Mattie had no words to help ease her friend’s troubles. Placing a comforting hand on the elf’s shoulder was about all she could offer. Elita lifted her head and produced half a smile.
“We’ll find a way to work all this out for both your family and your people,” Mattie said kindly. “Might not be what anyone expects, but we’ll get there.”
“I hope so,” she said as a blond strand of her hair was nervously twirled around a finger. “Because the last thing I ever expected was to be responsible for so many people.”
“I can understand that. So, do you still want to do this sister thing or what?”
“To help keep an eye on my favorite confidant—of course, I do.”
It didn’t take Mattie long to find the knife she always kept on her belt. There were many variants of the spell, most depended on whether or not a blood relative was involved. Luckily, she knew the one Elita wished to perform. The elf’s brow furrowed at first, and Mattie knew it was the absence of flames on the blade that had caused the expression.
Leto had at least been good for something on the trip to Crosshawk, teaching Mattie to control one of her abilities. Considering the circumstances at the time, the lesson of using the Ice within to help contain the Fire had been swiftly taken to heart. Only when her emotions were running extremely high was there still an issue with her control, but the Draconian was confident that it would continue to improve.
Mattie shook her head to push the thoughts of that day out of her mind. She then bit her bottom lip and cut a diagonal line across her own palm, making it only deep enough to draw some blood. Elita’s eyes lit up with understanding and held her hand out. She flinched when Mattie cut her palm in a similar fashion.
Mattie’s eyebrow rose, “Last chance to back out.”
“I was going to say the same to you,” Elita said before putting her bloody hand into the Mattie’s own.
A second later, and Mattie reached for the part of her that could perform blood magic. The pocket of warmth forming near her heart was strangely comforting after a fashion. Then the energy began to move slowly and steadily into her palm.
When Elita’s hand also began to warm from her own magic, Mattie tried not to gasp. The elf’s violet eyes were wide from surprise, probably because neither one of them was getting burned by the mixture of azure and golden flames now encircling their grasp. After she blinked a few times, Elita’s gaze lifted before giving a nod. Mattie returned it and took a deep breath. Surprisingly, they managed to say the spell in tandem:
You were a stranger who became a friend.
Now we shall be sisters until the very end.
Your joys and troubles, I will share.
If you have need of me, I will be there.
Our blood thus joined so all will see
That sisters we are and always shall be.
A searing sensation came from the wound, bringing tears to Mattie’s eyes. Then she watched as the swirling colors split into two before the conjoined flames shot into both Elita’s chest and her own! The elf made a gasping noise, letting go the second the spell had completed while stumbling backwards. Mattie hoped her friend hadn’t been harmed because that blaze of magic shooting under her own skin had burned like a hot coal!
Mattie’s concern was sincere, “Are you all right?”
“Yes,” Elita said readily, though she was shivering. “I just wasn’t expecting that last part to be so powerful.”
“Neither was I,” Mattie answered honestly while inspecting her palm. A new scar of pure white was now there, thanks to the spell sealing the wound with fire.
“Except for this,” Elita said as she showed off her own white mark. “I don’t feel any different. Do you?”
“No. Which means we did the spell correctly.”
Elita let out a joyful sound before giving Mattie a hug. It was easily returned, both amazed that this had ever happened. A dragon and an elf acknowledging one another as kin? What were the chances of that?
Chapter 17
Mattie must have sensed Garin’s mood when he met them at the estate’s gate. She quickly handed Firestorm’s reins to Selina and said, “Why don’t you go ahead and take her back to the stables.”
The girl flashed a disconcerted look his way but kept her mouth firmly shut. Firestorm snorted as she was led towards the back of the estate, an uncommon glare for him in that horse’s eyes. Garin then had to concede that it might have been the enraged expression on his face that had alerted them all to his anger rather than any emotional link.
“You seem rather upset at me,” commented Mattie a little too calmly.
A noise of protest left her lips as he grabbed her arm and started to lead her to a more private section of the property. “You better believe I am!” he said with a hiss.
How could he not be? He had felt the bonding between her and Elita flare in his mind for a second, telling him they had gone ahead with the spell. Luckily, that had been the long and short of the intrusion. But what if it had gone wrong and had made things even worse?
And after the trouble he had in town today, his wife not respecting his worry in this matter had been the last thing he needed!
“What in the hell is this about, Garin?” growled Mattie when she finally decided that they had gone far enough. She stopped and violently yanked herself out of his grasp.
He turned and met her snarl. “I thought you were going to bring Elita here so we could all discuss the possible ramifications before you two performed the bonding spell!”
Her eyes narrowed. “No. All you told me to do was make sure she knew about her father first. Apparently, that was a revelation already given to her by the shade himself.”
“Didn’t I say to bring her to the estate before doing anything?”
“Not in a way that would’ve made it clear you wanted more of a say in this!”
“Damn it, Mattie!” he bellowed. Then realizing that the others at the estate must have heard him, he lowered his voice, “Our bond is unusual enough that there is no way to predict how another one will affect it! Feeling that spell complete between the two of you scared the shit out of me!”
