,” Mathias said in a low voice. “I worry about the others sensing her signature.”
“They haven’t been suspicious otherwise?” Aidan asked.
“No. I’ve heard nothing. She’s best off keeping a low profile.”
“I’ll see that she does,” Aidan said.
I bristled, but knew he meant the best.
�
��The Council is waiting for you,” Mathias said.
“Lead the way,” Aidan said.
There was silence for a while, and I pictured them walking through the grand entranceway into the main building. Marble floors and silk wallpaper adorned the large foyer, as I recalled. Rare weapons lined the walls. I’d wanted to pocket one last time I’d been there, but I didn’t steal. No matter how much my dragon side wanted me to. I was a treasure hunter, but I followed careful rules.
They were probably in the hallway by now. It was there that I’d seen the Alpha Council guards dragging Emile to their dungeon.
I assumed they were going to the Council room—a massive, ornate affair that screamed wealth and power. The Alphas of all the clans would be there.
The sound of light, running footsteps echoed through the comms charm. I focused hard, trying to hear.
“Aidan!” a young voice called.
I recognized that voice. It was Amara, the little girl we’d rescued from Victor. I pictured her in my mind, a slender, dark-haired girl of about nine. She always had a ragged stuffed bunny clutched in her arms.
“Amara!” Aidan’s voice echoed through the charm. He sounded happy to see her. I imagined him kneeling and hugging her. “How are you?” Aidan asked.
“Good! We’re making a new Heartstone!” she said.
A gruff voice said, “That’s enough, Amara.”
That would be Amara’s father, Angus. I was sure of it. He hadn’t liked me when he’d met me before. Thought I smelled funny. Good thing I wasn’t in there, as much as I might like to see Amara for myself.
“We’re late for our meeting, Angus,” Mathias said. “Excuse us.”
There was silence for a moment, and then Mathias said, “Aidan Merrick to see you, Alphas.”
So they were in the Council room now. I imagined all the Alphas turning to look at Aidan from their seats at the round table. I waited for their greeting, but there was only silence.
Shouldn’t they be saying something? Fear chilled my blood.
Suddenly, an angry voice broke through the silence.
