Chapter 11 #3
That brought Lyric up short. Her mind spun, struggling to make sense of it. “A human shaman?” She snorted, the sound bitter. “No wonder Cassia wants you both.”
“Cassia.” Roan said her name again, only this time it wasn’t a question. It was nearly a curse. “Why the hell has she captured us? And there’s no way she knows what Maddie is. Only a few do, and they’re all people I trust.”
“I’m not sure what her motive is,” Lyric admitted. Which really pissed her off. She’d trusted Cassia. She’d known her for hundreds of years and never thought her capable of something like this.
Lyric let her head fall back against the wall, frustration simmering beneath her fatigue.
“I wish I had answers,” she muttered. “Before Cassia ambushed me, I found something in Athena’s office—a ledger.
It was tucked away in her private desk, sealed with her personal sigil.
It details transactions with Kingdom of Venom and Kingdom of Chaos, going back months.
Dates, payments, even names. The kind of paperwork that could ruin a royal couple’s reign. ”
Roan’s eyes sharpened, despite the venom’s haze. “What kind of transactions?”
Lyric hesitated. After a beat, her words tumbled out in a rush.
“Besides the payments and meetings? Notes about ‘alternative mate-bonding experiments’—the kind of transactions that prove the Kingdom of Silk was in on the attempted creation of animus out of humans. I couldn’t believe Athena would be involved in that, and now .
. .” She shook her head, angry at her own doubt.
“Now I’m sure she isn’t. If Cassia’s framing Athena, which I firmly believe she is, it would explain why the ledger was so easy to find, but why are you here?
I get why she captured me, I was about to figure it out, I was in the way.
But you guys?” she attempted to shrug, but her shoulders were weighed down by her bindings. “I don’t get it.”
Maddie’s brow furrowed. “Why are you so sure the queen isn’t in on it?”
“Because Athena wouldn’t put innocents in harm's way. It’s just not who she is.
She thinks very highly of her position and cares about her people, as does Aurelius, her mate and the king,” Lyric answered, her voice as tense as her shoulders.
A ball formed in her throat. It would seriously break her heart if she was wrong and the king and queen had taken any part in Azure’s twisted plan.
“Considering I’m guessing you’ve known her since the dinosaurs went extinct, I suppose you’d be the one able to answer that question.
But,” Maddie let out a frustrated growl, the sound surprising all three of them.
“That doesn’t explain why she’s taken me and Roan.
Why not just kill us if we got in the way by showing up at the wrong time? Why keep us alive?”
Lyric studied Maddie, and for the first time, she felt it—a pulse of wild, raw magic in the air, coming not from herself or Roan, but straight from Maddie. It prickled across Lyric’s skin, restless and unrefined, like a storm trying to break free.
Roan’s eyes darted to Maddie, his concern sharpening as Maddie’s breathing quickened. “Hey, you alright?” he murmured, his voice rough but gentle.
Maddie shook her head. “I don’t know. I just feel frustrated and irritable, and I want to stab something. It’s probably a good thing I don’t have a knife while being this close to you.”
“That’s not really anything new,” Roan said, a little smirk on his handsome face.
Maddie’s face scrunched up. “That’s fair.”
Lyric’s brow rose as she watched the interaction between them.
“Okay, so we’ve established that what you’re feeling isn’t necessarily new, but something feels different,” Roan said, his focus still on Maddie. “So what’s going on?”
Maddie’s brow drew down deep as she tilted her head back as far as she could to look up at him. “My emotions are all over the place. I’m angry, scared, pissed, and,” she paused and her face turned slightly pink.
“And what, Madeline?” Roan asked, his voice a command.
“Just because you know my full first name, that doesn’t mean you get to use it to try and get me to obey you as if you’re my parent,” she said, narrowing her eyes at him.
“Oh believe me, he doesn’t see you as a kid,” Lyric muttered before she could censure herself. Thankfully, the pair ignored her.
“You’re deflecting,” Roan accused. “What were you going to say?”
Lyric found herself fascinated by the interaction between the pair.
She’d known Roan for as long as she’d known Athena and Cassia.
He was always so serious, controlled, and composed.
Maddie seemed to unravel him. All that cool, collected demeanor was falling apart. It was pretty awesome entertainment.
Maddie growled. Literally growled. Lyric nearly laughed.
“I was going to say ‘and I have to pee.’”