“Why?” she growled as her eyebrow rose in challenge. “Because someone else might get a glimpse at the closed mind of one Garin Von Bos? Considering you can shut your own wife out anytime you want, like now, I doubt you need to ever worry about that!”
That wasn’t what had frightened him the most about this, but he still countered, “Better than the open book you are most times! Did you ever stop to think about what could happen if Elita knew half the stuff you do?”
Mattie’s hazel eyes turned cold, as did her voice when she said, “Considering I’ve studied blood magic ever since I learned how to read, I knew full well that she wouldn’t gain access to my mind. I’m not stupid.”
“I didn’t say you were.”
“No, but you sure as hell implied that you think I am!” she hissed. “I went along with her request because not only is she a close friend and has earned my trust, but it helped with my father’s plan to bring the elves who live here more firmly to our side.”
She did have some good points, but he wasn’t quite ready to hear them yet. Damn it! Why couldn’t he tell her the real reason why this idea had scared him to death? Since his time inside the Dragon’s Heart, there was only so much his soul could take anymore!
That final thought caused him to growl, “But doing it spur of the moment like that was still dangerous!”
“Danger has been close to me since before I was born, Garin!” she shouted while she tried to escape in the direction of the house. “As it will be until the day I die!”
After all they had been through, he definitely didn’t like that last parting comment. Quickly placing himself in her path, he caused her to stop. But it was only for a second. The pirouette was graceful and swift, her evasion almost impressive. Except for the fact that he soon matched her movement seamlessly, remaining a block in her road.
“I’m here to help you survive that danger, damn it!” he said, wishing he could knock some sense into the stubborn woman. “I can only do that if you tell me what it is!”
“But you won’t grant me the same courtesy you wish from me!?” she snarled.
What did she mean by that? His brain pondering her words only led to him being distracted long enough for her to swiftly spin and kick his legs out from under him, causing him to land backwards onto the ground! A groan for the poor state of his butt left his lips while she stood over him with hands on her hips.
“I’m not some weak angel that hasn’t seen the Depths of Hell before, Garin!”
What a way to figure out he had pushed his wife’s patience too far! But he wasn’t going to let a little thing like that stop him now. He swiftly rolled his body to the side and used it to lightly bump her legs. She screeched as her favor was returned, and she landed on her rear end! Making sure she had little time to recover, he swiftly sprung over and pinned her to the ground.
“Let me up!” she growled.
“Not until you tell me what you meant by that last comment!” he said, staring her straight in the eye.
“Only after you tell me why you hide your darker side from me!” she countered, her gaze hardening with challenge.
Garin sat up, releasing her for the most part. She had enough room now to put her arms behind her and use them to prop herself up. There was an unyielding demand for truth in her eyes, but how could he make her understand that there were places inside himself that not even he liked to visit?
“You don’t want to go there,” he said with dispirited conviction.
“Oh, I think I do!” she said vehemently. “Because every damn time you shut the bond down, I feel like you don’t trust me to love you enough! That you believe I’m so shallow that my love would change because of the demons that haunt you!”
Garin wasn’t sure how to respond to that because the woman had nailed one of his fears right between the eyes. Everything she said was true, except for believing she was shallow. Just the opposite, in fact. Mattie’s heart had a depth that defied all logic, which was one of the many reasons he had fallen for her.
He opened his mouth and managed to say the lamest of reasons for his avoidance of this topic. “I thought I was protecting you.”
“Protecting me? From you? Seriously!?” she growled in angry disbelief. “You do remember what happened at my uncle’s tavern? Not to mention the competition to become the Protector? I handed your ass right back to you both times! Why in the hell would I suddenly become made of nothing but glass once I gave my heart to you?”
Garin just sadly shook his head. It wasn’t that he didn’t know how strong she was, but the fact that he felt like there would be nothing left of him if anything happened to her. Garin still had nightmares about how close Falkner had come to killing her, and that was even after he had sacrificed a part of himself to give her a chance to live!
His silence caused Mattie to shove him out of her way. A maneuver he didn’t fend off and just let himself be pushed to the ground beside her. As she stood up and dusted herself off, she gave him a few expectant glances. She deserved answers, but some of them could never be told. And he desperately wanted to correct her assumptions, though he didn’t know what he could say without his words being misconstrued, making matters even worse!
She finally rolled her eyes at him and headed for the house, stopping only for a moment to snarl, “I love you, you idiot! No matter what! I just wish you could trust me enough to see that for yourself!”
***
Garin wasn’t sure how long he just sat there in the dirt, even after Mattie had entered the house and loudly slammed the door behind her. A small part of him felt she had treated him unfairly, but the remainder of his conscious agreed that she was right. His overprotective streak had gotten the better of him again, keeping someone he cared about at arm’s length. But how could he not? Especially after some of the things he had done!
