Chapter 18
MALIK
W hat? I … What!
Circe looks back at me, and a symphony of emotions spills into her eyes. “I just found out a little over a week ago, so I understand the shock on all your faces. I’m still coming to terms with it all myself.”
I don’t understand. I think I’m having a stroke, because my brain isn’t working right. This can’t be real. None of this is actually happening, is it? This is all a dream, a nightmare. I’ve finally cracked.
I blink, realizing I’m staring at the ground. Gold glinting in sand. My collar. What’s it doing there? Wait. It’s off. It’s really off.
Sadie seems to be the first to recover as she says, “So, wait. You’re their half-sister? So their sire is …?”
Her voice helps me focus, because her voice is real . She’s real. My brothers are real. Amri is … My gaze snaps to my mate. Where just a moment ago she was all fierce warrior, the look on her face right now is wide-eyed excitement as she whispers, “Helios.”
Her voice draws my attention like petals to the sun, but then Rian leans into me, rubbing the side of his face against my shoulder.
We purr for each other as I soak up his comforting scent.
Bodi throws himself at me, nuzzling and rubbing and purring.
My chest hurts, and I fight back the mewling cry that threatens to claw its way out of my throat. How I’ve missed them.
Click, thunk.
Click, thunk.
I need this timer to slow down.
Bodi, with his face buried in my side, whispers into my fur, “Circe can wait. Brother, I’m so sorry.”
There is a lot to unpack between me and my brothers, but not right now.
The path between our mental link is still blocked, so I bark at him softly, giving him a nip to let him know we will talk later.
I nudge Bodi, giving him a gentle shove, and then I lick Rian from chin to hairline, making his hair stick up, just like I used to do when we were cubs.
A laugh bubbles out of him that sounds on the verge of tears, but he gives me a brotherly shove.
Rian, Bodi, and their mates take a few steps back, maintaining their circle of protection while giving me space.
It’s a little too easy to push my brothers’ presence to the background the moment I meet Amri’s gaze.
Her eyes still hold those shadows of exhaustion, but that earlier twinkle of excitement is still there.
Her small hand flexes, curls into a fist, then relaxes a second before I lower myself so I can butt my head under her hand.
She strokes my fur as I support her weight.
Her fingers grip the scruff at the back of my neck, and her entire body vibrates against mine with the force of my purr.
She traces the scars along my neck, and when she sniffles, wetness hits my nose.
I glance up to see her head bowed, as if she’s ashamed of her tears, but she continues to run gentle fingers over my scars as she whispers, “Thank the stars. It’s gone. ”
Before I realize what I’m doing, my tongue flicks out, and I lick her salty tears from her face before I nuzzle her cheek. The motion draws a soft laugh from her as she leans more of her weight into me to keep from falling over.
“Huh.” Circe’s voice snaps me out of the little bubble of perceived solitude I’d found with Amri.
When I look over at the sorceress, she’s lowering her arms from where she had them lifted, her hands in the shape of a triangle.
She tilts her head at us but then shakes off whatever was going through her mind.
“Let’s all go to my cottage, and I can explain everything.
Well, everything that I know, anyway. There are still … questions.”
Kat, having put the gun in her back pocket, claps her hands. “Sure, we’ll just follow you … Circe I presume? To an unknown location because you say so.”
Rian wraps an arm around his mate’s waist, eyeing Circe in a way that says he stands with Kat.
Circe waves her arms at the beach. “I brought you to my island to keep you safe. You’re welcome, by the way.
But Leonora is going to know I took Malik’s collar off.
This place is very well protected, but if Leonora is determined enough …
Please, just let me explain.” When none of us move, Circe purses her lips in obvious frustration, but then she snaps her fingers, and smiles. “Here!”
With a rush of sparkling blue light, Kat and Sadie gasp.
Sadie holds up her hands, weaves a quick sign, and her palms glow with her magic.
Circe nods with what looks like approval, and Bodi stalks to his mate, crushing her lips with his in a possessive kiss.
Alexandros chuckles as he rubs Sadie’s back and presses a kiss to her neck.
Then Circe’s gaze turns to me, and I inhale, wrapping myself around Amri just in case.
Circe’s eyes soften as she slowly lifts her arm.
Blue light flows from her dark skin, dancing on the sea breeze until it reaches me with a caress of power.
She says, “Just a little of what she’s taken.
