by Elena Gray
I began to categorize the guards in my mind when I felt the familiar tightening of my bond. I held my breath, afraid that the slightest movement would break the connection. Would it be Samara this time? Or the dark-haired woman?
“Slade?”
I shifted my position on the cot, my eyes darting around the room, searching for the owner of the voice. Nothing but cold gray walls surrounded me.
I closed my eyes and focused on the bond, letting my love for Samara pour through it.
“Slade, can you hear me?”
The voice was in my head this time, and it wasn’t Samara.
“I’m here,” I responded in my mind. “Are you the same woman that came to me the other day?”
A relieved sigh filled my mind along with a flood of emotions through our bond. Fear, relief, doubt. All were present.
“Yes. I don’t know how much time I have before I lose you again. Do you know where you are? Did you see any landmarks when you were taken? Is there a window you can see out of? Do you know which realm you’re in?”
I smiled at how quickly she fired her questions at me. I imagined her speaking them out loud in a single breath.
“I was unconscious when I was brought here and my cell is windowless. As far as which realm, I’m not positive. Everyone here, between prisoners and guards, are supernaturals.”
The increase in her fear pulsed through our bond. I didn’t want to lose her yet. Not before I found out who she was.
“Who are you? Did Samara ask you to find me?”
“Umm…” She paused. I wasn’t sure if there was a break in our connection or if she was truly hesitating. Just when I thought she was gone again, she spoke. “My name is Katarina. Samara asked me to help find you. She wants you to know that she’s okay and that we’re doing everything that we can to find you.”
Katarina. Now I had a name for my guardian angel.
“Are you one of the ancestors that has been speaking with her?”
There was a pause before she finally answered. “Yes. That’s how I’m able to connect with you. How are you feeling?”
Something in her tone made me think that she was trying to change the subject. Either that or she was trying to get as much information from me as she could before our connection was severed.
“Thanks to you, I’m feeling stronger. Whatever magic you worked on my bond with Samara and my brothers helped.”
“Oh. I’m not really sure what I did. This is all still new to me. Maybe Jax can help me figure it out so I can do it again.”
Hearing Jax’s name caused an ache in my gut. I missed my brothers. After thinking they were all dead for so long, I was still having a hard time processing that they were really alive. If it wasn’t for the familiar twitch in our bond, I would think it was all a trick.
I was about to ask her why my connection with Samara didn’t feel the same when a sound down the corridor stopped me. A guard was coming. It was too soon for them to take me again, but what about Rose?
“Katarina, will you come to me again?”
“Why...is something wrong?”
Yes. Something was wrong, but I couldn’t tell her that. I couldn’t take a chance that if the guards did come for me, that she would hear and feel every ounce of abuse that they inflicted on me.
A surge of protectiveness that I couldn’t explain, for a woman that I didn’t even know, sparked through me. Katarina gasped as if she felt it too, but that was impossible. Only Samara and my brothers could feel my emotions.
The guard was getting closer. Any questions I had would have to wait. There was just one more thing that I needed Samara to know. “Can you tell Samara that Rose and Natasha are with me?”
Katarina began to speak, but I cut off our connection just as I heard the guard stop outside Rose’s cell. There was no way in hell they were taking her today.
“Hey, asshole...”
The guard’s responding growl had my lips curling into a smile. For the first time since I’d arrived, I was looking forward to my next torture session.
Chapter 5
~Roark~
The veil was on the brink of destruction. That was why Samara asked Katarina, my brothers, and me to meet her in the witch realm. It was located in the west, far enough away from the coven, but it was no guarantee we would go undetected. Should we happen across Rayna’s guards patrolling the area, they would ask questions.
Everyone stood in silence, under a canopy of maple trees, listening to Samara’s reason for calling the meeting. She explained how the ancestors had asked her to relay an urgent message. The veil had a tear in it. I wasn’t sure how they knew, but I trusted what they said. They’d never misled their people before. Why would they now?
While everyone else asked Samara questions, all I could focus on was Katarina, how she stared at the only barrier protecting her world from ours. I didn’t miss the confusion on her face or the way she leaned against Jax as she observed the energy field behind us.
The last part irritated me the most. She avoided me more than she did my brothers, which was understandable. I’d been the most vocal about keeping our relationship professional—her as my ward and me as her guardian. If I gave in to my feelings, I’d focus on nothing but her, just like now.
I had thought my brothers were on board with my decision to keep her at a distance so we could protect her. Judging by the way she kept looking at Jax and touching him when they spoke, he wasn’t putting the same amount of distance between them. Fucking idiot. Why was he hell-bent on making this difficult for the rest of us?
Jealousy wasn’t an issue. If we all wanted Katarina, I had no problem with it. Samara made it work with the men in her life, but those men weren’t protecting her. They didn’t need to concentrate on her safety as much as my brothers and I had needed to. If the situation was different, I’d share Katarina with whatever men she wanted in her life. As long as she made time for me, I’d be happy.
