She was right. He knew that.
Still, he fought the waves of panic and despair that were roiling inside him, building into a consuming wall. An image of the amethyst joining bracelet taunted his mind, and he replayed the sound of Celina’s desperate cry before it cut off into nothingness. She was hurt because of him. Headed toward the same dark place as Brenna.
Anunnervinglypeacefulalcoveacted as their staging area for the rescue. Their traveling gear and belongings were hidden out of sight, thanks to their map. The wind had picked up, rustling the trees in steady currents around them.
Though they had arrived some time ago to rejoin Daya and Connor, Zora and Rogue still stood alert at the edges of the space. The other horses were tethered in a group, shifting anxiously as the tension swelled from their humans.
A whirl of emotion radiated from Connor, banishing his usually calm and lighthearted nature. “I can’t believe this happened.”
“It’s my fault.” If he hadn’t been recognized, they would have gotten out with no problem.
“You made the best choices you could,” Sev said. “And we will get her back.”
Connor spun, storming a few feet away to pace, hand running through his short hair and then fisting in frustration as he attempted to absorb the news.
“We need to leave now. The element of surprise is gone, so there’s no point in waiting. We should hit them hard before they have much time to regroup.” Rodric was having trouble keeping still for this conversation, but he didn’t have the skills to pull off the rescue single-handedly, and he knew it.
Nearby, Zora threw her head and stomped, responding to his agitation. At least one of his partners was ready for action.
“There is a point,” Cass growled, gesturing at herself and Connor. “Two of your teammates have magic that works best at dusk. We need to wait. This is personal for all of us, but you’re thinking emotionally, not strategically. They’re not going anywhere until tomorrow at the earliest, and yes, they’ll be expecting trouble. We have to take the time to do this right.”
Rodric clenched his jaw to keep from spitting a retort, the mention of magic making him seethe. It had no place in their rescue. His brain said that was utter nonsense, but raw pain had overtaken his emotions. His mate was likely being interrogated or worse while they debated a new plan of attack.
“They could be hurting her right now!”
“Don’t you think I know that?” Cass gripped his shirt and got in his face. “Celina is the closest thing I have to family. It is killing me to wait. To leave her in the hands of people who will hurt her. You are not the only one who wants to run in there, blades flying, so stop acting like it!” She gave him a shove as she released his shirt and stepped back. An unveiled look let him see the pain in her eyes he hadn’t bothered to notice before. “I will fight to get her back with everything I am. I swear it, Rodric.”
The sound of the breeze whipped loudly in the absence of human voices. Rodric released a long breath, hating that Cass was right. That they were all right. Celina was Connor’s sister. Cass’s chosen family.
They were worried and hurting with him, and he was making a horrible situation harder on them. Sev and Daya’s efforts to mediate and keep the peace could only get so far with the hot emotions running rampant in the clearing.
“You know,” Daya started, “there is one huge advantage that we haven’t discussed yet.” She gave Rodric a meaningful look.
“No. I’m not using magic. It wouldn’t be useful anyway.” His magic was designed for healing and memorial retrieval, not tracking.
“You have a soul-bond with Celina, do you not? It could be incredibly helpful.”
“What exactly does that mean?” Sev asked before Rodric could respond.
“No one knows really, that’s the point—it’s the stuff of legends,” Connor supplied. “And you’re already using it.”
“What?” Rodric sputtered.
Connor paced away, running a frustrated hand through his short hair. When he neared Daya, she shifted slightly into his path and stopped him with a hand on his chest.
“Easy,” she murmured, almost too softly to hear. “You’re both hurting.”
The warrior took a visibly deep breath, covering her hand with his own and squeezing it. His energy was much calmer when he turned back to face them.
“When she healed Connor, Celina wasn’t only using her magic, Rodric. She used yours, too,” Daya said gently. “She tapped into the soul-bond and drew your magic into the healing she was attempting. Using a bond that way is very difficult. It takes a lot of time to gain the ability to separate the magics and control them individually.”
“Meaning, she didn’t do it intentionally,” Connor clarified. “When she realized what happened, that she’d used your combined magics, she didn’t think you were ready to handle it yet. Hopefully, you are now.”
The words stung, tearing into him fiercely. Celina had kept that from him?
“Magic requires skill. It may take years for the two of you to learn to share and use your magic together, but if your bond is already that strong, you should be able to connect to her,” Daya explained. “Send emotion to her, locate her, even talk to her.”
Sev tipped his head, studying her intently. “You’re more than a falconer, aren’t you?”
