Nicolas inhaled as a wave of fear and pain washed over him. He bent over, trying to pull air into his lungs as he tried to sort through the barrage of emotions that flooded him. Caitriona’s energy was raw, organic, and largely untrained. The pain he felt was debilitating, his bond with her tenuous at best. He knew he didn’t have much time before the link was severed. He had to push past the pain and find her.

Danika touched him on his shoulder, bringing him out of his near-trance. “What is it, Nicolas?” she asked. “Is it Cat?”

He nodded, trying hard to maintain the link with Caitriona. He was losing the battle. He cursed and squeezed Danika’s hand. “Find Gawain and get word to MacKinnon,” he whispered, afraid the tenuous hold he had on his charge would disappear. “They need to know she’s made contact. I will keep trying to find her location.”

He closed his eyes and focused on finding her energy, relieved when he felt the raw intensity that was so uniquely her. She was in pain and she was afraid. He focused his energy and reached out to her again, this time touching her mind with single images he hoped she understood. They had only recently begun practicing this new skill and he wasn’t at all certain that in her current state she’d be able to do more than receive his touch.

Dani squeezed his hand again and set out at a sprint to do what he asked. Neither he nor Dani had brought a communicator with them during training. With MacKinnon on a mission to find Caitriona, Nicolas had left the strategy and maneuvering to Gawain and Maester Gabe. He was frustrated with himself now for having left the intrusive devise behind. MacKinnon would be furious.

Nicolas felt his charge’s pain again, but this time the connection was stronger. He probed deeper, connecting to her on a level he’d never been before. Her feelings and emotions washed over him and he was struggling to maintain the connection. While Caitriona’s power was unfocused and untrained, she seemed to know what he needed. Good girl, he whispered. Nicolas guided her, helping her to control the barrage of images flooding him. He needed her to give him some idea of where she was.

“Ma chérie, I need to know where you are.” He spoke the words out loud, knowing she couldn’t hear him. He tried to project his words into a single feeling. He could sense her emotions changing and the frigid cold that washed over him. Caitriona was in a very cold place. That would explain the thinning of their bond. She was likely far from him and far from the warm sands of Mexico.

Using their bond, he reached out to her again. She responded in that untrained, raw way of hers. He knew the bond between them was psychic and strong, but the distance between them was making it difficult to maintain the connection. He could feel her project the extreme cold again as their bond flickered and waned. Crying out, he knew that if he lost their connection, he had little chance of finding her. She was isolated, hurt, and scared, and she needed help.

“Katerine, I need you to help me find you,” he muttered. He was dimly aware that Dani had returned with MacKinnon. The warrior was badly injured. Danika had most likely intercepted him before he’d had a chance to report to Gawain.

“Where is she?” Duncan growled. Blood coated his face and his hair hung in limp strands across his shoulders.

“I don’t know,” Nicolas replied. “I’m losing my connection with her. She’s too far away.” He could feel the rage, frustration, and helplessness boil within the warrior.

“She wasn’t at the hacienda in Chihuahua. Our intel was wrong,” Duncan ground out. “Find her.”

Nicolas shook his head. “I’m losing her.”

“You can’t be. I felt her. Just minutes before Dani ran into me, I felt her reach out to me. I don’t know how she did it, but I know I felt her.”

Nicolas stared at him in disbelief, yet remembering their encounter at the caves, he knew anything was possible. Without thinking he grabbed Duncan’s hand. The energy doubled, flowing through him in stronger currents. But will Katerine feel this? he thought helplessly. Duncan remained fixed at his side, unmoving. “Do you feel her, MacKinnon?”

“Nay,” he ground out.

The energy was stronger when they were connected. But to what end? he thought, fear for his ward driving his actions. Dani. She was the missing key. Reaching for Danika’s hand, he connected their energy, completing a triangle. The power of three, he thought, reflecting on Caitriona’s earlier vision.

The response was immediate. Dani’s energy flowed through him and completed them. The bond with his charge strengthened and he blinked several times as he connected to the images she was projecting. He saw her bloodied and bruised, the ground beneath her hard and frozen. In front of her, the capitol building loomed, the Order’s colors hanging from the deserted balconies. He saw gunfire erupt around his charge and felt her surge of fear as she tried to find cover. Nicolas felt helpless.

“She’s going to fight her way out of there,” he said in disbelief as the images continued to come at him. “She’s hurt. Her arm is injured.”

