Page 7 of Starry with a Chance of Nightshade
It was an enchanted containment device used to house dangerous Fae and demons alike. The types of things that had the ability to straddle realms with relative ease but that could not be left unsupervised. Every one that he’d ever encountered had been deadly. What in the hell was a child doing wearing a pendant that housed something that dangerous? Select Nightshade Clan members were given them during their version of a coming-of-age ceremony, often occurring around the age of fifteen. The child was far too young to have one and far too…human.
Anger flared through him, and before he could stop himself, he was rounding on Rachael. He pointed back at the little girl. “Who gave her that?”
Rachael jerked.
Drest pushed in front of her and gave Stratton a one-handed shove. “Calm down.”
“Did you see what the child is wearing?” he demanded.
Drest glanced past him. “A dress?”
“No. The containment pendant,” returned Stratton through partially clenched teeth.
“Oh, that?” asked Drest with a shrug.
“‘Oh, that?’” repeated Stratton in a tone that said he was anything but amused. “Yes, that!”
“Relax, cousin,” stated Drest. “She’s had it since she was born.
“Since she was born? They aren’t handed out until a Fae is fifteen, and that’s only if that Fae is destined for the Keeper Guild.” Stratton’s anger grew to the point that he could no longer contain it. Power bristled through him, causing his skin to tingle and the air around him to thicken with something akin to static energy. His ring heated, only serving to increase the rapid build of power.
Drest stepped back, forcing Rachael back as well, his eyes widening as he shook his head. “Strat, get a grip before someone ends up hurt!”
ChapterThree
Stratton
The lights flickered againin the manor, but it wasn’t from anything happening in the basement. At first, he thought it might be a side effect of his power. He could control the elements and was especially good with electricity. But this lightning was off—different from normal. It had a strange bluish-purple coloring to it that defied nature. He’d seen it before, long ago when he and his cousin had been working to track down monsters that had been made by a member of this family. The lightning had been the same color as this, and it too had acted in ways lightning normally didn’t.
As Stratton tried, but failed, to get a hold of his emotions, he noticed the lightning bursts matching the turmoil he felt. Yet he was still sure his power wasn’t causing the anomaly to occur.
Stratton’s hunter ring heated on his hand as it channeled some of the excess power he was drawing upon. He didn’t like knowing the child had something that deadly, that dangerous with her since birth.
Lightning lit up the night sky, brightening the room briefly. When he glanced at the window, another bolt occurred, this one forming what looked to be a star of all things.
That was certainly not his doing.
Drest’s brows met. “That’s not from a normal storm.”
Rachael’s gaze moved to the window.
More lightning occurred. There was no thunder. No rain. Just bluish-purple lightning. Yet another huge star formed in the sky with it.
Drest tensed. “No. You don’t think…?”
“Think what?” asked Rachael.
Drest looked to her. “Has Victor been here recently?”
“Victor?” asked Rachael, her eyes widening. “No. No one in the family has spoken to him in the last few years. The last time he was in town was shortly before Amice gave birth. You know they were close friends, right? She knew Victor before she ever met my brother even. I think Victor may have introduced her to Henry. Why do you ask?”
Drest’s gaze found Stratton.
The lightning stopped.
Neither man said another word about it.
The smallest of tugs on his dress slacks left Stratton glancing down. He found the little girl there, her green eyes staring up at him. She was still on her hands and knees. She tugged more, motioning for him to come closer.
