“I don’t—I don’t know where he is.”
But Poppy knew as surely as she knew her own name. “The crossroads,” she whispered. “The road that leads to Halwell.”
Laurel agreed with a nod. Then the two of them lifted the hems of their nightrails and robes and sprinted through the garden, across their father’s land and through the entrance gate that led to the main road. They ran toward the Halwell crossroads, never halting their pace not even when they heard a most horrific wail in the distance. What in the world could make such a terrifying noise? It sounded like something out of...well, out of Poppy’s nightmare.
The sound of animals racing through the woods seemed to echo through the night air, and the urgency only drove Poppy and Laurel to race even faster down the path. Until...
Up ahead, a patch of moonlight fell across the crossroads. On horseback, Daniel came into view. In that exact moment, a most ferocious looking dog launched itself toward the horse and clamped down on the poor animal’s backside.
Daniel fell from his mount at the same time another man’s horse reared up and sent its rider falling to the road with a thud.
“Goodness!” Laurel breathed out.
Poppy clapped her hands together and a blinding blue light illuminated the crossroads in an instant. A dozen or so rabid-looking dogs all turned tail and scattered back into the darkness. The blue light was gone in a flash.
“How did you do that?” Laurel asked.
But Poppy had no idea. “How can we do anything we do?” she countered.
“Blindly, as always,” Laurel muttered as she started toward Daniel’s lifeless form. “He’s still breathing.”
Which was good news. Poppy made her way to the other fallen man, the stranger, and she stopped in her tracks. It washim. The very same man she’d seen night after night in her dreams. And just like in her dreams, she had no idea if the man was dead or alive.
She dropped to her knees beside him and touched a hand to his cheek. He was warm to the touch and she realized that his chest rose and fell with the intake of breath. “This one is breathing too,” she called to her sister, though she could not pull her eyes from his face.
He was handsome. Perhaps the most handsome man she’d ever seen with his dark hair and fashionable curls that had fallen across his brow. He had a slight scar on his right cheek and a strong, commanding jaw.
“How are we going to get them back to The Chase?” Poppy wondered aloud.
“Can you do that clap thing again and just float them back home?”
Poppy didn’t think her power worked that way, but she clapped her hands together anyway. Absolutely nothing happened, which wasn’t a surprise. Neither she nor Laurel had any real idea what they were doing with their magic. Sometimes things happened, sometimes they didn’t. If Great-Aunt Alora hadn’t died the night she’d restored their powers, they’d probably have some clue about what they were doing. As it was, they were as clueless as ever.
She glanced toward her sister. “Run home and get Papa. If those dogs come back, I’ll try clapping again.”
Laurel shrugged. “Hope it works better than it did just now.”
Poppy blew out a breath. “Just hurry, will you?” After all, she wasn’t any more confident that clapping would work than her sister was.
So Laurel raced off in the direction of Halwell Chase, and Poppy was relieved that her sister would be the one to wake Papa and explain why they were at the Halwell crossroads in the dead of night.
CHAPTER2
Alec’s head throbbed.He blinked his eyes open and then closed them again when the light flooding the room made his head pound even harder.
“Oh!” A soft, melodic voice hit his ears. “Are you awake?”
Alec opened one eye. Standing over him, now, was a very pretty girl with hazel eyes and dark hair, pulled back in a loose chignon. Pretty as she was, her brow was furrowed in concern.
“Where am I?” he choked out, only realizing how parched he was when he managed to get that sentence out.
“You’re at Halwell Chase,” the girl said gently, pushing away from his bed. “You need some water.”
He did, but he still hated that she’d left his line of sight. He closed his eyes once more as the roomwasbathed in daylight and the pounding in his head had not subsided. Halwell Chase. He and Daniel had been headed to his friend’s family seat, but Alec didn’t recall arriving. A moment later, the dark-haired girl touched his brow and a magical warmth spread through him.
Damn it all.
He hadn’t felt that sensation in more than a decade. The memory of that bright blue light from the night before flashed in Alec’s mind. That blue light had protected him from a ravenous pack of hell hounds. Good God. He had no idea Daniel’s family was magical. He’d never noticed even a hint of magic surrounding his old friend. Was it truly possible?
