Chapter 23

“Hey, watch it!” Lila dodged a fireball that flew past her and crashed into a tree which went up like a torch, the pinecones bursting and sending a strong smell, like a campfire, drifting on the breeze. Trees, not quite as thick as the field where they practiced in Colorado, surrounded them in false safety. They had about a football field-sized area to use for the practices.

“Sorry!” Ramsey called from across the clearing. He turned to Selene with a sheepish grin and shrugged.

“You do realize the goal is to try to herd our opponents, not to actually light them on fire, don’t you?” she asked, her tone dry.

He held up his hands in surrender. “I know, I know!”

Charlotte silently teleported in, appearing beside them as though she’d been standing there all along. She had Lucy in tow. “I still don’t understand why you can’t just turn off all their powers,” Charlotte said as she pushed back her dark hair that the wind had blown into her face.

This had been a constant debate among the family members for the last two months. Two agonizingly long months with Griffin nowhere to be found. “These are not our enemies, Charlotte,” Selene said patiently. “No matter how much Maddox tries to make them so. They’ve suffered enough at Vyusher hands, and I won’t perpetuate that situation.”

“Besides,” Ramsey chimed in, “do we really want to be responsible for significantly decreasing the numbers of our own race?”

Lila rolled her eyes, and Ramsey frowned. Selene’s lips twitched in amusement as she cleared her throat. Those two really needed to figure out whatever was going on between them.

“Is everyone here?” she called out to the group. After receiving a round of nods and yeses. she signaled for Ellie to go ahead.

“Defenders, you know the drill,” Ellie reminded everyone. They’d been secretly practicing battle techniques since arriving at the Vyusher castle. The defenders’ role was to direct, guide, or manipulate the offenders in such a way that no one got hurt.

“Remember, the objective is to keep a full-on battle from breaking out and gain enough time to convince them of our relative innocence and future good intentions.” She could see the group was set. “Ready? Go!”

Ramsey, Selene, Lila, Nate, and Charlotte stood shoulder to shoulder. Ellie, Alex, Lucy, Adelaide, Hugh, and Dexter charged, running straight at them, only to be stopped short by a wall of flame that slammed up, blocking them from their intended targets. Just as swiftly, the fire was doused. Selene nodded at Ramsey. They’d discussed the use of his powers specifically, finally deciding that any action he took should cause no harm and be removed as soon as any immediate threat was reduced.

Adelaide and Hugh bent to the ground, grabbing anything they could find—rocks and sticks mostly—and threw it in the air, directed at the defenders. Dexter instantly turned those items into lead, and Alex used his power to thrust them into a greater speed. The result was a steady barrage of small but heavy missiles.

Nate caught every single object launched at them. His inhuman strength and speed allowed him to easily deal with all their projectiles. Rather than tossing them back, though, he dropped each one to the ground with a ploof of dirt and dust that sprayed up under each.

Ellie shifted into the form of a massive, midnight-black jaguar. She gave a terrible scream and charged at them, fangs bared.

“Hands!” Charlotte yelled. As soon as they were all connected, she teleported them behind the offensive line and out of harm’s way. As soon as they reappeared, however, Alex froze them completely in place. Held immobile, they watched with apparent helplessness as the offensive team charged yet again.

Selene reached out with her mind. She found Alex’s bright golden light and turned it off, like flipping a switch—or more appropriately, like cutting the power.

Free of the force that had been holding them, the defensive team backed up. Seeing their movement, the offenders slowed their attack before they stopped altogether. Ellie’s eyes ignited, becoming twin flames of blue. Selene knew what was coming next.

The dragon.

Selene reached for Ellie’s powers, and found the violet-blue glow inside her. Flipping this switch, however, would prove to be much more difficult. The two women locked in on each other in a silent battle of wills.

Suddenly, Ellie stopped fighting and turned off the dragon shift herself. The offenders’ expressions became peaceful, almost zen-like. Selene glanced at Lila, who grinned back, confirming that she was using her ability to heal emotions on them, only she was making them all feel content.

“That’s enough I think, Lila.” Selene laid a gentle hand on her friend’s shoulder. “We don’t want the other tribes saying that they only agreed to peace because their emotions were manipulated.”

