Chapter Thirty-Two

Rett

 

Walking back to the Coven House, Laia hugged my arm as we walked, her cheek pressed into my bicep and both of her hands wound around mine. I kept looking down at her, checking to make sure that she was still with me, that her eyes had that sparkle, and her lips that curve.

She crackled with life, my firecracker of a falcon.

“How come you never told me you were a falcon shifter?” I asked playfully. Instantly, Laia sobered, and I winced. “Sorry, we don’t have to talk about it.”

“Actually, we do,” she said. “It was my last secret, and it almost cost me everything.” Rubbing her hand up my arm, she said slowly, “My fear that I’d never shift again locked the Excris brand in place. But I thought it was because of...”

A nasty jolt went through my stomach. “Because of what?”

“Because the first time I tried to escape the Bloodfang, I got caught. By Jasper. Orion was there, and I think, through Jasper, he had him break my wings.” Laia’s voice shook, and I let out a pained growl. “I shifted back before I could heal, and, after that, I couldn’t shift. Today was the first time I’ve shifted in over a year.” I looked down at her, and she made a face. “Give or take.”

“No wonder you never talked about it,” I said, wondering if it would be wrong to go get one last punch in on Jasper. Then I shook my head. She could fly again now. “I’m sorry, Laia.”

“It’s over,” Laia said. “The crian shard is gone.” She gave me a guilty look. “Bet you’re wondering why I never told you the full story behind that, huh?”

“I think I figured it out,” I said. “But there are some things—”

“Oh my God,” Laia interrupted, and her grip went tight.

Tristan was waiting for us up ahead, sitting on the ground, his head tipped back to the sun and his face drawn. Laia pulled away from me, and I grinned as she flew up to her cousin, who opened his eyes and started. Before he could react, Laia had tackled him, hugging him and laughing.

“Laia, what are you doing?” he asked and held her off.

“You ass,” she said and punched his shoulder. Tristan winced, rubbing it as Laia went off. “Do you know how long it took to find you? What’s the matter with you—spreading rumors all over the place and calling yourself Tricks? What grown man uses an old-ass nickname like that?”

Tristan’s whole face slowly lit up, and he grabbed her by the shoulders. “You remember.” She nodded, and he let out a crow of laughter, hugging her. “Oh my God, it’s about time.” He glanced at me as I walked up. “Wait, do you remember him?”

“Rett delicious Deacon?" Laia asked, and she gave me one of her arch smiles. "My big bear of a mate? Of course I do. He’s half the reason my memories came back.”

“Geez, Laia,” I muttered and rubbed the back of my neck as I flushed. Tristan fell back, laughing his ass off and holding his stomach. “I am a Command, you know.”

“Oh, I know,” she teased.

“I’m so glad your memories are back,” Tristan chortled.

“Ignore him.” Laia rolled her eyes at me as I sat down on her other side. Then she held out her arms and smiled. “Never thought I’d be so happy to see bare skin.” She bent down and tugged up her pant leg, then let out a breath as she saw a bare ankle. “It’s all gone.”

“How?” Tristan asked. “I thought after the bloodspell didn’t work, that was it.” He flopped his arms out to the sides and stared up at the sky. “I figured you were caput, cuz.”

Laia stared meditatively out at the distant sea. “I think the bloodspell did work because it unlocked the binding, but shifting was the final piece. Or rather, my fear that I was broken as a shifter. However, I also think I’d been locked out of shifting for so long, I kind of forgot how to do it.”

“What can you shift into?” Tristan asked. “I’ve come up with all kinds of theories.”

Laia smiled at him and then shifted, launching past us, wings brushing along my cheeks. Tristan let out a whoop as she dove into the sky and spiraled, then flared her wings out.

Beylore’s voice came from behind us. “Well, I’ll be damned. She did it.”

Diving back to earth, Laia pulled up and landed softly in front of us as she shifted back. Grinning, she commented, “Like riding a bike.”

“May I?” Beylore asked and came forward. Laia nodded, and Beylore held up her hands, fingers hovering over her hair. “Not a trace of the Excris infection left.”

“Do they poison shifters?” Laia asked as Beylore dropped her hands. “I’ve wondered.”

“In a way. But it’s not a true poison, like a chemical mix or an adder’s venom. It’s something connected to the Rift and shifter abilities. It seems it can negate or enhance those abilities, both to a shifter’s detriment.” Beylore smiled at Laia. “Only someone with a strong and stubborn will could hold out so long. And resist using it.”

“No way I was using that damn thing,” Laia said with a scowl.

“Will there be some kind of a cost?" I asked, worried.

“No,” Beylore answered, giving me an amused look, and Laia stuck her tongue out. “It’s gone, Laia’s memories are back, and she can shift again. In fact, if the sea hadn’t swallowed it, Laia’s actions would have rendered it to dust.”

“So, we don’t have to worry anymore,” Tristan said. “Nice.”

“About that one,” Laia said. “Something that the augris said has me worried there could be more. We have to be careful—they can call to any shifter and try to get them to use it.”

I was thinking about what Beylore had said about the shard’s sway over shifter abilities. “Wait, negate or enhance…” I said slowly. “Does that mean what I think it does?”

Tristan sat up and looked at me, then we both looked at Beylore, who nodded. “The same thought occurred to me. It seems the Excris are still worried about the Northbane having a Kinetic among their ranks.”

