Mistral lowered his chin, still cradling the orb in his hands. If I wasn’t mistaken, he had extended it a bit toward me. “No, Eva.Youuse it to drain your great grandfather’s magic. None of us are strong enough to control it on our own. We need the connection you provide to pool our resources.”
Crispin nodded along with Mistral’s words. “If she pulls on all of our power, it should be enough.”
Gabriel hadn’t yet spoken a word, and stood brooding off to my left. A lock of his black hair had fallen free from its leather clasp, blocking my view of his eyes, though somehow I knew he saw me looking. My throat was tight as I asked, “And what do you think about all of this?”
His focus remained on Mistral as he answered, “Whatever plan you choose, I will follow.”
Judging by his tone, he had hoped for a plan to keep me out of danger, and Mistral had told him it wasn’t possible. It wasmygreat grandfather andmymother we were talking about. I hadalways known it had to be me, and I just regretted bringing the rest of them into it.
Well, everyone but Sebastian. If he hadn’t joined up with me, surely he would have gotten into something worse.
“Marcie should be here soon,” Sebastian interrupted. “If we are to prepare a demonstration, we should do so now.” He looked at me.
When Marcie asked for a demonstration, he had given her the location of the cottage, but she wouldn’t be able to stay long. She was a full-blooded celestial, and my great grandfather could track her just as easily as he was currently tracking my mother. Although now that he had my mother’s trail, he was unlikely to give it up to spy on Marcie.
Everyone was watching me, and I realized I was now expected to pick up the creepy orb.
And maybe the guys were right. Maybe with all of them connected to me, I was powerful enough to use it. The Bogs had given it to me and not any of the guys, after all.
I was temporarily saved by a knock on the cabin door. Sebastian moved to open it, admitting Marcie.
She entered cautiously, glancing around, her thick brown hair shielding one side of her face. She wore a cream colored blazer over a simple but expensive looking navy dress. She looked like she belonged at a garden party, not in a rustic, dusty, goblin cottage.
Her eyes hesitated on the vortex in Mistral’s hands, then narrowed back at Sebastian. “Your directions were atrocious.”
Sebastian gave her a sarcastic bow. He had never much cared for Marcie, and she felt the same way about him. “Would it have been easier had I described that tree as your likeness rather than a horse’s ass?”
“Child,” she muttered, tsking and stepping past him.
“You know,” I said, trying not to laugh, “my mom was able to find me in the Bogs with no directions.”
Her eyes were back on the vortex as she said, “Because she’s your mother. That blood bond is much closer. She will always be able to find you, and had you discovered your gifts sooner, you could have found her.” Waving me off, she gestured toward the orb. “Now, what have we learned?”
Mistral explained his findings, and his idea for me to use the vortex.
“Too risky,” Marcie said before he could even finish. “She hardly understands how to control her own magic, let alone such a dangerous tool. I will accept the risk of wielding it.”
“The Bogs chose to give it to Eva,” Mistral countered.
Marcie scoffed. “So? Are we to take all of our orders from wild goblin magic now?”
Sebastian gave Marcie a wide berth as he moved to my other side. “Eva is the conduit here. With the rest of us around her, she is far more powerful thanyou.” He tilted his eyes in Marcie’s direction.
Marcie looked like she tasted something sour. “She barely knows how to use her own magic. You expect her to control something so powerful?”
“We will help her.” Mistral’s calm tone left no room for argument.
Crispin watched the exchange with obvious amusement. I almost wanted to offer him a bucket of popcorn.
“Fine,’ Marcie snapped, finally looking at me. “Take the vortex. See if you can actually use it.” She whipped one hand toward the glowing green orb still cradled in Mistral’s palms.
Nervous, I looked at Crispin. The amusement had drained from his face, but he gave me a nod. Okay, so we were actually doing this.
I stepped toward the table, facing Mistral. I could feel the other three guys at my back. Marcie had moved to the other side of the table to observe. I held out trembling hands, and Mistral transferred the vortex to my palms.
It was lighter than expected, and didn’t feel like much of anything. I had expected overwhelming power like the first time the guys had all flooded their magic into me. I had screamed, nearly vomited, and passed out.
This was nothing like that. I started to relax. The glowing green light was almost pretty.