“Where is she?” Duncan growled again. Nicolas realized that he and Dani couldn’t see what was playing out in his mind.

“New Washington,” he replied tersely. He could feel Duncan begin to pull away and he squeezed his hand tightly, ensuring the warrior stayed connected to the triangle.

“I need more information, MacKinnon. If you sever the bond now, I will lose her.”

Duncan bellowed but held tight to Nicolas’ hand. Nicolas cast a glance at Dani and noticed the ghostly pale hue of her skin and the sheen of sweat that covered her brow and upper lip. She was in distress. He needed to get the information from Caitriona and sever the connection.

He sent Caitriona a mental image of what he wanted her to do. There was an abandoned tunnel system not far from where she was. If she could gain access, there were Dwellers who’d protect her—with their lives, if necessary. A sharp flare of pain erupted behind his eyes, instantly severing the link.

Danika collapsed to the ground at the same time Duncan let out a bellow of rage.

“Get her back,” Duncan ordered, reaching for Nicolas’ hand.

“It doesn’t work like that, MacKinnon,” Nicolas barked. “The link was severed from her side. We could spend several minutes trying to link with her again or we can assemble a team and leave now for New Washington.” Nicolas glared at Duncan, challenging him with his eyes.

“Where exactly?” Duncan ground between clenched teeth.

“She was outside the Order’s headquarters—the capitol building in New Washington. It’s possible she escaped, but Hawkins’ men are hunting her.” He deliberately didn’t mention the gunfire or the pain he felt when he was connected to her.

Danika groaned, ending his argument with the Templar leader. Kneeling next to her, he pushed the hair away from her face where it matted to her forehead.

“Dani,” he whispered. She groaned again and curled into a ball.

“Every part of me feels like I was just electrocuted,” she said, drawing her legs in even closer to her chest.

Nicolas took her hand in his and rubbed softly, watching as the color began to return to her face. “Can you walk?” he asked.

“I think so,” she replied, uncurling first one leg and then the other as if she was testing their ability to still work. “What the hell was that?” she questioned.

“Somehow, we were connected to Katerine,” he answered.

“Did you know she could do that?”

“No. I’m not sure she even knew she could do that,” Nicolas observed. Helping Dani to her feet, he glanced over his shoulder at Duncan, who was staring at the clouds.

“What is it?” Nicolas asked.

“Power of three,” the warrior replied, almost as if he were speaking to himself.

“What?”

“The power of three,” he repeated. “Caitriona’s last vision at Castle Dunrobin spoke about the power of three. We assumed it was myself, Danika, and Caitriona based on what happened in the Crystal Caves. But what if the power comes from three—any three who possess a genetic link to magic?”

Nicolas was quiet as he contemplated this latest development.

“With Caitriona being the key or the anchor,” Duncan continued.

“But there were four of us then if we count Cat,” Dani said, still rubbing her arms. “I’m not following.”

“Maybe it’s nothing,” Duncan mumbled, but the look in his eyes told Nicolas this was more than “nothing.”

Duncan took out a small communicator tucked into the top portion of the scabbard he wore at his side. “Gawain,” he barked after opening communications. “We’re going to need transport,” he said, once he heard his father’s rich baritone on the other end.

“Of course, son. I can send a shuttle to meet you at the earlier coordinates?”

“Aye.”

“Have you found her?”

“Nay.” He closed communications before Gawain could ask any more questions. Turning to the others, he nodded in the direction of the hacienda. “We dinna have much time,” he said.

“Duncan, you need to see a doctor,” Dani said, tearing a piece of fabric from the bottom of her full skirt and tying it tightly around his wound to stop the flow of blood.

He pushed her hand away. “We dinna have time,” he said again. At her protest, he stopped and faced them both. Nicolas could see the worry etched in Duncan’s brow and the fatigue that darkened his eyes.

“Damnu!” Duncan bellowed. “Caitriona is out there, hunted by Hawkins. I dinna have the luxury of seeing to my injuries. And if either of ye canna move any faster, I will leave ye behind.”

The fact that Duncan hadn’t demanded they both stay behind meant he knew there was strength in their numbers…if only from a magical perspective. It’s a start, Nicolas thought.

Wrapping his arm around Dani’s slender waist, they set off to meet the shuttle, the future as dark as it ever was.