Griffin leaned back in his chair and folded his hands over his stomach.“Yeah, it sure is.”The phone buzzed next to the monitor and he picked it up.“Security office.Oh yeah, sure, I’ll let him know.Thanks, Trouble.”He glanced at Sebastian.“The sister is awake, and Emberlin’s asked for you.”
“Thanks.”Sebastian stood and clapped him on the shoulder.“See ya later.”
“Yep.Congrats on finding your truemate, man.I hope everything goes okay with her sister.”
Sebastian nodded and headed back to the infirmary to see his mate.
* * *
The female sitting on the hospital bed looked sad and withdrawn, but at least she was conscious.Emberlin smiled in relief when he walked in and he felt the same way.Like he hadn’t quite been breathing right until he’d seen her again.
He gave Emberlin a kiss on the temple and said to her sister, “Hi, I’m Sebastian.”
“Talia.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Magicless.”
“I’m sorry that happened,” he said.
“Well,” she said, slipping down from the bed and standing, “it is what it is.I want to see Mother Nature.”
“Tal,” Emberlin said.“You know what Santa told me.”
“He’s not Mother Nature.”
Which was true but kind of irrelevant in this situation.They were both powerful in their own right, but the rules of magic were unbending.
“I’ve got a security team ready to escort you back to the coven,” Sebastian said.
Talia nodded stiffly and Sebastian took Emberlin’s hand and led them outside to the Portal, where a team of four security members waited.The Portal was glowing, the bones of the ancient magical creature used to create it seeming to pulse with the power that moved through it.
Emberlin stepped up and opened the Portal.As it cleared, the scenery beyond revealed itself to be a quaint cabin in the mountains.The team stepped through and scouted, and when it was declared all clear, Sebastian, Talia, and her sister walked through.
“We’ll be an hour,” Sebastian said after conferring with Emberlin.
“Open the portal, and we’ll be ready,” Maverick, one of the snow leopards, said.
He thanked them and then turned to his mate when the portal was closed.
“You’re going back?”Talia asked.
“He’s my truemate, Tal.”
“I know.I just…well, anyway.I’m happy for you.”
“I’ll be back Christmas Day, and we can hang out.”
Talia stared at Emberlin for a few quiet moments and then said, “I’m going to talk to Mother Nature.See you later.”
“Tal.”
Her sister walked away, following a path lit up with tiny glowing flowers.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
“She’s angry and sad.She blames herself, and me too, for our magic going screwy.I’m older.I should have been paying better attention.”