Why was I worrying about this? It was the whole reason I’d been fighting my bond with her. Keeping my emotions in check so they didn’t accidentally leak through is not easy to maintain. She thought I was heartless. That couldn’t be farther from the truth.
The truth was, this was anything but easy. I wanted her—craved her. It took everything in me to push her away the day we’d kissed in Samara’s room. Even the other day, after she lost her connection with Slade and collapsed, holding her increased the ache in my soul. The entire time she sat on my lap, I’d struggled to keep control. She had me rock hard. I would have loved to have taken her right then and there, but I didn’t. I chose to be the responsible one, the asshole who didn’t care.
I released a deep breath and cursed inwardly. I had to forget about her or any idea of us as a—
Whack.
My head jerked forward as something collided with the back of my skull. A surge of anger filled me when I turned to find Quinn staring in my direction.
“What the hell, man?” I glared at him. “Why did you hit me?”
“To get your attention. I’ve been saying your name for the last minute and you haven’t acknowledged me. What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing.” I gritted my teeth and looked away.
Quinn knew me well enough to read through my bullshit. This wasn’t the time or place for one of his lectures. We came to find the tear in the veil and secure it. Until then, everything else was an afterthought.
Quinn wanted to press the issue, but he ran out of time. Samara’s ghostly figure drifted our way. Katarina and Jax weren’t far behind. He was like her shadow, following every move she made. What the hell was up with them?
Samara glanced at Quinn and me with a look I recognized. She was up to something. What, I didn’t know, and that’s what scared me the most. I never knew she was getting into trouble until it was too late.
“I have to go,” Samara told us. “I’ll be back soon, hopefully with more information. Until then, good luck with the tear. I have no doubt the four of you
can fix it.”
Everyone said goodbye to her except me. I stood there, feeling grumpy and miserable. When her image faded, Katarina’s face replaced it. Our eyes locked for a moment before she averted her gaze.
I still sensed her through our bond. She was angrier with me than usual. If I had the ability to read her mind, I’d probably hear her cussing me. Of course, if I could hear her thoughts, then I’d know for sure what I had done to upset her.
Except for the brief conversation we had the day she connected with Slade, we hadn’t talked much. Her silent treatment began after we visited her uncle and I told her we couldn’t have a relationship. I’d sensed her anger with me from that day forward, but today it was worse.
“You guys ready to do this?” Jax asked as he glanced at Quinn and me.
“I am,” Quinn said. “What’s our plan of action? I was thinking we should split up to search for the tear. We’ll cover more ground that way.”
“I agree,” Katarina chimed in. “It shouldn’t be left open any longer than it has to be.”
“So we pair off. Who’s going with who?” Quinn asked.
“You and I will go together,” Jax motioned between himself and Quinn, then he looked at me. “Roark and Katarina can search together.”
“Say what?” I asked the question at the precise moment Katarina did. I caught her studying me before she turned to Jax. “I thought we could search for the tear together.”
When she folded her hand over Jax’s, the air grew hotter. My anger skyrocketed at the simple display of affection. Why was Katarina so at ease with Jax and not Quinn or me?
Okay, so I knew why she was always tense around me, but it didn’t explain why she wanted to go with Jax and not Quinn. Judging by the way his shoulders slumped, I knew Quinn was disappointed by Katarina’s words. I didn’t know about Quinn, but I was ready to hit something. Jax’s face, for starters.
That feeling increased when Jax cupped Katarina’s cheek and thumbed over it. “We have to do it this way. Quinn needs my magic to see the tear. Your magic will help Roark to see it easier than if he was searching on his own.”
“Oh… I guess you’re right.” The disappointment on her face crushed me. She truly didn’t want to be in my presence. Damn it. What had I done? I’d made the person I cared about the most hate me.
Jax lifted Katarina’s chin and smiled at her. “If you need us, reach out through our connection. Otherwise, we’ll plan on meeting back at our house near the coven. Okay?”
Her only response was a nod.
Caressing her face once more, Jax stepped back and joined Quinn. “We’ll go to the Northern arc vault. You guys head toward the Southern one. There’s more water in that half of the realm, so if you run into any issues, Roark can tap into his element.”
“What kind of issues?” Katarina asked. Panic rumbled through my connection with her, but the instant Jax touched her shoulder, her anxiety subsided.
“Nothing grave, Kat. It’s just that we’re in the Witch Realm and at this point, we don’t know who to trust. If someone should see you and inquire about what you’re doing, Roark can handle it.” Jax paused long enough to glance my way before refocusing on her. “Water is calming. Roark has a way of putting people at ease—most of the time.”
When Jax winked at her, my face heated. The anger brewing inside me worsened when Katarina snorted at his response.
She glanced at me for a split second, then nodded at Jax. “Fine. I’ll see you soon.”
Jax regarded me once more, then he and Quinn took the northern path that led through the oak trees. Katarina pivoted toward the opposite path without asking me if I was ready. I had to jog to catch up to her.
