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“Let me help you at least,” Denver says, breaking through my concentration. “You’ve already used so much power.”
“No.” I stop him, pushing aside the weight of exhaustion that presses down on me, and grit my teeth. “I need you to be ready with an entrapment spell. They aren’t themselves right now and I guarantee they’re going to attack first.”
“Okay.” Denver nods, swallowing thickly. “If you’re sure about this then I’m game.”
I suck in a deep breath and focus on Damon, using the tether that ties us to pinpoint his location exactly.
“Ready?” I ask as I pull my power in.
“Always ready, sunshine.”
With that, I pull Damon’s essence through the air and focus on the spot before me. His dark shadows swirl into existence, his chiseled body appearing beneath them in the next moment. His red eyes flash open and lock on to me with the same disdain I’d seen in Kai’s. My heart pangs, forgetting for a moment that this isn’t really him. Those eyes that are normally full of hunger and devotion are my mate’s eyes, not these ones.
“Captis,“ Denver shouts as Damon’s shadows spear for me.
I stumble a step back, cursing myself for letting my guard down and pull in a ragged breath.
“Are you okay?” Denver demands, his anger radiating off him in waves as he clasps my arm, his gaze flicking between me and Damon.
“I’m fine.” I straighten my shoulders, refusing to meet those red, glowing orbs until he’s back. “I’m ready.”
I focus on Kai next, ignoring the incredulous look that Denver gives me as I pull my kraken mate to me next. We can’t waste time, not when there are lives on the line.
“Captis,“ Denver says as soon as Kai’s form blinks in next to Damon’s, his tentacles barely snapping out before they’re caught in the spell.
“You,” Kai snarls, the word leaking more vitriol than I was prepared for. “Cowards. Release me and I’ll kill you quickly instead of shredding your limbs off one at a time.”
A chill runs up my spine, but I remind myself to block it out. This isn’t really him. This isn’t my mate who took such care in making sure he didn’t hurt me as that same tentacle plunged into me.
“I won’t promise the same.” Damon laughs, his normally dark and seductive tone now raising goosebumps along my arms. “I want to hear that gorgeous scream tear from your lips before I suck you dry.”
“Well this is a bad first impression,” Denver grumbles, eyeing them suspiciously.
“I’m going to search them, just be prepared.” I scowl back at Denver, but I still watch my Kai and Damon carefully.
“Oh yes, come closer and let me smell that delicious scent of fear wafting off you, witch,” Damon hisses, causing me to jerk back. He doesn’t call me little witch but it’s still close enough to sting.
Damon frowns back at me, his nostrils flaring as he remains frozen in place, clearly disappointed that it’s not fear he scents, but sorrow.
I take a few cautious steps forward and send my power to search over them, hoping the same spell to detect any life force will work to find anything that shouldn’t be there. A tendril of gold sparkles dances in front me and I send it towards Damon, ignoring the way my heart pangs at the familiar situation, yet this time it’s me using my powers on him.
“Witch,” he growls as the magic sweeps over his cheek but he can’t move, can’t avoid the hum of power. His power source hums as it should, blinking back that he’s a shadow monster in my mind, but there’s nothing different yet. I continue to examine him, but nothing out of the ordinary comes back to me.
Bile rises in my throat at that but I push it down, not willing to give up hope yet.Has it all just been some ruse?I immediately reject that thought, not letting the toxic doubt seep in. There isn’t any faking the bond that hums between us. Besides, why would Damon warn me, then cast me out of the dream realm to save me if he was just going to try and kill me all along. He and Kai both had a million opportunities to do that.
I take in every inch of exposed skin that I can see on his front. Ignoring the vitriol leaking from his gaze, I walk around his side to examine his back. I search over every inch of exposed skin there too, making sure my power hovers over his entire body, but still nothing.
My heart sinks with a leaden weight, that last bit of my hope drifting away as I call back my power. They may have been given some sort of potion but without a healer, we wouldn’t be able to know if it even has a cure.
A cloud shifts over us, opening up the sky and letting a beam of sun shine down on me. I soak in its warm, comforting glow for a moment, and bask in its power. The sun has always been perceived as a sign from the goddess, and there’s no way its appearance now is a coincidence. I have to keep searching, and I can’t let the dark cloud of doubt snuff out the light. I focus on his skin again with a renewed optimism as I take one final look and then search Kai. There has to be something, or maybe another spell.
There.
It’s visible almost immediately with the help of the gleaming sun overhead. A clear piece of crystal is stuck to his skin right behind his earlobe. With the shadow over us I hadn’t been able to spot it as the clear stone just reflected his midnight skin beneath it.
“I think I found it.” I don’t dare to take my eyes off of it just in case I lose it again. I cast a glowing orb into my palm and a prism of rainbow light shines off the crystal. “There’s something stuck behind his ear.”
Denver’s jaw tenses, but he remains where he is, unwilling to take his eyes off either of them. Honestly, I can’t blame him. If I didn’t have this connection with them and this was the first time I’d met them, I wouldn’t trust that there’s a shred of good in them either.
