AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Naomi looked me up and down before pressing her lips together.
“Naomi, how do I get rid of this mark?” I tried again.
Still, the Aurora witch said nothing, choosing to stare down at the table instead of making eye contact. Suddenly, a growl so savage that it made the hairs on the back of my neck rise echoed through the room. I knew Fenris would never hurt me, but the sound still gave me goosebumps.
Naomi gasped, wrapping her arms around her torso as she blinked rapidly, a few tears falling down her cheeks. “I…” She choked on her own breath, sputtering for a few moments. “I’ve never seen it happen, but the spell will cease to work if all its casters are dead.”
Elation surged through me as I realized therewasa way out, but a cold, nauseous feeling then followed. I didn’t want to have to killanyone, even Zyanya…and that was assuming Icould. Fenris hadn’t said anything to the effect of the Solar Sovereign having rebirth abilities like the Lunar Lord, but I didn’t know the first thing about dragon shifters.
“Are you going to kill me?” Naomi asked, her voice trembling.
Right.I looked at her for a moment before I stood back up, my chair lurching behind me. I couldn’t just murder someone sitting in front of me. “No,” I said, hurrying out of the room and back up the basement stairs before my emotions caught up with me.
Fenris paused only long enough to lock the room before following, but I’d already made it through the house and out the front door by the time he caught up, gently grabbing me by the wrist.
“What would happen if we don’t reverse the mark on you?” he asked, his voice significantly softer as he tried to draw me in.
I refused to look him in the eye, chewing on my lower lip instead.
Fenris sighed. “I just want to know how much danger you’re in, Celeste.”
I took a deep breath.All I want to do is fix this stupid mistake,I thought desperately. I shook my head and took another breath, refusing to let my emotions get the best of me. “I can’t talk about it,” I said. “But please trust me when I tell you I’m working on it.”
He studied me for a moment before he nodded, leaning in to press a kiss to my crown. “Very well,” he said.
“Let’s go back to the Thalassa coven,” I said, eager to get away from Keziah’s house and Naomi. “Make sure everything’s okay.”
We were about halfway across the encampment when Abi found me, quickly dragging me off to the side. “Hey, so, I found Cody,” she said quietly, glancing at Fenris. “He hasn’t been avoiding Morgan. Not on purpose, anyway.”
I frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I guess Morgan’s dad cast some ward that physically won’t let him near the Thalassa camp,” she said. “He’s tried, but he can’t.”
“Is he okay?”
“Just come talk to him,” Abi said, motioning for me to follow her. “He’s not far.”
“Not far” meant half a mile, but the walk did help settle the roiling emotions in my gut before we found Cody, waiting in the woods surrounding the encampments. I was glad to see he wasn’t alone, either—there were several wolf shifters darting through the trees, stalking one another as they pounced and skirmished, clearly preparing themselves for the upcoming fight.
I paused as I watched a light gray wolf chase after a black wolf, grabbing him by the tail before tackling him to the ground. I felt a pang of longing as I observed the two wolves tussling, snarling and snapping at one another. Part of me wished that could be me and Fenris. I’d only just uncovered that I was a wolf shifter, too, yet I felt like it was a muscle I wasn’t stretching. I wished I could shift and justrun.
I took a deep breath.No use wishing for these things. You’re only going to discourage yourself, and we don’t have time for that now.
Someone barked, and someone else yelped in response. A dark brown wolf got shoved into the dirt as a large chestnut one pounced on it before he turned, trotting over to us with his tongue lolling out of his mouth. When he was only a few strides in front of us, he shifted, and Cody gave us a goofy grin as he caught his breath. “Came to watch the show?” he asked, expression brightening as he realized Fenris was watching him. “Not bad, huh?”
“Abi said you were dealing with a ward?” I said.
Cody’s smile dropped. “Um, yeah. I don’t even know what Morgan’s daddid, exactly, but I feel like I’m grabbing an electric fence every time I get near the Thalassa camp.”
“Yeah,” I sighed. “That sure sounds like a protective ward.”
“Can you fix it?” Cody asked. Even though he was standing in front of me as a human, I could still see a hopeful puppy in my mind’s eye. “I would love you forever if you could.”
“I don’t think it’ll be that simple, but I’ll see what I can do,” I said, taking a moment to close my eyes settle myself. As I focused and concentrated more on the subtle feelings of magic, I suddenly realized that Cody feltdifferent. That was all I could say, though, at least for now. I opened my eyes again, grimacing. “There’s something there, but I’m not familiar with it. Val will know.”
“I’ll go get her,” Abi volunteered.
As she trotted off, I looked at Fenris and Cody. “I’ll go chat with James. I’m sure that was…a shock to him,” I said, giving Cody a stern look. “Hopefully, the shock will wear off, though.”
