“I think it’s already begun.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
COLT
It’s as if a bright light flashes in front of me, barring me from seeing anything around us. I pinch my eyes closed, gripping Birdie’s hand tightly, unsure of what is happening around us. When it disappears, I blink a few times and glance around the room.
We’re in a cave.
Clearing my throat, I stand to my feet, taking Blue Lightnin’ out of my hip holster. I hear a growl and spin around to see one of my lions standing right next to Birdie.
Did you bring me here? I demand.
He shakes his head once, then turns and looks down at a still passed out Birdie.
Her magic is strong. I can smell it. She brought you here.
How? She is passed out.
He grunts, not giving me an answer, probably because he doesn’t know what it could be. We watch one another for a moment, then he grunts again and jerks his head.
She will wake soon.
Where are we? I demand.
Just outside of your property, not far. A day’s ride to your home.
It’s my turn to snort. Not far? We have no horse, we don’t have proper coverings from the sun or water to drink. A day’s ride will be a three-day walk, in the elements, which means we could and probably would die on the way.
Just as I am about to tell the beast that we would not make the journey, Birdie stirs on the floor of the cave. Crouching down next to her, I watch as the lion sits back on his hindquarters and watches.
Birdie’s eyelids slowly flutter open, then they focus on me and they widen. She sits straight up, lifting her palm to her head and resting it against her forehead as she inhales a deep breath before releasing it.
“Colt?” she whispers as her eyelids open again. “Where are we?”
I smirk. “You transported us to the lion’s den. I don’t know how, considering I didn’t even know where it was,” I inform her.
We like it that way. The lion announces, loud and clear in my head.
Birdie’s eyes widen and she turns her head, probably sensing the lion at her side. I hear her let out a little screech before she shifts her gaze back to meet mine.
“How?” she hisses.
Chuckling, I shake my head. “I don’t know. Florence told me that she took some of your power outside, that she also put some kind of spell on you to hinder your magic. I sense that it did not work.”
Birdie laughs, though it doesn’t sound very humor-filled, it actually sounds very strained. Then her eyes fill with tears.
“I don’t know how I did this. What do we do?” she whispers.
Clearing my throat, I reach for her, gathering her in my arms as I sit down on the floor of the cave, before I situate her in my lap. Lifting one of my hands, I tuck a piece of loose hair behind her ear as I look into her eyes.
“I’ll call for Lonesable. He’ll come to us. The lions will give him directions.”
Not likely.
Turning my head to the lion, I narrow my gaze at him. It’s either that or we make a home out of your den for ourselves?
He lets out a disgruntled sigh and shakes his head, his mane moving from side to side as well. Fine, he snaps.
Though I think we may need your protection, could you move closer to the house for a few weeks? There are two groups and whatever this prophecy is hurtling toward us.
He snorts in my direction, then stands and turns away from me before walking deeper into the den. We will do this for you.
“Colt?” Birdie whispers.
“I asked him to move the lions closer to the house. I’m going to reach out to Lonesable to come out this way and take us home.”
She presses her lips together, her gaze searching my own. “I have to confess something,” I whisper. I watch her for a long moment, her eyes still shifting as they search mine. “I can hear other people’s thoughts.”
I should tell her that I already know, but I decide against it. She thinks that she is telling me something important, and it is, but she doesn’t need to feel as though it is insignificant because I already know this about her.
“What have you learned?” I ask softly.
She smiles, though it’s a sad smile and my heart aches at the sight. “You love me,” she breathes.
My lips twitch. “I already told you that I did, darlin’.”
She nods her head. “Yes, but I heard it in my head first, in my head, but in your words with your voice. I can also hear my sister Dru sometimes.”
That does surprise me. I jerk back slightly, my eyes widening. “In your old world, or here?”
“My world, Colt. I can hear her as she worries about us, she’s trying to find out where we are, she’s scared, but I can’t communicate back to her.”
“This is what Florence wished you to learn, to communicate back?” I ask.
She nods her head a couple of times. “She said that I could be useful to you, to your position, and we were trying, but I can’t figure it out and then something happened today. There were sparks and I felt like she was literally draining my body, then my knees gave out and I went down.”
Wrapping my hand around the back of her neck, I dip my chin and touch my mouth to hers. “It will be okay, Birdie. We’ll figure it out, whatever it is.”
She could be useful, especially if she could get into the heads of the Assembly members, if she could get into the head of the men who are trying to come after me. She could solve so many of the world’s problems with her abilities.
Maybe this is what the gods wanted. They’re giving her the power of knowledge, of all-knowing, and that could seriously help all of our countries come together and live in
