Eli reached over her shoulder, and the movement had her gasping, sending the book tumbling to the floor.
“Watch it, man,” Peter growled. “You’re scaring her.”
“Fuck me. I’m sorry.” Eli skirted the chair to retrieve the old tome, flipped through the pages, and offered it to Sameen again. “I didn’t think.”
“N-no. It’s not your fault. I’m just...not used to this. People.”
It was more than that. So much of her current existence was baffling to her. Being able to move, to see, to speak. It had been so long and she was so very broken. Every part of her.
From the chair next to her, a low rumble in Peter’s chest started to grow louder, and the sound was so possessive it was almost soothing.
“Relax, mate. You know I’ve only eyes for Farren,” Eli said and dropped to a knee next to Sameen’s chair. “This page is the one I think we need. Do you need me to describe it to you?”
With a shake of her head, Sameen lifted the book closer and squinted. “The control sigil is in the center?”
“Yes.”
In a ring around the mark she’d wear for the rest of her life were a variety of other symbols. The moon, the Tree of Life, and more she didn’t recognize. “I don’t know what most of these others are.”
“Runes,” Caitlin said. “That first one is Ansuz. It represents a signal or message received. With its position, I think it’s referrin’ to the way the Thirteen use the control sigil. They send warnings, knowledge, or simply pain across the link created by the sigil. Opposite Ansuz is Nauthiz.” The air elemental shuddered and rubbed her upper arms. “It’s the rune of constraint and pain. Here, it’s reversed, which tells me Ansuz—the message—is what’s bringin’ the pain.”
Sameen wasn’t sure she could take much more of this. Every symbol Caitlin pointed out gave her less hope she’d ever be free from the Thirteen’s control. Not knowing what to do or say, she reached for Peter’s hand.
When his warm fingers gripped hers, the calm, reassuring presence she desperately needed—the one she’d yearned for the entire time she’d been a prisoner—soothed her. Was this man really her mate? Why else would she react to him so strongly? Why else would she need him like she needed food and water and sunlight?
“Go on,” she said. As long as Peter kept hold of her hand, she’d be okay. At least...she hoped she would be.
“The last rune is Isa. It’s between Ansuz and Nauthiz and represents stasis. When Isa rules, nothin’ can change. Ye’re trapped by the signals the Thirteen are sendin’, and that’s what causes ya’ such pain.”
“Is this supposed to make me feel better?” Sameen asked. “Or help us find Mara?”
“Yes and no.” Caitlin looked to Eli, and the practitioner turned the page.
“That same grouping of runes around the control sigil are repeated here. Multiple times. I think this might represent all the different times the Thirteen branded someone.”
“How do ya’ know that?” Liam asked.
Eli stepped between Sameen and Cade. “Because last week, there were six separate groupings on this page. Now...there are seven.”
Chapter Eleven
Peter
Cade practically vibrated with anger. Not that Peter could blame him. To see evidence of your mate’s suffering in black and white? Or...black and the aged yellowish hue the old pages had taken on over the years?
Liam stood next to the alpha wolf, clearly ready to restrain the man in a heartbeat.
“Will ya’ get to the bloody point?” Farren asked. “How does any of this help us find Mara?”
Eli rolled up his sleeve. “When I touched that first page a couple of hours ago, this showed up on my arm.”
Everyone—except for Sameen, who was too far away to see exactly what Eli was showing them—tensed, and Farren swore loudly. “Fuck. And ya’ didn’t think to tell me? That’s the Thirteen’s sigil, Eli. How the hell are ya’ supposed to keep us all safe if they’re controllin’ ya?” She practically threw herself at her mate, wrapping her arms around him and holding on so tightly, Eli grunted.
“Can’t...breathe, love.”
“I don’t much care. Rather you unconscious than under their control.”
Peter had never seen the female alpha display quite so much emotion, and he reached over the took Sameen’s hand again, needing this new, very tenuous mate bond to keep him grounded.