Lyric couldn’t help but shake her head. That wasn’t what she had been about to say, but because she didn’t want to give Roan the satisfaction of being right, she didn’t call the female out.
Roan didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t challenge her further. He simply waited for her to continue.
Maddie rolled her eyes. “Anyways, these emotions just keep building—like something inside me wants out, and I can’t control it. It’s been getting stronger the longer we’ve been, well, attached, so to speak.”
Roan frowned, concern etched around his eyes.
Lyric’s senses went on high alert. She reached through the connection she had with Roan, simply because of their shaman abilities, and felt the unmistakable thrum of a bond—a living, growing connection—between Maddie and Roan.
It was tangled and brand new, but powerful.
And it explained Roan’s almost unconscious protectiveness.
“Well, that explains some of it,” Lyric said quietly, careful to keep her voice steady. “There’s a bond between you two. Roan, did you know?”
Roan didn’t look stunned. In fact, he looked a little guilty.
“You did know,” Lyric said, her words slow as she watched the male shaman.
“I’m sorry, what?” Maddie snapped, her eyes bouncing between Lyric and Roan. “What bond? There’s no bond. In fact there’s the opposite of a bond.”
“And what is the opposite of a bond?” Lyric asked, unable to hide the amusement in her voice.
“A non-bond,” Maddie said, as if it was so very obvious. “It’s like putting the same poles of a magnet together so they repel from one another in an almost violent manner.”
“You’re seriously comparing our relationship to the rebounding poles of magnets?” Roan asked dryly.
“There is no relationship,” she denied.
Roan seemed to be fighting a smile as he continued to stare down at her. “Who are you trying to convince?”
“You do seem to be protesting quite vehemently,” Lyric said, unable to keep from poking the obviously irritated female.
“Have you met him?” Maddie asked as she turned her eyes to Lyric. “I mean really met him?”
“As you pointed out, I’ve known him since the dinosaurs became extinct.
So, yes, I’ve met him. Actually, I’ve spent quite a lot of time with him.
” She paused trying to decide if she should poke a little harder to get Maddie to actually admit to the bond between her and Roan.
“A lot of time,” she repeated. “I mean, we helped save our race together. You really get to know someone when you go through something dramatic, you grow closer.”
“Lyric,” Roan huffed, more irritation in his voice than anger. He knew what Lyric was attempting to do. And he must not completely disagree with it or he would have tried harder to get her to stop.
She continued, curious to see how far she’d have to push. “I mean, there were many, many nights we spent together—”
“Okay you can just stop right there,” Maddie snapped.
“You do not see me coming up into your spider web hostage situation attempting to interrupt some possible bonding that may or may not have happened, ma’am.
I did not step into your kidnapping scenario and just start making life-changing statements giving me some sort of claim on this Neanderthal to only then try to claim him back for yourself by pointing out how long you’ve known him and how many late night species saving meetings you had, no doubt by candlelight because there was no damn electricity, so every night was some sort of romantic interlude. ”
“Madeline,” Roan tried to step in.
The female wasn’t having it.
She’d barely taken a breath as she kept speaking.
“You, sir, have not been invited into this conversation, so you can just sit your web wrapped ass right the hell back down. I mean, who are you, just inserting yourself into this conversation that I am having with your colleague, your very attractive colleague, I might add? Did I ask for your input? No, I did not. Did Lyric ask for your input? No—”
“Actually, I did,” Lyric interrupted.
Maddie snapped her eyes to her. “Didn’t ask you, shaman chick.”
Lyric bit her lip hard to keep from laughing. Were all humans this funny?
Roan closed his eyes as if attempting to try and get a little control over his own emotions. “Do you even hear yourself right now?”
“By all means, let her keep going,” Lyric said. “The magic is just pouring off her and if you’d pull your head out of your ass, you’d be able to feel it as well. This is great stuff. It’s keeping my mind off of the subterfuge that’s happened on my watch.”
“There is no magic coming off of me,” Maddie insisted.
“Umm,” Roan started.
“No! There’s no ‘umm’.”
“Then what is there?” Roan asked, “Because, Lyric’s right. I’ve been so wrapped up, no pun intended, in our situation and making sure that you’re okay that I didn’t realize you’re practically a live wire.”
“Can I electrocute you?” she asked, her eyes blinking innocently.