It’ll require me to touch you to restore more, but for now … ”
Magic pours into my well, and my fur bristles as power flows through me. If this is just a little bit … I haven’t felt like this since … stars, not since I was a cub.
Bodi’s concerned voice prods at my mind. “Malik?”
Fuck. It’s so good to hear his voice in my head again. “Brother.”
His voice is filled with pain and regret as he says, “I’m so s ? —”
“I know. Me too. But we’ll talk later. First, let’s see what answers this sorceress can give us.”
“Can we trust her?”
Ignoring my sudden weariness and injecting my voice with confidence I do not feel—because I am the eldest and I’m supposed to take care of my family—I say, “Maybe. Let’s at least listen to what she has to say.”
Amri runs her hands from my neck, up the back of my head, and caresses my ears as she says, “I’ve got your back.”
I slip into her mind. “You’re exhausted.”
She pinches the tip of my ear. “So?”
I huff a chuckle in her mind, shaking my head under her touch. But then I sober, nudging her so I can look into her eyes. “I’m glad you’re here.”
She smiles, the expression clearing away some of the shadows under her eyes. “I told you I would be.”
After a moment, I bob my head, pressing myself into Amri’s touch to make sure she stays with me, and she does, moving with me as I stride across the sand.
I project into everyone’s minds. “We’ll listen, sorceress. ”
Circe doesn’t wait to see if we’ll change our minds; she turns and walks off.
We follow, and I lead the pack as we traverse in singles and doubles down a sandy path that cuts between thick mandrakes.
A loud crashing sound comes from behind me to my left.
I freeze, ready to defend my family, but when I look back, a large wild pig trots out from the undergrowth, crosses the path, cutting between Kat and Alexandros, and without so much as a glance at us, bounds off and out of sight.
Kat stares after the animal with an open mouth, her finger pointing. She looks at Circe with wide eyes. “Was that …? No. No, right? Seriously! Was that …?”
Circe laughs, picking back up her quick stride, saying over her shoulder, “What? That one of Odysseus’ men is still roaming about my island? Is that what you think?” After a beat of silence, Circe laughs again, nodding. “Because yes, you’d be right. That’s exactly who that was.”
My beast chuckles. “She’s kinda funny.”
There’s a crunch and shuffle of a stumbled footfall, and Sadie swears before she calls out, “Are you for real?”
Circe stops and turns around, her smile still in place, but her expression is serious.
“It was his choice. He asked to stay. He said life was simpler, easier as a pig. And here on Aeaea, he has protection, plenty of food and space. Odysseus threw a fit, claiming I bespelled the man, but in the end, I granted him his wish, and Odysseus had no choice but to leave him behind.” With a smile that holds something akin to fondness, Circe looks off in the direction towards where the pig trotted off before turning back around and continuing up the path.
When a cute cottage comes into view, clad in white cedar with sea-blue shutters, Amri’s voice floats into my mind. “Are you okay? ”
I rub against her touch. “I think so.” I should shift into my human form, but I’m better equipped as my beast. If anything goes wrong …
We all pile into the surprisingly modest cottage, the colors soft and evocative of the sea.
A shell and glass wind chime tinkles softly from the porch through the open windows.
Everyone stands around the space, which is one big open room that holds a living room and kitchen.
At the back of the house, a spiral wooden staircase leads up to a loft bedroom.
And that’s it.
I don’t know what I expected of the great sorceress, Circe, but this wasn’t it.
Circe flops into an overstuffed chair, and a large bird with blue, orange, and white plumage flies through the window and lands on her shoulder. She runs the back of her hand over its breast, and the bird coos.
Kat tsks . “So, are you going to tell us that that is Picus?”
Circe’s brows furrow as if trying to place the name.
I have no idea who Kat is talking about, but if what Circe said earlier about us being related is true, then I think I’m going to have to brush up on ancient Greek mythology.
After a second, Circe wrinkles her nose and waves a dismissive hand.
“Oh heavens, no. I got over that asshole a long time ago and kicked him off my island. Besides, I turned him into a woodpecker. This is a European Roller, and she’s just a bird. ”
I press my body against Amri’s legs until the backs of her knees hit the sofa. She takes the hint and sits. I take up too much space in this small cottage in this form, but I don’t shift. Maneuvering myself, I lower onto the warm wood floor at my mate’s feet, and her hand never leaves my fur.
Click, thunk.
Click, thunk .