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Calder shrugged off the thought. They’d figure it out in time. Right now, they were just enjoying being together.
He descended the stairs, following the scent of coffee and the laughter of his mates. They were sitting at the breakfast table with Dane and Clay, mugs of coffee in front of them. Grey and Cort were probably still in their apartment over the garage, sharing their own quiet breakfast. Baer and Wiley were undoubtedly in bed. They were the only ones who tended to sleep later than him.
That left Hale. Where was the Air Weaver?
He was still getting adjusted to having a new Weaver in the house. He was no longer the new guy.
“Hey, sweetheart,” Gio greeted with an easy grin. “The new pot of coffee just finished brewing. We were contemplating breakfast. Pancakes?”
Calder skipped the coffee and walked around the breakfast bar to snag a kiss from Gio and then Lucien. They were better than coffee when it came to beginning his day. “I’m always up for pancakes, but I don’t mind cereal either.” He turned his attention to Clay. “Have you seen Hale yet?”
Dane nodded as Clay took a sip of his coffee. “He’s outside. Clay and I talked to him this morning about the Circle and pestilents and his destiny.”
Calder cringed and wrinkled his nose at Clay. “Really? You thought it was a good idea to start the morning with all that heavy stuff?”
Clay gave him a look. “He asked before I poured my first cup of coffee.”
“Ah.” That made sense, Calder guessed. He’d been in the house for twenty-four hours. They’d all had a chance to heal up and sleep. Okay, so maybe he and his mates did way more than sleep, but there was some sleep too. “How did he take it?”
The leader of the Weavers shrugged one shoulder. “Better than anyone else.”
“Of course, he spent more than a week with the pestilents and saw all of us using our powers,” Dane pointed out. “Not a lot of room for denial there.”
Calder stared out the windows in the French doors. He could make out the hunched form of Hale sitting in a lounge chair in front of the still empty pool. His shoulders were slumped and he seemed overwhelmed.
“The goddesses?” He glanced down in time to see Clay shake his head.
“Not yet.”
That was strange. The moment any of the Weavers had shown up at the house, they’d appeared to hand over their powers. But Hale had been here twenty-four hours. Why the wait?
“Why aren’t they here?” he murmured, talking to himself as much as to the others.
“A guess?” Clay started.
“The protection spell,” Lucien finished, and Clay nodded.
“What?” Gio inquired, looking from Lucien to Clay.
“There’s a protection spell placed over the house. It’s been here since we all passed away the last time and the goddesses became vessels for our powers again,” Clay explained. He frowned down at his mug, turning it around by his fingertips. “When we return, they appear and hand our powers over. The protection spell makes it impossible for any pestilent to step foot on the grounds of the Weavers house.”
“And when they are no longer holding our powers, the protection spell falls, leaving us vulnerable to attack,” Lucien added.
“Shit,” Gio swore softly.
Clay grunted. “My guess is they’re giving us a day or two to heal and get up to full strength. We’ll need to be ready while at the same time training a brand-new Weaver.”
“What about Wiley? Can he put another protection spell on the house?” Calder inquired.
Dane nodded. “He’s digging into a few options and checking his ingredients. Regardless of what spell he selects, it’s going to take all of us.”
“Yet another reason to be at full strength,” Clay muttered.
Calder’s gaze strayed to the French doors and Hale’s hunched shoulders. He’d been there not that long ago. The new guy. Overwhelmed by the fact that the fate of the world was resting on his shoulders when mere hours earlier he’d been a normal guy trying to figure out what to do with his life.
“I’m going to check on him.” Calder started for the door, but Gio grabbed his wrist, stopping him. His head tipped to the side so he could look at Calder’s feet.
“Sweetheart, it’s chilly out.”
Calder grinned, loving his mate’s concern for his well-being. “I’ll be fine.” He was the type to wander around barefoot. He didn’t care about cold grass.
Gio huffed as he reached down stripped off his own socks and handed them over to Calder. “Put these on or go get your own.”
With a laugh, Calder snatched up the socks and shoved his feet into the still-warm cotton. He placed a loud kiss on Gio’s cheek and went outside. Yes, he could definitely get used to having someone care about his well-being. No, get used to having two someones care about him. That was going to be very nice indeed.
