by Leia Stone
Nope. Not one bit.
Considering my grandfather’s sacrifice, I leaned forward and shoved my face into the bedspread as tears threatened once more. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be.”
Jerking my chin up, my grandfather just smiled at me serenely.
“Things have a way of working out just the way they ought to.”
“Yeah,” I snorted. “I don’t quite believe that.” Like, not even 25.6%.
He chuckled. “You’ve given me a gift. Now I’ll get to spend all of eternity with Elia, who never graduated to spirit master. I can think of no better existence than to spend forever with one of my favorite people. And you can visit any time.”
But … he wouldn’t be able to see Sariah or Donovan until they died—and that was my fault. Guilt pressed in on me once more, augmented by stress, and suddenly, I couldn’t stop crying. The mess of my life finally came to a head. I’d given away my grandfather’s soul stone; my mate lived in a different realm, and I couldn’t be with him; I missed my Dad … and Kaja. My life kinda sucked, and I just let it all out as Gramps rubbed my back while I grieved.
‘Nai, what’s wrong?’ Rage’s voice suddenly burst into my mind, and I froze.
I could hear him. ‘Rage … I’m okay. Sad about Gramps. How can I hear you?’
His relief flooded through our bond. ‘We sealed the mating bond. Nothing can keep us apart now. I’m glad you’re okay. See you soon.’
I sat up and looked at Gramps, noticing his sleepy, heavy eyelids were barely open. My gaze jumped to the bedside clock, and I frowned. How could the entire day get away like that? It was nearly three o’clock, and I needed a snack and a shower before I met up with Rage. I glanced back to my grandfather, and our gazes collided.
“Sorry for the crying fest,” I said, followed by a weak laugh. “I guess I needed that.”
He gave me another one of his patient smiles, the kind that communicated love, acceptance, and so much support. “You’re doing such a great job, Nai. Your mother would be proud, as am I.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, struggling to keep my frayed emotions in check. I stood and kissed his cheek. “Get some rest. You look tired.”
He snorted but held out his book, and I set it on his bedside table before walking to the far wall to draw the curtains. The guilt I’d carried when I stepped into this room had lifted somewhat, and my love for this man had grown immeasurably. By the time I slipped out of his door, I could hear his soft snores.
Checking myself in the hallway mirror, I recoiled at my reflection. Red, blotchy skin; messy, tangled strands of my silvery hair hung in clumps. I was a hot mess.
I grabbed an apple from the kitchen, and Reyna showed me to an opulent room with an ensuite bathroom that would rival anything I’d seen in Rage’s castle. It felt weird having a room here when I really just wanted to live with Rage, but it was necessary for now. I rushed through my shower and was relieved to find clean clothes my size waiting for me in the walk-in closet.
Thanks, Annette.
As I dressed, trepidation fluttered in my chest. Mine? Or Rage’s? The feeling crawled through me, making it impossible for me to relax. I had another thirty minutes before Rage would be in the library, but that didn’t mean I needed to stay here.
Besides, I was way overdue for a visit with my bestie.
Chapter Six
I popped my head into Reyna’s room, but the curtains were drawn, and she was out like a light. I was confused at first. Why would she be asleep at 3:30 p.m.? Then I remembered she was Gramps’ shield, and my heart pinched with compassion. I snuck out, and with no one else around, I scribbled a note and left it on the kitchen counter before rushing down the hall toward the passageway to Grandpa’s private office. More unease wormed through me, churning in my gut, and I picked up my pace.
Something felt wrong.
I burst through the door to Gramps’ study and shouted, “Let’s go, Honor.”
He darted past me so fast it was obvious that he’d been waiting.
‘Something’s wrong,’ he said, trotting down the hall. ‘I feel it.’
“Do you know what it is?” I replied, and when he didn’t respond, I reached out to Rage. ‘Are you okay?’
No reply. I tried to open to him, but when I did, I felt sick to my stomach like I was going to throw up. Something was definitely off.
Honor loped ahead, and I tried to call up my wolf as she would be faster than my human form, but she cowered back, refusing to take over. Shocker.
