“Why would he want to grab me?”
“I looked into it when Zane told me you’d identified him,” Quinn said. “He was not registered as being in the castle that week. It’s not unheard of, but it is unusual.
“The castle is the center of our coven as well as our home. Most people didn’t know you were here, but nobody had access to the grounds that we didn’t trust. Bryson was part of your security team. He didn’t have the power to locate the nursery, but he knew you were here.”
“That isn’t what concerns us,” continued Zane. “He could easily have thought you were a loose dog, or he might have recognized you and wanted to return you to safety. But nobody has heard from him in months. We’re not even sure where he is right now.”
“Why would he hate me? I don’t understand. Was he friends with Keller’s mistress? Is he part of the conspiracy?”
Isabella answered, “Of course Bryson and Wintra were friends. That’s her in the photo next to Tandy. They were all close—Wintra, Zane, Tandy, Simon, and Bryson. Hawa and your nanny, too. Keller was the controversy, not the seven friends.”
The pieces clicked. “Wintra is in the picture?”
Nods confirmed that my father’s mistress was the last of the Magnificent Seven. My mother must have been devastated to discover one of her best friends had betrayed her. Keller fell another notch on my list.
Isabella spoke convincingly. “I know the rest of you don’t trust Wintra, but Keller used his position to take advantage of her. She was young and impressionable. She made a terrible decision that cost her a great deal, but I don’t think she would have physically hurt anybody.”
“Hush, Isabella,” Quinn demanded in his authoritarian tone. “We’ve been through this before. Our intelligence indicates Wintra tried to put her own boy in control. Tia and Zane both need to be dead for that to happen, and Tia is still the more vulnerable.”
Isabella did as she was told, but clearly, she didn’t buy it. I added nothing out of respect for the two men, but Zane recognized my silent reservation with a nod of his head.
“I’ll put my men on tracking him down,” Quinn added. “But I’m guessing this is all a misunderstanding, and he was simply returning her to safety.”
I shook my head. “I’m telling you, I felt it. He was scary as shit. He gave off so much negative emotion, I couldn’t function. He knew who I was, and he wanted to hurt me.”
Zane and his father continued to strategize, but the conflicting emotions had left me with a pounding headache. I tried to follow the conversation for another few minutes before Zane scolded, “Go lay down, Tia. It’s been a long day, and you look exhausted.”
“I’m fine,” I complained. “Don’t hover...” Despite my tone, his glare won the day, and I left without finishing my sentence. Forced to take a nap wasn’t really a bad thing when you were grown-up, and I fell asleep quickly curled up in my old nursery.
Hours later, I woke to a dark room. Before I could leave that last stage of sleep, a lonely feeling of unrest settled over my subconscious. I quickly located Zane still deep in conversation with his father, so I called for Simon. For the first time in my life, he didn’t answer.
When he didn’t respond, I looked for his window, but couldn’t even sense him. The reality sent a chill down my spine, and I knew something was terribly wrong. Simon would never intentionally shut me out.
Instinct told me to manage my reaction and not send any nonverbal messages to Zane. I did not, however, block his access to me. If he paid close attention, he’d see what I was doing, but my master’s predictable nature would put my safety ahead of Simon. At that moment, nothing was more important than my friend.
The increase in my physical adrenaline brought me to a new level of control as I focused my search. For the first time, I simultaneously operated in my subconscious and the current world with ease. It was the most exhilarating feeling I’d ever experienced.
Instead of Simon, I found an open portal to Bryson Gentrie’s cool and calm image. He startled me, but I wasn’t scared or even apprehensive. I had control of my second world, and Zane and Quinn were only a shout away.
“Well, Tia. At last, we meet.”
“Where’s Simon?” His safety was the only thing that brought me to Bryson, and the only thing I wanted in return.
His response was chilling. “Well, that is a problem. You see, he’s…indisposed right now.”
“Show me. Now. Or I’m calling for Quinn and Zane. It’s only a matter of time before they hunt you down, Bryson. They weren’t looking for you before, but they are now.”
