62. Jax

62

Jax

I didn't relish sleeping in the bed with a woman who was not my mate. With cameras up, we couldn't risk anything looking suspicious, so when we slipped into bed together, I pulled the covers up to my chin to hide the fact that I'd created a little sheet barrier between us.

There was discomfort for Lunessa as well. She held herself so stiff and still in the bed. I had a feeling she'd never shared her night with another man.

London would be pleased.

We slept fitfully, and by the time the sun rose, I was already awake and pacing in the small room. With a yawn, she sat up. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just worried. How did you sleep?" I sat on the edge of the bed, my back to the camera, and let the pretense in my expression drop just a little.

"I wandered a little in my dreams. Everything is fine," she said carefully. Did that mean she'd made contact with Evalina and Anna and the others were doing all right? While I knew there was no one else who could have taken my place here, I hated leaving them vulnerable to rogue attacks. Especially when I feared Maeve was behind them.

"We can leave."

She shook her head. "No. You promised me last night that if I still felt like this was where we belonged, you would let me talk to them again."

Slipping the mask back in place, I nodded. "I did promise, but if it doesn't seem like they're being honest, we're leaving."

We dressed, and I tried the door. It was no longer locked, as I suspected, but there was a guard waiting. "Breakfast?" He asked cheerfully, like locking someone in their room and waiting outside of it didn't make this place a prison.

The same three were waiting for us. Wolf. Witch. Human. They all stood and smiled warmly at us. "You are both looking much better. I trust that you slept well," Broderick said.

"The bed was comfortable," I muttered.

"You're upset about the guards. I am sorry about that, but you are a stranger, and we have to protect our people. That is what we are, after all. Protectors. Hungry? We have eggs, bagels, fruit, and oatmeal."

"Fruit and a bagel please," Lunessa said politely. I asked for a full plate.

"While we wait, I think perhaps we should explain who we are," Henry began. "Normally, we would offer you sanctuary for the night and send you on your way, but after last night, it seems like your experiences might align with our cause."

"There's that word again," I grunted. "Cause. What cause?"

"There is a grave threat to our land. One foretold many years ago, and today we fear we are right on the cusp of an evil darkness that will roll through and suck away life as we know it. Magic will never be the same," Henry intoned theatrically.

I stared at him and tried not to laugh. "Are you serious?"

"Ken," Lunessa scowled. "Don't be rude. They've been very kind."

Broderick chuckled. "No, no. He's right to be skeptical. Witches have their flourishes, no offense, miss. However, he is not wrong. There is a spell that exists that can absorb magic. From living things and from the land."

"From witches?" Lunessa stilled. "That's what they were doing to me?"

Henry shook his head. "What they were using on you is different. It takes an immense amount of power to steal magic, but in most cases, it will return. This is an entirely different spell. It steals the very core of magic so that it does not regenerate. All of the magic of this mountain will reside in a single living thing. It requires powerful witch magic, which is why you were taken."

"Wolf magic can't be taken," I argued.

"It can. Wolf magic and witch magic both have an integral relationship with the land, and that is exactly what this spell focuses on. All magic comes from the earth."

I stared at Broderick. "You believe this?"

"I've seen the writings of the Fae, the fear that this could happen. A child born with the blood of all three species can hold the magic of all."

"Fae?" I shook my head. "The Fae have been dead for thousands of years. There are no children of the Fae."

"Aye. The blood still exists. And today, it resides in a ternary. A woman of three." His gaze settled on mine. "Help us or we will all suffer."

Lunessa and I exchanged glances. "What makes you think it's not just witches stealing magic?" she asked softly. "It's horrible, but it does happen."

"We've seen some powerful seers, my dear. The ternary has been born. She walks among us."

"Powerful seers and none can identify her?" she frowned. "That doesn't sound right."

Henry nodded. "We thought the same, but we believe there's something in the ternary that blocks magic. All magic of all time. None can see her or those close to her."

I almost breathed a sigh of relief. Anna's null magic was working for her. Still, I found it hard to believe that so many knew her identity and none of it had found its way to the cult.

"And you think this woman knows the spell to steal all magic?"

Broderick shook his head. "She is not the spellcaster. She is the key ingredient."

And still they would kill her, knowing that she was innocent. "Do your seers know the identity of the spellcaster?"

Again, Broderick and Henry exchanged a look. "No. We think the ternary's magic is blocking all identities involved in the casting of the spell."

They didn't even know that it was Maeve. I leaned forward. "So, what exactly is your plan? You have no identities, and you don't seem to be out searching for anything. Instead, you're holding up in this bunker while witches are kidnapped and drained of magic. What is your plan?"

The doors to the dining room opened, and a few wolves entered with our food. Broderick leaned back in his chair. "Breakfast first. Then perhaps a tour of the facility, and if you think you can help us, we will chat further."

Little increments of information, just enough to keep us wanting more. As far as I could tell, they didn't have a plan or any way of identifying Anna.

But I could be wrong.

The facility was far more massive than I had originally thought. Broderick explained how it had been built several hundred years ago when the first seer prophesized the birth of a line that would lead to the end.

"They gathered and tried to end the prophecy before it even started, and only learned twenty years later that they did not succeed," Henry explained as we walked through the halls.

"Tried to end it?" Lunessa asked anxiously.

The witch looked over his shoulder. "They killed her."

"A baby? They killed an innocent baby?" she whispered, aghast.

"Wait, that doesn't make any sense. You can't identify her, so how did they know which baby to kill?"

Broderick sighed. "I am ashamed to say that our organization has dark roots. They killed all the babies born that year."

Stopping short, Lunessa put a hand over her heart, and I was quickly at her side. "Are you all right?" I asked low in her ear.

She nodded, and I turned to see that Broderick and Henry were watching us closely. Lunessa's grief was real. It wasn't something she could hide. I stared up at them. "Please tell me this is not a mistake that you made again."

"No," Broderick said heavily. "And I am ashamed to say that their mistake didn't help them. Two babies survived that year, and the defenders have carefully tracked their lineage. Unfortunately, we lost sight of one of the children, who would be an adult now. We suspect that she is our target."

"And you will kill her?" I asked quietly. "Have you truly gathered so many people who are willing to kill an innocent soul simply because someone else wants to use her for evil?"

"When the mountain falls, who do you think will be next? The packs in the more northern remote regions? The packs quietly nestled among human populations? And what will happen to the humans when the wolves suddenly lose all access to their magic? And what will we be? People? Wolves? Dead? There are many who might use her, but there is only one of her. It is not an easy decision," Broderick said heavily. "But her sacrifice will save the world."

"He's right," Lunessa whispered. She looked up at me, tears shimmering in her eyes. "He's right."

God, I hoped she was acting, but in that moment, it was desperately hard to tell.

"This way," Broderick said as he turned. We followed, but I stopped short and glanced down the hall. A wolf was standing in a dark corner, clearly guarding the door.

"Ken?" Henry called. "This way."

"What's in there?"

"Information. I would avoid that room if I were you."

"And why is that?"

"Because the guards are charged to shoot on sight."