“What?” she asked.
“Isn’t yours different, too?” he asked. Maria would kill him if he let Cassie drink blood. There was no way she wasn’t going to find out about night humans if that happened. Devin took her glass from her.
“Um, no,” she replied. They had given her blood like everyone else. Yep, that would have been awkward.
“I can tell there’s something in yours, also. Maybe sidhe magic. Don’t drink it,” Devin replied with a white lie. What else was he supposed to say to her? He hoped it would be enough.
Cassie scrunched up her nose at the liquid and nodded.
Clinking glasses brought their attention back up to the main table where Nessa sat. She was clearly uncomfortable, but still played along with everything, doing her best to try to block her thoughts. Devin didn’t need her thoughts to know that she didn’t like to be the center of attention.
“Let us all raise a glass to my niece on this wonderful day,” Rolf said, and the crowd responded by elevating their glasses. Devin and Cassie lifted their glasses along with everyone else, but they didn’t plan to drink any of it.
As the liquid from Liam’s glass swirled, and he tipped it toward his mouth, Cassie stood. Devin only had a millisecond to realize that maybe Cassie was trying to stop Liam, and he had to trust his gut that was what it meant. The liquid hit Liam’s mouth as Devin tossed his dinner knife to knock it out of the sidhe’s hand. The room all stood in shock while those at the table that had come with Liam moved in anger toward Devin and Cassie. Devin stepped in front of Cassie, but there was no need. The men that were going to back up Liam stopped short in shock at the mess at their feet from the glass. The red liquid Devin had assumed was blood was now on fire. The others in the room backed away in fear. The sidhe could control anything natural, but fire wasn’t natural. Devin concentrated to cover Liam in a similar protective bubble as Nessa and Cassie were both in. His face was burned where the drink had splashed him, but he was alive. Ronan and Rolf had rushed out of the room to get the village healers as soon as they had seen the mess Liam was now in, while two men in the audience stood and pulled rain out of the sky to stop the fires. Nessa knelt at Liam’s side but stared wide-eyed at Devin. He wanted to help and comfort Nessa, but Cassie placed a hand on his arm.
“The witch is here,” she said, her eyes glazing over as she looked around the room. “I can feel his residue everywhere.”
‘Turner,’ Devin called silently to his friend as plants sprouted instantly from the ground. People who had not fled were tied to their spots. Devin couldn’t take any more chances. If the witch was in the room, they would have him, and if he had fled with the many that did, these people wouldn’t get in the way.
‘Yes?’ Turner replied. He wasn’t too far away in the palace. ‘What do you need, Your Highness?’
Even not finding the witch and running around the palace couldn’t put Turner in a bad mood. He was as cheeky as ever. Before Devin had a chance to reply, a crowd of sidhe must have run past Turner.
‘Let me guess … It’s time to go witch hunting.’
CHAPTER 10
Maria placed yet another charm on Cassie. Devin wasn’t sure what would keep the young witch safe, but he would do everything in his own power. Maria’s concern made it clear that Cassie was very valuable to her, and Devin treasured his friendship with Maria. They didn’t have much time as they needed to track the witch sidhe, but Maria insisted. Devin was fine with the extra protection, but he still was anxious to get moving. They would cover more ground if Turner continued to track with Maria and Cassie came with Devin, but Maria was still fussing over the logical arrangement.
“You are sure that the witch isn’t here?” Devin asked Maria one last time, and she nodded.
Devin glanced back at Nessa, who was cradling Liam in her arms. The healer was on his way, but that didn’t do much in the meantime. Liam had to be in a considerable amount of pain, even if he kept his mouth shut as he waited. Devin wanted to heal him, but wasn’t sure if he was laced with the same magic as before where Devin’s day human touch would make it worse. Cassie and Maria didn’t have time to make their potion to let Devin help if they wanted to track the witch sidhe. This was the best lead they had so far. Still, Devin was torn. Liam had offered himself to protect Nessa and now was suffering for it. Devin wanted to help, but he wanted to catch the witch scent before he disappeared again.
