“Maybe it's your magic that she's after,” Odin murmured and glanced at me.
“What do you mean?” I stepped up beside him.
“The Shining Ones created a dagger to remove your soul and with it, your magic which was then imprisoned in orbs of Light and Darkness. Eva was able to pierce the Light with her magic and steal some of the Darkness.”
“Yes, but those orbs are now safely hidden,” I argued. “Vivian can't get to them.”
“But she can get toyou,” Odin insisted. “Vivian knows about the dagger and Eva. Which means that she knows your magic can be taken from you and wielded by a witch. What if she found a way to create something similar to the dagger and intends to use it to take your magic? It's not as much magic as what's imprisoned in Darc's orb, but it's still significant. The magic of a true goddess... that would be something many Beneathers would kill for.”
“But Scylla tried to poison me.”
“Perhaps, as Darc suggested, it was merely to incapacitate you. Scylla might have been planning to take you to Vivian while you were recovering,” Odin suggested.
“But if Vivian wanted god magic, it would make more sense for her to go after Darcraxis. He has water magic,” Slate pointed out. “Why would a Water Witch want Fire and Light?”
“To become more than she is,” Odin said gravely. His jaw clenched before he added, “All of us dream of being someone greater than we are. If Vivian could hold WaterandFire, she would be the greatest witch alive. Perhaps she even sees this as a way to advance our species. If she can unite the elements, she could help others to do so as well.”
We processed that in silence a moment. Would Vivian kill me for power and the good of her entire species? My heart screamed no but my head was nodding.
Then I realized that someone was missing. “Where's Verin? Did anyone tell him about Vivian?”
“I figured he'd hear the commotion and come out on his own,” Banning said with a frown.
I started for the stairs.
Banning went with me, tossing a, “Shout if you see her,” over his shoulder as we left.
I went to the top floor and took the corridor toward Banning's bedroom automatically.
“This way.” Banning grabbed my arm and pulled me in the opposite direction. “I moved him, remember?”
“Oh. Right.”
Bann took the lead, striding down the hallway at a fast clip. A soft thud sounded from somewhere ahead of us. Banning glanced at me, then started to run. He reached the end of the hall and shoved a door open but froze in the doorway. I came to a stop just behind him. Verin was on the floor, facing away from me. A woman crouched over him, her hand gripping his shoulder. She looked up at us and smiled slowly.
“Bridget?” Banning asked in surprise.
“Not quite,” the woman purred as water surrounded her and Verin.
“Verin!” I pushed past Banning and ran for Verin.
Water swirled upward into a spout, then burst, vanishing into nothing. And nothing was what it left behind.
“Verin!” I shouted.
Chapter Forty-Two
“What the fuck is happening right now?!” I shrieked.
The rest of my men, Odin, and some Blooders came running into the room. Banning told them what happened while I freaked out.
“RS, are you still connected to him?” I demanded.
Yeah, he fueled me, he can't just tell me to fuck off,RS declared.But I can't see or hear anything. I think he's unconscious.
“RS isn't getting anything from Verin,” I said urgently. “She thinks he's unconscious.”
“Someone look for Bridget,” Banning ordered. “And hurry. If she isn't dead, she might be soon.”
