Page 41 of Shadowed Radiance

Ava took a deep breath. "What I'm about to tell you doesn't go further than the four of us. Agreed?"

I met her gaze directly. "I'm assuming this knowledge is typically sealed to the Circle?"

She nodded grimly. "Exactly. It's true that Radiant magic mixes both Shadow and Solar energy. But Shadowed Radiance is something that only extremely powerful Radiants seem able to tap into. It might be fair to call it a separate type of magic entirely, one that deals with feats that are typically ascribed only to Mother Moon and Father Sun. In other words, power over life and death."

My eyes widened and my fingers pulled the panel of drawings in front of me so I could peer at them more closely. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Finn was still reading those news articles, seeming to only half pay attention to us. Connor focused half on Ava and half on me.

"So is your grandmother known to be one of those rare casters who can use Shadowed Radiance? And is that how she actually took power? And what do these pictures mean? Is your grandfather now trapped in his wolf form and some sort of undead slave to your grandmother? Or was he temporarily resurrected, only to die permanently after they defeated your grandmother's rival?"

Ava sighed reluctantly. "Grandmother has neveropenlyacknowledged she can use Shadowed Radiance. But it's widely believed among all Radiants, and likely high-ranking Spellbinders, that she can. It's one reason she's managed to keep such ironclad control over the Circle of Dawn and Dusk. Nobody wants to end up like the former High Seat."

Connor reached over to tap the panel showing her snarling grandfather. "And I imagine nobody wants to risk ending up like your grandfather either."

Ava's gaze fixated upon that drawing and agitation swept across the bond we shared. I quickly closed the folder and moved it aside. "We should keep digging. There has to be something tying all this in together. And more importantly, to Alexander."

Her nostrils flared and she nodded determinedly. The next folder proved to be the last. She flipped it open and gasped at a photo collage showing her grandfather standing next to someone who could be immediately recognized as a much younger version of Alexander Donnelly.

"Well," I shook my head ruefully. "I may not have a psychic bone in my body, but I guess I called that. This definitely ties Alexander in at least some small way. He obviously was friends with your grandfather. Quite close friends it would seem."

Finn glanced up and shook the folder of news articles. "I don't think they werefriends. They clearly belonged to two different generations. Turn to the next page."

I was tempted to accuse him of ageist thinking. It wasn't completely unheard of for people from different generations to be friends. Especially not among those with supernatural blood who were longer lived than humans. But Finn was the most in tune with his instincts of us triplets. And his inner beast was definitely on to something.

Ava turned that page over and revealed an official document from the state of Massachusetts. Closer examination revealed it to be adoption papers for a mother named Daphne Hastings and a father whose name had been redacted. The names of the adoptive parents were David and Yvonne Kincaid. The child's name was unsurprisingly Alexander. Ava flipped to the next page, where a birth certificate with the same birth mother's name now appeared next to a man's name who had not been redacted: Patrick Alexander Kincaid. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out this must be the unmarried name of Patrick Sheridan.

Meaning that Alexander Kincaid Donnelly was the fifth child who had survived the death of his father.

* * *

Ava

Finn's hand smacked down on the line revealing Patrick's name. "I had a hunch!"

My breath sucked out in shock. Partially at the revelation that Alexander was not just the uncle by marriage of my bonded wolves but my own uncle by blood. And also at the fact Kayleigh had uncovered this information but not revealed it to me. Not until after her death and not in a face-to-face conversation. Instead I had to read it in these legal documents.

"Is that what this is all about? Simple revenge? Is Alexander out to get my grandmother because he blames her for the death of his father?"

Connor's lips twisted in dark amusement. "People have committed even greater atrocities for seemingly more frivolous reasons."

I shook my head in consternation. "True as that may be, why would he murder my sister, who’s his own niece, and her husband if his beef is with my grandmother?"

Shea must have sensed my uneasy emotions, because he placed an arm along my shoulder and squeezed. "He may simply view them as collateral damage, much as he did those poor souls in the limousine he blew up to distract us so he could escape earlier."

Finn arched an eyebrow. "Or he may have wanted to strike out at Muriel where it hurt. You told us yourself how much she loved Kayleigh."

Shea nodded thoughtfully. "And he didn't grow up as an official part of the Sheridan family. Some people only feel affection for those they know personally. To him, Kayleigh may just have been Muriel's granddaughter rather than his niece."

I glanced back at Finn. "Grandmother doesn't really show her emotions to me anymore than she does strangers. But losing Kayleigh definitely hurt her."

Finn tapped Alexander's birth certificate again. "I just remembered something he said in the limo. How he was doing this for someone he cared about more than his nephews."

Connor shook his head. "Of all our relatives, I never would've thought Alexander could be this fucking cold-blooded. I guess you never really know some people as much as you think."

Hearing the pain in his voice when he was usually the most lighthearted of the three brothers hurt me. I reached across the table to squeeze his hand. “Some people only show the sides of themselves theywantyou to see. And they can be extremely charming when they need to be. Not to mention convincing.”

Connor squeezed my hand back and frowned down at the safety deposit box. "Looks like there's one more thing inside." He pulled out an envelope that had both my full name and new title as St. Louis Beacon scrawled across the front, sliding it across the table to me. I peered down and tried to figure out who might have written it, but the handwriting was completely unfamiliar. Certainly not Kayleigh's or Maddox's.

Shea on the other hand stared at the envelope as if it were a snake. "That looks an awful lot like Alexander's handwriting."

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