Page 47 of Of Flame and Fury

Aric runs to her, cradling one arm around her shoulders and the other around her baby bump. His nose skims along the top of her head, taking in her scent to tame and settle his beast. “I’ve torn the compound apart looking for you. I thought you were taken, or hurt or—”

“I’m all right,” she whispers. “My sisters took care of me.”

He meets her gaze, wiping something I can’t see from her cheek. “You were fighting.”

She smiles softly. “You were too,” she tells him.

“I’m supposed to,” he says.

Guilt weighs heavily in his tone. “I lost my mind when we found the boathouse destroyed. I couldn’t find any trace of you. Where did you go?”

“We never made it there, love,” she tells him. “The spell Genevieve helped Taran design was meant to take us to a safe place. The boathouse wasn’t safe anymore, and the spell transported us here.”

Aric swallows hard. “Good…that’s good. What remained of the boathouse was nothing more than burnt splinters.”

“It wasn’t me,” I interject. “Not everything that blows up and burns in my fault.”

Aric smirks. “We know, Taran. Your magic carries a very distinct and angry scent.” He stops smiling. “This wasn’t anything like it.”

“It was more akin to Johnny Fate, wasn’t it?” I ask.

Darkness shadows his features, and the wolves guarding us snarl with resentment. “Yeah. You were right. The Fate is among us.” He grunts, annoyed. “I challenged him to combat more than once, yelling like a fool for him to appear.”

I roll my eyes. “He won’t appear. He’s too much of coward and will let his pets fight for him.”

“Pets?” Gemini asks.

“Or Nytes, like he calls them.” I catch everyone up on what I saw in the manor and what occurred in the greenhouse. We should probably head someplace safe and talk this madness through. Except, from what theweresdescribe, there is no safe place.

“Where’s Tye?” I ask when I finish.

“He left us to search for Destiny,” Gemini tells me. His finger trails along my jaw. “We haven’t seen him in hours.”

“Do you think he’s…” This is yet another moment where I can’t get the words out.

“If he was, she’d be gone, and the entire state would feel her end.”

“Good point,” I agree. One more reason to hope Destiny makes it. Nature would respond in turn, and the entire West Coast would be affected.

“Where should we go now?” Celia asks.

“Not back to the lake,” Aric says.

“Maybe we should,” I say. My gaze skips to Celia. I’m not sure I should share what I do, but it’s worth a try. “Celia says the lake is calling to her.”

“It always calls to her in a way, reminding her it’s there to grant her peace,” Aric says. “That doesn’t mean it actually wants her present.”

“That’s what I thought at first,” Celia admits. “But then, just now, I felt it trying to fight Johnny, love.”

Theweresgrowl and snap their jaws, responding to what Celia says and eager to rejoin the fight. Aric silences them with a look. “It’s not a good idea, sweetness. Me and Gemini swam out there, searching for you. The ward extending into the lake won’t come down, and the Elders can’t get through it. The lake may be surging in power and fighting what’s there, but it isn’t enough, not yet.”

“There are sea creatures in the water, more of the Fate’s creations,” Gemini informs us. “Tahoe has begun breaking them apart, but they’re still alive and deadly. And like Aric says, the ward is impenetrable.”

“Do you think the lake would allow Celia through the ward?” I ask. “I mean, it totally loves her.”

Okay. That might be a gross exaggeration. Tahoe was once a booming area filled with supernatural creatures. When the Native Americanweresinhabiting the area were forced out, the magic of Tahoe disappeared with them. But over the last few decades, its magic has surged, making it among the most potent sources of magic on Earth and drawing supernaturals back to the area. I think that’s why we ultimately ended up here. The lake was the one place that always brought Celia peace.

“Taran, we can’t count on the lake allowing Celia through,” Gemini says. “We’ve been dealing with magic meant to do good only for it to try and kill us. I think that’s why the sea creatures weren’t immediately destroyed by the lake’s purity, and why it won’t allow us through the wards. The lake senses the good magic intermixing with the bad.”