Meeting her mate’s gaze, she wanted to wrap her arms around him, offer him whatever solace he needed. But this wasn’t the time. Six o’clock was approaching—too quickly for her liking—and they needed all the help they could get to keep Eli safe during whatever casting he had planned.
“Is there anythin’ else? Eli’s goin’ to cast the protection spell in a few minutes when the moon is at her apex.” Farren gave her mate’s hand a reassuring squeeze, and he answered her in kind. Relief bloomed in her chest that he hadn’t shut down completely at the mention of his father. God knows she might have in his shoes.
“Regulus knows where the Thirteen are, and he can take us there. Or at least show us where to go. He’ll fight with us—if we want him to. The Thirteen are a threat to every creature in this world—even the not-so-living ones.”
“I don’t know about the rest of you,” Cade said with his arm around Mara’s shoulders, “but I’ll take all the help we can get.”
* * *
Eli
Two minutes before six, they headed outside behind Farren’s house. All of them. Cade insisted that Mara stay on the patio next to him. “The last time Eli tried working with that shit, you made it almost to the tree line,” he said, concern thickening his tone. “I need you to stay by my side the whole time.”
She cupped his cheek and levered up on her toes to kiss him. “I’m not going anywhere, shaggy man.” Turning to Eli, she offered him an encouraging smile. “You can do this.”
He didn’t have her confidence. Hell, he didn’t even knowhowto activate the sigils that now seemed to be a permanent part of him. He felt them. All the time. Like a presence. A specter hitching a ride or a ghost tethered to him.
Farren held both his hands in the center of the expanse of grass. “I’ll stay close. If anythin’ feels...wrong, stop. Promise me.”
“I can only tell you I’ll try,” he said and brushed his lips to hers. “Last night, there was a point where the elements took over, and I couldn’t have stopped them for anything.”
Her gray eyes darkened, the storm brewing in them full of so many emotions. Fear, concern, pride, and love. “I wish there were another way. But I know ya’ have to do this.”
“Farren, there’s something I need you to know—”
“It’s time,” Caitlin said as all the wolves, including Farren, stared up at the moon. Nearly full, it bathed the yard in a warm glow, and then he stood alone. Fuck. Why hadn’t he been quicker?
Stripping off his shirt and shedding his loafers, he flexed his toes until they sunk into the soil. The connection with the earth steadied him, like he was actually growing roots that extended deep underground.
With Caitlin’s help, he’d been able to find names for all of the symbols Mara had remembered. Each was associated with a particular element, and so his plan was to call each element, then activate their symbol. What he didn’t know how to do? Combine all four elements into spirit to complete the spell. He hoped to God once he’d gotten that far, the last step would somehow become clear.
First, he reached deep inside for the power of earth. Subtle vibrations tickled the soles of his feet. Slowly, small clods of dirt, no bigger than his thumbnail, rose and swirled around him. The ribbon of soil took on a life of its own, and he closed his eyes, picturing the massive Tree of Life spread across his shoulders. The symbol burned, only a hint of warmth at first, but then white hot, and he clenched his jaws shut so he wouldn’t cry out.
If he dared look at Farren, he knew he’d find horror written across her refined features, so he kept his gaze focused on the swirling earth instead. Picturing the symbol growing tall and strong, earth’s connection to spirit ready and waiting, he then turned his focus to air.
The breeze came whistling across the landscape, disrupting the flow of the earth, but Eli raised his arms, fingers splayed, commanding the two elements to move in sync with one another. Three swirls of black ink over his right pectoral muscle symbolized air, and that too, started to burn.
He wavered for only a breath when he glanced down to see the mark glowing and swallowed his terror. He could do this. The pain was only temporary. The protection spell...that could be forever.
Water came next. The droplets splashed off his cheeks, and as they touched his skin, some hissed at the overwhelming heat. This mark was close to his left hip. Three wavy lines that ended in spirals, representing the sea. Crashing waves along a shore.
He couldn’t breathe. Every time he tried, the marks burned hotter. So he called on more air, taking it within his body in an attempt to bypass his lungs. The dark spots obscuring his vision faded, and he steeled himself for his final task.
Focus. You can do this. Pain can be controlled, and when you’re done, Farren will be there.
Thoughts of her gave him a burst of strength, and he summoned fire. A blazing ring flared to life around him, and the final mark, the one dead center of his chest, burst into flame.
The shock of seeing his skin burning made him falter, and he felt everything slipping from his grasp.
“No!” he cried, throwing his head back to stare directly at the moon. “I will not give in!”
No other sounds reached his ears. Just the patter of the rain, the wind’s keening cry, the crackle of the flames, and the rumble of earth.
He tried to force them together, but they resisted. Fire and water hated one another, as did earth and air. His entire body was one raw nerve. The spell was going to fail.Hewas going to fail.
The trinity knot over his heart, the unification of body, mind, and soul, flared to life, but unlike the other marks, it didn’t burn. Rather, it cracked, the ink snaking across his skin in rivulets. To his shoulders, down his arms, and finally, to his fingers.
Understanding dawned a moment too late. “Run!” he shouted as pure, raw power burst from his fingers. All four elements in random, rapid bursts, raced towards the trees, hedges, and the worst place of all...the house.
