3. Absentee Father
three
RYLAND
Orym, you need to answer me now, or I’m going to bring the entire extended pack to find you.What on Earth is he doing that he can’t tell me where he is?
I’m sorry, Ryland. I’m currently hiding in a tree from the witches who are searching for me. I don’t know how many of them are out there, so I would rather not tell you where I am right now. I’m trying to keep you guys safe. Orym’s soft voice in my head pisses me off. I don’t care that he’s done something stupid and feels like he has to hide it from me.
I need to know where you are. Please, just tell me. I promise we’ll wait a while before we come to get you. I’ll give you a chance to get out of it yourself and come home to explain. I have no bargaining chips here. All I can do is hope he tells me.
What the hell is it with these people? Hiding things and keeping secrets seem to be the standard now for my pack. That’s not going to get any of us anywhere. But how do I get them all to understand that? Maybe being the leader isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Well, it’s too late to change my mind now.
I, uh, took a slight detour. I’m over by the waterfall. I was going to explain when I got back. It didn’t make sense to look for Garnet somewhere else. I’m sorry, Ryland. I’ll be home as soon as possible. You can yell at me then.The audacity of this guy. I make him my second in command, thinking he’ll be the one to uphold the hierarchy of our pack and set a good example. Then he goes and pulls this shit?
We will definitely be talking about this when you get home safely. I let my annoyance flood the bond. I want him to know that I’m pissed, and I won’t soon forget that he disobeyed me like this.
With that settled, I turn my attention back to James. He looks paler, with those dark magic lines covering more of his leg. “Is there anything we can do to slow it down at least?” I ask. I’m certain that she’s already explained this once, but I wasn’t listening.
Grammy glares at me. “I’m working on it. I’ll let you know as soon as I have something useful to offer. For now, you should figure out where Orym is and make sure he’s safe.”
“He’s fine. I’m giving him a chance to make it back on his own.” I pause at the raised eyebrow she offers me. “I’ve spoken with him through the mate bond. He’s avoiding capture, but he isn’t where he was supposed to be. I will deal with that when he gets home. Please keep working on James. We need him healed so we can find Red. We can’t beat Amber without her.”
ORYM
I know that Ryland is pissed, and I can’t blame him. I didn’t want to have that conversation over the bond, but he kept pushing. Now, he’ll be ready to fight about it as soon as I walk through the door. I deserve it, and I won’t do much to defend myself, but I couldn’t risk missing Garnet by looking in the wrong place. It doesn’t matter now, since I didn’t find her. And I’m still stuck in this tree, waiting for the witches to get bored and leave.
It’s been an hour, and I know that Ryland isn’t going to hold off too much longer before he sends out a rescue team. I should jump down and surprise them. That would give me an advantage and I’d be able to shift and run away. Before I can make that move, something explodes a few yards away.
“Run! Forget the wolf. We have to get out of here,” one of the witches yells. I lean over and peer through the leaves in time to watch them run away. I have no idea if it’s safe for me to move, but I decide to take the chance.
I drop from the tree, landing face-to-face with Ryland. “Will you at least wait to kill me until we get home?” I ask before baring my neck in submission.
He growls at me, ever the big, bad wolf. A shiver runs down my spine and my alpha fully submits to his. We may have been competitors in the past, but he is my alpha now. There is no question about it. “Only if you get back there before I catch you.” The words are spoken quietly, but the fury in them is unmistakable. He will rip me apart if I don’t escape.
I’m not sure that I blame him. I went against a direct order, and nearly got myself captured in the process. It would serve me right for him to punish me in any way he sees fit. My survival instinct takes over and I dash away from him. Behind me, the cracking of bone and stretching of skeleton alert me to his shift. I leap into the air and shift myself, racing away before he can tackle me.
As guilty as I feel for disobeying, I’m not ready to let Ryland take me down. I know that if I can make it back home, he’ll give me a chance to fully explain myself. But if he catches me, I’m screwed. Either way, I’ll have to suffer through a punishment. I, Ryland’s second in command, will be the example that teaches the rest of the community what happens when they disobey our alpha. It’s not the role I wanted to play in our community, but I brought it on myself.
I’ll take whatever punishment he gives me with the reverence and respect that the territory alpha is due. Part of me wonders what Garnet will think about the situation, once we find her.
