Cade sighed in resignation. “The artifacts.”
“The Wraiths want the endless source, too. They’re addicted, but they probably think it will save them,” Bridget said. “Is that what’s happening to Marin? Is she turning into one?”
Stellan’s entire countenance shifted. Simmering rage began to brew on his features. “It’s different with Marin. She’s half-human. The price is already greater for her. In fact, it will most likely kill her, but she took it to protect Cade.” He glared at her brother. “You should have known better to mess with blood magic.”
Color drained from Cade’s face. “You’re the one who had a whole journal of blood magic spells hidden under your bed,” he growled. “If you had told me aboutanyof this earlier, things would be different.”
Bridget hopped off the table and tried to stand between them, but neither one batted an eye at her presence.
“I was entrusted with that book to—”
“Cass?”
Finn’s gasping question silenced the room. Wincing, he rubbed his chest as he stared at her.
Cassia inhaled sharply. Her emotions were suffocating him. She’d been so lost in her thoughts, so preoccupied with her own shame spiral of what it meant to be a Druid, she hadn’t realized anyone in the room might be paying attention to her. Even though Stellan had just told them not all Druids were evil, a bubble of fear rose in her stomach.
“It’s nothing,” she stammered. Her cheek muscles quivered as she tried to keep a straight face.
It didn’t work. Before she could stop him, Cade’s presence invaded her mind. He took no qualms in filtering through her thoughts to find what he was looking for, despite the mental hurdles she tried to throw at him. Just as needles began to prick her scalp, she felt his rush of surprise.
“You’re a Druid.”
To her, he said,I guess that explains what happened at the wall. Which one of our ancestors do you think was a Nymph?
Cassia curled her lips into a grimace. Everyone was now staring at her wide-eyed, except for Castor and Stellan. The two shared a look, one she wished she could interpret, but the rush of relief pounding through her veins was almost too strong to control. There wasn’t any fear emanating from the echoes of Cade’s mind. Only pure shock and curiosity.
“How is that possible?” Bridget asked.
Since they were still connected, Cassia became lumped into Cade’s infiltration of the others. She watched him share the memory of what she’d done at the wall and how she had channeled him, along with theprivateconversation she’d had with Castor in the training room.
Without thinking, she pulled on his power and severed his connection with the others.Would you stop?
It was the best way to explain.
Cassia scowled at him. She doubted that. After a moment, the needles pressed harder into her skull. While she enjoyed her little talks with her brother, she sometimes hated it when he left their connection open for too long because eventually, his thoughts and feelings began to follow. Right now, the sheer amount of calculating and planning going on in the background of his mind was giving her a headache. And the underlying guilt of Marin’s condition worsened it. Cassia could barely hear the others over it.
“Well, I’m for one glad we have someone like Vega on our side,” Archer said. “Fight fire with fire, as they say.”
Finn frowned. “They do?”
The words made Cassia flinch. Castor’s hand grazed her lower back. If she was going to learn to control her supposedhungerfor magic, he really needed to stop touching her. Something about his had been more intoxicating to her than when she’d taken Cade’s. Sometimes, it felt like she was craving it.
Cade winced. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one drowning in the other’s problems.It doesn’t seem like you’re handling this well.
Would you be if you were just told you were destined to destroy everything around you?
We won’t let that happen.
Finally, with a searing pop, Cade was gone. His optimism wasn’t contagious. In fact, she wanted to throttle him over it. When had anything in their life gone her way?
Cassia jumped when Castor touched her again.
“Are you alright?” he whispered.
Wordlessly, she stepped away from him. After being in Cade’s head, her blood was already roaring with the need to recharge.
Cade rolled out another map. “I think it’s pretty obvious that we need to find those artifacts before Vega does. Bridget and I will go to Andarre. When we’re there, we’ll get the sword. Castor—”
