Chapter 17
Rasmus
The mage took the female from me with gentle hands. Was she his mate?
“Do you know who she is?” Maverick asked as we all moved back inside. The door remained open, letting a warm breeze waft in, but the incubus hovered on the threshold.
I noticed he kept staring up at the sky, like it held the answers to the universe’s questions. Since I’d given up trying to make sense of his insane thought processes, I turned my back on him.
“Nula is an eagle shifter and Tiberius’s soul-bonded mate. She gave birth to Alaric before Brianna came along. My brother told me she had died. I…I believed him.”
“You care for her,” Zane said from behind me. “You’re upset Tiberius imprisoned and tortured her all these years.”
“Please excuse Zane’s bluntness,” the bear said, throwing the incubus some serious side-eye. “She clearly means something to you.”
I kept my own council. If the mage felt guilty about the shifter female’s fate, that was his problem.
“When Nula died, or I thought she had, I left. She wasn’t my soul-bonded mate, but yes, I cared deeply for her.
I couldn’t stand seeing my brother take another wife mere weeks after Nula’s death.
Shortly after, I met Ellora, and since then, I have tried to stay out of his life to protect Raven, which happened to suit him.
I didn’t want him to find out about her, but unfortunately fate had other plans, and she ended up at Starfall Academy. ”
He touched the collar around Nula’s neck before snatching his hand away when it burned him.
“Tiberius must have blocked Nula’s access to her animal to stop her from escaping. He didn’t want a shifter mate, but he would never let her go in case she exposed his hypocrisy.”
“The collar is killing her. Can you remove it?” I was curious about his abilities. He’d broken the sea witch’s enchantment, but that spell was different.
Adam nodded. “Yes, I believe so. It may take a while though.”
“We don’t have time to waste,” the bear pointed out as fur sprouted on his arms, a sure sign his animal was trying to force a shift.
“I know.” Adam thought for a moment. “I can try casting a location spell, but it might not be enough if Raven is shielded behind powerful dark magic enchantments.” He turned away from us. “Willow! Fetch me Raven’s hairbrush.” Then he brushed past me and disappeared into a side room.
The pig trotted in from the kitchen, a carrot in its mouth. The creature gobbled it down, and then the merman picked him up. It amused me that the pig always gave me a wide berth. I supposed it sensed the predator in me. Not that I would ever lower myself to drink animal blood.
Adam returned with a selection of spell ingredients, a chalice, and a bowl.
We watched as he added a few of Raven’s dark hairs to it while muttering an incantation.
A younger witch stood at his shoulder, casting furtive glances at me and the others.
She curled her lip when her gaze rested on Maverick.
“Not a fan of shifters, witch?” My question made her jump, and she darted back out of the room, letting the door slam shut behind her.
Her blatant dislike of shifters aroused my suspicions. While Maverick seemed to trust the mage, I did not. Any mage who allowed the witches in his coven to treat shifters with such disdain was not trustworthy.
After twenty minutes, Adam huffed out a sigh. “As I suspected, something powerful conceals Raven’s location. Or rather, someone.”
Most likely Brianna Vane. It couldn’t be Tiberius’s work; he lacked the power to cast such a strong concealment enchantment.
Zane cursed. “Well if you don’t know where my pet is, I suppose we’d better move on to Plan B.”
“And what is Plan B?” Adam sighed in frustration, pushing the chalice aside.
The incubus beamed at him. “So happy you asked! It involves hunting down each member of the Mage Council and torturing them until they tell us what we need to know.”
“Zane,” Maverick began, but the kitsune blinked into view with an envelope clamped between his teeth. He dropped it at Maverick’s feet and sat staring up at him expectantly.
Fig squealed and tried to jump down from the merman’s arms, but for once Kenji ignored him.
The bear picked up the envelope and tore it open to reveal a single sheet of heavy cream paper. Before he could read it, I snatched it away.
It’s time we talked. Kenji will bring you and the witch’s other mates to my residence. Come alone or die.
Olaf Firewing.
“Who the fuck’s Olaf Firewing?” Zane asked, reading the letter over my shoulder.
“One of the last remaining dragon shifters,” I replied.