So Muriel told them. About discovering the book her mother had left for her. About the terrifying visions of women who looked like her being hunted through moonlit forests. Of the strange mage showing up at her house the next day with his cold smile and thinly veiled threat. Of the magical surges that erupted with her emotions. Brandon's explanation about Collectors andthe Magisterial Consilium and his offer of resonance binding.
She didn’t think she’d ever talked so much at one time. When she finally stopped, she felt drained.
“Wow,” Dani breathed. “That’s…”
“Yeah,” Muriel agreed, taking another sip of her drink, surprised to find her glass almost empty. That explained the looseness of her tongue and the pleasant tingles in her extremities. She wondered vaguely about the liquor-to-OJ ratio and made a note to stick to just orange juice next time—if there was a next time.
“And this Corvus guy showed up the day after you opened the book?” Tedi's voice was thoughtful, distant, as if she was looking at something the rest of them couldn't see. “That's not coincidence.”
“That's what Brandon said. He thinks my surges broadcast my location, making myself a target.”
“Which is why you need help learning control,” Ana said gently. “And why Brandon offered the binding.”
“But you’re not sure you can trust him,” Dani guessed.
“No,” Muriel admitted.
“Why?”
“My father was a mage. He left my mother when she was pregnant with me.”
“Maybe he had his reasons,” Tedi said, her expression thoughtful.
“You can’t paint all mages with the same brush,” Ryssa commented. “I don’t know Brandon well but thevamps think highly of him, and they’re not exactly the trusting sort.”
“Without Brandon’s help, Matt never would have found me in time, and I’d be mated to Lucas right now,” Jessie reminded her.
That was true, but the niggling little voice in the back of Muriel’s head suggested Brandon’s motivations weren’t completely selfless.
Tedi leaned forward. “Brandon is one of the most genuinely good people I know. When someone needs help, he gives it. No questions asked.”
“I wouldn’t mind a few strings,” Dani said, fanning herself. “For not being a shifter, the man is seriously hot.”
Muriel felt heat creeping into her cheeks. The tree just outside the window exploded with new leaves.
“I think the question is, what is it you want?” Ana asked, her green eyes bright and focused as if the answer mattered.
Muriel didn’t know how to answer that. She hadn’t really thought about what shewanted, only what sheshoulddo.
“Let me ask you this,” Ryssa said. “If you don’t take Brandon up on his offer, what other options do you have?”
“He said he would teach me, with or without the resonance.”
“Well, there you go,” Jessie said, as if that proved hewas trustworthy. “But you’ll be safer if you do this resonance thing?”
Muriel nodded and looked over at Tedi. “I don’t suppose you can tell me how this is going to play out?”
“Sorry, it doesn’t work that way,” Tedi said with a patient smile. “I seepossibleoutcomes, but the future is fluid.” She paused, seemed to zone out for a moment, then focused on Muriel, her eyes glowing. “I can tell you, your chances are better with him helping you. He is a powerful mage.”
“It’s scary, trusting someone like that,” Ryssa said. “But sometimes, the greater risk is not taking a chance.”
Ana reached over and squeezed Muriel's hand. “Only you can decide what you want to do, but whatever you choose, we’ll support you.”
Later that night,after everyone had gone home and Jessie had retreated to her bedroom, Muriel sat on the guest bed with the ancient tome in her lap.
Ana's question echoed in her mind. What did she want?
She'd spent so long thinking about what she was afraid of—betrayal, abandonment, becoming like her mother—that she'd never stopped to ask herself what she truly wanted.