| |
SERENA GRAY STOOD next to the ledge holding the six remaining emerald and silver pendants, and studied the men she still had to save.
Aiden McLeod lounged against the far wall of the cavern, studying her. This time, his expression was neutral, but he usually glared or leered at her, depending on his mood. Kit Burke leaned on his crutch, in the middle of an animated discussion with Charles de Witt. The noble nodded every once in a while, tall, lean and devastating in his grey trousers and lavender velvet jacket. If there was a man who could carry off lavender, it was Charles.
Robert Macintosh, Ben Rowland, and Rory Turner all waited quietly, but anticipation hummed around them. Another man would have a chance at a new life.
All he had to do was get the woman chosen by the pendant to fall in love with him. In seven days.
Serena sighed. Her Aunt Addie had set the bar high for these men.
“Okay.” Her voice had all of them turning to her, any conversation cut off mid word. “Are you ready to find out who’s next?”
Each man nodded, and Serena took a deep breath. She closed her hand over the identical emerald she wore, and recited the simple spell that activated the pendants.
“With these words, I beseech,
open to me, so I may reach.
North to South, East to West,
help me give these men their test.
Agreement is given, the time is at hand,
arise, and send each man to the chosen land.”
At first, nothing happened. The men looked at each other, obviously nervous, and started muttering. Then heat burst through the pendant at her breast. A second later, the pile of silver shifted, one of them finally untangling itself from the rest. It lifted into the air, and headed straight for Charles.
He closed his eyes, a combination of relief and fear on his face. It changed to pain when the chain lowered itself around his neck.
He sank to his knees, his hand gripping the pendant.
“God in heaven,” he whispered. “It hurts more than—”
He disappeared before he could finish the rest.
Serena sagged against the wall, letting her fingers slide off her pendant. “Now we wait.”