Summon (4 page)

Not misinterpreting my silence, Kian narrowed his
eyes. “I glimpsed her during the battle. She’s different, and you do not deny
it.” He rubbed his chin. “Rae is returned to us changed.
What is
–”

I spun to him with a harsh glare. “Do not speak of
it aloud.” Wary of those watching, I gentled my tone. “Remain at my side during
the Meet. You will learn of it all.”

“It is a matter of trust?”

“This must be kept secret.” I rubbed the back of my
neck. “The Tribe is in uproar.”

“Not over what you think.”

My lips parted to demand he speak plainly, but Rae
drifted towards the clearing edge stealing my attention.

I assumed she’d follow the carved steps into the
upper tree limbs to seek rest, but she stopped, and searched for something
unseen. Peered warily into the dark.

I cocked my head. “Rae?”

She ignored my soft calling of her name. Avoided
meeting the eyes of the beings roaming the space waiting for her.

It made me nervous.

“Is the Priestess angry?” Kian asked, voice quiet
with respect. “Troubled?”

“She is not our Priestess,” I said absentmindedly.

Startled, Kian turned to me, incredulous. “She
wears the circlet and gives life from her fingertips. She was resurrected to
fight for us. How can she not be our High Priestess?”

Motioning for him to calm, and lower his voice, I
didn’t reply, knowing the young male would hear what he needed soon.

I watched Rae, and my suppressed worries rushed to
the fore.

The old Rae would babble irritatingly. Flit around
screaming accusations, or at Breandan’s urging for caution, she’d stare,
believing her damning thoughts concealed when in truth they were artlessly
revealed on her expressive face.

Her quiet contemplation was wholly out of
character, therefore, deeply disturbing.

Perhaps I
can startle her into speaking.

I sent a diminutive yet distinctive push of energy
toward her.

Mouth tensing, Rae shifted. Her restless movement
increased until she flexed her back and fluttered her wings. Stretched her
fingers and scrunched her toes.

Golden spears of energy sliced through my azure
swirls. Her feral power shredded mine then overwhelmed it.

Kian shifted uneasily. Having a touch of fairy
magics rigorously exercised for battle, he too perceived the magical currents.

 
I
readied myself to respond then realised my stupidity.
How many knocks does my ego need?
I shouldn’t care her display of
power made mine weak in comparison. It was hubris. I released my hold on the
Source. Now she knew of my desire to talk. My mouth curved with the hint of a
smile. The rest of the people gathered she could dismiss, but not me.

An ominous sensation roused my instincts. Breath
quickening, my body tensed, and my skin tingled.

Everyone stilled, and the mood turned foreboding.

Eyes searching for a hidden enemy, Kian’s hand
hovered over the hilt of the sword strapped to his back.

I stifled a grunt of surprise when little brother
stormed into view behind Rae. The longer I studied him the more certain I
became my nature and the instincts of those around me reacted defensively to
his presence.

Breandan crossed his arms over his chest and shot
me a sharp look. He glowed. A menacing pall soaked the space surrounding him,
his aura the direct opposite to Rae’s.

Showing my displeasure at his disrespect, my chin
jutted, but my heart grew heavy with worry.

“You watched him during the ritual?” Kian eyed
Breandan as if he were poisonous. “Did something happen?”

“I watched him.” Pausing, I admitted. “I feel it
too.”

Kian forced himself to let go of his sword. His
dark eyes were suspicious as he shook back his dishevelled hair. “Another
mystery. She feels like life, and he feels like–”

“Death,” I murmured.

Gaze cutting through the crowd, Rae looked over her
shoulder. It lifted protectively and rested under her chin, revealing a streak
of vulnerability that clashed with her rebellious nature. The gathered demons
craved her attention, but her focus was absolute, and her eyes unerringly met
mine.

I repressed a shiver of empathy. Her eyes were
screaming.
Can no other perceive it?

Needing her to pull it together, my chin lifted
higher. I arched a brow in question before nodding at Breandan. In one action,
I silently asked,
“What are you, and what
in the name of the gods is wrong with little brother?”

Her irises gleamed as they flicked to Breandan.
Love broke past the pain in her eyes then clouded with anger. Turning to me,
her bearing became defiant. Scowling –
as she is wont to do –
her lips parted –
to throw me an insult I have no doubt
.

The gathering sensed Rae about to speak. Sidling
closer, their considerable attention focused on her, thickening the air with
expectation.

Veneration, I realised. The glazed look on their
faces was nothing but worship.

Breandan clasped the side of his head and made
pained noise.

Rae’s pupils dilated. Emotion was turbulent in her
eyes, yet her face was serene. Her body became stone still. She gave no clue as
to what concerned her.

As one who excelled at reading body language, her
composure ruffled my nature.

She broke our stare and returned to raking the
deeper shadows in the trees.

The gathering sighed in mutual disappointment. Even
Kian slumped in his armour.

Rae’s agitated aura settled.

Observing this, I experienced stirrings of fear.
Was she scared? Upset? Disenchanted by her return? I studied her, but
discovered no explanation.

I didn’t believe what the witch said concerning
their divine elevation.

It cannot
be true.

Breandan frowned at me in question. Unable to focus
for long, his eyes drifted back to Rae. The possessiveness was frightening. His
behaviour worsened and grew closer to a shifter’s barbaric response during a
Claiming.

Fairy mates were precious, beloved, but the two
beings were ultimately individuals. There was no dependency in the relationship
between life mates, unlike other demon species. They could go years without
seeing each other and remain confidant the other was faithful, a consequence of
being long-lived.