So I ran.
I shoved open the door into the high mage library; the ornate iron handle clanged against the wall. Ignoring the noise, I ran down the aisle, Honor at my side. We raced past the fountain—
And pulled to a stop just before colliding with a young man … in seafoam green robes. He had the same hawk-like nose and broad forehead as his father, Kian, the mage master of water.
Ugh.
Julian.
Honor bared his teeth and snarled at the dude blocking our passageway.
“What the hell is he doing here?” Kian’s son snapped, pointing at Honor. “Those creatures aren’t allowed here. It’s forbidden.”
“Well, then move,” I huffed, stepping closer to him. “You’re blocking our way out.”
His nostrils flared. “I know you think you’re something special, but you’re not.”
Screw you, dude.
My heart, already racing, took it up another notch to a full-on sprint. “You don’t know a thing about me—”
“I know enough,” he snarled, stepping into my personal space.
Honor lunged forward then, snapping his jaws at the dude, and he backed up slightly.
“Clearly, you don’t,” I growled, glaring up at him as I inched through the gap Honor had created.
“Unless you’re on some sort of suicide path, you’re not going to be the mage master of spirit,” he said, eyeing Honor before his gaze flicked back to me. “You don’t belong here with us. You’re a mutant high crime.”
Oh. My. Mage.
I rolled my eyes and then gave him a one-finger wave. “Tell me something I haven’t heard a million times. I don’t have time to exchange insults like teenagers. Get. Out. Of. My. WAY!” I roared the last part, my wolf coming to the surface as pelts of fur rippled down my arms.
His face pinched, his lips bunching as he clenched his teeth, but he stepped aside to allow me passage.
“That’s what I thought.” I dismissed him with a wave and started walking backward down the aisle toward the portal door. “Come on, Honor.”
Pretty much, everyone I’d met here, excluding family, was an evil asshat.
“You better tell the alpha king to get his crap together,” Julian seethed. “If he doesn’t hold up his end of the bargain with the high mages, he won’t be king for very long.”
I stopped my departure and cocked my head as I measured the young man. I didn’t know him well enough to get a solid read, but I was getting close to kicking his ass. Balling my fists, I strode closer to him and snarled, “Are you threatening my mate?”
Shaking his head, he snorted and then turned his back on me. “Not at all. I don’t need to. I’m just educating you.”
What did that mean?
Glaring at his retreating form, I decided I didn’t care. He was probably only posturing, and I didn’t need to chase down one more battle. Rage could handle himself. Still, I’d be more wary of Julian now.
‘Let’s go, Nai,’ Honor called, his nails clicking on the stone flooring as he led our departure. ‘Something’s wrong with Justice. I feel it.’
Honor’s declaration wiped all thoughts about Kian’s son from my mind. I’d have to deal with that bully at some point, but right now wasn’t the time.
When I arrived at the onyx door, my chest felt heavy with foreboding. I pushed through, and my heart stopped.
The Shifter Island Academy library was silent—unnaturally so, especially considering it was a sc
hool library and the middle of the day.
“Hello?” I called.
Nothing.
‘Rage?’ I called through our bond, my heart thundering against my ribs. ‘Rage!’
Honor took off at a sprint, and I followed, weaving through the library shelves, I ran as fast as my two legs could go.
‘Are you close?’ Rage suddenly asked, his mental voice sounding breathless. Strained.
‘Yes. Where are you? What’s wrong?’ I ran out the door and down the hall, exiting the building, and still … I saw no one.
My mind raced, and the fear I’d felt intensified—mine mixing with Rage’s. And… ‘WHY WEREN’T YOU ANSWERING?’
‘Come to the castle infirmary; Justice is hurt bad,’ he said. ‘I was busy helping him.’
I skidded to a stop in the middle of the quad, only then realizing that Honor wasn’t anywhere near me, he was way far up ahead.
‘Hurry, Nai … please,’ Rage said.
Mother Mage.
