Chapter Twenty-Eight

Luke

 

Leaving the Graces’ house, I couldn’t stop grinning and hooked my hands behind my head.

The air was bright with spring colors and smells, and birds were chirping and arguing. The sky was a deep, glorious blue, with a few fat white clouds floating by. It was nice and warm.

As their name would suggest, Reagan’s parents had been gracious. A little surprised, too, but gratified. After I’d explained about Pop’s insistence on old-school chivalry, they’d looked at each other, smiling.

“You do your father proud, son,” Mr. Grace had said. He was looking far better than when he’d first arrived at Winfyre, with color in his cheeks and a job that kept him moving. He’d gotten over his brief spat with a bad cold quickly, too. “I appreciate your asking.”

Mrs. Grace had also improved, and was much more relaxed and content. Winfyre had a strange charm that could soothe even the most frantic of souls.

“It’s up to Reagan,” she’d said. “If she’s made up her mind one way or the other, I’m not sure we could influence it. Although, I do think she cares for you a great deal.”

“Yeah, she's a determined one,” I’d said in an affectionate voice, and they’d both beamed.

After that, they’d given their permission, sounding both amused and a little bewildered. Then, they’d wished me luck. I’d smiled to myself, unable to wait to tell Reagan about that later.

I’d talked a little more with them, always happy to spend time with Reagan’s family. We’d been interrupted by the kids, bounding in and climbing all over me. Even Cassidy had stopped in to give a polite hello.

From what I’d heard, Cassidy was doing a lot better. I still worried that she might never come around, but her health was staying level, according to Niles. Those two had been spending a lot of time together, too. More than once, I’d spotted the big blond Russian walking with the slim girl, talking and arguing amicably.

Spring is in the air.

Swinging into Cobalt, I stopped and got Reagan a bouquet. For once, too, I didn’t care who saw me. On the walk back to the house, my mind turned from her family to her abilities. I’d been trying to figure out how to coax out her abilities every spare moment I got.

Up in Veda, there were far more Riftborn, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to send her there. It had a busy port, and they’d had problems with Skrors over the past few weeks. Plus, if I were from the Stasis Bureau, that would be the first place I would look.

That, and I didn’t want her so far away.

Back at the house, I went in through the kitchen door and was glad I did. I’d wanted to find a vase for Reagan’s flowers, and then I heard voices in the living room. I’d narrowly missed walking in with flowers under the eye of Xander, Kal, and Tristan. I’d have never heard the end of it.

I’d never been a big flower guy, and I wasn’t even sure Reagan would care for something like this. I’d done it more as a gesture, to tell her that things would be different between us. To celebrate her parents’ enthusiasm. Come to think of it, maybe I should have gotten them a gift, too.

Once I’d hidden the flowers, I grabbed a snack and entered the living room. Xander was lounging in a chair by the window, with Kal across from him, and Tristan was sitting on the couch with Reagan and another woman. She turned and smiled at me. It was Olenna Drake, a Riftborn from Veda and the second-in-command of a group called the Coven.

Does Xander want Reagan to join them?

The Coven was a powerful group, dedicated to honing their abilities and protecting Winfyre’s northern border. They had also started compiling information on the Rift and the Excris.

Sometimes I thought of them as the Shadow Command, the secret power we kept in reserve in case things went really badly. The Bureau might have known that more Riftborn lived up there, but I doubted they had any idea about the Coven or what they were capable of.

Olenna had short reddish hair, caramel-colored skin, a wide smile, and cat-like grace. But there was a darkness in her eyes for all that. She’d been the only one in her entire family to make it to Winfyre. Every other Drake had been taken by the SB. She'd tried for almost six months to get them out, until someone had informed her they were dead.

By that time, she’d started manifesting powers of her own and had fled north. There, she’d run into Tristan, who’d gotten her to Veda. During the first few months, she’d been withdrawn and angry, but, in time, she’d become a leader. One of the most resilient people in all of Winfyre.

When she wasn’t working for the Coven, she was helping people adjust to life here. Her abilities lay in healing and sensing. With a simple touch, she could distinguish a stasis from a Riftborn, although she couldn’t differentiate out specifics to a great extent. Or, at least, not yet.

“Luke,” Olenna said with a polite nod. Like me, she wanted nothing more than to wreak hell on the SB. “How are you?”

“Couldn’t be better,” I said and came in, letting the dogs dance around me. “Anything on the woman of mystery, here?”

“Not yet,” Olenna said as I sat down in a chair across from the couch. “We were getting to know one another. Although…” She turned and faced Reagan. “Your body temperature has gone up.”

Color rose in Reagan’s face while Tristan laughed. “It’s ‘cause Luke is here,” he said.

“No,” Olenna deadpanned and looked back at me. “I hear the SB was making demands and sending up that ghoul Lind to do it. You okay?”

I nodded as Xander stirred in his chair, and we all looked at him. His jaw was dark with scruff, and his eyes were hollow. I shot a look at Kal, who gave a slight shake of his head.

