She regarded him intently. “How strong is your hold on him?”
Brock offered a leer. “Sharding rock solid. He’ll find a way.”
We paused outside the room where the Centaur children were being kept, and Brock pulled Isobel in for a kiss and enough of a grope that I averted my eyes. With the bloodmagic wrapped around me, I couldn’t do much more.
“Enjoy playing with your baby horsies, Icefire,” he growled to her, before he stalked off down the hall.
We entered the room. The children gathered around the oldest of the females, Bree. She had just entered adulthood, along with her friends. But young enough, still, to be impressionable. The children cast uncertain glances at us, but they didn’t bolt away. Bree had obviously been working on them.
The room was spacious, with bookshelves along one wall and multiple cushions for sitting or reclining scattered throughout it. A set of large double doors led out to a garden just beyond. All very inviting, if you ignored the guards stationed around the perimeter.
Bree gestured to us. “This is Isobel and Rafael.” She turned to regard Isobel. “I’ve been telling them how they can help save the realms.”
“She kidnapped us.” One of the youngest pointed to Isobel. “I don’t like her.”
I stood behind Isobel, with Aurora and two other coven members around me. The young male Centaur, Vic, had come in with us. His eyes glittered brightly as he moved to stand beside Bree. He placed a hand on her shoulder, and the possessiveness in the gesture had me searching the female’s eyes.
When she leaned into the hand, and then turned to smile up at him, I had my answer. I didn’t sense the energy of a mate bond, but they had a relationship.
Then Isobel reached for my power, and cast it out over the children.
“I am sorry that you had to go through such a frightening experience,” she told them, using it to soothe their worries. “Your teachers and parents would not have understood that we needed you. Once we have trained you, you can return home if you still want to.”
“Train us to do what?” One of the redheaded twins spoke up. “Weren’t you the one who took away our cousin’s equine half?”
Isobel didn’t even flinch. “I tried to make him into a superhero,” she said. “To help save the realms. But instead of embracing his new powers, he fought me.”
“What new powers?” the other twin asked, her voice laced with skepticism. “Human legs are not as strong as equine ones.”
Isobel smiled. “I gave him wings,” she said. “All he has to do, is call upon them. But he refuses.”
They all stared at her with wide eyes, and the male twin asked, “You turned him into a Dragon shifter?”
“A Wyvern, actually,” she said. “But that isn’t all I can do. Vic here is going to embrace a few different beasts, and he will be able to change into any of them at will.” She gazed out over the small group. “How many of you would like to be a superhero?”
With my power smoothing their minds bare of concern, I saw interest flare in a few eyes. The male redhead spoke again. “You can do that? Make us into superheroes?”
Isobel’s eyes gleamed. “I can make you into something that will make your parents proud.”
Before she could continue, Vic left Bree and stepped closer to Isobel. “Not just your parents. The realms will know who you are. They will know your names.”
I tried to meet Bree’s eyes, but they skittered away from me. She put her arms around two of the children’s shoulders. “You will all become famous. Not to mention powerful. No one will ever be able to tell you what to do or where to go. You’ll be part of an elite group.”
My gut twisted. What child didn’t want to be special? To have superpowers? The reality of it was horrible, but they didn’t know that. Likely wouldn’t believe it, even if told.
“How can we possibly help?” Another child spoke up. There was doubt on her face, but also guarded hope. “We’re only children.”
“Even as children, Isobel can make you powerful,” said Vic.
The female redhead regarded him with narrowed eyes. “My ma says you are as bad as your pa was. And they expelled him from the colony.”
A muscle jumped in Vic’s jaw. “My father was unjustly accused.”
“What his father did or did not do has nothing to do with this, Tuli,” Bree cut in. “This is about whatyoucan do.”
The male twin eyed Isobel. “So Marcus can shift to these other things, but refuses to?”
“He is too old to embrace something new,” Isobel replied calmly, feeding my energy to them.
