Page 108 of Born in Fire
“He’s just protecting his clan, my love,” she says softly, and I feel myself settle almost magically. She turns to Caleb. “I understand why you feel this way, and it’s right. Your energy is good.”
His eyes flicker. “Don’t try to sweet-talk me with some kind of hippie shit. If you’re here for the Stone… If you’re a threat…”
“I’m not a threat.” She smiles. “But Iamhere for the Stone.” She turns her eyes toward it with an expression that grows infinitely tender. “It wants me here. With you.”
“Okaaaay,” Elena draws the word out, her expression dubious. “So you’re saying it spoke to you.”
Juno looks up at her. She’s sitting now and starts to rise. I have to fight the urge to help her up.
“It welcomed me,” she tells Elena. “It called me…” She trails off.
“Called you what?” Caleb’s voice is sharp.
“It doesn’t matter.” Juno shakes her head. “What matters is that I need to be here with you, which I am. And Elena has information to share with us. This is important.”
Elena and Caleb exchange glances. Reluctantly, he nods.
She returns to the coffee table, where her notes are spread out. “Okay, if we’re going to do this with you on board, you’ll probably need some quick background details.”
“Elena…” Caleb starts.
“Oh, for God’s sake, Caleb, let it go already,” I snap.
He huffs a breath and rakes a hand through his hair. “Fine. Go on,” he says to her.
“So I got into this after I was hired by a company called Blackthorn Consulting to look into Craven Industries,” she starts. “It’s how I hooked up with this big thug.” She winks at Caleb. “During my investigations, I found a connection to my mother who’d gone missing—”
“Your mother’s missing?” Juno’s eyes are wide.
Elena waves a hand almost casually, although her expression darkens. “Long time ago. Long story. Anyhow, Blackthorn was a front for Syndicate activities. They brought me in for a specific reason: to access the Heartstone, which Caleb had under lock and key.” She grins. “Or behind about twenty layers of high-tech biometric security, to be more accurate.”
“And I’m guessing you got to it?” Juno glances at the Stone.
“Yep. The doors just opened for me. Turns out my missing mom is from a long line of witches who have some sort of connection to the Stone. I’m her heir.”
“The Rossewyn line,” says Caleb. “You are precious to us.”
“Some more precious than others.” She winks at him. “Anyway, this connection also gives us control over the Stone. We can channel the energy, intensify it. I’m learning how to harness that power, though it’s taking longer than I’d hoped becausesomebodygets antsy whenever I talk about training with it.”
“Because it’s dangerous, Elena,” says Caleb.
“Right. And being taken out by a pack of enemy dragons isn’t?” She rolls her eyes, then turns back to Juno. “The Syndicate had planned to use me to get their hands on the Heartstone and then use it for them.”
“Except Malakai got to you first.” Caleb’s jaw tightens.
“Who’s Malakai?” asks Juno.
“He’s the leader of the Circle,” I tell her. “The other faction I told you about.”
“Right.” She nods. “The world domination guys.”
“Just how much have you told her?” Caleb scowls at me.
“Enough,” I reply. “Go on,” I say to Elena, who nods.
“So Malakai caught me as I reached the Heartstone chamber. I think he would have taken the Stone along with me, but for some reason, he couldn’t. It threw him across the room. Then he heard someone coming and dragged me out before we could do anything more with it.”
“Really?” Caleb frowns. “You never told me that. How could you not tell me that?”
