LT shook his head. “I need a shifter, but not you. Renegade, book the next civilian flight, hook up with Stephen and have him meet you in Virginia. We’ll need outside help on this one.”
No one said anything, but the looks were enough.
“Right. I’m the FNG, so the rest of you don’t trust me.” Greg snorted, shuffling a boot in the dirt, as if his tiger pawed at the ground.
“FNG?” Kelly asked.
“Effing new guy,” Sully answered. He shook his head. “Tiger, Stephen’s former military and an eight- hundred-year-old vampire. If he doesn’t like you, he’ll eat you for breakfast and use your bones as a toothpick.”
Claws began to emerge from the hand Greg held up. “Not before I turn him into shredded wheat.”
“Cut the crap, Tiger. You’ll get a chance to prove yourself later,” Shay said.
The shifter scowled but sheathed his claws.
“The rest of you, with me back to base.” Regret filled Dakota’s eyes. “Shay, secure transport for the prisoner to return to the council.”
“Kelly,” he said suddenly, aware of her sliding away. Shay grabbed her arm and yanked her to him. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“You know what will happen. They’ll toss me into prison and toss away the key. And the real threat’s still out there.” She struggled in his grip. “I can rescue the kids on my own.”
Dammit.
Holding her arms to her sides, he immobilized her. She kicked and struggled. Magick cuffs wouldn’t restrain her, and he couldn’t risk her escaping. He knew what he must do.
Chest tight, he released her but laced his fingers through hers. Kelly stared, stricken into silence as Shay grabbed her triskele and summoned his powers. White energy pulsed from his body, into the silver medallion and into a stunned-looking Kelly. Burning pain laced his palm, but he held on.
“Sam, what the hell are you doing?” she cried out.
Lifting his face to the sun, Shay chanted.
“Spirit of Air, Spirit of Fire, Spirit of Water, Spirit of Earth, I call you to send forth your powers and bind my spirit and flesh with this woman. Seal us together so none may part.”
As he continued to chant, Shay felt aching regret. The ancient bonding rite was originally intended to seal together lovers in the flesh and spirit. The custom died out when females grew more independent, resenting males who tethered them to their sides.
No one used it anymore. It was thought the words were long forgotten.
Shay had not forgotten. If she’d agreed, he’d intended to bond them together on Christmas Day as proof of his fidelity. Not even his father’s cold disdain could break the seal.
Now he uttered the words not to bond in love, but to bind in captivity.
Finally the glow died. He opened his palm and released the now-cold medal. Shay displayed his palm and the brand of the Celtic medallion his magick had burned into his skin.
“We’re tied together, Kelly. Only I can break the bond. Your life force now mingles with mine.”
Kelly wrenched free and ran. Pity filled him as she made a desperate break for freedom, dust kicking up beneath her heels. She’d hate him for this.
He did not blame her.
“You letting her go?” Dakota asked.
Shay said nothing. Minutes later, she returned. The team watched in silence.
“We’re tied together now. Separated by more than a half mile and you’re compelled to return to me,” he said quietly.
“Sam, please, break this. Don’t do this to me.”
Her whispered plea tightened the knot in his chest. “I will, when you’re returned to the States and in custody. I’ll make sure you’re taken care of, Kelly.”
Backing away, she closed her eyes and chanted. Shay looked skyward. Cold sweat streamed down his spine at the gathering storm clouds. She was summoning the elements, something no Arcane could do without a conduit.
The triskele around her neck pulsed white. His teammates raised their submachine guns, their expressions grim.
“Stop it, Miss Denning,” Dakota ordered.
Suddenly a streak of lightning shot down straight into her outstretched palms.
Jesus. Kelly had the same powers the rogue Arcane possessed. White energy glowed from her bunched fists. Stretching out her hands, she looked straight at Dakota.
“Let me go, Sam, or I will hurt him.”
Sully, Renegade and Tiger inched closer, training their guns on her. Shay motioned for them to stand down.
“That’s it, Kel? You going to fry LT? Sully? All of my team? What about me? Kill me and you’ll die, as well.”
Her hands shook.
“I don’t want to hurt anyone. But you’re not giving me a choice.”
“Let it go,” he said gently. “C’mon, Kel, let it go and we’ll talk.”
All the while inching closer to her, close enough to touch.
Shay grabbed her. The white energy gathered on her hands flared but did not burn. Concentrating, he inhaled it into his body. The glow faded from her hands.
The other SEALs lowered their weapons. Shay turned over her palms. Not dark energy, like the rogue Arcane. Kelly hadn’t turned to evil.
Enraged and relieved, he clasped her slender shoulders. “Where the hell did you learn to do that?”
Wide blue eyes met his. “You taught me long ago, that night in the meadow. The ancient spell to call forth the elements.”
Shit. He groaned.
A harsh sputter of laughter from Sully. Shay turned. “Shut up. LT, give us a moment.”
As the others drifted away, he squeezed her shoulders, feeling delicate bones and soft flesh. Impulsive as ever, she disregarded the rules and stormed ahead, regardless of the consequences.
“Are you crazy? My guys would have killed you. You like risking your life?”
“If this turns into war, my life is over anyway,” she whispered.
He looked at her, feeling something implode inside his chest, bright and hot and pressured. Kelly didn’t know anything about war and death. She didn’t know about suicide bombers and how a dirty bomb could shred your insides like glass. He’d seen men fall beneath the onslaught of enemy bullets. Heard the grinding trill of machine guns. Those times, a man had to turn cold and emotionless, because when all hell broke loose around you, all you had was your damn brains and your training to survive.
He never wanted her to see the brutal ugliness he’d witnessed. His stomach twisted at the thought.
Dropping his hands, he cursed softly. “I promised I would not let anything happen to you. Let me take care of this.”
“I’m no princess, Sam. I can take care of myself.”
“You don’t know what you’re tangling with. We train constantly. And we don’t storm into a sitch without knowing what could lie ahead. We’re briefed as a team, function as a team. Tell me where the children are, and I’ll find them.”
“Not without me.”
“Blackmail doesn’t suit you,” he grated out.
“Neither does a cold Elemental prison cell. I’ve already been in one, when they arrested me after the fire, and I’m not going there again. Join me, Sam, and help me find them. Forget your team. I need you more than they do.”
Challenge flared in her gaze.
Shay knew what would happen. If he took her side, all his hard-won control would vanish. All these years of
