“Elowyn.” Cassius smiled in a friendly manner before giving me a sassy ass look.
Then I felt it. A cruel, cold magic I had felt only once before, but back then, it had nothing of this magnitude. It took me a moment to realize it was coming from Elowyn. Cassius and Haden seemed to feel it too as their eyebrows pulled together.
I stepped closer, trying to steady the whirlwind inside me as I reached out, but it wasn’t her I touched; it was the pulse of something beneath her skin, something fierce and raw that hadn’t been there before.
Her magic now thrummed against my senses, no longer hidden or tempered, but wild, dark, and hungry, like a stormgathering strength in the silence before the thunder broke free and shook the world around it. It unsettled me in a way I couldn’t place, like feeling a blade’s edge just beneath the surface of a calm river.
I blinked, trying to understand it, but the feeling slipped through me like smoke, too complex, too deep to name. And that exact feeling, that nameless dread, is what made me realize what was happening. Nyxthra was free. That was the magic protecting her.
“Elowyn...” The name felt different on my tongue, heavier. Her eyes held that same fire I’d always known, but now there was something else, an undercurrent of something dangerous, something powerful.
Why had she let Nyxthra out? I was starting to understand the magnitude of Elowyn's power.
“Sorry to interrupt. I was just hoping to hold one of the babies.” She smiled as Cassius immediately handed her Bayla.
“Yes, please. This one is being quite sassy today.” He laughed as she grabbed Bayla, turning around and sitting in the rocking chair.
“You don’t have to be a dick all the time,” Haden said as he looked at me.
I rolled my eyes.
Elowyn was talking softly to Bayla as Della and Thea came over. She talked with them quietly, her smile not fully reaching her eyes. Bayla stared up at her like she was the most fascinating woman she had ever seen, and I smiled softly at the sight.
Then Thea and Della both stilled like they felt that odd energy coming from her too. Their gazes flickered to me, but I didn’t acknowledge anything.
“Why do you look happy?” Cassius asked.
My smile fell, and I glared at them. Why were they watching me so closely? Ezra appeared behind them with a giant smile. Thank the heavens, he’d take away their attention from me.
“Miss me, fellas?”
I grinned when he stole Kazren from Haden and immediately began talking to him.
“Ezra, late, per usual.” Della gave him a look.
“Some souls were a pain in my ass—butt.” He looked at Kazren and flinched. “Sorry, Uncle Ezra forgets that I shouldn’t cuss in front of you, little man.” He looked up. “Elowyn, it’s been a while.”
He walked off to go speak with her, and I immediately turned my body so I could watch them. Ezra was a natural flirt, and I knew he had a mate. But I also didn’t like him talking so casually with Elowyn, like they were best friends.
His hand reached out as they laughed and rested on her shoulder as he said something else to her. My eyes narrowed on the touch. I didn’t like this at all. Suddenly, Ezra pulled his hand away as if he was burned. Maybe he felt the weight of my gaze on him.
His gaze snapped quickly to me, like he was concerned about something. When I looked at Elowyn, she was staring at something I couldn't see. Her head tilted slightly, almost as if she was listening to Nyxthra.
“Let’s eat.” Della smiled.
Elowyn smiled softly at Bayla as she grabbed her finger tightly. Ezra came over to me quickly.
“What is wrong with Elowyn?” he whispered.
Shit, so theycouldfeel it.
“What? Nothing.”
“I know I am not the only one that feels that coming from her. She was not that powerful the last time I saw her.”
I looked at Elowyn over Ezra’s shoulder as she handed Bayla back to Cassius. Her gaze met mine, and a smile that was not friendly tilted her lips.
“She’s been stressed out with coven stuff. I’m sure it’s just that.” I answered without thought.
