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As luck would have it, I didn’t have to wait long to find out.
Chanting, Kit stepped closer toward us, drawing in the air with her finger. The looping and swirling designs glowed red briefly with her magic, and her irises darkened, blackness seeping to the outer edges of her eyes.
Behind her, Angela stared with wide eyes, unmoving. Her mouth parted in a silent cry, her arm outstretched toward Kit.
My heart beat wildly against my ribs. Kit’s magic was consuming her right in front of me, and I had no way of stopping it. As much as I hated my next thought, I was terrified she was about to kill us all.
Kit saturated her words with powerful energy in a deep, guttural voice. Red mist rose from the ground everywhere I looked, which wasn’t far considering I couldn’t move my head. I had a sneaking suspicion the mist covered Luka’s property, anywhere shifters and wolves fought.
I didn’t think Kit’s magic could kill me for real like phoenix fire, but then again, I wasn’t entirely sure. Finding out wasn’t high on my priority list.
When I realized I couldn’t see Thane, my lungs clenched, stealing my breath. Fear and frustration pulsed between our soul link—he was here somewhere and just as worried as I was. Because if Kit killed us all, I wouldn’t get the chance to see him one more time. He wasn’t a phoenix, and who knew if his scales would activate and protect him.
The red mist grew thicker, moving and condensing around the shifters and wolves. It swirled and thickened around their bodies, devouring them whole.
Surprisingly, it left me alone. In fact, the more I tracked the mist’s pattern, the more I realized her magic was only going after the rogues, including Rico.
All across the yard—the parts I could see, anyway—blue and white sparks erupted from the shifters’ bodies, bursting and dissipating within the red haze. When the last spark disappeared, the mist sank into the ground and evaporated.
A small whimper brought my attention to Rico, who was still dangerously close to chomping on my face. His irises had changed to a brownish-green, back to a wolf’s color.
Out of breath from chanting, Kit raised a hand and snapped.
Rico crashed into me, knocking us both to the ground, but he quickly rolled away. I jumped to my feet as he shifted to his human form, where he knelt, naked and shaking. As brothers, he shared Luka’s russet-brown skin, but he’d shaved most of his dark hair into a buzz cut.
With a horrified look on his face, he reached a hand toward Julian, who’d thankfully gotten far enough away that I hadn’t squashed him with my fall.
I grabbed the little boy and held him back as he dashed toward Rico again.
“Don’t touch my son,” Tabitha’s voice snarled as she limped closer.
I knew she didn’t direct her comment at me—her furious gaze fastened on Rico. She was significantly more fierce naked, dirty, and limping than in her daily mom clothes. A mate worthy of an alpha.
She took Julian from me, holding him on her hip, and glared at Rico.
“Come on, Tabby, you know me,” Rico pleaded, still on his knees. His voice sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it. “I don’t know what happened or why I’m here.”
All around us, shapeshifters had returned to human form, some looking baffled like Rico and others still baring their teeth defensively. But the desire to fight had fled from everyone.
Well, almost everyone.
Naked and ready to murder, Luka stormed toward Rico, his fist raised.
“He’s telling the truth,” Kit said and stepped in front of Luka, holding her arms out to block him. “They were under a fae spell, and a really fucking strong one.”
Rico’s face paled.
Although his fist was still in the air and ready to strike, Luka hesitated. His arm shook with the effort to restrain himself.
“Spell or not, I will never forgive you,” Tabitha spat at Rico. “You’re a disgrace to our kind.”
Rico’s eyes remained wide as his gaze dipped to Julian, who was still struggling to get out of his mother’s iron grip. “I’m ashamed. I can’t believe I almost attacked my nephew.”
“Trust me when I say you had no control,” Kit said. Over his head, her soft gaze met mine, and I saw the understanding there. She’d been under Octavia’s control the same way.
I felt for the guy, for all of them. Vampiric influences had controlled my actions and thoughts more than once, to the point that I had almost orgasmed in front of an arena full of the bloodsuckers. Their ability to influence wasn’t even total mind control like this had been.
Angela rushed up beside Kit, who smiled and pointed to her eyes. “Still me.”