GARNET
Knowing that James won’t let anything physical happen between us is supposed to be motivation for me to get this training handled. Instead, it’s a major distraction. I’m not sure what his reasons are, and he doesn’t want to talk about it. We’ve been here for a few days now, and I feel like I’m not getting anywhere with this magic.
Trevan is pushing me harder than Amber did when she wanted to unlock my witch magic. I’m tired and sore. More than anything, I want to go home. I miss my other mates, and if I’m being honest, Trevan has been annoying me.
I think he’s doing it on purpose in an attempt at making me work harder to defeat him with my Fae powers. Unfortunately for me, it’s having the opposite effect. As much as I want to punch him in the face, I can’t seem to get my Fae magic to cooperate enough to hit him with anything. I’m cranky and on edge. Of course, orgasms would ease some of that, but I can’t get James to budge on his decision.
So, I’m lying in the garden, staring at the sky. I wish I could figure out how to be good enough. I just can’t do it. Gunnar was right about me. I’m not worthy of four mates, or the confidence the Moon Goddess seems to have in me. I should be training. Trevan gave me exercises to do while he takes care of some Fae business or other. And I want to learn this, I really do. But the moment he walked away, I flopped down here and started watching the clouds pass.
I know I’m being a petulant child about this whole thing. Throwing a fit isn’t going to get me anywhere. Yet, here I am, doing it anyway. I could kick myself for it, but that would involve moving. And I’ve decided that I’m not doing that right now. I’m going to lie here and wallow in my self-pity for a while longer, then I’ll get up and start training. Maybe.
If I believe everything Gunnar said about me, I should just give up. I should let Amber kill me and take my power. But if I do that, everyone I love will suffer. And I can’t allow that. I just can’t. The thought of my friends and family suffering urges me to leave the comfort of my self-pity.
I jump to my feet and stretch. From the corner of my eye, I see James sneaking up on my left side. I won’t do anything to hurt him, but I do need to practice hitting a target. And splitting my focus. I carefully toss a shield in front of him before I shoot pink sparks directly at him. James cries out as he tries to dodge the magic blast, falling to his knees when it hits the shield.
I rush over to make sure he’s okay. “I’m so sorry. Did that actually hurt you?” I ask as I pull him to his feet.
“I expected it to, but it didn’t even hit me. I was more startled that it missed,” he answers.
“It didn’t miss. I shielded you,” I smirk. “I saw you sneaking over and decided to do some target practice in a way that wouldn’t hurt you.”
“Well, it was very effective. What’s that pink spark, anyway? I haven’t seen that before.” To be honest, I haven’t seen it either, but I don’t want to admit that to him.
“One of my Fae powers. I’m not really sure what any of them do. Trevan isn’t exactly forthcoming about these things, you know.” And the annoyance of my father is back. I’d almost forgotten that I’m so upset with him.
“I didn’t mean to remind you that he exists. You seem happier when you can meditate and forget him for a bit,” James admits with a laugh.
“I know he means well, but I am upset with him. And I’m sure I will be for a long time. It doesn’t matter if he understands my reasons or not. I have every right to my feelings, and I won’t apologize for them.” Again, petulant child, here, and I know it. Don’t judge me. Or do, whatever.
“I’m not saying you have to forgive him. Just don’t shove him away so much that he can’t train you. I, for one, am counting on you learning how all this works so you can go back home and save my ass,” James says, pulling me into his arms and kissing me hard.
The contact makes my skin buzz with desire. I want James more than I can express. My core aches, and my panties are damp with need. I’m certain he can smell what I’m feeling, even though he isn’t a shifter, but he doesn’t react. I have no idea how he’s able to control himself this way. I’m itching to rip his clothes off and mount him.
Sadly, I agreed that I wouldn’t. And it wouldn’t be fair to rape my mate, no matter how orgasm-deprived I am. I begrudgingly drag myself away from him, relishing the tiny whimper he gives me to show that he’s upset. Good. You deserve to suffer a little.
My only comfort is that this will all be over soon. One way or another, I will go back home and face Amber. I’ll either defeat her, or she’ll kill me. I can’t predict the ending, but I know that I will fight like hell to be the last woman standing.
I take a deep breath and turn toward the targets my father had set up at the other end of the garden. “Let’s figure out what these do, then, shall we?” I exchange a glance with James, then focus on the targets again.
One by one, I shoot different colors of Fae magic at them. With this experiment, I learn that each stream of color does something different.