‘Go get the bastard,’ Liam projected mentally to Devin even as he lay there, grimacing in pain.
‘You gonna survive?’ he asked. Asking a warrior if he was in pain was practically insulting his manhood. Devin knew that well enough.
‘Yeah, I’ll be around to make sure you treat Nessa right,’ Liam replied.
That answer was enough for Devin to know that his injuries weren’t life-threatening.
“Stay here with Liam and keep him safe,” Devin told Nessa. She wanted to help find the witch, but she was safer and more useful helping their latest ally. “Tell me when the healer gets here, and I’ll drop the barrier around him.”
Nessa peered up at him through her now thoroughly messy curls. She was scared. Devin hated to make her feel like that. He would do everything to keep safe, and it was always foremost on his mind. It forever would be. Nessa was his life now.
“Stay safe,” she whispered.
He could feel the dread in her statement. She was honestly worried about Devin. He wanted to assure her that he was safe, but it wasn’t true. He was as much of a target as Liam was. This witch sidhe didn’t want anyone else to marry Nessa.
Devin bent down to Nessa on the floor and cupped her face in his hands. He tried to reassure her as best he could, but even he wasn’t infallible. The old king, who had given him the powers, had died. All the power in the world couldn’t make one live forever. Nessa’s eyes had tears in them as they gazed at Liam. It would take a lot to heal the sidhe that had only wanted to help them, and he might never be the same, no matter how he was staying strong now. But that was what people like Liam and Devin had to do, something inside of them made them want to protect people. That drive would carry Devin through. He needed to protect Nessa. He needed to protect the sidhe. Turner was right, it was time to go witch hunting.
“I will come back to you,” he told Nessa.
Nessa bit her lip and nodded. No matter what he did, the moment felt like good-bye. He hated that his need to protect everyone took him away from her. Since they had entered the village, he had done everything with Nessa. It was a bit hard to go away from her now.
“Done?” Devin asked Maria as she finished her protection spell while still watching Nessa.
“Yes,” Maria replied. “This will keep her from dying, but I can’t keep her from getting hurt like you can.” Devin placed the sidhe protection barrier back on Cassie. Maria looked at Cassie and reached out to touch her. She couldn’t get any closer than two inches away from her.
“I’ll be fine,” Cassie tried to reassure Maria.
“Fine isn’t what I expect,” Maria replied. “I want you back here better than fine. You’ll keep her safe, Devin?”
“With my life,” Devin replied.
Maria nodded and walked back to Turner.
“If you find something, or we do, we will contact each other,” Devin said to their small assembled group. All three faces staring back at him nodded. It was time to find the witch sidhe before he could hurt someone else.
Devin and Cassie made their way to the backside of the room as they moved to leave. Devin looked one last time at Nessa on the floor. She wanted to be beside him helping, but they both knew that they owed Liam to stay by his side to see him healed. If Nessa didn’t stay behind, Devin wouldn’t know when to lift the barrier, and that could cost Liam his life if he had to wait too long. Devin regretted leaving her behind, but it was for the best. She was safer beside Liam since the witch sidhe was on the run. Devin wanted her protected more than anything.
Just past the ballroom doors, Devin st
opped and turned to Cassie. No one inside could see that they had halted.
“Did you bring your spell with you?” he asked.
If it came down to it, Devin didn’t want Nessa to get hurt by the careless witch sidhe. He was prepared to break the bond now if he needed to. He hoped to have time to explain to Nessa that he was going to break the bond, but if they didn’t have time, he would break it to save her life.
“Yes,” Cassie replied, seeming shocked by the turn in the conversation.
“I need you to promise if I get mortally hurt, you’ll do that spell as quickly as you can,” Devin told her.
She stared back in surprise. “I thought you were going to talk to Nessa about it first.”
“I will if there’s time, but there’s one more thing about this bond. When one of us gets hurt physically, so does the other. Do you understand?” Devin replied.
Cassie’s eyes widened in shock. “It’s more than just an emotional link?”