Before I lay eyes on Daphne the manner of
possessiveness Breandan displayed was alien. Inconceivable.
Not anymore, I’m in trouble
. I
understood my brother’s need to touch and soothe his mate. I felt the same, and
I hadn’t declared my growing feelings for the vampire, though the emotional
connection from the blood tie became increasingly difficult to ignore.

Breandan managed to look at me, still questioning
the silent communication that transpired between Rae and I. He was desperate
for help. Falling towards a place of hopelessness affecting us all. Rae’s
unusual responses had the gathering in a state of upheaval. Breandan’s strange
behaviour would descend them into chaos.

There would be no chance of convincing the demon
leaders to stay in the Wyld to participate in another Meet if I couldn’t
control my own kin.
“
Just as I
controlled the last Meet so wonderfully.”

Kian’s brow lifted in amusement at my mutterings.

Do as much
as you can. Prepare for the worst
.

There was no help to give. Breandan was one of few
who understood what Rae said or did. Blessedly, I wasn’t part of that faction.

No, I had no help to give interpreting her
peculiarity.

Looking away from little brother, I jerked a
shoulder. I had no idea what thoughts ran through Rae’s mind. She had yet to
speak a word or give a sign she was right in the head.

Breandan’s mouth turned down at the corners, but
his shoulders squared. His life mate fixed firm in his sights, he moved.

Rae stiffened. Her fingers curled under into a
fist, the emotional barrier she erected creating a palpable wave of heat.

An uneasy murmur rippled through the gathering.

Breandan ignored her warning until close enough to
touch his mate. Spinning on her heel, Rae faced him and tugged on her hair.
Breandan’s face softened, and he crooked a finger. Her lips twitched, but she
didn’t go to him.

I stared at their exchange in fascination, and I
wasn’t the only one.

They held a private conversation mind to mind.

The bond
is largely unknown. Who knows how deep the connection goes?

Jerking her pointed chin, Rae shook her head as she
peered at Breandan with singular intensity.

Kian’s eyes glimmered with awe. “She is radiant.”

Frowning at the besotted Knight, my urge was to
refute his praise. I did so. Vehement. “She is covered in scars.”

“She remains beautiful. The scars hint at a strong
character. Look how Breandan stares. I don’t think he sees them when he looks
at her.” Nodding decisively, Kian inclined his head. “Blessed are the ones who
find mates such as Rae.”

I longed to protest, but I held my tongue not
wanting to seem a bigger fool. Intrigued by my Knight’s insistence, I tried to
see my sister from his perspective.

Never had I thought Rae beautiful. Her character
did not enrapture me as it did little brother. Her hair was too dark and wild.
Much unlike Daphne’s fair braids. Her face was too plain. She didn’t have
lovely freckles like the vampire. Her pouty mouth was prone to blathering
nonsense. Daphne’s lips were slender. Soft. She spoke rationally after duly
considering all angles as I did.

My vampire lady was the fairest.

And yet, for all that, something changed between
Rae’s death and rebirth.

Perhaps
her vitality draws me
.

Rae’s fiery temperament grated with mine, but had
undeniably amplified and transformed until she shone, and radiated power and
goodness I craved to bask within.

It was no hardship to admit meeting Rae had been a
grave disappointment. Fresh from the human Temple she’d seemed weak and
uninspiring.
She
declared herself one of their warped Disciples.
The prospect of
tying my life to hers had not been welcome in my heart. I would have done it
because I needed her bloodline, and control of the amulets to use the grimoire
and take control from Devlin. She’d been out of place, and asked to do things
far beyond her emotional and physical depths. A fact she had no fear of yelling
at anyone who’d listen.

Yet she flourished and survived. Achieved what she
set to do despite the doubts of people like myself. Whenever she felt afraid,
she turned to Breandan, and he guided her, protected her at considerable
expense. Their love grew beyond anything I comprehended.

Has that
love turned on itself?

Was their intention to do good with the bond enough
to negate the danger it posed?

Rae made ghastly mistakes correcting a past wrong.
Her methods were odd and untried, the results messy and unstable – at
best.
But she tries with all her heart.
Did fate see it that way? Was the resurrection her reward or punishment for an
attempt to fix the balance as destined?

To hear the white witch tell of it, she’d returned
a minor deity. A godling. And little brother swept into Rae’s madness by the
bond was altered too? Such creatures had not walked the earth in an age. How
did this power affect the balance of our world?

“
How can I call myself High Lord?” I muttered. “The
most powerful of my kind when I fear if Brenadan lifts a hand to strike me I’d
be no more?”

I shook off my mangled thoughts, but they remained
insistent, pushing me to find answers.

Had I sensed this power shift in Rae before? My
mind resisted the memories, but I pulled them from the depths nevertheless.
There was no point denying it. I’d sensed a change in Rae when she shoved me to
safety after I skewered that wretched excuse she called brother.
I
should have corrected the magical
currents opened in the Wyld Heart. Chances I’d survive the power surging from
the magical rupture were none, but it was my duty to protect the Tribe. I
failed. Allowing Rae to cloud my judgement in a moment of weakness. When she
mentioned Daphne waited for
me
, I
burned inside, wanting nothing more than to live and escape into the vampire’s
arms. So that’s what I did. “I am forever shamed because of it
.
”

Exasperated at my mutterings, Kian looked at me
pointedly. “Something you wish to discuss?”

Too embarrassed to share my convoluted thoughts, I
waved him away turning my attention back to little brother.

Breandan took Rae into his arms and kissed her.
Kissed her until my face heated.

Kian made a choked noise. Averting his gaze, he
fiddled with his tunic collar, pulling it away from his throat. His face
reddened. Noticing my amusement at his reaction, he shrugged, and adjusted the
straps and buckles of the scabbard across his hips.