JAMES
Garnet shoots her magic at the targets, and each one lights up with a different power. The pink stream is most like lightning, crackling and sparking. Red sets the target on fire, blue freezes it, and purple soaks it as if a hard rain just fell. Green causes vines to grow, covering the target. Yellow makes the target glow, and black disintegrates it. I’m sure she has more colors to go through, but one look at her proves that she’s pushing too hard.
“Garnet, love. You need to take a break. You’re going to collapse from exhaustion if you keep pushing like that. Please,” I beg her.
She barely glances my way before throwing more magic at the targets. If I can’t make her stop, maybe Trevan can. I hate leaving her alone, but she doesn’t even notice when I walk away.
It doesn’t take long to find our Fae host, although I’m not sure what business he’s taking care of by lounging on his throne and letting half-naked women feed him grapes, or whatever fruit here looks like grapes. I suspect that he just needed a break from his daughter’s steely glare. I can’t blame him for that, but hiding isn’t the answer.
They need to hash it out and express their feelings. But how do I convince this man that it was his idea? Because the one thing I’ve noticed about father and daughter is that they would rather get their own way than admit that someone else had a good idea. Garnet is not nearly as bad about that as her father, but it’s still there.
“Oh! Your Majesty, there you are. I’ve been searching for you,” I say with over-the-top enthusiasm. Since we’ve been here for a few days, I know it’s better to use his title in front of other Fae than to call him by his name. It’s also something Garnet refuses to do.
The Fae king jumps out of his chair, swatting the fruit wielding women away. “Has something happened to the princess?” Yeah, he refused to keep her identity a secret once we were inside the palace. And that’s probably why my girl won’t use his title.
“Not exactly, sir. She is making progress with her training.”
“That is excellent news. Did you really seek me out to tell me that?” He eyes me skeptically.
I shake my head. “No, sir. I came to ask your opinion about something.” I pause, then continue. “Now that she’s figured out how to produce different types of Fae magic, Garnet is set on mastering it as quickly as possible.”
“Oh. That is extremely dangerous. She should take a break, especially if she’s producing more than one type of magic. Most Fae can only harness one color. How many has she done?” I’ve piqued his interest and I’m relieved.
“So far, she’s been able to produce seven different colors. When I walked away, she was working on testing more. She won’t take a break.”
LUCA
After a few days of searching and debating what we’ve learned from spying on Amber’s people, we settle in for a family meeting with Grammy. Eli is kind enough to loan us some of his bug-sized drones to use for listening in on the enemy, but he keeps his family away from the forest. Apparently, learning that the witch they’d all trusted wants to use his wife’s blood to create a hybrid army is enough to rattle even the toughest vampires.
I don’t blame them. If Red was here, I would keep her locked up, too. There is no way I would let her lead searches for Amber. It’s too risky. Thinking back to when Amber and her people held me captive, I remember hearing them talk about stealing Red’s power. It seems to me that Amber needs Red’s abilities to get the hybrid creation to work.
And if that’s true, Amber will never stop coming for her. We have to find her and kill her. I don’t know how to do that, since it’s become obvious nothing that we’ve done so far has even come close to stopping her. I’m not sure that we can defeat her without Red.
“Luca!” Ryland barks my name, and I know that I’m in trouble. I’m not paying any attention to what they’re saying.
“Sorry. I missed that. What’s up?” His face tells me everything I need to know. He’s pissed that I wasn’t listening.
“If you’d been listening, you would know. Please pay attention. This meeting isn’t just for my benefit,” Ryland scolds me, and I hang my head. I hate disappointing my alpha.
“Yes, alpha,” I say, baring my neck in submission. I’m not usually so docile, but I’ve found that since Ryland took Gunnar’s place, I am submitting to him more and more. It doesn’t bother me, because I know that ultimately, I’m doing it for Red. And I would do anything for her. Just to be near her, to take care of her, to prove my love to her.
To do that, I need to pay attention to what my family is discussing so that I can find Red and bring her home. “As we were saying, things are not looking good for James. If we can’t find a way to stop the magic from reaching his heart, it’s going to be bad. How bad? We don’t know yet.” Ryland holds eye contact with me while he speaks, just to be sure I’m paying attention.
“What options do we have?” I ask, hoping they haven’t already discussed this.
“None that we can think of. We’ve tried everything that I know how to do, and a few things that were long shots. Without a witch to help, I don’t know what else we can do besides say goodbye,” Grammy says.
“We can’t give up. If we can find Red, then she can save him,” I insist.
