5. Bree

5

Bree

I lay on the uncomfortable bed with tears cascading slowly down my cheeks.

Why didn't you tell me? I asked Caliel.

Tell you what? Our matebond was destined to absorb me? What could you possibly do about it? It would have tortured you, and what was the point? There is no chance of resolution.

My heart ached, but Iskar had given us a ray of hope. It could work.

It is an insane idea.

Aren't you at least willing to try?

I could not tolerate someone dying so I could live.

I raised my hands to my face. To have a possible answer, and then have Caliel reject it—it was almost more than I could bear. For I never questioned Cara's theory, not for a minute. That Caliel was my mate resonated through me.

Caliel and Riggs. They both were. I couldn't let Caliel die.

I am already dead, my little wind dancer, he whispered. This was just a pleasant, if brief, reprieve.

My heart clenched. Your body may be gone—but you are far from dead. And I won't let you die now.

Becoming part of you isn't really dying. I will always be with you.

There is a solution, if you'd only listen. Riggs's voice dropped into our minds. I sensed that he'd left Marcus's suite, and now descended the stairs to the foyer. Unless you have a better idea, Caliel, we need to prep for this regardless of how you feel about it. Getting proof of Daize crawling into bed with Victor will be impossible with Breana chained and locked in that room.

My mind raced as I followed the dots that Riggs had already connected. If Caliel does this, he can be free to get the proof we need.

Exactly, Riggs said with a rush of supportive warmth.

I will not condone what you are suggesting, Caliel warned, although I sensed him waiver, just a little.

There is much more at stake here than your principles, Riggs insisted.

Caliel pulled away, sinking deep within me. I sensed the monster circling restlessly, pushing against the wall he'd built. He pulled the last power from the crystals hung around my neck to strengthen those walls.

He is a healer, I whispered to Riggs. What we are asking of him, isn't something he can do.

No, he whispered back. That will be up to you.

The thought sent ice cascading along every nerve. I'd killed before—but I didn't know if I could do it again.

Maybe not, Riggs growled. But I can.

It would be so much easier to tap into him when the time was right, but this was my plan. My responsibility. It's a moot point unless Caliel agrees to try .

The first thing is to find crystal energy that you can tap into, he said. Without it, Caliel won't have enough jam to do it.

I thought of the sword, and how it could have boosted us. But it was as good as gone. I would have to find another way. My fingers trailed along the crystals hanging at my throat. Caliel had used their energy to heal the talon marks in my skin, but they were far from drained. It wouldn't be enough, I knew. I would need much more if we were to try what Iskar suggested.

I have an idea, Riggs said. Through his eyes, I saw his fist unfold around a series of crystals on cords. Riley gave me everything they had.

Very nice. But what did you have in mind?

As he headed out the front academy doors, he sent me a pulse that sang over my skin. Just give me a few minutes here. It won't be fit for public consumption. He jogged out into the meadow. Need to find a private location.

I caught a glimpse of what simmered in his mind, and took a deep breath. I think I know a spot…

Riggs crawled into the rotting arbor, and sat down on the seat.

I let myself experience it through his senses. The first rays of dawn filtered through the vines twining around him, and when he inhaled, I smelled the earthy scent of leaves and sap and decomposition. The first birds of morning were already singing in the trees.

It all took me away from my own grim reality, chained and lying on a bed.

Riggs made an equally determined effort to erase my surroundings by mentally reaching for me, and wrapping me in his warmth.

I am yours, he said. Body, mind, spirit, and soul. Nothing, and no one, can take that from us.

What he sent to me along our link filled my heart near to bursting. Then he clenched the crystals in one fist, and called to the one who could tap into their power.

Caliel. Take what you can.

The Gryphon stirred sullenly within me. I will not be part of this.

A burst of frustration from Riggs. Dang it, Caliel. This isn't just about you. Breana needs this blasted power if she is going to resist Victor. You can bemoan your principles later. Now, take what I can offer.

At first, there was no response. But then, I felt Caliel reach along the link, to touch the power pulsing from the crystals.

The moment he did so, we were all enveloped in their energy. It coursed through us, setting every nerve on fire.

I gasped, arching up off the bed. Caliel had pulled from crystals before, but never like this. Never so that the link lit right up, and took our bodies along with it.

Never by using the matebond.

Suddenly Riggs was there with me, a physical reality wrought by my mind. His lips plundered my own, and his strong hands ran up along my ribs to palm my breasts.

Clothing, such as it was, failed to exist in this mental lovemaking. And to my shock, Caliel rose to it, too. Possessive, as if he competed with Riggs—his healer pulsed through me, bringing every fiber to excruciating awareness.

I didn't think he intended it to boost Riggs's contact—but it enhanced every touch of his ghostly fingers until I writhed with the power of it.

With my eyes closed, I envisioned the tremendous breadth of his shoulders. My hands ran over the huge muscles of his pecs, the washboard of his abs tapering to narrow hips, the swell of his powerful thighs—and then, finally, to what thrust from between them.

