After the other alphas and Maddy’s parents had gone back to their lodgings, I decided Luis, Felipe, and my brother Diego would go along with Maddy and me to the island as additional backup and protection. I’d asked Sebastian, but he declined, worried his presence would interfere with Abi’s healing.
“So, this is it,” I said, looking at each of them in the flickering light of the bonfire.
We were about to do something very dangerous, but in the long run, it would, hopefully, keep us all safe.I called Donatello to let him know we were coming.
“Fantastic,” Donatello said. “I’ll have a chopper sent out to you unless you want to use the talents of that lovely young witch?”
Sinthy’s face went red, and she rolled her eyes. With a shake of her head, she said, “No helicopters. That will be a big red flag. I can get them to the airstrip.”
“Fair enough,” Donatello said. “My private plane will be ready. I assure you. You will be safe in my charge.”
I sent the guys off to pack up and prepare. Sinthy hung back and pulled Maddy and me aside. Her steely eyes held nothing but determination as she spoke.
“I’m going with you,” she said.
Maddy and I shared a look before I answered. “You have to stay here. Without you, the wards will fall. It’s all that’s protecting the people here from those anti-shifters out there.”
Sinthy glanced over her shoulder like she was afraid someone would hear. “That’s what I wanted to tell you. When that guy crossed the threshold of the wards with those two assassins, the spell didn’t fully collapse. He shouldn’t have been able to do anything against them, but with my mother’s magic inside him, it was on the same wavelength or frequency as my own.”
“I don’t see how that’s a good thing,” Maddy said.
Sinthy shrugged. “It usually wouldn’t be, but when I walked the perimeter to strengthen the wards, I found something weird. Not only had they rebuilt themselves to almost full strength, but the wards were even stronger than before. It’s like his breaking through had been like a bone breaking in an arm. When it heals, the bone ends up thicker and stronger to prevent another break. That’s what’s happened here. The combination of my magic, Isme’s spells, and my dead mother’s magic created some weird confluence. This place is a fortress now.”
“But you still have to be here to maintain it,” I said, trying to get the fact into her head.
Smiling, Sinthy shook her head. “I don’t need to. I figured a way around that.”
“What way?” I asked incredulously.
She pointed at the ground and raised an eyebrow. “These lands are special. You’ve seen it, that power of the land. I tapped into it this afternoon. Imagine the land is like an outlet.I managed to create a cable, or plug, if you will, that uses the magic of your pack lands to maintain the spells holding the wards up. So, to repeat, I’m going with you. And everyone here will be safe. You can trust me. I’ve quadruple-checked it.”
My mind went back to that moment I’d connected with the land and the vision of the ancient cronelike witch from centuries before blessing the land. My own strength and confidence had increased two-fold from that little encounter. I’d barely even brushed the surface of the power that lay in these pack lands. If Sinthy really had been able to harness all that old power, then she might actually be right.
I rubbed a hand across my forehead. “Are you sure? Sinthy, you have to be one hundred percent sure about this.”
“Too many people are relying on you,” Maddy added.
Sinthy put one hand on my left shoulder and one on Maddy’s right, looking back and forth between us. The dark circles under her eyes were going away. It was a sign that the wards weren’t draining her as they had been. It gave me a bit of hope that she was right about her findings.
“I swear to you,” Sinthy said, “this place will be safe. With the way it’s set up, even if Viola sent ten witches here, the wards wouldn’t fall. And besides, even if they try, I’ll know it wherever I am. I can get back here in a flash. I want to go with you. I’ve… I don’t know, I’ve got a feeling.”
My heart lurched. “A feeling? Like what? Are we going to be attacked or something on the way?”
“No, no, nothing like that,” Sinthy said, shaking her head. “But I feel like the only way I’ll ever get to meet Viola face to face is to get out of here.”
“Fine,” I said. “You can go, but I want you with one magical ear to the ground. If anything goes wrong here, I want you back. Okay?”
“Deal,” Sinthy said. “I’ll go, get packed. Also, is this a really nice island? Do I need to pack my thong bikini?”
“Would you go, pack,” I growled at her.
Her laughter rang through the air as she went. I looked up at the sky. I couldn’t see the magic that protected us, but it was there. If Sinthy really had worked out a way to do what she’d said, then that opened a lot of possibilities. She was no longer bound to this location. It was a secret weapon I’d have to figure out how to use.
Back in the house, I had a suitcase open on the living room couch. Luis, Felipe, and Diego had already packed—their bags lined up in the foyer. Maddy and Gabriella were making dinner. My phone rang, and I assumed it was Donatello again or one of the alphas housed here, but the unknown number made me frown. The hair on the back of my neck stood up.
I answered it on speaker. Something bad was coming, and I wanted the others to hear.
“This is Nico Lorenzo.”
