Aphid shrugged and opened his palms. “Yeah, give or take a few decades.”
Tassi looked to the ceiling. “No, no, wait. That’s not true.” She turned to Aphid. “We journeyed to the draheim realm once, remember? I think it was sometime around 1450.”
“Oh, that’s right. Our services were required to put down the youngling rebellion. A pity. So many young draheim lives wasted.”
Dalton cleared his throat. “Can we try to stay on task here?”
“But not since then, no,” Tassi said. “I don’t believe we’ve left the fae realm.”
Kara rubbed her hands back and forth down her thighs while she looked at the two fae warriors. “Okay, well, to make things easy, just assume everything, and I mean everything, that you’ve heard is true.”
“Because it probably is,” Jewel added. “At least everything you’ve heard recently. I can’t speak to what was going on more than a few years ago.”
Nick looked pointedly at the fae pair. “Without a doubt, absolutely true.”
“You can’t make this stuff up.” Dalton huffed and rubbed a large hand across his face.
Tassi nodded. “We will continue operating on the assumption that recent rumors, however unbelievable though they may sound to our ears, are true.”
“Any questions before we keep moving forward with the non-plan that we have so far?” Nick gave Kara’s hair a gentle tug—a reprimand for her sassiness. He likes it. She nudged him with her shoulder.
Aphid’s brow dipped. “I’m sure we will have questions. But if we are to accomplish the task Fane has set for us, then we need to make an actual plan.”
“Back to my original statement,” Dalton inclined his head at his mate. “Jewel thinks that she and Kara can use their power to establish a mental bond with the healer. But that might take some time, and we need to ensure we’re covered and undetectable while they’re doing their thing.”
“And what exactly is our thing?” Kara looked across at Jewel. She knew there was a bond between the five of them, but she didn’t know if that extended to other healers. Though Kara knew Sally, and she had previously met Rachel, she didn’t feel the closeness to those two that she felt for Jewel, Heather, Anna, and Stella.
Jewel inched forward until she sat on the edge of the couch cushion, all her attention focused on Kara as if they were the only two in the room. “We five share the same blood.”
“Volcan,” Kara said softly, remembering the high fae that had given them his blood, forever changing their genetic makeup.
Jewel nodded. “And we’ve experienced what can happen when all five of us use our power and that magic together.”
Kara thought back to the time in the forest when they’d gone up against Volcan. “Do I need to remind you that the last time we used our power together, you sort of died?”
Dalton growled, and Jewel winced, scrunching up her face.
“You died?” Aphid’s eyes widened. “Yet here you sit.”
“Remember, everything you’ve heard is true,” Nick said.
Jewel waved the fae’s question away. “It’s a long, unnecessary story. The point is, we don’t know the extent of our powers. We haven’t tried experimenting, at least I haven’t. Have you?” She looked at Kara in earnest.
Kara’s stomach bottomed out, hitting the ground like a ton of bricks. Her mouth dried, and she found it very difficult to swallow.
“Breathe, sweetheart.” Nick’s voice murmured in her mind. She felt his hand rubbing up and down her back. “You’re here with me, yeah? Always, with me.”
She grabbed onto his words like a lifeline, refusing to let the sea of memories drag her down. She wouldn’t let what happened with Ludcarab dictate the present or her future. Taking a deep breath, she met Jewel’s eyes. “I used my power, but not on purpose. I didn’t even remember it until I had some help from some elves and a fae. Alston put supernatural bracelets on me that suppressed my witch power. But then Ember, a fae who helped me, removed the bracelets, and I was able to access that power again.” Kara closed her eyes briefly as she remembered the three elves—Dyna, Coya and Reena—who’d helped her, as well. “I used it when I killed Ludcarab. But it was dark magic. I didn’t even think about it. It was just there, though that’s not what killed Ludcarab. Ember gave me the ability to do that.”
“I imagine it was more than just Ember giving you the ability.” Jewel looked Kara in the eyes. “You were strong. You were the one that had to use the power the fae gave you.
“You were with me, Jewel.” Kara smiled. “Just five minutes more. I repeated that to myself.”
Jewel’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. “I’m thankful you kept going. Minute by minute you held on.”
Jewel must have been able to see the pain in her eyes, and Kara knew she’d been through her own hell at the hands of Volcan. If anyone could understand what she’d been through it would be Jewel.
“She is Kara Luisa.” Nick’s voice filled with awe as he ran a finger down her cheek. “It means—”