Laia laughed. “What? Kinetics aren’t real.” Then her laughter died quickly as she looked between us. “No way. I hope you’re keeping that Riftborn very safe.”

“She can handle herself, believe me,” Tristan said dryly.

“Did you hear about the defeat of the Stasis Bureau on our shores?” Beylore asked. “She was to thank for breaking up their little beach party.”

“And if all else fails, her mate will be there,” I said.

“Or her terrifying little sister,” Tristan said.

“You’re a big cat shifter, too—how can you say that?” I asked with a laugh.

“I can’t believe this,” Laia murmured. “I mean, the way people talk about Kinetics…”

“Did Orion mention an interest?” I asked, a little troubled, thinking of Luke and Reagan.

“No, but if the crian shards are in response to that, then he must know,” Laia said and looked at me. “You look worried.”

Remembering my conversation with Jasper, I nodded. “A little.”

“It seems as though this Orion is willing to go to any lengths to overturn the peace in the Northern Wilds,” Beylore said. “Even at the cost of his own.”

“And he wants to make it personal,” Tristan said, glancing sideways at me. “We should have been more careful in our search for you, Laia.” He sighed. “I think we may have tipped our hand. Family, friends, our people—that’s our weakness. I mean, just a sighting of an Excris, and we close down the Farline Pass all summer.”

“Not to mention the ambush problem along the coast.”

I looked up to see that my cousin, sister, and Xander had appeared, and they were walking towards us. Luke and Reagan were dawdling in their wake, hands clasped and grinning over some private joke. I recalled what Luke had said about Reagan’s gift, how his strength and speed had increased. It was the same for Cassidy. As of right now, it only worked on those two, but Reagan was trying to figure out a way to amplify any given shifter’s powers.

“Speaking of the Kinetic,” Tristan said, looking at Reagan.

“Reagan?” Laia asked.

“Back to normal?” Kal asked, and Laia gave him a squinty-eyed look. Tristan lit up with unholy glee, and I shook my head at him over Laia's. "Good, now Rett can stop moping. Although now we're two Commands down, Xander. I hope you realize that."

“Such a ray of sunshine, Kallen,” Beylore said, then her eyes went to Reagan and Luke. “We were just talking about you.”

After everyone had hugged and exclaimed over Laia, except for Xander and Kal, we went inside. Beylore kindly set us up in a nice library with cozy chairs and snacks. It turned out to be a good thing, too, as we stayed there late into the night, discussing the events of the past week.

That turned into speculation as to what Orion could be planning, and what to do next. There were debates about whether to search for the crian shard that had fallen into the ocean or leave it there. Beylore insisted it was gone, that Laia’s will had extinguished its ugly influence, but not everyone was convinced. There were also debates about whether to spread false rumors about Reagan’s abilities, or perhaps true ones.

All in all, Orion and the Bloodfang were a threat we couldn't ignore. Which unfortunately meant that Fallon, Tristan, and Kal would be sent to the borderlands, along with a good number of shifters, to survey the area and spy on Orion.

Beylore warned against showing our hand too soon. “I think you should consult with the other packs,” she said. “Orion might be targeting them as well.”

“If we bring it to that point,” Xander said slowly, “it’s tantamount to war. We agreed the packs would not come together unless it was a dire emergency.”

“We’re not that isolated,” Tristan pointed out. “We send convoys and messages all the time.”

The debate went on and on, around the room, until Laia fell asleep, leaning against me. I took her back to her room, and, when I returned, most everyone had dispersed. Xander was talking quietly with Beylore, and I smiled tiredly at them both.

“Now you can sleep, I hope,” Beylore said.

“Yeah,” I said, the enormous weight of the past few days lifted. Even the looming threat of Orion and the crian shards, if there were more, seemed inconsequential compared to Laia's returned memories. "I think I'll sleep in her room, if that's okay."

“What am I, the matron of the Coven House?” Beylore asked, looking affronted and very young to me. Both Xander and I laughed. “Do what you want, Deacon.”

I walked with Xander to the door, and we stood together for a moment in the cold bite of the space between night and dawn. Our breath puffed into the air, and it made me think of that first morning after Laia had come to Winfyre, when Xander had asked me to claim her.

“Did you have any idea all of this would happen?” I asked, half-joking.

Xander shot me an unfathomable look, reminding me of the strange depths of his shifter abilities, and the burdens of them. Then he cracked a grin. “I sensed a connection. Plus, she’s a redhead.” I laughed at that. “I’m glad it worked out.”

“Me, too. So, thanks for that.”

“Any time.”

Xander went to walk away, and I stopped him. “Wait, there’s something you should know. Both Jasper and Sarrow brought up Brody.” His face went rigid with pain and then smoothed itself of all expression. Rushing on, feeling like my mouth was full of barbed wire, I said, “I think they know.”

There was a long moment of silence, then Xander shook his head and blew out a breath. “Makes you wonder how the hell we wound up in charge.”

For a second, Xander looked incredibly young and exhausted, his green eyes lifeless.

“We do the best we can,” I said.

“Yeah,” he muttered. “Sometimes I think Brody would have done a better job.”

The use of our dead friend’s name staggered me. Unable to think of anything to say, I watched Xander walk away and get swallowed by the darkness.

I wished I’d told him he wasn’t the only one who’d thought that. More than that, I wished I’d told him that Brody would’ve smacked him upside the head for thinking like that.

But some ghosts were better left undisturbed.

It had been two years, and it still hurt as much as though it had been yesterday.