“You should be able to feel it.” The queen’s concern was a salve on his wounded psyche.
“It’s difficult to believe.” He looked at his hands, hoping his evasiveness would work. The animal in him did not sense a threat from the three women, but that didn’t mean he could trust them with his affliction. He’d only felt the extent of Riley’s power when he used it, but he should feel it at all times. Now he could feel the enormous reserves his companions contained, and he guessed that it was only because of Caster’s effect on his wolf.
“Well…” Edie said, drawing his attention. “He’s the only one of his kind. The only one who can command and manipulate all four elements.”
Mark wasn’t sure what that meant, but he nodded anyway.
“Ready?” Edie extended a hand that he accepted. Adella did the same, and he hesitated. “We think it’s best if we do this together.”
He glanced at the queen, his confusion clouding his acceptance of the protection they offered.
“Our combined power will give you what you need.” Each of Edie’s words made sense on its own, but not together.
The queen placed a hand on his shoulder. “Honey, what you need is to be connected to my son, right?”
He frowned. What? How could she…
“Goddess, we are scaring you, aren’t we?” She took a breath. “I think we need to explain this better. Do you know how the protection spell that Caster wears will call Riley to him if he is in danger?”
Mark nodded. Caster had tried to explain it to him the night they’d been attacked by that monster, but he hadn’t understood it then, as he was certain he wouldn’t now.
“We thought it would be best if we connected this spell to Caster.” Edie squeezed his hand, her comfort all too real. “When you’re in danger, he will find you anywhere.”
Did they know? How could they, unless he’d told them?
“Honey, we were all there last night. No one in that room could deny the connection you have with each other.” The queen’s earnest conviction was clear. “I know my son.” She chuckled. “Better than he knows himself. He wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”
“But it is up to you,” Adella said. “We can do a standard protection spell that would call Edie or me to you if you’re ever in danger. Or we can connect it to Caster.”
He turned to the queen. “Does he know?”
He’d seen the same determination she wore now on Caster’s face numerous times. “Yes. It was his idea.”
Edie scoffed. “More like demand.”
Mark couldn’t help the smile. He resolved to analyze theimplications of it at a later date, certain that defying Caster would not be a good idea. “OK.”
His right hand was still in Edie’s palm, and this time, when Adella held out her hand, he didn’t hesitate. The protection spell was necessary, but that didn’t stop the memory of his mother’s rant against everything witchcraft from invading his thoughts.
Edie gave him an encouraging nod, and both women began a chant in Latin. The individual words were familiar, the phrases of each line like poetry that spoke of a different time. His eyes closed of their own volition by the third repetition, his heart lifting as the words strung together into song. One final chant and an energy he couldn’t fight drew his body forward, yet he remained rooted to his seat. His wolf whined at the disturbance and then retreated to its slumber behind the psychic barrier. His eyes popped open in time to see the copper bowl’s contents burst into flame. Adella and Edie wore indulgent smiles as they released his hands.
The room seemed new, like it revealed a secret hidden from him before this moment. Would Caster feel it? He glanced at the queen, and she smiled, the spell’s effects drowning in his mortification that she’d heard that thought.
Then, just as she had earlier, her sudden movement startled him. “Now, how about tea, and you can tell us all about you.”
The news that Uncle Lucien was building an army didn’t bode well for anyone. At its height, the war had been so long ago that it had been easy to conceal from humans. Caster was certain any such conflict would be impossible to hide and would be more destructive. Humans dying in droves in the Middle Ages, as they got caught up in the conflict, could be explained away. There wasn’t enough compulsion to wipe away the effects of millions of dead humans in the age of cameras and social media. Someone would slip up, and an inevitable war with humans would be the result. He didn’t understand why his uncle couldn’t see the danger his actions posed.
“Thank the Goddess we don’t need to deal with theCouncill anymore.” The tension Damien always carried was more pronounced. He only ever let it to the surface in Caster’s presence, keeping a tight rein on the pain his father’s disapproval and antics brought. “Are you hungry? I am.”
Riley’s groan was not unexpected. “This is about to get very bloody, isn’t it?” His smile denied his feigned exasperation as he stood. “I’ll leave you to it. Goddess knows you don’t need my help.”
“Where are you going?” Caster asked.
“Your brother is with Cole again, and you know what that means…”
Caster waved him away. His relationship with Ben may be complicated, but Caster couldn’t think of anyone better for his baby brother. A tiny amount of guilt that he hadn’t even considered his brother’s safety was nothing more than a nuisance. No one could protect Ben better than Riley. “Do you think we should send for Cy and X?”
Xavier, or X as they called him, was Damien’s brother. He and Caster’s brother Cyrus were close and free of Uncle Lucien’s influence. Still, he worried.