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“No, it escaped and infected others. It’s been spreading.”
Kate shifted, and Isaac saw her look around the tables as if taking a headcount. He understood the feeling of wanting to make sure everyone they knew was safe. “Yet our family and friends are all here... Ah… shit. That didn’t come out right. I didn’t mean it like that—other magics are important too—I’m just glad you all are here and alright.” There were a few laughs amongst the group. “I meant to ask how you’ve all managed to stay safe.”
Jack smirked. “It’s okay, we all understand. And we’re not sure if it’s been any one thing we did. We closed the businesses, just like a lot of other magics have. We put stronger spells on the buildings that we reinforce every day, and everyone has the spell Reece first gave Isabella.” Jack paused and turned to Reece. “You’ll make sure Isaac and Kate have it?”
“Will do. Right after this.”
“Good.” Jack’s gaze swung back to them. “We limit where we go, especially public places, although many of them are closed too. Authorities believe there is a widespread pandemic, and because only magic people know of magic’s existence, we’re not about to reveal it just to reassure people that only magics are affected.”
“It wouldn’t work anyway. Once it’s known that magic exists, it would open a whole new can of worms. And if it ever came out that at one time all people used to be magic and entire family lines lost magic over generations and their memories of magic with it, we could have multiple divides amongst both magics and non-magics,” Ben interjected.
“True. Something we will avoid at all costs. Outing the existence of magic will never be an option,” Jack continued. “Right now, we’ve got two things working on our side. One: no one but us knows that Maverick is dead. Thanks to Simon, we’ve been able to prevent that knowledge from getting out. Which leads to the second advantage. Thanks to Sam, we’re working on a plan to contain the magic, and for that plan to work we’ll need everyone to believe that Maverick is alive. We can explain all that to you two later. What’s more important right now is the sword.”
Isaac felt Kate’s anxiety turn to excitement. The feeling spilling into him took him by surprise. He’d never kept his magic flowing while touching someone before. Usually, he got what he needed and then pulled away, but not with Kate.
He was changing his rules for her. Trust had been the first rule to change when he’d trusted her to understand the risks and know what she could handle. Whereas in the past, he had only trusted himself to make all the decisions. Now it was his magic. With one arm draped around Kate’s shoulder and the other holding her hand, Isaac’s magic continued to monitor her emotions. It hadn’t been a conscious decision on his part, but it felt like a natural progression as proof of their connection.
“Isaac gave me the tattoo,” Kate announced. “I’m ready to work with the sword.”
“Great,” Jack said. “We’ll let you rest today, but you should be strong enough to start tomorrow.”
“Jack.” Fiona’s tone had all eyes turning to look at her. The last time Isaac heard her use that tone of voice was when she was putting Kate in her place. “Council leader or not, you,” she said, emphasizing the pronoun, “do not get to make those decisions on your own. Kate is pregnant, and you will not put her in danger.”
The matriarch of their group had spoken. Isaac felt something settle inside him, thankful he hadn’t had to play the bad guy. Fiona was a formidable ally. And as long as Isaac stayed on her good side, he’d enjoy seeing her in that role.
“For fuck’s sake, Fiona. I would never purposely put Kate in danger. We’ll make sure Mirek is there to heal her—” Jack held up his hand to stall a protest from Fiona. “Just in case. I don’t expect Mirek will be needed. We’ll also have a contingent of guards. Again—just in case.”
Jack turned in their direction. “Kate, Isaac. You both good with that?”
“All except for the waiting part,” Kate said with a whine. “But I get it. Tomorrow morning at eight?”
“Sure. Mirek, that work for you?” After Mirek nodded, Jack addressed the group. “I heard Reece has dessert.”
In all the years Isaac had known Jack, he’d never been overly fond of desserts. That probably hadn’t changed, but the man had always been a good leader and knew when a diversion was needed. At his mention of dessert, conversations started up, and once more the tension in the room dissipated.
If only dessert would be enough to ease Isaac’s tension about Kate working with the sword.
22
Kate accepted a hug from her mom. “I’m okay, you know? I keep telling everyone that, but you wouldn’t know it by the number of people here to babysit me.” Kate smiled, hoping it took the edge off of her words.
“Honey, I know you’re alright. Everyone is just here as a precaution and to support you with the sword, if it’s needed.”
Kate looked over to the large double doors of her workshop as Isaac was walking back from chatting with the group. Sam and Mirek were there, along with Damon, Morgana, Simon, and Jo. A half-dozen of Jack and Ben’s agents were standing off to the side.
“Hey, honey,” her mom said as Isaac walked up, giving him a hug before continuing. “You have to remember that a lot happened to us too.”
A bit of guilt nipped away at some of Kate’s anticipation for the reason they were in her workshop. “I’m sorry, Mom. Even without all the details yet, I know from the snippets I heard yesterday that you must have had some excitement.”
Her mother gave an inelegant snort. “Excitement. Not the word I would use, but yes, we’ve been busy. Sam is the one who came up with the plan. And she was the one who figured out where you were, once we knew you were alive. I thought…”
Her mom took in a big gulp of air and waved her hand in front of her face. Kate had seen her mom make that gesture, to dry her tears many times over the years.
“I know we said we would explain what happened while you were in the room. And we will. But for now, you need to understand that for twenty-seven days we thought you were dead. I couldn’t?—”
With sudden clarity, Kate realized what she’d said earlier, and she interrupted her mom. “I’m so sorry. When I said you had some excitement, I wasn’t thinking about that.”
“I know what you meant, honey. It was a tough month, but after I had the vision, I realized you were both alive.”
