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She was still being held, but she needed to shift, now. She struggled against the hold and this time, he let her go. She swam for an arm length before her kelpie broke free. She was too tired to even feel the pain of the shift. Her instincts took over and guided her through the change from human to kelpie. When water entered her scorched throat, she took a deep gulp, knowing that her gills would deal with it. To her surprise, the water was clean, not the chlorine soup it had been the last time. Someone must have refilled the pool with fresh water.
Her thoughts of gratitude disappeared when she could feel the webbing around her hooves build. She was ready to swim. With a whinny, she lept through the water, taking long strides, enjoying the feeling of her antenna being whipped back in the current. It was one of the most curious things about kelpies, that little appendage on their foreheads that nobody really knew what it was for. Some said it was connected to magic, but even kelpies without any magical abilities had an antenna. The only thing Macey knew was that it was extremely sensitive and ticklish. Her brothers used to chase her to then shake their manes against her head in the hope of making her squeal.
She slowed down when she started to think about her brothers. She still didn’t know what was going on with them. And it didn’t look like she’d find out anytime soon.
A hand touched her back and she whirled around, opening her maw, ready to attack. When she saw Jared swimming behind her, obviously not used to being in the water, her gaze softened. Her pain was almost gone and she could finally recognise her men again. One of them had carried her here. Who had been in the bedroom with her? Jared. Where were the other two? Were they safe? Did the Voice take them?
Panicked, she swam to the surface, looking around the room. There they were, sitting on the rim of the pool, looking at her in worry. Her mind was swirling. She still wasn’t back to normal. She’d been hurt this time, injured inside. She knew that Voice had broken something in her. The pain may have gone, but that didn’t mean that everything was alright.
15
Even swaddled in a blanket, with Flint’s arms wrapped around her, Macey couldn’t stop shivering. She leaned back against him and his arms tightened. “Do you need more?” he asked softly.
“Please.” She nodded, not caring how weak she appeared at that moment. She felt Flint heat up around her, his body temperature rising in an attempt to warm her up and stop the shivers.
Except, it wouldn’t work, and they all knew it. While she might not be shivering from the cold, she still appreciated the warmth he was giving off, and the mere feel of him against her was making her feel far less alone.
“What happened?” Cam asked, crouching down in front of the pair of them. Concern was blaring in his eyes, but he kept his voice and demeanour calm. She was grateful for that. She was a mess, and Jared had stormed off as soon as he’d known she was okay. Probably so he could hit something if the look on his face had been anything to go by.
“The Voice,” she answered simply, shivering again. By the waves, she was grateful for Flint’s arms around her and the steady beating of his heart. She breathed in and out slowly, trying to match the tempo of her breathing to Flint’s. Maybe then she’d be able to rest and regain some of her strength, both physical from her shift, and mental from the walls the Voice had broken down. She hadn’t even realised the latter was possible until today. She’d thought her mind was stronger.
“It’s our fault,” Flint said softly, his words cracking with unvoiced emotions. “I’m so sorry, Macey.”
She lifted her hand and placed it on his, giving it a quick squeeze. “No,” she said, shaking her head for emphasis. She hated the thought of him blaming himself. None of this was any of their faults. They were born to be the Wardens, at least, if Malan was telling the truth they were. And they were replacing the old ones in the process. Macey grimaced. It seemed to be a lot of effort to go to for them all just to be replaced in another hundred years or so. Then again, Flint and Cam had already admitted being centuries old, and she had no idea how old Jared was. For all she knew, he could be over a thousand and really look like a crippled man. She was grateful the latter wasn’t true, as shallow as that made her feel.
“It might be, Macey,” Cam said soothingly. “We lowered your walls when we...”
“But you also unleashed my magic,” she pointed out, letting go of Flint’s hand and holding her palm out, facing upwards. She called on the water deep inside her and summoned it to form a small fountain of water. Concentrating harder than she had to, she made the water dance in plumes around her hand, diving and twisting around. It was a weird experience. On the one hand, she could feel more power bubbling up inside her than ever before, and yet, it was taking more effort than ever to actually control it. She wondered if that was to do with her connection to the men. Maybe their own elements were diluting hers? Or maybe it was just the far more likely explanation of them being blocked by the damage the Voice had done.
If she ever got hold of him...
“Macey, are you okay?” Cam touched her face, his fingertips trailing gently over her cheek and sending tingles through her. This was worth all the agony.
“Lost in thought,” she replied, her voice taking on a dreamy quality. She almost zoned out again, before remembering she couldn’t without worrying Cam and Flint.
“We get that,” Flint acknowledged in her ear.
“Is Jared okay?” she asked, meeting Cam’s swirling grey eyes.
“He will be, yes. He’s just very protective of you, and seeing you in pain...it was difficult for him.” A thoughtful look crossed Cam’s face. “It’s difficult for us all, Macey. We weren’t exactly expecting you, but now you’re here...”
“You’re our one,” Flint finished for him.
“I am?” she squeaked, swallowing past the lump in her throat. They were getting to her. But this time, they were warming her from the inside. Swelling her heart to an abnormal size. Macey leaned forward, placing a hand on Cam’s cheek. She took one of Flint’s hands in her other one and squeezed tightly.
“Yes,” Cam said softly.
“Yes,” Flint echoed.
“What about Jared?” she asked tentatively, voicing one of the thoughts that’d been playing on her mind. Surely they shouldn’t just be okay with this, and yet...
“You’re his one too,” Flint supplied, chuckling lightly. “You must be, or he’d never be acting like this.” He released his hand from hers and waved it in the direction of the door where she assumed Jared must be.
“He wouldn’t be rejecting sex, either,” Cam added.
“That’s true, I’ve never seen him do that before.”
“But I thought he was starving himself...” she started, trying to make sense of it in her mind. He’d been starved, there was no doubt about that. So what was with what the guys were saying?
