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Rhadan placed his hand under hers. Helping her support the book as he focused on the writings found within. “This is strange. I do not recognize the script on several of these pages.” He flipped through another thick brown parchment before the power within Tempest flared.
“Wait. I think I am the only one who can read it.” She closed the cover and allowed her fingers to trace the symbol on the outside. The two hands with a gate between them were identical to the one etched on her onyx circle, but the three wavy lines were something she had never seen before. “I don’t know what this symbol is.”
“It is the symbol for scripture. While I can read any text put before me, I cannot read this. It is strange.”
“You can read anything?”
“It is my secondary power. This is the first text I have not been able to read,” Rhadan said.
Tempest frowned. “I don’t understand. Why can’t...”
The book flipped open in her hands and as she and Rhadan stared at the pages, the words blurred. She continued to struggle with the script before she understood. “I can’t read it, and neither can you, but together we can. This book is spelled. Only a mated gatekeeper can read it.”
Alana huffed. “I can’t believe you didn’t invite me to your bonding ceremony.” There was no missing the teasing note in her voice.
Tempest chuckled. “We will have one when Adara is safe. Don’t be such a brat, Alana.”
The girls laughed, but it was Mara who spoke up. “It’s part of her charm. What does the book say? Is the ritual described?”
Tempest flipped through a few more pages. “There are several spells. Some are available to any druid, but the ones that I read with Rhadan’s help are for the gatekeeper only. Adara’s temple is not the only one described. There is a different ritual for each type of temple.”
“The other temples are gone.”
Tempest flipped another page. “Yes, but the Well of Knowledge, still remains. We can... bring it here with Adara’s help, but that isn’t the one that concerns me.”
“What is it?” Mara asked.
“The mage temple is listed. Geram’s binding spell is in here. This book needs to be protected. If it fell into Allorin’s hands, it could be disastrous.”
Mara sucked in a breath. “But only you and Rhadan can read it, right?”
“Yes. But would you want to take that chance? Allorin is a bastard, but he is smart. If there is a way to decode this thing, he would find it. He has access to knowledge we don’t.”
Jemma sighed. “He does. It’s some pretty dark stuff.”
Tempest flipped back to a former page. “This page has our six symbols on it. The spell is called re-emergence.”
Mara glanced at her sister. “There could be repercussions from this spell. This has never been tried in druid history. I only know about druid re-emergence spells. Not one for the temple.”
Tempest nodded. “There is another symbol beneath ours. It means entity in Sumerian.”
Mara’s eyes widened. “You read Sumerian?”
“No, but Rhadan does. I didn’t understand his other power until now. His mind decodes languages. He just needed my power to block the druid spell, shrouding the words from him.”
“Nifty,” Alana said.
Tempest touched Rhadan. “I need you to stay with me while I perform the spell.” His love and commitment pulsed through their bond. He was right. Whether they performed the bonding ceremony or not, they were already so entwined, life held no meaning alone. She had never felt so safe, not even when she was a child. She had always felt threatened and now she understood it was Devlin. He had been watching and waiting for the time of his choosing to ruin her life. Now she had everything. As long as she didn’t fail.
You won’t fail, my love. You are everything and far stronger than you give yourself credit for. His voice whispered in her mind, chasing any doubt away like smoke in the wind.
I can do it. As long as you are with me.
I will never leave you, Tempest.
CHAPTER 21
Tempest’s fingers moved over the rough parchment of the book. She read and re-read the spell several times. She understood the words and what to do, but there was a missing ingredient.
