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“Muraco says he knows of mages who can fight the kind of magic Luciana is wielding. If you find those mages, and if they have that kind of magic, then it stands to reason that they might also be stronger than she is. Then, you could break your bond and return not only with the magic we need to fight Luciana, but also with the ability to save your coven members from their oaths.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to disrespect you or any member of the Seven, but I heard a lot of if’s in there.”
“I understand that,” Donovan said. He was getting emotional, and his Irish was showing a little more, making his t’s sound harder than normal. “But there’s not much choice, lass. Turning you into a wolf isn’t an option, so you’re going to have to find one of your own that will break it.”
I blew out a breath. “There’s one more option.”
“What’s that?”
The others knew Cosette was fey, but they had no idea how pure her blood was. They’d assumed she was lesser because she was here with us, but a lesser fey wouldn’t have an aura like hers. Not that I was an expert either, but I could tell she was special. “There might be a fey we can ask.” At the very least, she might give us more information if we asked directly.
Raphael grabbed my arm. “No. If she could break it, she would’ve offered already.”
“It might not be that simple.” I shrugged, not wanting to give away any more of her secrets than I already had. “There’s no harm in asking and if she can’t help, then I’ll think about Peru.” As brave as I liked to think I was, I wasn’t deluded enough to believe I could go through with getting bitten. I didn’t have a mate to anchor me, and after being bound to a fiancé I didn’t want, I wasn’t about to tie myself to some wolf on a whim.
No. If Cosette couldn’t help, then I’d sit down with Muraco and try to get some specifics out of him.
As the rest of them finished their tea and visited with Rosa, I said a prayer. Please, for once, let me find the answers I need.
Chapter Four
The afternoon hadn’t turned out the way I wanted, but that didn’t mean something couldn’t change. We stopped for food on the way back, and the sun was setting by the time we pulled through St. Ailbe’s gates.
I’d been quiet all through the drive. The trip into Austin hadn’t been a total waste of time. I knew more now than I’d known before. And knowing was half the battle.
The next step was getting Cosette to either help or point us to the fey who could. But something told me Raphael was right—if she could’ve done more, she would’ve done it already. She’d witnessed enough of Luciana’s type of witchcraft to claim that the fey would be on our side when the next battle came. Days had passed and she hadn’t said a word about any of her people headed this way, so I could only assume that there were other forces at work.
Maybe I hadn’t said the right thing. Offered up the proper incentive to get her to work her magic on my behalf. Fey liked to make bargains—or so I’d read—and I’d rather end up bound to Cosette than to Luciana or any of the alternatives.
As I broke away from the group and headed toward the quad, the others were making plans to go to the library. Do some more research. If I’d learned anything about Cosette in the past few months, it was that she liked being outdoors. And since coming here, she really seemed to like being around the wolves. She’d go wherever they gathered.
Going on that instinct made finding her easy. Ever since we’d gotten here, the girl had been a magnet for the wolves. She lay sprawled on a blanket in the center of the quad, wearing large headphones and tapping her fingers as she flipped through a magazine. A ray of sunlight shone down on her, creating a sparkling prism effect on her aura. It was almost blinding.
All around her, wolves prowled. Oh, they were pretending to do other things. Two guys chatted, shoving each other. One seemed to be doing some homework. A few others shared a pizza. But they all were watching her. Only half-participating in what they were doing.
So much for asking her for help in privacy. I gathered up my courage and sat on the blanket.
She slid off her headphones and then closed the magazine as she sat up. “How did it go?”
I swung my braid over my shoulder. “Not great.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
Here goes nothing. “Tia Rosa did say that some fey have the ability to—”
“No.”
Wow. I hadn’t expected that much, but being shut down before I could even ask? “I understand if that’s not something you can do, but if you could point me—”
“I’m not able to help you with that right now.” She twisted the cord of her headphones so tight around her finger that the tip went red, cutting off her circulation. “And believe me when I say that’s not the answer I want to give.”
Now that I was listening for it, I could tell how carefully she’d chosen those words. She was only saying she wouldn’t help now. Not that breaking the oath was outside her power. “Let me rephrase then. Would you be able to break the oath if your circumstances were different?”
“You’re learning how this works.” Cosette perked up so quickly that a few of the wolves forgot to act and stared outright, but I was too busy concentrating on her to pay them much attention for once. “I’m not allowed to answer that question.”
But that was an answer in itself, wasn’t it? “Then you could—”
“Still no.” She gave her head a sad shake, and her voice was gentle. “I’m bound as tightly as you are, just to a queen instead of a crazy witch.”