Helplessness raged in me. I hated that there wasn’t more we could do for Xander.

His voice rasped as he spoke. “The more I think about it, the more it becomes clear to me that the SB fears these new Excris. They should have realized shifters were the best line of defense. Now that they’ve alienated them, they are going after other Riftborn—although I doubt many Riftborn will be so inclined.”

“I don’t know,” I said. “People fear authorities like that. And loyalties tend to lie with how the SB has treated them.”

“No, the Stasis Bureau are the real monsters,” Reagan said in a quiet voice. “Most people know this, stasis or not. They’ve torn apart families.” She paused. “Although, if they’re afraid, yes, they might go along with them. Only real monsters will do their dirty work, though. Like Sarrow.”

“Sometimes people will buy into a lie to make their lives easier,” Olenna said, and a shadow crossed her face. “Anyway.” She stood up and smiled down at Reagan. “If you’ll come with me.”

We followed them out into the backyard, where Reagan explained what she knew of her powers—the ability to communicate with animals, the purging of poison, and the heightened senses.

“Is there more?” Olenna asked.

Reagan nodded and expelled a long breath. “Yes, ever since the Rift, I’ve been able to sense shifters.” We all stared at her. “And identify their animal.”

“What?” I asked. “Is that why you weren’t surprised when you saw me as a wolf?”

“Well, sort of, I guess,” Reagan said. “I mean, it’s more than that, too, I think…”

“What about other Riftborn?” Olenna asked as Reagan flushed. Only Olenna was unfazed, while Xander and Kal looked downright alarmed, and Tristan was intrigued. “Any trigger from me?”

“No,” Reagan said.

“Mm, not that unusual, then, although knowing the animal is. I wonder…”

“We’re lucky the SB didn’t get a hold of her,” Tristan said. “Could you imagine?”

Reagan sighed and rubbed her forehead. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. Living up here, it started to seem normal to know this stuff, and not a danger to myself or anyone else.”

“I understand,” I said.

And I did. Reagan had been walking such a thin line for so long, even when she found herself in a safe place, it was hard to trust it.

“Do you know what I am?” Xander asked. My eyes went wide, and I instinctually moved in front of Reagan. “Calm down, Luke. If she does, then she’s kept my secret.”

“I don’t, actually,” Reagan said, and my shoulders sagged with relief. “You’re the only shifter that’s ever been the case with. I didn’t know what to make of it.” Her chin lifted. “But I will keep your and Winfyre’s secrets. This is my home.”

“Hear that? Easy now, Lukas,” Tristan said and tugged me back.

Still, I was starting to understand why the SB wanted to get a hold of Reagan. If they had even an inkling of half her abilities, then they must know she could be a powerful weapon in their war against shifters.

“Give me your hands,” Olenna said, holding hers out, palm up, with her eyes closed. Reagan extended hers, glancing from Olenna to me, and then down. “Well, I’ve never met anyone like you.”

After that, Olenna fell quiet, and we all waited. Ten minutes passed before Olenna sighed.

Blinking her eyes open, she said, “I can’t tell. I believe it’s because her gifts are both nascent and new to me. From what you’re telling me, though, perhaps you can interpret energy or maybe manipulate it. Maybe both.” Olenna released Reagan and flexed her fingers. “Either way, you are strong and connected to the earth. I believe that’s why you can speak with animals.”

“What can I do to wake them up?” Reagan asked.

Olenna shook her head. “If the circumstances were different, I would recommend coming with me to Veda and working with the Coven. But with the SB looking for you, I think you should stay here, with Luke, and practice on your own. A lot of the time, a Riftborn’s abilities simply snap into place. Spend time in nature, try to meditate and call them forth.”

Reagan sighed, and even Tristan looked disgruntled, but I knew Kal, Xander, and I were thinking the same thing. All of this was unexplored territory. It wasn’t like there was a master in the mountains that Reagan could go train with. There hadn’t been for us. Everything that we had learned had been on our own, instincts building over time as we explored our new powers.

I mean, only the other day, I’d fully shifted and sensed the depths of power in that form.

“Thank you, Olenna,” Xander said.

“Yes, thank you,” Reagan piped up, though her smile was weak, and she rubbed her elbows.

I invited everyone in for lunch, but only Olenna and Tristan could stay. Xander and Kal both said goodbye, telling Reagan not to worry, and Xander told me to be on standby.

“You and I may have to run an errand north, tomorrow,” he’d said in an undertone.

I’d nodded and gripped his forearm. “I’m sorry I didn’t get to the bottom of this sooner.”

Xander shook his head and gave me a small smile. “You and I both know that none of this can be rushed. It takes time.” He gripped my forearm back. “Enjoy the rest of your day and your time with her. I haven’t seen you this happy in a long time.”

I nodded, then watched Xander and Kal go. Xander’s head was down, and his shoulders curved to the ground. None of us had asked for these abilities or burdens. All we could do was help each other carry them.