“The relic took all of my magical energy and my soul. I have figured out how to harness technology as a magical weapon, though.” He had long gray hair and a beard to match, but even so, he didn’t look old. What really unnerved me was the glossy gray to his eyes. He looked exactly like a reanimated corpse, except he spoke normally.
“The relic allows for magic to be used through technology, but not through organic material,” he explained. “Which is fascinating.”
“But how are we going to infiltrate the supernatural territories with the relic? Surely the supernaturals are stronger than us even with the relic?” the same human asked.
“We will have new human specimens on our side to make sure the relic can do its job.” He waved a hand toward the back.
A human girl stepped onto the stage from the back, and I sensed unnatural magical energy in her.
She was bald, wearing a white jumpsuit, and there was no soul within her eyes. Holding up her hand, a blast of lightning shot out of it and smashed into the wall behind them. The concrete crumbled into nothing.
The humans gasped before excited chatter rang out through the room.
“Finally looks like we are seeing the humans use magic,” Damien growled out, and the darkness within me swirled.
SEVENTEEN
Wren
“Wren,wakeup!”Afrenzy of dismay shot through Kian’s bond, and the sharpness of his tone had everybody jolting up in bed.
Thorn’s arm tightened around my waist as he got up. “What happened?”
“I just had a vision. Wren is able to hurt Grayson, and he’s so mad about it. He obviously doesn’t trust her, and he thinks she’ll try to kill him, whichyes, that’s our goal. He’s coming here now to take her. If we actright now,there's only one outcome of this.”
“What's the outcome?” Rowan shifted out of bed.
“His death. We need to go to the summoning circle, and we need to get GraysonandWren inside of it.”
“She's not getting in that circle with him,” Alister hissed, rubbing his eyes with his palms.
“She has to! I don’t like it either,” Kian snapped, and we stiffened. “But if we don’t do this right, I'm afraid we'll never be able to kill Grayson.”
“I’m doing it,” I decided as I moved Thorn’s arm and crawled over Rhett and Damien before my feet hit the floor. “How much time do we have?”
“Maybe twenty minutes.” He grabbed a handful of his hair as pain flashed in his eyes. “Grayson's planning to take you and fully infect you. You’re a danger to him now, and he wants you on his side. He’s mad at Roak and tired of playing by his rules and wanting Rowan to join their side. Wren, you have to act like you’re on his side, like you’ve accepted the dark magic and want to go with him. If you’re already in the circle, he should form inside it with you. You need a piece of you both to sacrifice to form the bond. Get his pinky bone and cut a small piece of your hair.”
I glanced down and caught a glimpse of my arm, tilting my head. The veins had crawled all the way up my arm.
Fear and worry pushed through the bonds, but I felt nothing.
“And what about the dark magic? Where will it go once the rejected bond is back?” Damien stepped forward and cut a small piece of my hair from the bottom before placing it and the pinky bone in my palm. He must’ve gotten it from my bag when Kian mentioned it.
“The dark magic will not be able to inhabit either of them, but I’m not sure where it goes. I’m only sure it won’t be in our mate.”
“Good enough for me. Let's go.” Rowan sneered, fighting against his shift.
We had worn clothes to bed because we couldn't go to sleep unprepared, and it was disappointing.
Damien’s shadows snaked around us, and we all stepped within the summoning circle before they moved.
“We need to stay in the shadows for a bit until I start the ritual.” Kian grabbed my hand and pressed a kiss against my temple. “Sweetheart, please. Whatever you do, do not get out of the circle. You have to let the bond reform.”
I turned my head and met his lips with mine. “Don't worry. I know what to do.”
He tensed, being drawn back into a vision, and Lachlan gripped his arm as Shade scurried over and pressed his paws to his temples.
Damien stepped closer and dragged his nose over my neck. “Little bird, don't you dare get hurt.”
