A wave of magic exploded from Archer, knocking everyone down except Stellan. Chest heaving, the glow from his power slowly disappeared from skin. Arm still burning, Bridget crawled over to Archer. The sight of his chest still moving up and down had her slinking all the way to the floor.
“Looks like you might be getting your wish after all,” Stellan growled at Alexia.
As Bridget hugged Nylah close, she was left with one question…
What the hell was going on in Elyria?
Chapter twelve
Cassia
She remembers.
The moment Marin had broken Cade out of the blood spell, he’d repeated the phrase over and over until he’d lost consciousness. Cassia sucked in a breath, trying to quell the nausea rolling through her. She’d never seen her brother so lost in magic, so trapped that he couldn’t pull himself out of the void he’d thrust himself into to find that annoying Warlock’s mind. And there’d been blood. So much blood. Every time she closed her eyes, she still saw it dripping down Cade’s arms, staining the ground and grimoire beneath him. Still heard his screams as he battled a force none of them could see.
Cassia had just begun to panic that he’d been lost forever when Marin appeared before them.Awake. And radiating a power Cassia had never seen her wield in person. All of them watched, stunned and open-mouthed, as she grabbed Cade’s head and released him from the spell… the black mark on the back of his hand transferring to her own. A sign, aconsequence, of blood magic.
Don’t worry, she’d said. Itneeded to be her.
And then she explained. About curses, deals, past lives, and Tuathan blood.
Cassia’s head spun as they rushed Cade to the infirmary. She’d always seen him as her other half. The one person familiar to her since birth. Hertwin.
That didn’t seem to be the case anymore.
Since then, not one of them had dared to speak. Cassia didn’t even think any of them knew what to say. What could they? Cade was much more than justtheirsnow. Even now, as he lay passed out in the hospital bed, a dozen different potions forced down his throat, he seemed different.
Groaning, Finn shook his arms and rolled his shoulders. “Okay, I am going to need all of you torelax.”
“That’s a little hard to do right now,” Delphine said, cracking a smile.
Cassia couldn’t imagine the onslaught of emotions he was receiving. Just her own threatened to suffocate her. And even though Finn kept a straight-face, she spotted a bead of sweat roll down his cheek. Standing behind Delphine, Castor rubbed his chin, deep in thought. Cassia could practically see the wheels turning as he kept his dark eyes on Cade. So she asked the one question everyone was avoiding.
“What happens now?”
In a chair next to Cade’s head, Marin folded her hands in her lap. “What do you mean?”
“What do you think I mean?” Cassia sneered, heat traveling up her neck. “You’ve known about everything for years, apparently, but you just now decided to share it. Why? What do you see? It has to be something important.”
“I decided to tell you now because if Cade had stayed connected to the gate any longer, he would have opened it, signaling to Iegorus and Vega that his full Tuathan powers returned. Which they haven’t,” Marin said matter-of-factly. “As for what happens next… I haven’t seen anything past Bridget going through the gate and breaking the curse. It’s blocked… like someone hasn’t made a decision.”
“Who?” Finn demanded.
“I wish I knew.”
Marin’s calm demeanor spiked Cassia’s blood pressure. She gripped the edge of the empty chair behind her, ready to make Marin show any kind of notion thatpeacewasn’t the only state of being she possessed. Especially when Cade still hadn’t woken up.
“Cass…” Delphine warned.
But it was too late. Cassia threw the metal chair to the ground. It clanged harshly against the tile floor, leaving her ears ringing. “Do you even care what happensat all?”
“Of course she cares,” Delphine admonished. “She just saved Cade’s life.”
Marin held up her hand. “It’s alright. I expected this reaction from her.”
After sending Cassia a weary, sideways glance, Castor picked up the chair she’d thrown. “So these powers… he’ll get them back eventually?”
“I don’t know.”
