The mug in Jace's hand shifts slightly in his grip. He stares down at it like it's personally betrayed him.
"Theo. Seer. Still forming, but the threads are there."
Theo's jaw tightens, but he doesn't deny it.
Then Thane's gaze lands on Wes, and his voice drops. Becomes something different.
"And Wes."
He hums low in his throat, a sound that makes my skin prickle. At the same time, Stellan's attention sharpens on Wes with unmistakable recognition. Something passes between them—understanding, maybe, or acknowledgment of something I can't see.
Wes has gone pale, his knuckles white where they grip the table. He still won't meet anyone's eyes.
"What does that mean?" The question bursts out of me before I can stop it. "What are you saying about them?"
Thane’s gaze returns to me, and for a moment, something like disbelief flashes across his face. “You really don’t know,” he says, more observation than question. His tone sharpens, but he doesn’t pause. “What you are. What you’ve awakened."
"No, I don't." My voice cracks slightly. "That's why I need you to explain it."
"The Ether doesn't just return," Stellan says, his voice carrying dark amusement. "It transforms everything around it. Everyone."
The mist stirs at my ankles, responding to the spike of panic in my chest. "You're saying I did this to them?"
"You're saying she hurt us?" Rhett's voice cuts through the air like a blade, protective fury radiating from every line of his body.
"Not hurt," Thane corrects, his tone carefully neutral. "Awakened. Magic was always there, dormant. Sleeping. Your power simply... reminded it how to wake up."
My stomach drops. "So this is my fault."
"No," Theo says quietly, but with certainty. "It’s not fault. It’s change. And you didn’t choose it any more than we did. But wecanchoose what happens next."
I look at him gratefully, remembering why I asked for his help in the first place.
"But also," he continues, addressing Thane directly. "We need to understand what comes next."
Guilt still churns in my chest as I look around at them—these five men who've been my anchors, my family, my everything. And now they're changing because of me.
"What happens now?" I whisper.
"Now," Thane says, leaning forward slightly, "we discuss why this place isn't safe anymore." His jaw tics, just barely, like the admission costs him something.
Ice slides down my spine. "What do you mean?"
"Power like yours doesn't go unnoticed. The Council felt your awakening. Others did too." His silver eyes hold mine, and I see genuine concern there. "Not all of them will be as... diplomatic as we are."
"There's a place," Stellan adds, studying his nails with deliberate casualness. "Connected to your bloodline. Your sanctuary."
"My what?"
"It was abandoned," Thane continues. "Forgotten. But the foundations remain. The protections."
"And now?" The question slips out, though I'm not sure I want the answer.
"Now it's being prepared for your return." That small tic in his jaw again.
The weight of his words settles over the kitchen like a storm cloud. I look around at the guys—Gray's jaw is tight, Rhett's hands are clenched, Jace is frozen with the coffee pot halfway to the mugs. And Wes... Wes is staring at Stellan with something that looks like recognition.
The mist curls thicker around my ankles, and I realize my hands are shaking. I grip the edge of the table to ground myself, but the wood feels different under my fingers—warped somehow, like the whole world is shifting around me and I'm just now catching up.
