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“Except the wild magic still roams the reservation, despite the protections placed around the older wellspring,” Eli said.
“And if what Monty said this morning is anything to go by, it’s worsened since you left.” Belle wrinkled her nose and looked my way. “Sorry, I was going to mention it earlier, but the whole ghost and body thing got in the way.”
I nodded, an odd sort of dread stirring. While I’d long had a feeling that I wouldn’t be able to leave the reservation for any real length of time, I definitely hadn’t expected the wild magic itself to react to my departure. I’d always thought the ties that now bound us would simply affect me physically.
“What does he mean by worse?”
“He just said the magic has become... wilder.”
A smile twitched my lips, despite that growing sense of dread. “It is called wild magic for a reason.”
“Yes, but he says there’s a very different vibe to its energy this time.”
I raised my eyebrows, even as my stomach did its knotting thing again. “What sort of vibe is he talking about?”
Her gaze met mine, her expression sober. “In his words, the wild magic is fucking angry, and it’s lashing out at the reservation.”
Chapter Three
“Lashing out how?” I picked up my tea and half wished it was whiskey. Drowning my problems had definite appeal right now, even if I did need to have all my wits about me for this afternoon’s trial.
Belle hesitated. “There’s been nothing major yet, thankfully, but—”
“Define nothing major.”
“Trees coming down, dams breaking banks, minor earth tremors causing damage to buildings. Stuff like that.”
“Given the amount of rain we’ve had of late, the first two aren’t particularly surprising.” Nor was the third, really, considering there were hundreds of old volcanoes littered about Victoria and there were at least a couple of minor tremors every year.
“No, but the thing is, it’s happening solely within the O’Connor compound.”
“And Monty thinks the wild magic is somehow targeting them?” I couldn’t help the incredulousness in my voice. “Is he forgetting Aiden’s sister controls the other wellspring? She’d certainly put a damper on any such attack.”
Hell, the ability to protect her pack was the reason why Katie had sacrificed her soul—and any possibility of reincarnation—to become one with the wild magic in the first place.
“Except she doesn’t control the old wellspring, and it’s all coming from there.”
Because of my connection. Because of my absence. I took another gulp of tea. The hot liquid burned all the way down, but it didn’t have all that much effect against the rising sense of guilt.
Of course, guilt was my thing. I did have a habit of wallowing in it, sometimes with good reason, sometimes not.
“Angry or not, the wild magic is a force—a power—that needs to be directed,” I said. “It can’t just randomly decide to attack things.”
“Except this particular wellspring has gained some form of sentience through its connection to you,” Ashworth said.
“And given how much we don’t know about the Fenna and what they—and the wellsprings they were forged in—were capable of,” Eli added, “it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that it could physically react to your absence.”
“And you have been saying for a while now that you don’t think you’d ever be allowed to leave the reservation,” Ashworth finished.
“I meant permanently, and we’ve only been gone two days. I hardly call that a long absence.”
“It would appear the wellspring thinks otherwise.”
I thrust a hand through my hair. “How bad do you think it will get?”
“That is the unanswerable question,” Ashworth said. “One that depends entirely on just how much anger is gathering.”
“There is another problem,” Belle said. “And that’s the noticeable amount of wild magic flitting about. Monty’s worried that if it keeps increasing at the current rate, it’s going to draw unwanted attention.”