‘Run!’ I commanded my wolf—because the sooner I could get to Rage, the better. She surged to the surface and my clothes shredded as muscle and bone and sinew snapped and shifted in the blink of an eye … and then I was running.
As I approached the castle, shifters appeared, their forms a blur in the periphery as I raced to my target.
‘Justice better not be dead,’ I snarled to Rage, his brothers, and even the universe. Now that I knew what it took to bargain with the Keeper of the Dead… ‘Nobody better be even close!’
I sprinted into the infirmary, and my wolf receded. Boom. Gone. And … totally naked, I strode into the room, pausing to scan the inhabitants. Every single bed was occupied. All of them. There had clearly been some type of attack.
The metallic tang of copper hung in the air, but it was the heavy weight of dread that pressed in around me. A half-dozen shifters dressed in white attended to the other patients, but there was only one bed with several people hovering around it. I recognized the broad shoulders of two of the Midnight brothers. I yanked a blanket from a twin mattress, wrapping it around me like a toga, and beelined for the brothers and their mother.
“What’s going on?” I asked, stepping between Honor’s wolf form and Rage, who was nearest to the twin bed. “How is—?”
The question died on my lips as I stared down at Justice.
Strong, loyal, watchful Justice … just lay there, nearly as white as the hem of the blood-soaked sheet over him. His chest rose and fell in short, shallow breaths, but his emerald eyes were closed.
“Blood mages attacked his patrol squad,” Noble said from the other side of the bed.
Jerking my chin up, I looked at Noble and then turned my attention to Rage, my jaw dropping at his gruesome appearance.
Blood mage… Kian had mentioned them in the library. If he was behind this, I’d skin him alive.
Rage’s black leather armor was dark, wet with blood in several places and caked with mud in others. The two sheaths strapped to his thighs were empty, but he had one dagger at his waist and a broadsword fastened to his back.
“Blood mage?” I squeaked. Just because I’d heard of them once didn’t mean I knew who or what they were.
“Vampires,” Rage clarified.
WHAT THE WHAT?
Three deep gashes marred the molded leather across his chest, the congealed blood on his skin a testament to how close he’d come to occupying a space next to his brother. Additional scratches and scrapes were in various stages of healing on his neck and face, and his eyes glistened as he watched his brother struggle to breathe.
I reached out to my mate, and my heart squeezed with pain when he flinched. ‘Rage?’
‘It’s my fault.’ He blinked, and two tears spilled … one down each cheek. When he looked at me, his eyes still swam with guilt and pain. ‘I sent him out there to investigate.’
Shaking my head, I pushed past my mate’s guilt to deal with the most pressing issue. “Why isn’t he healing?” I asked.
Rage said nothing.
Noble cleared his throat. “I’ve poured several bottles of healing elixir—”
“Then get me some mage wine,” I growled. “And I’ll make more.”
“It…” Elaine’s voice cracked behind me, and I flinched at her sudden appearance. A small sob escaped her lips before she pressed on. “It didn’t work. They tried … everything…”
Everything?
I grabbed the knife at Rage’s waist and yanked it out. Without hesitation, I ran the blade over my palm, pushing it deep into the skin and muscle underneath. A searing pain radiated up my arm, and I dropped the weapon to the floor before pulling the sheet covering Justice’s chest down.
Elaine’s gasp registered, and my stomach heaved at the mangled mess that was Justice’s chest.
Bile burned the back of my throat, but I forced it down as I inched closer, pushing Rage to step back.
“Uh, Nai,” Noble said, reaching for me. “What are you—?”
If I opened my mouth, there was a good chance I’d vomit, but that wasn’t what bound my tongue. The air around Justice was shimmering, and something deep inside me told me I didn’t have time to explain.
He was on the verge of death.
With blood dripping from my fingers, I ran my hand over Justice’s shattered ribs and shredded flesh, pushing whatever spirit magic I had into his body to tie his soul to his mortal form.