“I know, Tia,” he said softly. “I’ve been monitoring you for a long time.”
I didn’t believe him. My ability to identify him, and the news that he was a suspect sent clear alarm through his subconscious.
“I want to see Simon. Now, or I’m leaving.” Both of us read the power behind my demand. He tried to read me, but I easily blocked him.
With a soft smile, his image was replaced by my very vulnerable bodyguard curled on a filthy floor. His bloodied face and swollen eyes gave clear indication that he’d had the shit beaten out of him.
I took a deep breath and pushed my anxiety aside to maintain the necessary level of control. “Why? Even if you kill me, Zane will be the heir. You’ll never put Wintra’s son on the throne.”
A more confident Bryson reappeared, and he corrected me with a sneer. “I don’t know where Wintra and her son are. Keller hid them before he died. He was stronger than Quinn, so nobody will ever find them. Except for maybe you, but they haven’t let you go look, have they? What are they keeping from you, Tia?”
A shadow of Emily’s image appeared behind him, but he did not feed my vulnerability this time. I brushed his words aside to regain the upper hand. “If you don’t want Wintra’s son to rule, why do you want me? Why hurt Simon?”
The cold tone sent shivers that I had to work hard to defeat. “Come into my world. I’ll let Simon go and tell you what you want to know. We’ll handle all this with your master when he looks for you.”
Bryson’s plan was an easy read. He took Simon knowing I would go to my friend, and control over me would give him power over Zane. I still had no idea why Bryson wanted to hurt my master, but it didn’t matter. I wasn’t letting Bryson take Simon.
“Show me your door,” I said without hesitation. “I’ll come to you.”
Bryson likely underestimated my ability. With full access to my energy source, I had the physical advantage, but very few people knew it, giving me the mental advantage as well. I also didn’t need to stand in front of an open portal to access Zane. We were connected on a much deeper level. If I sent him a message, he’d be there.
The door materialized with powerful clarity, but I made my plans before entering. Assuming Bryson’s goal was to kill me with little concern over the repercussions, the need to remain calm and connected was more important than ever.
I had no fear. He must have been a fool to piss all of us off. The most powerful warlocks in the world would be no more than seconds behind me, and I was no small child. Every muscle and nerve in my body were tuned to my powers as I walked through his portal, and I put everything I had into the call for my mate.
Before Bryson’s image fully formed, I moved hard to the right with an instinct formed from a natural plane between my reality and my subconscious. A huge bolt of energy came toward me, and the acrid smell of sulfur burned my nostrils. The fireball missed me by a hair, but I never took my gaze off him.
Bryson stood before me, and I could easily read his shock. “Well, you’re quite the little witch, aren’t you, Tia? Zane is training you well.”
I remained on guard, but comfortable with the knowledge that I was more powerful. My chin rose in defiance, and I held my ground.
He knew it, too. “I figured I could kill you and make Zane pay, but this is going to require some heavy thought.”
“Why would you want to hurt Zane?” I asked in an attempt to
find some level of reason.
Distracted pacing mirrored his growing anxiety. “Zane stole everything from me. I spent years watching that spoiled, arrogant asshole manipulate life. When Keller destroyed himself, my father was supposed to be next, not Quinn, and it would all come to me. Tandy, the throne…everything. I need to make people understand. They all really want me if I can just get rid of you and Zane.”
When he laughed without a connection to reality, I realized the extent of my problem. There was no reasoning with crazy people, and I planned my next move before he was done speaking.
“Zane and Quinn are only a few seconds behind me,” I said in an even tone. “They’ll destroy you. Show me that Simon is safe, and I’ll intercede on your behalf.”
Bryson laughed again, an evil, bone-chilling sound formed from ice. “They aren’t coming, Tia. You went through a door with no way for them to follow. I guess Zane didn’t teach you everything.”