Devin nodded. Cassie nodded, too. She understood.
“If I get stabbed, the same stab wound will appear on Nessa. If I take a life-ending blow, so will she. There’s a short time before the wounds transfer. We will have to act quickly if I’m dying. I don’t want her to die, too. Promise me that you will break the bond if I get hurt too bad, and I’ll promise to hold on long enough for you to break it.”
“I promise,” she said, following Devin outside the walls of the palace to the courtyard. Maria and Turner had gone the other direction. They were alone completely, as most the palace guests had been trapped in the ballroom and the ones that fled were safe back in their rooms.
‘Every sidhe is to stay inside their homes until notified they can leave,’ Devin spoke mentally to all the sidhe at once. He wasn’t sure how he did it, but it just came naturally. It was safer for them to stay in their homes. ‘Lock your doors and don’t let any strangers or non-strangers in your home. There was an attempted assassination and the assassin fled. Don’t let anyone inside your home, and do not leave until I tell you it’s safe.’ Devin didn’t want to give away how much they knew about the witch sidhe, but he wanted everyone to stay safe and out of their way as they hunted for him.
Cassie stood still as Devin watched her and took inventory of their surroundings.
“That way,” she said, pointing to a door that left the palace. “I feel magic that way.”
“Did you find a trail?” Devin asked, anxious to call Turner for backup.
“No. The witch didn’t come this way. It’s more that I feel magic in that direction,” Cassie said. She shrugged. “My powers are a bit different from Maria’s. I don’t sense witches, but magic. Your magic is different than witch magic, and I’m sure there’s witch magic right now in that direction.”
Devin nodded. He needed to leave Maria and Turner looking for the witch their way, and he and Cassie would search Cassie’s way. It would have been stronger to be two witches and two night humans against whatever they’d find, but he would make do with just him and Cassie if he needed to. He had to hope the young witch, along with himself, would be enough to battle a witch sidhe. Cassie had already proven she knew more than the average teen witch. They had no idea how long the sidhe had trained to be a witch, but they were about to find out.
“This way.” Cassie pointed ahead, and Devin took a few steps in front of her. They had no clue what they would find, but they had to work fast. They hadn’t caught a trail of the witch sidhe since they arrived, and now the guy was active. Something was going on, and they needed to be there to stop it from escalating.
Devin glanced back once at the palace. He could feel Nessa inside. She was worried about Liam as he sat in pain, but she was even more worried about Devin. Her concern made him want to go back to her, but his will to protect everyone won over. He had to go and find the witch. Devin began to go the direction Cassie had told him. He hated to leave Nessa behind, but he had to be confident for the both of them. He had to find the witch, and he had to win. There were no other options.
Nessa sat holding Liam as his breath continued growing shallower than she wanted to hear. He had been hit hard, but he was more than lucky that he hadn’t drunk the actual liquid. It would have burned him alive from the inside out. There would have been no healing from that. Now he at least stood a chance. Nessa was thankful for the witches and Cassie’s quick save.
Nessa looked up as Uncle Rolf and Ronan returned with the healer. Right behind them was Liam’s bonded night human, being carried by family. Her face was badly burned to match Liam’s, and her breath was just as shallow. Nessa hated to see that connection—it would be the same for her and Devin. What happened to one would happen to the other. Lele was set down next to Nessa and Liam, as close as she could with the invisible shield still around them. The hurt girl reached for Liam’s hand but was stopped by the barrier.
Rolf seemed upset as he glanced around the room.
“Where’s Devin? How could he leave you alone?” Uncle Rolf was distressed, much more than Nessa expected. “It’s his job to keep you safe.”
“They found a trail to look for the person who did this,” Nessa replied. She was still unsure how much secrecy they needed, but it seemed like Ronan must have filled his dad in on a little bit.
“They did?” Ronan asked hopefully.
“Yes, but I had to stay here to tell Devin to release the barrier,” Nessa explained her own presence.
The healer stood beside her and waited for her to do as she said. Uncle Rolf looked impatiently at her.