You can’t have him, I thought to the Keeper of Souls. And then I begged every power within the universe: Please work. Please work…
My vision blurred, and my tears dripped into the wound, joining the blood and magic. I needed this magic to seal his spirit back to his body, and his body needed to heal so the two could be whole once more. I bowed my head and pleaded…
Mother Mage, please let this work.
There was something healing about my blood that I hadn’t yet learned enough about, but if my blood mixed with mage wine made a healing elixir, then maybe my blood plain was even more powerful? Justice was getting the bare minimum Spirit 101 here, and I was just going to have to try my best. Gramps was too sick to help, so I was all he had right now, and it had to be enough.
‘Is it … is it working?’ Rage asked, his voice filled with pain and longing.
I opened my mouth to say I wasn’t sure, but then I felt it. Sunshine and joy. Hope and love. Health and wholeness. Justice.
I gathered every ounce of spirit magic I could muster and threw it into my dear friend. His soul appeared then, hovering just over the bed as a white translucent figure, and with a yank, he fell back into his body.
My palm and fingers tingled, and I smiled.
“Oh. My. Mage,” Noble gasped.
‘Nai?’ Rage’s voice was filled with awe, and I felt his arm slide around my waist.
Justice coughed, and my eyes widened as he grabbed my wrist.
“Dude,” Justice said, his lips pulling upward as his gaze jumped from me to Rage. “Tell your mate to stop feeling me up.”
This time, when tears pricked my eyes, they were filled with joy and relief. I pulled my hand free from Justice’s and shook my finger at him. “Don’t you ever do that again, you hear?”
His eyes widened, and he nodded, “Yes, ma’am,” but there was nothing serious in his expression or voice when he spoke.
Then I sank back into Rage and asked, “What the hell happened?”
Rage led me into his room where he slipped into the attached bathroom to take a quick shower and wash off the blood.
I pulled on a pair of his sweatpants and a soft t-shirt that smelled like him and then climbed up on his bed. Sitting there, I bopped my leg nervously as the scene with Justice played over and over in my mind. There was so much blood. So. Much. Blood. And what the mage did he mean when he said blood mages were vampires? The first day I’d met the Midnight brothers, hadn’t one of them said some of the vampire royalty lived in the cliffs, but after the Mage Wars, the vampires were mostly extinct? Were they back
? How many were there?
A billow of steam escaped the bathroom, followed by Rage. He wore a low-slung pair of sweatpants; a few droplets of water trailed down his chiseled chest.
Yum.
Blood what? My thoughts frizzled. Completely.
“We haven’t had a lot of time to talk lately,” Rage sighed. “After you went with your grandfather to High Mage Island, some of my guards were attacked by blood mages, what you would call vampires. It turns out Kalama is one of them. Surlama was too.”
My jaw dropped, and suddenly, all I could see was the mental image of Justice’s shredded chest. “All that blood…” Wait… “Surlama was a blood mage? You mean, she wanted all that blood because she … fed off of it?”
I shivered at the thought of Surlama drinking my blood.
Rage perched on the edge of the bed and nodded. “Apparently, they integrated into mage society near Dark Row. They were living under our noses for years.”
“What happened with Justice? It’s the middle of the day. I thought vampires only came out when it’s dark?” I breathed, my mind reeling. Because why couldn’t we have vampire problems too? On top of everything else? And what self-respecting vampire attacked in broad daylight?
“There’s a lot of rumors about blood mages, but they’re definitely not limited by the sun. Unfortunately.” Rage rubbed the back of his neck, dropping his chin to his chest as agony marred his face. “I sent Justice to lead a team and explore the area I thought they might be in—and he stumbled across a blood mage den…” He blew out a long, slow breath. “It was like sending him into the jaws of hell. Nai, there were dozens of them. Dozens.”
Dozens!
I winced. “Where? Here on Shifter Island?”
He shook his head. “No. North of Dark Row. We’ve been helping the lower mages organize themselves on the mainland while the fat-cat high mages sit in their castles.” Rage’s expression hardened. “And what are they doing? Nothing.”
I frowned. “That makes no sense.”
“And yet, the mages have been occupying way too much of my time—and it almost cost Justice his life.”