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Kate didn’t even have time to brace herself before Damon and Isaac appeared in her workshop at the same time.
“What happened?” Isaac demanded as he stalked toward her.
Before he could pull her into his arms, like she suspected he wanted to, she took a step back and held up her hands. “I’m fine. I just lost track of time and missed my lunch date with Mom. She overreacted when I didn’t show up.”
“Katherine Jennifer Stone!” Kate flinched at her mother’s use of her full name. “I do not panic or overreact. Ever!”
“Kate,” Damon said as he took a step toward her, his eyes scanning her from head to toe as if checking for injuries. “Mom’s right. She’s not one to overreact, so tell us what happened.”
Maybe if she hurried through her explanation, everyone would leave her alone and she could get back to the sword. The fact that she’d touched the blade for six hours was still a little hard to fathom, but there had to be a reason. The unawareness of time passing had to mean something and she wanted to know what that was.
Straightening her shoulders, she put on an air of bravado she’d perfected over the years while working in a man’s world. When she raised her voice over the others, she projected confidence, even if she didn’t feel it. “When Jack sent the sword, I unwrapped it. It’s a stunning piece of art and craftsmanship. I just got caught up in studying it and lost track of time.”
“You were more than caught up,” her mom said, emphasizing Kate’s phrasing. “When I arrived?—”
“What’s going on?” Jack boomed from where he’d landed near the door of her shop.
Kate flicked her eyes over to Jack as he walked up to Damon’s side.
“Good thing you’re here, Jack,” her mom said, and Kate held in a groan of frustration.
“Damon reached out,” Jack said and nodded at Damon.
Great. One more person, and another man at that, to see that she’d lost control of the situation with the sword. She called on her magic and pushed a cooling breeze through her chest, neck, and face to combat the heat she felt rising in her skin. The last thing she needed was for her embarrassment to be obvious. It was bad enough that everyone was here. She wanted to know why she hadn’t had control and the only way to figure that out was to get back to the sword. To do that, she needed everyone to be gone.
Facing Jack, she once more projected confidence. “I lost track of time. That’s all. Everyone is making a big deal out of nothing. I. Am. Fine.” All that mattered was everyone taking her seriously and trusting her so they would leave. Show no vulnerability was the motto she’d adopted years ago.
Her mom turned to Jack as if Kate hadn’t even spoken. “Kate was supposed to meet me for lunch at twelve-thirty at The Magic Plate. When she didn’t arrive, I called her in case she’d gotten caught up with work. When she didn’t answer, I flashed over here and found her in a trance. Her fingers were on the sword’s blade, and it took me calling her several times before she even acknowledged me. Then she was surprised to see me because she thought it was still six-thirty in the morning.” Her gaze flicked to Kate before focusing back on Jack. “That’s not just losing track of time.”
“I had the sword checked by other council leaders, and they truly believed that the blade was safe to touch if they didn’t have evil intent. I wouldn’t have given it to Kate if I thought it would cause her harm,” Jack said. “I’m truly sorry, Fiona.”
Her mom waved her hand at Jack as if in dismissal. “I know you wouldn’t have, Jack. It’s just that while I was waiting for Kate I…” Her mom’s eyes flicked to her again, before looking back at Jack, her gaze encompassing Damon and Isaac as well. “I had a vision of Kate.”
“What?” Kate shrieked. “Mom, why didn’t you tell me?” A vision. Fucking fantastic. That was all she needed for this little group of testosterone-laden alphas to get even more protective.
“It was only just before I went to meet you for lunch. I was going to tell you then.”
“Fiona,” Isaac said, getting her mom’s attention. “What happened in the vision?” Isaac came over to Kate but didn’t touch her as he waited for her mom to continue.
Kate felt just like she had the other day. She wanted to lean into Isaac and let him support her, but if she did, she’d show him her vulnerable side and then he could walk all over her. She took a step away from him.
“It wasn’t much, just a flash of an image. But I saw Kate lying on the floor in a white room. She looked like she was unconscious.”
Her mom looked over at her, and Kate felt swamped with shame. All she wanted was to be seen as strong and capable so no one would ever use her again, but in standing up for herself, she had dismissed her mom’s concerns. For Kate’s entire life, her mom had seen visions, and as far as she knew, they had all come true.
Walking up to her mom, Kate pulled her into a hug. “I’m sorry for scaring you, Mom,” she whispered against her mom’s hair. Her mom meant the world to her and was one of the only people who she didn’t have to prove herself with. Hurting her mom was inexcusable.
Kate pulled back, and her mom kissed her cheek. “I know, honey.” And just like that, her mom forgave her and accepted her. Not many people were like that.
“Jack,” her mom said. “You didn’t get a vision at all?”
“Of Kate?” Jack shook his head. “No.”
That didn’t sound reassuring. It meant that Jack did have a vision and lately anytime someone had a vision it let them know there was bad news in their future. Too bad her mom and Jack couldn’t have had visions of a shoe sale.
Kate half-turned her body and pointed at her bench where the sword still lay. She needed to get back to work and make sure that no one made a decision for her. “Since I’m okay, I’m going to go back to?—”
Her brother spoke right over her, cutting off her words, as if she hadn’t said anything. “Isaac, can you give Kate a tattoo that will protect her when she’s working on the sword?”
