“Why? Wasn’t the point of all this”—I waved a hand at the wellspring—“for you to become the reservation’s guardian?”
“Yes, but there’s no certainty that I’ll ever fully command the wild magic in the manner you can. The spell binding a soul to a wellspring was an untested—and unfinished—theory. We have no real idea how deep the immersion will go.”
Meaning I’d been right in guessing the spell’s origin had been Gabe more than some long ago forgotten spell, and that made it even more vital we kept this wellspring’s existence secret. If word got out about what he’d managed to do, it would bring half of Canberra here to interrogate him and to study Katie’s immersion. And while he and Katie had had nothing but good intent, that might not be the case with others. If a dark soul ever managed to merge with a wellspring, there was no telling how far the stain of evil might spread, especially given all wellsprings came from the one source deep within the earth and were ultimately all connected. Such an event could have dire consequences for any community situated near a wellspring.
“Protecting him from a direct magical assault, even if only for a few minutes, might be all that’s necessary.”
Especially if I wove a warning spell into the charm he was wearing. Unless Clayton got hold of something personal of Aiden’s, any spell he’d created to snare Aiden would have to be done in his immediate vicinity. A warning of incoming magic would give Aiden time to either run—or, knowing the man as well as I did—track Clayton down and stop him.
“That I can do—shall I start immediately?”
“No—I’ll send word via the wild magic.” I pushed to my feet. The tiny moonbeam threads immediately gathered around me, their song tinged with sadness at my leaving.
“One day, perhaps, you might remain here permanently with us,” Katie said. “But that’s a way off yet.”
“I long way off, I’m hoping.”
She laughed, a soft sound that had the moonbeams dancing. “So am I, because three would definitely be a crowd.”
I smiled and left. The moonbeams trailed us for quite a while but eventually turned and scooted back to Katie.
“Well, that was interesting,” Belle said as the path became less treacherous again. “Although we didn’t really get that many answers.”
“No, but it did give me some hope.” I flashed her a grin over my shoulder. “The future isn’t as set in stone as I’d feared.”
“Perhaps, but I wouldn’t be pinning too many dreams on that comment just yet. Not when she also said Mia coming back is inevitable.”
“I know—just as I know we’ll break up when she does and I’ll be a sobbing mess. But at least there’s now a possibility he and Mia won’t last.”
“They might not, but what happens when the next wolf comes along? Or the one after that? Unless he decides to marry you, you’re setting yourself up for continuous heartbreak. You’ll be better off ending it cleanly with Mia’s return, because if he does marry you, he’ll have to turn his back on his pack, his parents, and his position as alpha-in-waiting. That’s a big ask, given he is, above all else, an honorable man with a deep sense of duty.”
I scowled, even though I knew the truth of her words. “I’m not listening to you. I’m going to enjoy dreaming about future possibilities for the next few days at the very least.”
She chuckled softly. “Good, because I’d rather you concentrate on your future rather than mine for a goddamn change.”
I laughed, a sound that echoed across the stillness of the surrounding trees. In the distance, something altogether much darker responded.
I paused, forcing Belle do a quick jump sideways to avoid crashing into me.
“What?” she said, her voice hushed.
“I don’t know.” I scanned the trees but couldn’t see anything out of place or unusual. And yet… my ‘other’ senses were stirring.
It’s very quiet out there, Belle said. Unusually so, given dawn isn’t that far away now. Could it be our ghoul?
Possibly. Whatever it was felt dark.
Do you want to investigate?
No.
But you nevertheless will.
Her mental tone was dry, and a smile tugged my lips. Also true.
She made a sweeping motion with her hand. You lead, I’ll follow.
One of these days that’s going to get you into deep trouble.
I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I chuckled softly and cautiously stepped off the path. Dawn was only just beginning to stain the sky, and deep shadows still haunted the trees. The flashlight’s bright beam pierced the darkness directly in front, but somehow deepened the ink on either side.
Leaf matter crunched under every step and, like my laugh, it spun loudly through the silence. This time, there was no response. I wasn’t entirely sure whether that was a good thing or bad—especially given that wisp of darkness remained.
The ground dipped sharply into a ravine that could only be described as wild. Blackberries were so thickly clustered along the ravine’s bottom that, although I could hear water, I couldn’t actually see it. It was the sort of place snakes and rabbits loved because so few predators dared risk the thick thorns. I was suddenly glad that it was winter—at least snakes weren’t going to be a problem.
The path was another steep goat track littered with loose stones and treacherous drops. We followed it cautiously, but were little more than halfway when my foot slipped and I went down hard, bruising one knee and skinning the palm of the hand I threw out to save myself. I cursed loudly; the sound echoed once again, but drew no response from the shadows still haunting the brambles below.
Fuck, are you okay? Belle grabbed my arm and helped me upright.
Yeah, I think so. I brushed the dirt from my knee, then inspected my hand.
