Wrath

“Everything is dangerous now. I’m up for the challenge.”

I shook my head. “No. I’m not taking you out there.”

“I’m stronger than you think I am. My magic is more powerful than anyone wants to admit.”

“You’re not a warlock, though. You’re not built to fight.”

She put her fists on her hips, and her big hazel eyes narrowed with determination. “I can help you, Alexis.”

I leaned back on my heels and crossed my arms over my chest. When she focused, Blossom’s magic wasn’t as weak or sporadic as everyone seemed to think it was. But it definitely wasn’t strong enough to take on the mages we’d be facing. The Daemoni would have their most powerful warlocks out there, perhaps sorcerers and sorceresses, too. There was a good chance we’d come up against Kali . . . which meant Owen. Which meant even Char could become a problem, if it came to that. Crap. I’d started to feel confident in my team, and now I didn’t know how we were ever going to do this. To get my son back.

“Please, Alexis,” Blossom implored. “Let me be on your team.”

“No. It’s too dangerous. And we need you here.”

“Let me make that choice! Let me take the risk. I want to be there for you. Do you really think I can watch you walk out of here without me? Do you really think I’m any good here when I’m worried about you and Tristan? And Dorian? And Heather?” Tears filled her plea. “Those two are like my own. The kids I didn’t have to raise. You’re all family to me. Don’t make me stay behind.”

Unable to look her in the eye, I resumed pacing in front of my desk as Tristan watched me from the seat he’d taken in my chair. With a long exhale, I pushed my hands through my hair.

“Passion and love go a long way,” Charlotte murmured.

I turned sharply and eyed Blossom. “But is it enough to kill for? Because that’s what it might come down to.”

The witch’s eyes widened, then her gaze traveled around the room and to the floor.

“That’s what I thought,” I said. “You don’t have it in you.”

After a moment, Blossom straightened her spine, squared her shoulders again, and lifted her chin. “To protect you or myself, yes. I would.”

“But you shouldn’t have to!” I snapped. The memory of my one and only true kill in the caves of Hades flooded through me, taking my breath and nearly knocking me to my knees. My hands grasped the edge of my desk to keep me from falling to the floor.

He was an evil werewolf trying to kill me, but the way his wolf’s body shrunk into human form . . . his blood spurting from the artery I’d sliced with my dagger . . . I’d never be able to cleanse that from my mind. I shouldn’t have been able to. I. Killed. A. Person. Someone whose soul I might have been able to help. I should have to live with the hellish memory and the sickening feeling in my gut and heart the rest of my life.

“You okay?” Tristan silently asked.

I closed my eyes and nodded.

I should have to live with those images, those feelings, and, sadly, I could live with them. Maybe because I had Daemoni blood flowing in my veins, or maybe because what they’d done to me already had left a dark stain on my soul. But Blossom never should have to live with it. Her heart was too big and too warm. Her soul remained clean. Taking a life would destroy her, and I didn’t want to know the person she’d become. I loved the person she was now too much.

Charlotte cleared her throat. “Tristan, Vanessa, and Sheree—”

“You’ll bring Sheree but not me?” Blossom demanded.

I pushed the memory of my kill back into the dark corner of my heart where it would forever live.

“She’s a tiger, Blossom,” I said, turning back to her. “With big muscles and huge teeth and sharp claws. And she’s a Were, which means she stands a good chance against a vampire. And she’s killed before.”

Blossom pursed her lips.

“As I was saying,” Charlotte said, glaring at me, “with those three, and especially if we get another Were and vamp, it’s likely Blossom won’t have to fight, even if you and I are in the middle of a conversion.” She turned toward the witch. “I could train you in conversions, too. So if one of us does need to fight, you can take over.”

Blossom shifted her weight to one leg, threw her hip to the side, and crossed her arms over her ample chest. “See. I can be useful in all kinds of ways.”

With a sigh, I looked across my desk at Tristan, who leaned back in my chair, his hands folded across his stomach.

“I don’t like it either,” he said. “If something happens to her . . .”

“Exactly. I’d never forgive myself.”

“But if anyone would support our main mission, she would.”

I made a face at his point. This argument wasted valuable time, and apparently I was in the minority.

“So what else will you be able to do?” I asked her. “Convince me that you’re an asset.”

Blossom blinked at me. “Well, uh . . . you know I’ve been working on my magic, prepping for a disaster, although I hadn’t imagined it would get this bad so soon. But you haven’t seen what I can do now. New spells. And potions—all kinds of new potions that would help.”

I cocked my head with a thought. If she was really determined to help me and would go to any lengths, I had a way for her to prove it.

“Tristan, can you please talk to Sheree and Vanessa?” I requested. “Ask them if they want to be a part of this—I don’t want to force anyone. We don’t need anyone on the team who doesn’t want to be on it. Charlotte, please help your people get settled and take care of the colony. I want to move out as soon as possible.”

“On it,” she said, already on her way out of the office.

“Blossom, come with me.” I headed for the door.

Tristan’s brow wrinkled.

“Sheree and Vanessa,” I reminded him.

He nodded. I could tell he knew I was up to something. But if I told him what, he would stop me, and I really didn’t want him to know the thoughts in my mind. They weren’t exactly the kind that made you love someone more.

I led Blossom through the crowd, into the corridor, and down to the suite I’d slept in last night. The one where Dorian had last been seen. My heart squeezed painfully at the sight of his video games and other toys abandoned by the TV. Sasha hadn’t moved—still curled in a ball on the pillow—but her new wing had grown to nearly full size. She lifted her head when we walked in, rose and stretched, then padded across the bed. I gave her a scratch before turning back to Blossom.

“First, show me how strong your shield is.”

She squirmed. “I’m still working on that. If it were strong enough . . .”

I pressed my lips together. She didn’t need to finish the sentence. If her shield were strong enough, we wouldn’t be in this situation. My mages wouldn’t be dead. My son wouldn’t be gone. But that wasn’t her fault.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I need to know its strength.”

With a sigh, she closed her eyes, lifted her arms above her head and twirled her hands. Then she opened her eyes, dropped her hands, and looked at me.

“Did you muffle the room, too?” I asked.

She thrust her hands out in front of her. “It is now.”

“CHARLOTTE,” I yelled, making Blossom flinch. Charlotte flew into the suite. I looked at Blossom. “Not strong enough.”

“What’s not strong enough?” Char’s gaze scanned the room. “What’s wrong?”

“Sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to alarm you. We were testing her shield.”

Char’s eyes came back to me, filled with understanding. She gave me a small smile. “Not too many witches can shield me out. That’s not a good test. Besides, she’ll only have to maintain my shields. I can put them up.”