Oren’s image shimmered into appearance next to a nearby tree, catching her attention. She held up her hands in a T-shape, which she’d seen Nate do a couple of times when he was teaching the younger Vyusher wolves how to play football or basketball.

“That’s it for now. I have to return to the castle,” she said. She walked over to Oren’s transparent form. “Is it time already?”

He grimaced. “Unfortunately, yes.” With a nod she started to turn away to go to Charlotte, when Oren’s voice stopped her. “My lady?”

She turned back. “Something else, Oren?”

“One of the Svatura can turn items to metal?”

“Yes. Did you see that?”

He frowned. “I vaguely remember that your brother had access to someone who could manipulate metal like that. I believe it’s one of the reasons we have so much gold in our stores. I’ve only ever known of one person with that ability in all my years.”

“Ah,” Selene said, comprehension dawning. “Dexter would’ve told me if he’d been associated with Gideon. I doubt it was he, but I admit it’s a little odd that we’d meet another one. Worth checking into further. Thank you, Oren.”

Oren gave a formal half-bow before his image faded away. Selene made her way over to Charlotte to teleport back to the castle.

“Um, Selene?” Nate cleared his throat. “Do you know your eyes started glowing a minute ago? Like Ellie’s do just before she goes all dragon? Only yours were hot pink and a little creepy.”

Selene blinked. “Maybe that happens when I’m trying to turn off a particularly strong power?”

“We should test that theory out,” Ellie suggested.

“Worth a try. But we must get back now. Charlotte?” She held out her arm, and the others reached toward her. A moment later they were standing inside the library, the familiar scent of parchment, old paper, and leather filling her nostrils.

Selene didn’t betray by even a twitch exactly how much she dreaded returning to the castle. She’d lost count of the times she’d gone head-to-head with the Council these last two months, and they were still no closer to making any progress or decisions. Selene’s feelings of ineptitude in regard to her ability to influence the Council also continued to plague her.

“You’ll be fine,” Lila murmured for her ears alone, as they walked through the corridors. Selene raised her eyebrows, but Lila merely shrugged and tapped her chest right over her heart. “I can practically feel your anxiety, like physical waves beating against me. Despite the fact that you shield me from most of what you feel. Won’t you please let—?”

“No.” Selene shook her head. “I need to face them alone. It’s the right thing to do. I’ll figure it out.”

“You could at least let me work with you outside of Council hours on controlling your fear. Maybe while we’re at school…away from here?”

Selene did a bit of a double take. “What do you mean? I’ve been controlling my fear all of my life. I had to with Gideon as a brother.”

Lila grimaced. “From what I can tell, it’s not that you control your fear. It’s more that you push it so far down inside you that it doesn’t show. But you’ve been doing that so long it has built up in your system, like a toxin. That’s what’s holding you back. We need to find some way to purge that poison from your soul.”

Selene stopped walking and turned to face her. “You think my soul is poisoned?”

Lila frowned and rolled her eyes. “Me and my big mouth. That’s not really what I meant, exactly. You’re a good person, inside and out. My mother, my sister, and I—we all have gifts that allow us to see this about you. But what your brother put you through—and I know you haven’t shared even a fraction of the reality with us—has left a wound inside you that continues to fester. Maybe poisoned isn’t the right word, but you’re definitely hurting, whether you realize it or not. I only want to help.”

“You think you can fix me?” Selene whispered.

“Not on my own yet, not completely. I’m still developing my skills. But with Ellie’s help, yes, I think we can heal you.”

Selene took a deep breath, shocked at how much these words affected her. She’d always assumed that she was damaged goods, but having it confirmed was as if an icy-cold hand had reached inside her chest and squeezed. She could taste the bitterness of it like a copper penny in her mouth. But she could do something about it now.

“Thank you.” She reached out and laid a hand on Lila’s arm. “Tonight? After the Council meeting?”

“I’ll meet you in your chamber and bring Ellie. Adelaide, too,” Lila replied.

Selene smiled briefly before heading off to argue with the Council yet again. But this time with a lighter heart.