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Connor let out a guffaw. “No, he’s suggesting we goaroundthem. And I for one am all about that!”
Exasperated amusement had me shaking my head. It felt like half my damn life was spent getting these two near opposites onto something even resembling the same page. Necessary, because as Shadow Wolf triplets (even if fraternal), our paranormal abilities were tied together in some mysterious way few understood. Meaning we pretty much came as a package deal.
Sometimes, as with the delectably stubborn Ava Sheridan, quite literally...
Speaking of the gorgeous Radiant who still featured prominently in most of my midnight fantasies, I remembered how she’d once confided that her Spellbinding parents and closest childhood friend—now a powerful Beacon in her own right—could be trusted in a way her grandmother could not. Hell, I remembered every damn thing she’d ever said. Whether because she was the first woman in a long time to love and leaveusor because of something much deeper, I wasn’t yet sure.
But I was bound and determined to find out.
Still, time to focus on other priorities right now. Saving our noble but foolhardy cousin and his Beacon wife from sacrificing themselves and leaving our honorary nieces as orphans.
“So, brothers, how do you feel about calling in some of those favors we’re owed?”
* * *
Ava
Shivers skittered across my skin as I stared down at the heavy vellum envelope in my lap an hour later. Rory and Sorsha bounced with endless enthusiasm while we waited in the idling limo parked in a special slot at Lambert International Airport. The twins were so focused on playing a game ofI Spywith their two guardians—a female Shadow Wolf named Marie and a male Spellbinder named Chester—that they paid me little attention.
I couldn’t shake the dread pooling in my stomach when I pictured that look in Kayleigh’s eyes.Whydid I feel like disaster was about to strike?
Stop procrastinating!I chastised myself.Those musclebound meatheads could be here any moment.
An unfair insult, perhaps, given how insanely intelligent all three of Maddox’s cousins were. Not to mention how very much I’d relished kissing and caressing every single one of their muscles…But thinking it still made me feel a smidgen better.
I took a deep, calming breath and shut my eyes briefly, reaching an arm outside the window I’d rolled down—supposedly to enjoy the late spring sunshine. But it was an entirely different brilliance I sought.
I envisioned my arm swirling inside the nearest pool of Radiant energy, beckoning it to my body so I could bend it to my will. Only decades of experience in Spellbinding—not to mention Grandmother’s harsh discipline—allowed me to shape that writhing, incandescent light without surrendering myself to its chaos. Even so, Enthrallment was inevitable for every untethered Radiant. Some of us managed to fight it off longer than others, but all of us eventually gave in to the Circle’s will. Or we died.
I’d almost rather be consumed in that magical supernova than pay the price my Grandmother demanded.
A complete loss of freedom to determine my own future. Something that Spellbinders, born with only one Affinity and forced to sacrifice their shapeshifting powers to access Radiant energy, seemed to conveniently overlook.
My eyes flashed open, and I shaped the Radiant Seal that would prevent anyone from spying on me by magicalormundane methods. A quick glance at my nieces and their guardians ensured they were still preoccupied.
I ripped open the thick envelope with impatient fingers and shivered as my sister’s familiar magical signature swept over me. Once her spell recognized that I was the message’s intended recipient, elegant black handwriting began etching itself across the vellum stationery. My eyes scanned the words with trepidation that slowly grew into outright fear.
“Big Sis: No matter what happens tonight, your primary order is this: Stay close to Maddox’s three cousins and my daughters until I summon you home.
“Donotbring the girls back to the McMansion as originally planned. Tell no one where you end up taking them. Simply keep them safe.
“If I do not magically summon you back here by tomorrow morning, then our ruse to draw out our assassins at tonight’s reception has failed. Give the girls all our love and do what you do best: Kick ass, take names, and continue keeping them safe. Raise my girls to be just as powerful and fiercely independent as their aunt has always been. Even if you need to ask Grandmother for help to secure their safety in the coming months.
“One more thing: I love you, too. And you deserve just as much happiness as I’ve found with Maddox. Do not let stubborn pride keep you from finding your own Cinderella-story happy ending. Perhaps with one or three Shadow Wolves who shall remain nameless? Hope to see you tomorrow when all the smoke has cleared. If not…you have your orders.”
My breath sucked out as the next phase of her spell kicked in.
The words peeled themselves from her Spellbound order, writhing in the air as if painting the space around me before etching themselves into my flesh. Radiant energy flared as the words glimmered with incandescent light before fading away. Out of sight but certainly not out of mind. Not for me, anyway. Thanks to my baby sister’s spell and her position above me in the Radiant hierarchy…I now had literallynochoice but to follow the letter of her law.
And Ineverreacted well to having other people’s choices forced upon me.
“Son of a bitch!” I shouted angrily, pounding on the car door next to me. Knowing that nobody else would hear or see thanks to the Radiant Seal still surrounding me. “I can’tbelieveyou’re trying to manipulate me just like Grandmother, Kayleigh Sheridan Donnelly!”
Except…that wasn’t strictly speaking true. Honesty forced me to admit that Kayleigh was acting in what she saw as the best interests of her daughters. A mother’s love meant she’d take whatever steps necessary to protect them. Even if that meant willingly becoming a target herself.
And she knew nothing—and no one—would be able to get past a Sheridan Radiant when paired with three of the world’s most powerful Shadow Wolves.
That thought had me frowning. Obviously Kayleigh hadn’t thought that one through well enough. If she and Maddox died trying to flush out their traitor, then my role as her Understudy would leave me no choice but to immediately Spellbind myself as Beacon to the St. Louis Pack. Otherwise any of the members close to losing themselves to their inner beasts would immediately go feral when their magical tether to Kayleigh snapped.