Orym shakes his head. “But she didn’t know what to do either, Luca.”
GARNET
I feel weak, and I’m barely staying on my feet. But I will not give up. I will master all of these powers, so that I can defeat Amber. I have to. The lives of everyone I love are on the line. I don’t know when James walked away. Once I realize that he’s gone, it’s a little easier to push everything away and focus on shooting magic at the targets.
I’ve figured out how to use pink, red, blue, purple, green, yellow, and black. What else can I do? Closing my eyes, I reach into the magical well inside of me and shoot a beam at a target. When my eyes open, I see that the beam is brown and landed in front of the target, digging a hole. That’s interesting.
I try again and make a stream of orange magic that looks like acid and melts the target into goo. I’ll definitely have to try that one on Amber. If I can hit her with that, this might all be over before it gets too much worse.
One more blast at the last target, and it comes out gray. This one appears to be smoke, swirling and floating through the air. I like this one, too. It might be good for hiding people. And that could be helpful when we rescue Amber’s prisoners.
At this point, I know I’ve used too much magic at one time without resting. I should have listened to James. But I’m trying to save him, and he doesn’t seem to be too concerned about that. Dizziness washes over me and I drop to my knees. The world spins around me and I decide that laying down is better than falling.
“Garnet!” I hear voices but can’t quite open my eyes to see what’s wrong.
“Wait, James. Don’t touch her. Just look. Her magic is making a cocoon around her for protection. She’s too weak to protect herself, so it’s handling the issue. If you touch her right now, you’ll get zapped. And with all those colors swirling around her, I’m not sure I’d be able to save you.” Trevan’s voice filters through the static I didn’t realize I’ve been hearing.
A cocoon? That’s strange. But that would explain the buzzing noise I hear.This Fae magic stuff is weird. It’s almost like it has a mind of its own. I like that it will protect me when I’m on the verge of passing out and can’t protect myself.
I try to open my eyes but can’t manage it. So, I let myself relax a little and focus on the conversation around me. “Shouldn’t we try to wake her up?” James asks frantically. The panic lacing his tone nearly makes me cry.
“We should let her recover. From the look of those targets, she used too much magic at one time, and needs to rest. Normally, I would try to take her to one of the bedrooms to sleep it off. But I don’t think I’ll be able to touch her either. So, we’ll camp out here for a bit and keep an eye on her,” Trevan insists.
I wonder for a moment why they would need to watch me if my powers were in protection mode, but maybe he knows something I don’t. Or maybe he’s trying to keep other Fae safe. That makes more sense. His people could get hurt if they get too close to whatever this is. The idea that he’s being a good leader melts my heart a little toward him. I want to stay mad, but it’s hard when he’s actually doing something for others.
I have no idea how long I’m out, but when I can finally open my eyes, I see James and Trevan asleep in lounge chairs on either side of me. I hate to wake them, but I need answers, and can’t get them on my own. “Good morning, fellas.”
James jumps at my voice, startling Trevan. Both men nearly fall out of their chairs. I can’t hold back the laugh that bubbles up in my chest. “Garnet! You’re okay. You are okay, right?” James asks, looking me over as if he wants to check me for injuries, but is scared to touch me.
“I think so. I don’t really know what happened, though. I’m hoping you can explain that,” I say to my father, who is watching me carefully. I can tell that he knows more than he’s going to share. I have to figure out how to get it out of him.
“You should not have access to every type of Fae magic, but somehow you do. It’s not something that has ever happened before. I don’t know what it means exactly, but we need to be careful. With that much power, it will be easier for you to over use your magic and exhaust yourself,” he explains.
“What do you mean, I shouldn’t have access? Is it unusual for someone to be able to use all the powers?” I don’t understand what he’s saying. If I shouldn’t have access to all the powers, then how do I?
“I mean, there has not been another Fae in our history who can wield all of the Fae powers. It’s rare for one of us to be able to use more than one type. You are remarkable. Your power exceeds even mine. And I’m able to use three different types. But if you have access to all of them, in addition to your witch powers, then you have to be the most powerful being I’ve ever met.” Trevan speaks with reverence, as if I’m someone to be respected.
“Wait, you’re saying that she has all these Fae powers and witch powers too?” James asks in awe.
“You said that you used witch powers when Amber was training you, correct?” Trevan turns to me expectantly.
I nod. “I did. They felt different from these. I believe you’re right. I have both witch and Fae powers.”