Riggs dropped a hand to my most sensitive self, his fingers probing—but Caliel beat him to it, his healer's touch massaging and sending electricity zinging through me. I flung my legs open, wanton, desperate. Thrusting my hips into the air, where my mates met me.

It couldn't be real, but it felt genuine. That first thrust that sent delicious pulses of sensation—the way they filled every bit of me, pushing against those sensitive nerve endings. Riggs's ghost self in my brain, and Caliel, even less substantial—both fighting each other to pleasure me, both knowing exactly how to play my body to leave me gasping and shuddering.

They wound me up, tightening every inch of me, and poising me on the edge of oblivion.

Before taking me, effortlessly, over.

Wave after wave—I twisted and turned on the bed, aware of Riggs panting along with me. Of both sharing the pleasure, and by doing so, amplifying it until the link vibrated .

It was a while before we all lay quiet.

I opened my eyes. I was alone on a rickety bed, with a chain from my collar fastened to a bolt in the ceiling.

You are not alone, whispered Caliel.

Never alone, agreed Riggs somewhat breathlessly. I saw him look down at the crystals, now lying dark in his hand. Then he pushed himself up onto legs that shook.

Where are you going? I asked.

I'm going to get more crystals, he replied.

As Riggs faded along the connection, I lay and stared at the ceiling.

It was cold in this place, and so damp. I pulled the single blanket over me, and shivered.

I can help with that, Caliel offered.

Save your energy. I have a cloak and a blanket.

But a moment later, my sports bra was enhanced with fur and feathers that completely covered my upper half.

It might vanish at an inopportune time, he said apologetically.

It was much warmer. The bed had been designed for a canopy, but they'd removed it—the chain would have only gotten tangled. Or perhaps they figured I might try to strangle Victor with it.

I would very much like to, Caliel said. He sounded a little stronger, and the crystal's power had helped shore up the wall between us and the monster. I could sense her circling. Pushing and poking at the barrier.

I hesitated, and then said, She seems restless.

The serum is already at work. Now that I have more power, I will try to block it.

I swallowed as Caliel confirmed my suspicions. We need more crystal energy.

Yes, he agreed. Although the absorption process is a bit—distracting.

My lips curled upward. Distracting was an understatement.

Crystals. Aurora's chambers were full of them.

Caliel recoiled from the thought. Then he said, The bloodmagic in them would destroy my healing talents .

I remembered the cabinet Victor had pulled the normal crystals from. It was just on the other side of the wall, but it might as well be miles away.

My eyes traced the stone blocks between it and us. The stones dripped where the moss didn't grow. I examined the beads of moisture. In places, they ran in tiny rivulets that interconnected. As my gaze rose, I noticed cracks between the stones. The moss there had gathered the moisture.

Cracks. Did any of them go right through the wall to the cupboard side?

If you are thinking of breaking the wall down—it will not help, so long as you are chained in here, Caliel said.

Not considering breaking it down. I rose, and walked toward the wall. The chain stopped me before I got there, but my fingertips could touch it. They came away damp. I put them back there, and said, Give me ice.

Have you lost your mind? I'm barely keeping her wrapped up here.

This is worth a try, Caliel. Give it to me.

He sighed, and cracked the wall, just the tiniest bit.

Neither of us was prepared for her to forge at it, snarling and hissing. But as Caliel struggled to contain her, I grabbed the bit that spilled through and flung it at the wall.

The rivulets froze. My brows drew down as I attempted to direct my ability much more precisely than ever before. I chased the ice along the dampness, probing until I found a saturated channel through the brick…

I couldn't see what I was doing now. Caliel grunted with effort as he helped me push beyond the brick and into the darkness of the cupboard—my awareness went along with the ice, as though it were an extension of my fingers.

It tingled when I reached the crystals. I sensed Caliel's surprise when the first flush of energy surged back along the ice, before he began to gather it, and pull it into me.

He used the power to weave it around the seething Ice Drake, binding her and forcing her to my will. I sent the ice farther into the cupboard and extended it over the crystal stash…

A few minutes later, I heard a sound from the chamber—someone was in there. We were inside the cupboard, but I couldn't risk detection. I pulled the ice, and the Ice Drake, back.

But it worked, I breathed.

What have you two been up to? Riggs. He'd just scored an entire container of crystal dust from the cafeteria when he'd been unable to locate Cara.

We've found another source of crystal power, I stated.

He grabbed the images from my mind. Wow. That's—amazing. But he didn't sound as impressed as I'd hoped.

In fact, he seemed a bit disappointed.

Do you still want what I have to offer? asked Riggs.

I interpreted the pulse traveling along the link, and smiled. I always want what you have to offer.

Which elicited a sigh from Caliel. Apparently, despite the importance of us getting fully charged, it all comes down to sex…