“I like her,” Lyric said with a smile, but she wiped it away quickly, sobered by the fact that a “live wire” Maddie was a bad thing. “Cassia can’t know about her,” she said quickly. “We’ve got to block her.”
“I don’t have enough access to my power to do more than warm a cup of coffee,” Roan admitted, his voice laced with frustration. “Lyric, you have to do it. Nothing can happen to her.” His tone grew more earnest. “I don’t know what I would do if Cassia, or anyone, hurt her.”
Maddie’s head tilted slowly, realization donning in her eyes—finally. “Wait. You’re saying this is real?”
“Oh, it’s real,” Lyric confirmed, her gaze moving between them.
“And if I can sense it, Cassia will, too. Although, that also means if Athena’s searching for us, she might pick up on it as well—she’s always been able to ‘see’ magic in her kingdom.
So we have a choice: tamp it down and try to hide, or let it grow and hope Athena can track it, before Cassia can use it for her benefit. Whatever that might be.”
“Okay, hold the phone.” Maddie shook her head. “Damarians have bonds. I’ve not heard of shamans having mates.”
“Because you’re an expert on our race?” Lyric asked.
Maddie gave her a dry look. “Can I do anything to you with this so-called power?”
“Maybe,” Lyric shrugged. “Perhaps I should attempt to piss you off even more to see if you could bust us out of your, what was it you called it; ‘spider web hostage situation.’”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Roan offered.
“That means it’s a fantastic idea,” Maddie grinned. “Do it, Lydia, piss me the eff off.”
“It’s Lyric.”
“Don’t care. Go.”
“Visata save me,” Roan groaned. “Where the hell is that sleeping concoction when I need it.”
“That’s right, magic boy, you better start praying to your Creator,” Maddie snarked. “Because when I save our asses, I’m going to kick yours.”
Roan’s head dropped forward, his forehead pressed to the top of Maddie’s. “What the hell did I do?” His voice was soft, intimate.
“Don’t try and use some sweet voice with me, it won’t work,” she warned. “You knew there was some sort of thing between us and yet you acted like I was little more than an inconvenience, a burden you had to bear.”
“Roan,” Lyric’s brow rose. “You didn’t?”
“He absolutely did, and I’ve been wrapped up with him for days.”
“You haven’t seemed to mind, if I recall,” he muttered.
“Not the point,” Maddie bit back. Then her attention focused back on Lyric. “So, to recap, if we hide it, maybe Cassia won’t notice. But if we let it grow—Athena might find us, but Cassia could use it against us.”
Lyric nodded, her mind racing. “It’s a risk either way. But if we do nothing, we stay trapped and helpless. Maddie, can you try to control your magic at all?”
Maddie’s jaw clenched. “Dude, I didn’t know I had any magic until you told me. How exactly am I supposed to control it?”
“Good point,” Lyric agreed.
Roan leaned in close again, talking so low that Lyric couldn’t hear him.
She should probably look away from what appeared to be a private moment, but she was too fascinated by this side of the shaman.
She’d never seen him act so protective over a female before.
Maddie’s face softened, and Lyric literally felt the magic flowing off of her easily, as if it had been as agitated as Maddie was, and now calmed down.
It made sense. Magic was definitely affected by emotions.
“Not to interrupt,” Lyric said, clearing her throat, “But, we have to decide.” Her eyes met Roan’s and Maddie’s in turn. “Do we hide it—or do we use it to call for help, no matter the risk?”
The silence was thick with tension and possibility, the air humming with the magic of new beginnings and desperate hope.
And somewhere, far above, the faintest echo of a bell tolled—reminding them that time was running out.
“We use it,” Roan said, his eyes on Maddie. “I have an idea. Madeline, look at me.”
“I told you to stop calling me that,” she griped but tilted her head back as far as she could. “What?”
There was a smirk on Roan’s face that had Lyric narrowing her eyes on him, but in his eyes there was a burning fire that was unmistakable: desire.
“I’m going to kiss you.”
Cassia stood at the threshold of the ritual chamber, her eyes fixed on the circle Mei and Neru were drawing in the dust. She felt the weight of the moment—the culmination of years of planning, of centuries of grief.
She touched the locket at her throat, the one Tevon had given her long ago, and let herself hope.
For a moment, she allowed herself to dream of a mate’s touch, of laughter in the dark, of a future where she was not alone.
But the dream faded, replaced by the cold certainty of what she must do.