Then Olaf turned my way, and what he said next floored me.
“Your father’s mental collapse was no random event.” Every part of my body stiffened, and not in a fun way. “Kenji overheard a conversation between Vane and his wife that said he’d had your mother killed and then used a dark magic enchantment to trigger psychosis in your father.”
Olaf’s words sliced into me. The emotional overwhelm was almost too much to deal with as the realization that neither of my parents needed to die hit hard.
“Why?” I stuttered, fighting the urge to blink away and track down the mage who’d ruined my fucking life. If Mom and Dad were stillhere, I’d have had a happy childhood instead of being raised by literal wolves.
Wolves that despised everything about me.
“Because Xavian was too powerful. Vane has spent the last two decades removing any threats from the board. First the vampires, then your father. And now the shifters. The witches align with his beliefs, and the lesser magicals don’t have the numbers to fight back or, like the mer queen, are happy to do deals in return for things they need.”
I sensed Kai’s fury at the dragon’s revelation, but I shut him out. His mommy issues didn’t concern me.
“Vane’s a dead mage walking.” I plucked Brenda from my pocket realm and examined the runes engraved in the metal. Brenda and I would take great pleasure in carving Vane into tiny pieces.
“If I slice and dice the mage, you can light the barbecue,” I told Olaf, my sorrow at learning the circumstances of my parents’ death having morphed into ice-cold rage.
“Are you seriously suggesting we eat Tiberius Vane?” Maverick looked sick, which surprised me. I thought bears loved meat. Sure, the mage might be a bit gristly, but meat was a valuable source of protein.
I opened my mouth to defend myself, but before I could speak, a violent jolt of magic hit me right in the chest. The magical tether linking me to my pet flared back to life, and from the loud groans around me, I wasn’t the only one who’d felt her magic calling.
“I can feel her!” The bear shot to his feet and roared.
Kai dashed over, his eyes wide with anxiety.
“We have to go to Arizona right this minute! Raven’s in danger!”
24
Kai
Others? The dragon hadn’t elaborated, but if Raven was trapped in a facility owned by Tiberius Vane, it made sense he had other powerful magicals imprisoned too.
I didn’t dare think about what he was doing with them.
We needed to leave. A brief vision had showed me what would happen if we didn’t get there in time. Death. So much death.
My softhearted mate would never forgive herself if what I saw came to pass.
The others were bickering about how best to travel to Arizona.
“Zane can teleport us there,” Maverick said, taking charge.
“Do you even know wherethereis?” Zane huffed. “I’m low on fuel. I might end up accidentally dropping you somewhere over the Grand Canyon. Oops.”
“I can fly us,” the dragon shifter rasped, sending a plume of smoke out through the open door.
I wondered if my mother knew Olaf existed. She coveted pretty, shiny things, especially powerful magicals. She’d be all over him if she discovered his existence.
It was partly why she’d fawned over Farris the minute they met. If she ever met Olaf, she’d want him too. Like a nasty case of mage lice, poor Olaf would never be free of my mother’s questionable intentions.
Was he unmated? I assumed so. I’d seen no sign of others living in this vast castle.
“Dawn’s nearly here,” Maverick pointed out. “The vampire can’t travel in the sun.”
“I can,” Rasmus disagreed, “but prolonged exposure is painful.”
“Perhaps we can stick you in a coffin and the dragon can carry you?” Zane suggested.
