“Yet they restrain him.”
Cael chuckled. “Yes, because theyfearhim. He is not one to be trifled with. And that extends to those who fall beneath his umbrella of protection.” Cael cupped the side of her face. “Go rest. I’ve got to return to the bar and do some damage control. Brandon is reeling over what happened and Cassy wants my brother’s head on a platter after he took you away.”
Rori scoffed. “You let him.”
“Because”—he leaned close, his smile growing—“he finally came to his senses regarding you, my dear.”
14
Adrenaline surged like a blast of magic. Thaddeus shot up and stared ahead, unseeing for a few blinks until the room around him came into view. A bed. A dresser. A chair. He recognized the furniture after a few minutes, his mind clearing from the fog, along with the momentary numbness. A dull pain ebbed and flowed in his chest. He grabbed at his pec and winced, swallowing back the sting as it faded. His heart beat a funny rhythm, and his lungs spasmed. He refuted the cursed magic with healing power from his fingertips, trying to heal the damage he’d caused himself. He knew it was futile, healing himself from Cecir’s woven spell. The more he tried to suppress the spell, the more it resisted and flared.
A hand pressed against his back, opposite his own. The poignant stream of volatile power surged through his chest, through his heart, around his heart, until it connected with his own power. A fierce push and pull, a magical lavage to purge the crippling hex. It drew his knees up, curled him over, and left him swallowing back the roar that locked in his throat.
An eternity could have passed before the pain subsided, the magic fell away and retreated, and he gasped for breath.
“I can’t heal you completely. You’ll need more than me, brother. You’re the one born with the powerful healing magic. Not I.”
“Ironic, since I can’t heal myself.”
“A chess play, one wisely made.” Cael came into view, standing at the foot of his bed. Thaddeus braced himself on fists, locking his arms as he regained his strength. He ground his teeth behind tight lips, silently cursing Grison and Cecir. Cursing himself. When he looked up at his brother, a solemnity had taken over Cael’s usual carefree composure. “Fucking idiot. Why didn’t you call for me? Youknowyou can’t use your magic like that without severe repercussions. I would’ve been at your side, Thaddeus.”
“And get your hands dirty in this cursed mess?” Thaddeus scoffed. “Keep the bloody hell out of the war, Cael. Enjoy your life here. Your woman. You’re not tainted. You’ve no connections with any of this. Keep it that way. Don’t play the hero.”
Cael released a sharp breath, turning away from the bed as he raked his hands through his hair. Thaddeus glanced around the bed and found the remnants of his torn shirt beside him. He scowled and threw his legs over the edge of the bed, waiting for the faintness to pass before standing up. Through the blinds, darkness still reigned, a small blessing that he wasn’t unconscious for too long.
Cael stepped in front of him, frustration pulling his features taut. “Hero? I have no intentions of playing the hero, Thad. I have every intention of having my brother’s back, regardless of what he thinks of me. No matter how hard you try to push me away, how determined you are to keep somebarrier between us, none of it can keep me from protectingyou.” He stepped up to Thaddeus, toe to toe. “I don’t know your secrets, and I’d be a fool thinking you’d tell me, but tonight, you proved to me everything I already knew that you tried so desperately to make me believe impossible.Youarenotdead.Youare alive and well, and the shell you’ve created over these centuries is starting to wear thin. I witnessed everything you’ve tried to fight against fail tonight. You stalking us at the bar, ripping Rori from Brandon in a jealous fit, sacrificing yourself, your well-being to save her, heal her, and protect her.”
Thaddeus stiffened. “Where is she?”
Cael stared at him, tipping his head, assessing him like a specimen of great interest. “Asleep in my guest room.”
Thaddeus brushed past Cael, rushing through his brother’s home until he found the room he spoke of. A protection spell surrounded the perimeter of the room, a gentle hum that erased any sense of her energy until he opened the door and came to a halt. There, lying in the center of a large bed, Rori. Curled up within herself, fists tucked close to her face, bright red waves spread in disarray around her head, across the pillow. A simple white sheet covered her, but only succeeded in highlighting her delicate frame. Despite the sheet, he sensed her tension, her fear, the vile essence burning his nostrils. Her knuckles were pale, her fists tight. She twitched, the furrow along her brow deepening, her lips parting on a quiet sound.
“She wouldn’t tell me what happened other than you saved her,” Cael said quietly at his back. “She wouldn’t tell me why I sensed the level of fear from her I haven’t sensed since she escaped her ex seven weeks ago.”
The mention of Rori’s ex summoned the darkness from his inner gut. Aye, darkness evolving from a soul-deep troveto protect the woman in the bed and destroy any and all threats to her safety.
“Linden used magic to elicit her worst nightmares from the deepest parts of her memories. Reliving horrors of the past to break her psyche and induce madness.”
“Cursed magic.” When Thaddeus cast him a half-glance, darkness clouded his brother’s face. “It’s forbidden.”
“Aye, and I delivered a justifiable punishment.” He couldn’t shake the memory of Rori crawling, writhing, clawing at the ground, her neck, swatting at the air, at him. The terror in her eyes as she looked up at him before he reversed the spell. Terror that pierced him through his chest and enraged him to an unprecedented degree as his own cursed magic consumed him. “What has she suffered?”
Cael stepped up beside him, folding his arms over his chest. “I’ve no right to divulge her past to you without her knowledge, brother or not. That is for her to share. But I’ll say this much—what she’s told us is more than anyone should suffer at the hands of someone they’ve placed their trust in. Despite the details she’s shared, I know she hides deeper shames.” He sighed a heavy breath. “She hides her pain well, finding comfort putting others first. She’s strong. One of the strongest women I’ve had the pleasure of meeting, but her strength hides her fragility. What mortals would call a ‘trauma response.’”
A chill slithered through his conscience.
“I don’t want to feel because feeling hurts!”
Goddess, and he’d only hurt her more. Had Grison not unleashed an execution attack on her, he’d have vanished from her life, left her to pursue happiness without his interference. Alas, the very thought of turning his back on her, however right it may be, burned deep in his chest. And when he kissed her, he nearly lost himself in her receptive response.
Goddess, ’tis ill-fated from the start.
Grison had his sights set on her. She’d be as good as dead without Thaddeus and as good as ruined if he stayed.
“She’s been unsettled since falling asleep. I’ve tried to calm her subconscious while you recovered, but wasn’t successful.”
“Thank you,” Thaddeus said quietly, entering the room. He willed one of the wingback chairs to the bedside, fashioned himself a new shirt, and drew on his calming magic. He could only pray to the Goddess he’d healed enough to produce effective magic to put Rori’s mind at ease.