He believed he spoke the truth, but he was wrong. I didn’t close Zane out, and he could find me anywhere. I sent a stronger message and received the twinges of a response. My master was searching for me.
Bryson said, “Surrender your powers to me, and I’ll let Zane come in for a fair fight. If he’s as strong as you think, he’ll kill me, and you’ll all live happily ever after. Keep your defenses up, however, and I’ll destroy what’s left of your feline friend.”
With a wave of Bryson’s hand, Simon appeared at his feet, and Bryson kicked him in the ribs. I couldn’t risk any focus of my power to connect to him, but Simon shuddered before he briefly transformed into his hawk. He returned quickly, but the drop to his symbol clearly demonstrated his weakened condition.
I couldn’t give up my advantage to man who had death in his heart. There was no way he had a fair fight planned for Zane. Bryson would kill me as soon as he could, and Simon would die anyway.
To buy a little more time, I fed him signs of weak uncertainty. The emotions drew on his arrogance until he felt he had the upper hand. He turned to his energy source to prepare his attack, and Simon was clearly his first target.
His hand started to twitch when I moved first. Under a crackling, blinding light, I became one with my subconscious and released my full force on him. Never in my training had I reached so deep and so far, but I remembered the feeling once before. The night I’d killed my father.
The result was instantaneous, and Bryson was dead before he hit the floor. I slumped to the ground with the realization of what I had done.
Chapter Fifteen
The explosion from my energy source expectantly opened a door and a frantic Zane entered immediately. With a wave of his hand, Quinn, Owen, Kiyo, and several other powerful and tense warlocks were by my side, but Zane stayed tuned to every sound and movement.
Kiyo tried to pick me up, but I pushed him away. “Get Simon. Bryson’s dead, and there isn’t any threat.”
Zane demanded, “You’re first. He might have had friends.”
My adrenaline allowed no room for submission, and I snapped in frustration. “He acted alone. This was never about supporting my father. Bryson would have killed my father if he’d had the chance. This was about revenge on you. He wanted to control the coven himself.”
I moved to Simon’s side and connected to him both physically and emotionally. His heartbeat grew steadier, but I insisted, “We have to take him first. Please. He needs a doctor. There’s nobody else here, I’m sure of it.”
Zane and his father exchanged a glance, and my mate gently picked Simon up. “Follow me closely, Tia. We’ll get him back to the castle, but I want you at my side until we sort this out.”
Back in my nursery, I wouldn’t leave Simon, and Zane didn’t give me a hard time. Truthfully, I don’t think he wanted an argument, and watching Simon kept me out of trouble while he and his father worked to figure out what happened.
Dr. Bell appeared quickly. With a quick examination, she pronounced him bruised, bloodied, concussed, and sporting a few broken ribs, but he would heal.
“He’s been drugged,” she added grimly. “Somebody probably slipped a tranquilizer into his food or drink. That’s why he was captured so easily.”
“He complained earlier about not feeling well…and I…just teased him. I should have listened better.” I rubbed his head, but the guilt would stay with me for a while.
I gently held his hand while she treated his wounds, but he refused any pain medication. I lacked the appropriate sympathy. “Don’t be a dumb shit, Simon. Take the medication.”
“It will make me sleepy,” he slurred. “I can’t watch you when I’m sleepy.”
“Watch me? Really? Who pulled who out of Bryson’s grasp, anyway?”
Simon mumbled, “I wore him down for you.”
I kissed my guard on top of his bald head. “Yeah, big guy. Tell yourself that if it helps you sleep at night.
“We’re in the nursery of the castle, which is controlled by generations of powerful people. Every single warlock in the coven loyal to Quinn is here. We’ve got this one, idiot. Take the pain pills and sleep, or I’ll get somebody to show me how to bolt you to the bed.”
Simon tried to sit up with a snarl, but the room must have done a one-eighty, and he laid down quickly. “Maybe I’ll rest for just a minute.”
Turning to Dr. Bell, I said, “Stick the needle in his ass, Doc. He won’t fight you.”
