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She squeezed my leg and squealed in my mind.“That’s brilliant, Charlie. You showed them. You’re so talented.”
“So much praise for little old me.”
“Don’t get used to it.”
Joseph coughed and rubbed his chin. “Our next item of discussion is something I didn’t want to bring up last night where people could overhear, but your friend … the one in the medical center—“
Alex interrupted with a sneer. “Your friend managed to portal, and not only that, but come through century-old wards. How?”
“Truth please. Remember, I hate to smell lies,” Samuel said with a smile that suddenly looked more threatening than friendly.
Clawdia jerked back and shook her head as she stammered, “We—we don’t know. We were just as shocked.”
Zaide’s large hand cupped the back of her neck, and his thumb stroked in reassuring caresses. His eyes met mine, and I could see he was as pissed off as I was that they were being so hostile to our girl.
“How did he find you here?” Marianne asked calmly, bringing the tension down a few notches.
“I couldn’t tell you. We’ve never met in person, but he’s our soul mate, so maybe through our bond?” She shook her head. “I’m still learning, so I’m not even sure if that’s possible.”
I looked at Daithi and Savida, who’d been sitting in silence this entire time. “Is it?”
Daithi nodded. “Not usually before the bond is consummated, but he’s—you all are—very powerful. Who knows what you are capable of.”
Marianne raised a brow and said quietly, “He’s not a vampire of mine. Where has he come from?”
“He’s half akari, half titan. He’s the son of the titan gods,” Clawdia said, “But we don’t know how he got here. We thought the portals were closed because of the protector, and we thought the wards were stopping anyone from finding or coming to this island.”
A silence descended amongst the council as they glanced at each other.
“The portaling is a concern since we also believe that the protector’s life keeps the portals closed.” Joseph rubbed his jaw.
Clawdia shook her head. “It didn’t look like a normal portal, though. It was black and smokey. I’m not sure if he was able to find a way of portaling from another realm to avoid the protector’s safeguards because all of us are still unable to portal to another realm. Right?” She looked at Daithi.
Daithi closed his eyes, concentrated for a moment, and opened them once more to nod. “Yes.”
There was a collective sigh of relief. Joseph narrowed his eyes, but his mouth smiled as he said, “I suppose we will have to wait for him to wake to know for sure how he managed it.”
“And the wards?” Alex asked.
Samuel pursed his lips. “He is certainly powerful, but more powerful than Fafnir?”
“Who’s to say?” Marianne mumbled.
“It doesn’t hurt to take precautions.” Joseph nodded.
“What are you talking about? Take precautions with what?” I asked. I could feel Clawdia’s anxiety rocketing. No doubt she thought they were going to do something to Baelen.Like we’d let that happen.
“Our safety on the island, of course. There are many supernaturals here seeking refuge, and it would be a feeding ground for Fafnir if he found us. Not to mention, we have the protector, his oldest enemy. We must ensure the wards can keep him out,” Joseph explained as he stood and walked around the table to open the door. “Ingrid, could you come in for a moment, please?” he called into the hallway.
“And you think that because Baelen came through that the wards can’t keep Fafnir out? That they’d fail?” Clawdia asked.
“The Holm family regularly add power to their wards to ensure they are up to scratch,” Joseph said as Ingrid gleefully came skipping into the room at the call of the council. “That’s correct, yes?”
She nodded. “Our wards are immensely powerful, and we ensure they are bolstered almost hourly. We wouldn’t promise what we couldn’t deliver.”
Why would they regularly add power, especially hourly, to the wards if they worked as they should?I frowned.
“Then we will all add power to the wards as well. We have some very powerful guests, and this will help settle some of our more nervous guests,” Joseph stated and looked at us all intently. Subtle, he was not.