By the time we were a mile from where we’d started, the tension between us thickened. I wasn’t sure if she knew what a tear would look like, but I dreaded having a conversation with her.
As we passed through a row of willow trees, a stream babbled in the distance. I concentrated on the sound, allowing the water’s natural healing energy to soothe me. I should tap into my element more often. It had a way of stabilizing my mood. Still, I wasn’t sure anything could help me when it came to dealing with Katarina. She had me wound so tight that my mind twisted.
We made it another mile before the silence became too much. I had to know what she was thinking. Whatever had caused her anger with me to increase, my feeling was it had something to do with Jax. Had my brother said something?
“So, how’s your combat training with Jax going?” I asked.
“Fine.”
Great. That one word out of a woman’s mouth meant trouble. It didn’t matter if she was supernatural or human, fine was a word loaded with emotion. It looked like I would need to press further.
“What about your magic training? Is it going well?”
“Yup.” She didn’t bother to look at me when she responded. She kept her eyes on the shimmering light that made up the veil.
“Do you feel like it’s helping?”
She shrugged. “I suppose.”
All these damn short answers were driving me insane. Not only did she not make eye contact, but she also struggled to answer my questions. I couldn’t take this any longer.
“What’s wrong, lass?”
“Nothing,” she retorted. “I already told you, I’m fine.”
Great. Another fine. This wasn’t going well.
“Katarina, I—”
“What exactly am I supposed to be searching for?” She glanced my way this time but didn’t meet my gaze. “What does a tear in the veil look like?”
“A tear looks like, well, a tear. What do you see when you look at the veil?”
She faced the energy field and tilted her head to the side. “It looks like a shimmering cloud that comes from the ground and extends far beyond what I can see. Why?”
“Good. That’s what I see when I look at it too. Samara said that a tear will look like purple smoke leaking from a rip in the light.”
“So I’m looking for purple smoke?” She faced me again when I didn’t answer.
“That’s correct.”
We walked farther along the path, both of us studying the golden light for any sign of a rip. The awkwardness had eased somewhat, but my curiosity hadn’t. I had to know what caused her to be so pissed at me.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked.
“Yes.”
Her curt tone warned me that she had lied. Something was definitely wrong and she wasn’t willing to discuss it. That meant it was bad. It had to be.
“So why is it so important to fix this tear?” she asked.
The fact that she was making conversation pleased me. At least she was speaking to me now. It was much better than silence.
“The veil protects your realm from ours. Without it, any supernatural beings could enter your world. They would have free rein to do as they please.”
“What makes that so bad?”
“There’s a lot of ill feelings between supes and humans. Most of the humans that knew we existed have died out, but they passed their stories on to later generations. Some humans have special abilities to sense us, like your grandmother.”
Her dark brown eyes turned toward me. “Why do supernaturals hate humans?”
“Because of the great war that took place centuries ago. Both your people and mine used to live in harmony. No one knows for sure what happened, but the humans turned on us and began slaughtering any supernatural they could find. When the supes started fighting back, a war broke out. Many lives were lost on both sides.”
“That’s tragic.” She glanced at the veil again and reached for it. The energy within it wrapped around her fingertips and crackled. A smile formed on her lips as she slid her fingers back and forth, causing the veil to react to her presence.
When she looked at me again, her smile faded. “I take it the veil was created to protect supernaturals.”
I nodded. As far as I knew, no one had taken the time to educate her abou
t the veil or the arcs that formed it. I guessed that meant it was up to me.
“After the great war, the eldest supernaturals from each realm formed the first council. The high priestess at the time created a spell that would lead to the creation of the veil.” I touched the wall of energy, watching it crackle around my fingers. “For this spell, she combined her old magic with two dragon scales, vampire blood, a pinch of faerie dust, a wolf hair, and molted gargoyle wings. The power donated by each supernatural faction morphed into one large orb, then split in two. Those two halves formed vaulted pillars in the northern and southern points of the Witch Realm.”
“Is that where we’re headed?”
I nodded and motioned for her to continue walking. “The same old magic the high priestess wielded was given to the witches by my people. It was our connection to the elements that brought it to life, but my ancestors chose not to wield it.”
“How come?”
“Because magic has a dark side to it. My people were peacekeepers and protectors. The ancestors didn’t want our people to succumb to the darkness.”
“What about Jax? He has dark magic in him?”
“Because his mother was seduced by a mage. She’s lived with that regret all her life and did her best to raise Jax around our people.” I found talking about my brother difficult. It wasn’t my place to discuss his origins, and knowing something had changed between him and Katarina bothered me. I was better off changing the subject. “Gargoyles have a millennia-old connection with witches. We’ve been their protectors since the beginning of time. It’s why more of my people have served as guardians than any other supernatural race.”
Perhaps that’s why I took my position as her guardian seriously. The same magic coursed through Katarina. She may not be a true witch, but she was my responsibility.
“So the veil was created to protect the supernatural realm and keep supes from enacting revenge on humans?”