“The female of the species is usually the most deadly because of her ability to adapt,” said a voice he did not want to hear right now. “You do her a disservice by not remembering that.”
“Go away, Leto,” grumbled Garin as he glared at the wizened figure’s approach.
The Draconian ignored him and kept talking, “My experiences with sheltering strong women like her have all ended in the same way—badly.”
Garin sprung up, deciding he would leave instead. “Not really helping,” he growled as he strode towards the gates.
“My mistake was always thinking I knew better than they did,” Leto said, staying only a pace or two behind him. “But keeping them in the dark either weakens them or just enrages them beyond belief.”
Garin turned around and faced his unwanted follower. “That’s not what’s happening here!”
That smug look on the white-haired one’s face was just begging to be punched. “It isn’t?” mused Leto. “Funny. I could have sworn that’s exactly what happened when your wife released her rather loud tirade.”
“Eavesdropper!” Garin hissed before giving into temptation and attempted to slam his fist into Leto’s face!
A target that, unfortunately, disappeared while he was mid-swing. Because his full weight had gone into the punch, there was little to prevent him from sprawling into the ground. Lifting his head, Garin growled as soon as he saw a chipmunk enter his field of vision with a familiar smug expression on its furry face.
Damn it! All dragons could shapeshift! He had forgotten that little tidbit of information because he had never seen Leto transform before.
A swirl of azure later, and Garin was staring at a pair of dirt-encrusted boots. “And I didn’t eavesdrop. You two were loud enough to make that unnecessary.”
Shit! thought Garin proceeding to bang his forehead smartly into the ground. That meant Lord Gregory had heard their fight too. He had no illusion as to whose side the man was going to take.
“Since your father-in-law wisely insisted that your wife needs some time to cool off, I think it’s an excellent opportunity to train you. I already picked the spot out earlier hoping we would do this later in the week. Come.”
Garin placed his hands on the ground just so he could lift himself up enough to glare at the creature. “Now?”
Leto crouched down, the expression on his wrinkled face was one of concern. “If you are ever going to truly trust Mattie, you need to start learning to trust yourself better first. What I have in mind may help you do just that.”
Garin kept his mouth shut except to grunt an agreement. He didn’t want to go anywhere with this creature, but maybe Leto’s offer to help smooth things out with Mattie was sincere. Only that sliver of hope had him following the Draconian outside the estate.
After they closed the gate behind them, Garin asked, “Where are we going?”
“There’s a small, wayward knoll a few miles away that has a cave,” said Leto, using his staff to point towards the south. “I picked it because I don’t know whether or not the wards on the estate could interfere with what you need to find.”
“Which is?”
The Draconian only said two words before beginning the stroll towards their destination: “The truth.”
Chapter 18
“You ask the impossible from me!” snarled Garin as he paced across what little room the cave had to offer. “My brother deserves to be left in peace! I didn’t disturb him all those years ago, and I sure as hell won’t disturb him now!”
The rocky hole within the outcropping Leto had found would fit maybe ten people and one small horse, but only if they took turns breathing. The fire the Draconian had built between them took up at least a third of the room, making an effective enough barrier to keep the ancient figure beyond arm’s length. The fact it also blocked Garin’s ability to escape unscathed didn’t help the growing feeling that he was trapped.
Sitting cross-legged in front of the entrance, Leto’s robe seemed to melt into the floor an
d made the creature appear to be a permanent structure. He poked a stick into the fire before he frankly said, “After that spectacular showing at the Stronghold, your mother either felt that outpouring of power or must have heard about it by now. She has spies all over the place.”
Why did this creature refuse to listen to him? Garin let out a noise of frustration before he said, “I told you what those within the Dragon’s Heart had done to me! Damn it, you’re the only one to whom I can open my mouth and actually say anything about that horrific event! And as I said, the First Ones kept Iantha from sensing my Soul Calling that day!”
Leto’s face was nearly expressionless when he explained, “But you still need to understand the nuances of that power, even if it is just to protect yourself from an insane queen. There’s a reason it’s a rare gift that usually skips many generations. Did you ever wonder why your unintentional blood bond with Mattie was able to create a mental link between you before the Dragon’s Heart even transformed you both? It wasn’t just because she is a Soul Walker, I can tell you that.”
“What are you talking about?”
“While Soul Callers can’t enter just anyone else’s mind, they can jump into another like them. That’s how Maximus failed to free his father, because he underestimated Iantha’s strength. So I ask you, do you really want your mother to also have a room in your mind? If you don’t become the stronger, she’ll overpower you easily!”
Garin’s eyes narrowed. Oh, the Draconian sure did play dirty. The very thought of Iantha playing with his head made his blood boil!
The muscles in his shoulder tightened enough to cause him pain when he snarled, “Still, why my brother? After all this time, I doubt he would hear me anyways.”
There was a sad smile on the Draconian’s face. “You’d be surprised. And the reason is because you need to hear the truth from him about what happened. You’ve tortured yourself long enough.”
Unraveled Homecoming Page 12