I waited until he fell asleep and left Kiyo and Dr. Bell in charge of his comfort and safety. With full understanding of my responsibility, I went in search of my mate.
The power shift was noticeable the moment I entered the ballroom, and the chatter grew quieter as I walked through the space. Surrounded by dozens of the most dominant people in our coven, I was at least equal to most of them until my gaze rested on Zane, and my knees buckled a little with the weight of the shivers.
He subtly snapped his fingers and pointed to his side. I joined him with my eyes lowered in deference and a tug from somewhere deep in my heart. My obedience was not a request, but the familiar move brought inexplicable comfort, and I slipped my hand into his just to feel his presence.
Zane spoke first. “The council is in agreement with you, Tia. They believe Bryson acted alone. His father may have been involved in the conspiracy years ago, but he died just after your parents. We’d always understood his death to be an accident, but after interviewing his mother, it appears Bryson killed him during a disagreement over you. His father might have wanted power, but I don’t believe he would have supported the murder of a child.”
“Is his mother in trouble for not speaking earlier?” I asked with a small frown.
“I’ll deal with it,” Quinn said. “She’s been living in fear of Bryson for many years and didn’t feel she could speak honestly until she had confirmation of his death. But that’s no reason to withhold information in an investigation of this magnitude.”
“I guess I don’t have any business criticizing him,” I said dryly. “We even have patricide in common.”
Isabella slipped her arm around my shoulder. “You know that it isn’t the same. Are you okay? This has been a lot to process.
“I know,” I said meeting her eye with true determination. “I’m fine, really. I mean, it’s not easy and we can’t celebrate the loss of any life. I wish it could have been different, but I’d choose Simon’s safety and my own life again.”
I turned back to my mate. “So, Wintra wasn’t guilty. Neither was her son, just like Isabella said.”
My statement did not require a response, but both men nodded. Quinn added, “I’m glad we never found her. We would most likely have killed them both.
“Bryson said my father’s powers hid them before he died. I need your permission to look for them, Zane. I want to tell them they don’t need to fear you.”
I would find them. As soon as I spoke, the fuzzy image of a woman and a teenaged boy who looked like me appeared in my second world. It would be a long time before their trust could b
e earned, but it was a battle I was willing to fight.
Zane lifted his chin. “I’m not ashamed to admit that I was wrong. That’s why you make the perfect mate, Tia. You complete me.”
Quinn cleared his throat. “We have come to another conclusion tonight. I am retiring. I never wanted this job in the first place and will spend my remaining years with my mate. You and Zane are going to rule like the granddaughter of Kieran should. I was just keeping everything warm for you.”
I was shocked and a little panicked. “That’s crazy, Quinn. You’re the leader and can’t give it up for me. I’m not ready for all this shit.”
Quinn raised his eyebrows. “Just because you’re my new leader, young lady, doesn’t mean you can give me any sass.” He twirled his finger in the air telling me to turn around.
I stared with an open mouth. “You gotta be kidding me?”
His eyebrow rose in expectation until I took my embarrassing smack on the butt in front of a room full of strangers. The twinkle in his eye made up for the sting.
Zane laughed as he pulled me into his arms for a mollifying coddle. “He’s not going to be talked out of it. I’ve already tried.”
****
Within days, we’d settled into new rooms at the castle, but spent as much time in our California home as we could manage. Quinn’s presence helped make the transition effortless, and our people appreciated a peaceful handover of power.
I finally had the chance to talk to my father as an adult. “I’m sorry, Owen. I wasted your money in New York, and I’m embarrassed. I’ll pay you back, I promise.” I spoke with sincerity, but wasn’t sure Zane would approve of any outside employment.
Owen kissed me on the forehead. “You might not have become a teacher, but education is never wasted. I’m proud that you graduated from college. You worked hard and deserve to feel good about it. Not another word.”
It was a relief to find that peace. An advanced degree really was an achievement that nobody could take away from me, and I did work hard…sort of.
Training Tia Page 19