‘Devin, they are here,’ Nessa said across the bond.
The barrier around Liam shimmered a little bit and then faded away. When it was gone, Lele finally could grasp Liam’s hand. For the first time, Nessa saw what the bond looked like from the outside. A faint shimmer wove around Liam and Lele. When their hands touched, the shimmer responded like it was happy. Even through their pain, they reached for each other, as did the bond.
The healer stared at the two sidhe lying side by side. Liam had been severely burned across most of his face, but now with Lele taking some of it, they looked a little more normal. The healer assessed them from above before leaning down to place his hands on them.
“No,” yelled Maria as she entered the room with Turner close behind.
The room full of sidhe who were immobilized at their tables all turned to see the day human running into the room to stop the healer from healing Liam. Faces all froze in shock at the sight of her, but Maria didn’t stop or let it even faze her.
“There’s a spell on the girl,” Maria explained to the shocked healer.
He paused long enough to look down at Lele again. He nodded to Maria and then turned to Nessa.
“In my haste, I had missed that. She is correct. There is magic on this young girl. I’m not sure if it’s safe to heal them at this moment.” The healer bowed his head, awaiting punishment.
Nessa looked up at Maria and nodded. The sidhe in the room all took a breath of astonishment. Some of the larger sidhe were straining at their restraints as most of the people came to the realization that if Maria said there was magic, she then could see it. None of them were happy to see Maria, and most of them distrusted her. The man that had brought Lele in moved to attack Maria as she approached. Turner stepped in and stopped him.
“She is here to help,” Turner told the man, but his assurance fell on deaf ears.
None of the sidhe really even glanced his way the whole time he’d been visiting. Turner waited, ready to defend Maria. Fur grew on his arms and legs as he began to partially transform.
Nessa stood up and stepped beside Turner, trying to stop the escalation. She didn’t need Turner taking on the sidhe and making a rift between his own lycan clan and her village. They distrusted all outsiders; Maria wasn’t an exception.
“She’s here to help,” Nessa said, exactly what Turner had told them. “I invited her here.”
“You’re defending the witch that did this?” Uncle Rolf asked
in shock, though he didn’t move to hurt Maria.
“She didn’t do this,” Nessa replied. Why did they always assume everyone else was at fault? Why couldn’t the sidhe see that they were the best at killing each other themselves? “And she’s already helped once to bring Liam back from death.” Nessa looked around the room. “Liam and my suitors were not hurt by Devin. They were hurt by witch magic. Maria came here to cure Liam and assist me in finding this sidhe that is practicing witch magic.”
Uncle Rolf’s mouth hung open. He obviously hadn’t been expecting that explanation.
Nessa looked around the room at the shocked and still angry faces.
“As you can all tell this was done by witch magic, but not this witch. She came here to help when we found out the three suitors were all poisoned with witch magic only a day ago.” Nessa tried to explain again, and begged everyone with her eyes to believe her.
“No. That was your day human pet. We all saw that. He attacked them,” one man, who was still angry, shouted out from the crowd.
“Yeah, he should be held responsible for all of this. We should kill him,” another man agreed.
Nessa rubbed her forehead and then remembered one of the weirder aspects of everything. The people still didn’t know that she was bonded to Devin.
“Devin isn’t my pet,” Nessa began. No one seemed to believe her.
“No. He’s the old king’s pet. We all heard that the old king somehow convinced you to bring him here,” the first man said.
“He’s no one’s pet. He’s one of us now,” Nessa tried to explain. It was like talking to a brick wall. They didn’t hear a word she said.
“He’s no sidhe. He’s a day human,” the second added with a bit of disgust in his voice. “The only magic he could possibly know is witch magic.”
“He’s as much a sidhe as you and me. He can do sidhe magic. All of it. He has my grandfather’s powers inside him. Didn’t you wonder how you all got trapped here when he ran out? That wasn’t me. That was him. Devin is as much a sidhe as anyone now. And he’s my bonded,” Nessa added, and all the fussing immediately stopped. No one expected that.