"There has to be a way to find him. The lords must have been communicating with him somehow," he said, holding back his temper.
Quinn toyed with the end of Taranis's braid, her expression pensive. "Val, could you track Midir the way you did with Yelena? You have seen him now and know the name of his kingdom. Would that be enough? I thought about trying my dream magic, but I have no connection to him like I had to Taranis."
"I can't do it through dreams either." Valentine shook his head. "I have the same problem with connection. I knew Yelena, and the feel of her magic that was left on her letters. I could attempt it with one of the tokens we found, but I don't think it would work the same way. Yelena's magic is easy to follow because she is the balance to mine."
"What do you mean by balance?" Bridget asked, her head tilting like the hawks she loved so much. "Is this some kind of magic term I don't know yet?"
"No. It's something else," Yelena said before Valentine could speak. She held out her silver hand, instantly capturing the attention of all the magicians in the room. She explained how their magic had created it, how their powers had woven together, complementing and balancing each other. She didn't mention theword 'mates', and Valentine was grateful that he hadn't told her yet. They were magicians before they were mates or anything else.
"Oh, my god, you two are like Kylo and Rey!" Apollo piped up.
"Who?" Yelena asked.
"It's from a movie. What are you going on about?" Lachlan asked.
"Kylo and Rey are dyads in the Force. They have like this special connection where two Force-sensitive beings share power and can become one superpower," Apollo hurried to explain. His excited expression shifted to one of horror. "Neither one of you is allowed to die ever!"
Valentine put a hand over his face and groaned. "That was a movie, little brother. We aren't dying. Calm down."
Apollo huffed. "Layla would understand my concerns."
"They aren't dying, baby," Lachlan said, rubbing his arm. "You can tell her all about it when we get home."
"I mean, he's not wrong about the dyad thing. Your magic does balance, and that means when it's combined, you can create miracles like that hand," Charlotte said, gesturing at Yelena.
"That wasn't a miracle. It makes perfect sense from a magical and medical perspective," Valentine argued.
"Sure, it makes sense. If you are you and Yelena," Bas replied with an eye roll.
"You can do all of this, but can't find this Midir guy?" Bridget interrupted. "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure." Valentine kept his expression carefully blank. He knewoneway to find Midir, but he didn't like it.
Perhaps having Bas there would be a good thing because he had a growing list of things to ask him. Midir could take over the mind of anyone who got too close, and that wouldn't help them in a fight. They needed to be able to protect themselves, and no one knew mind magic like Bas did.
"Can we eat now?" Valentine asked, even though his appetite was as nonexistent as ever. He needed to think and needed the rabble of his family to die down. That only happened when their mouths were full. Taranis summoned the servants, and they all moved toward the dining room.
Cosimo caught Valentine by the arm before he could enter. "We still need to talk about why your aura is so different, Val."
"I know. I haven't forgotten," he said and tried to smile. "It's a long story, and it'll be better on a full stomach."
It was a lie; eating would probably make him want to throw up more. He just needed some more time to build up the courage to do it.
Protect family. Protect mate, his dragon prompted.
Valentine looked at them all taking their seats, pouring wine, and teasing each other. Yes, he would do what he always did and would protect them all.
Even if it killed him.
33
Valentine waited until everyone had finished eating and catching up. He was tired and wanted to take Yelena back up to her tower and have his wicked way with her. There was no hope of that.
"Taranis? Can the boys and I use one of your meeting rooms?" Cosimo asked.
His uncle nodded. "Take the lounge. Quinn, Charlotte, and I want to show Lachie and Bridget some other parts of the city."
"I'll come with you," Yelena said, and her hand lightly squeezed Valentine's under the table. "Find me after."
