“Thane,” a decidedly wolfish voice says.
“Your wolf has a name?” I gasp, the sudden intake of air making my head swim all over again.
“I have a name,” the wolf responds.
“Why didn’t I know this?” I demand, my heart nearly pumping out of my chest.
Seth settles the blanket around me again, then vacates the couch. Roarke slips into his place, smelling like aged paper and jasmine. I inhale slowly. The smell is better than chocolate. His fingers find my ankle underneath the blanket and begin to draw circles on my skin; each stroke pulls me further and further away from the ache. But with the pain goes the last few tendrils of energy inside me.
I manage to mutter out the word, “Thane,” before sinking into Pax’s chest.
“Is she asleep?” Pax asks.
Killian grunts, nods, then gets up from his chair – clearly he’s had enough. “Hunting,” he says.
He pulls his boots on with rushed precision, grabs his throwing knives and recurve, then leaves the house. The door makes a quiet click behind him, and his descent down the front steps is hidden by the rain.
“What do we need to do?” Pax asks, settling Kitten to lay on the couch between us, her head on his lap. He gently pulls her right arm out to rest on his leg, the break supported. Which catches my attention, because the guy hasn’t even asked if it’s healing properly – he appears to be ignoring it. But he’s not.
He tucks the blanket over her other arm, covering the scar left from her childhood in chains. That scar stands out, stark white and ragged against her tanned complexion. He’s not insisting she cover it every minute of the day, but he can’t handle looking at it. For half a second, Thane’s claws descend, ripping three short gashes into the blanket over where he just tucked in her wrist. Then they retreat so quickly that I would have missed it if I weren’t already looking. Shade doesn’t stir, so he didn’t hurt the girl.
Pax takes a sharp, deep breath and starts stroking her hair.
I draw in a long slow breath myself.
The impossible – that’s what we need to do. But even the impossible can be broken down into a task list. Order of importance. Order of difficulty. That sort of thing.
“We need to search for any reference to the potion Logan used. The only thing Seth remembers is that it created a blue mist and used a rare ingredient from the Potion Master’s locked cabinets – I think it was the water from the Origin Spring,” I stop to slip a stray strand of my hair back behind my ear, using the moment to search for some clarity before continuing. “Finding the original recipe is our best option. Once we exhaust her notes and journals, creating a new potion that will hopefully reverse the effects is our second best option. Either way, we need to find that spring.”
I run a hand down my face, already feeling drained at the weight of the task. I’m not normally the one responsible for things.
For people.
“I’m not a Potion Master, so I can’t guarantee any recipe I create will work the way it needs to.”
“Then we get sure. Who do we need to kidnap?” Seth demands.
“The nearest Potion Master is at the Fire Spring, somewhere between half and a full day’s ride away,” I say. “That’s if he’s alive, and if he’s going to be on our side. I’m the only one who can get into his domain, the same as Eydis’ – meaning no one will be working on fixing Kitten’s bubble in the meantime.”
“We can be quick,” Seth says, stretching out his shoulders like he’s suggesting we run there, right now. “I’m up for a kidnapping. Haven’t done one for a while – not since that time with the rope merchant, and that was pretty much by accident.”
“No, Seth, Roarke’s right. Fire Spring potions have been used a lot by Lithael. There’s a strong chance the Potion Master will put Shade in more danger. Jada and the triunes are on their way here,” Pax says.
I nod. “They should be here tomorrow, followed by the others. Putting plans into place with them should be easy – dealing with Tanakan is not going to be.”
“We need to take the White Castle first. We need to control the Sabers’ assignments without Lithael knowing, and to do that we need to suck the poison from within its walls.”
Pax looks at the palm of his hand, where the Release Seal sits dull over the creases of his life. “We have about two days before it begins to be an issue. Once we’ve dealt with this bubble and Jada, we’ll bring down the domain walls and wait for them to attack. And they will. I’m willing to bet they’ll keep attacking – we’re the only real threat against Lithael. We can make our stand here and take down as many of the monsters from Tanakan as possible. When we can’t hold out any longer, we’ll return to the White Castle and find a way to keep Shade out of the arena. There is no law saying every member of a team must compete in tournament. We should be able to lock her in a cupboard somewhere.”
“So you’re planning on bringing her back to the castle?” I ask, a mix of surprise and trepidation settling in the bottom of my stomach.
“We will face Lithael – but he can’t kill any of us outright. Not openly. Without the bubble, and with access to whatever it is she’s doing with magic, and if they consider her a Saber and not a servant, we can keep her safe. She’s in just as much danger out here as she would be in there, and once we have control of the castle, she’ll actually be safer with us. Classes will be
