“I don’t think it’sdangerous,” Anya evaded.
“Answer the question,” I said firmly. “Logan deserves fully informed consent with this.”
Anya nodded softly. “I wouldn’t have suggested it if I thought it would harm you. You and your pack have been through enough.”
“The entire Council would be involved in the transfer,” Cecily assured us. “There are risks, but at this point if Maeve tries anything it’ll be a death sentence for her.”
I had never wanted Rachel to die, but if she tried to hurt Logan, not even the lost part of myself that had once loved her would mourn her departure from this world.
The Council arranged everyone, nudging our pack to the outskirts while they circled Logan and Rachel. I reached forLogan in the bond, offering her comfort as best I could. It wasn’t the same as being able to wrap her in my arms, but certainly better than nothing.
The sheer amount of magic in the room set all my little hairs on end as the Council set up the layers of barriers for safety.
“You don’t have to,” Logan whispered to Rachel.
Rachel sighed again, her shoulders slumping. “It won’t do me any good to keep it. I might not have remorse for my actions, but I understand the practicality of this. Our line has been without magic for too long, and reversing that was my goal from the start. I would be working against my own plan if I hoarded magic just to have it bound. You redeemed the O’Clerys and you deserve to explore the world denied to you, regardless of my personal feelings.”
Logan opened her mouth to respond, but Rachel continued instead.
“It wasn’t just Fiona’s mess you cleaned up. I’ve been avoiding the disaster I created for a long time. So, thank you. I knew I couldn’t fix it, but also that I probably couldn’t run from it forever. You were always the one meant to do this, and I should’ve listened from the start. Make our family proud.”
Salt hit the air, tears sliding down Logan’s face. My omega nodded.
“Um, before we do the transfer,” I piped up, “Rachel slash Maeve is still bonded to Caden. Would she be able to access her magic through the bond?”
“We can sever it,” said Jisoo. “It will be painful, but it will also be quick. Let’s begin the transfer.”
I felt every moment of it. We all did. Rachel’s surrender of her core to Logan was like the crack of a can of soda that had been shaken up. It fizzed and overflowed into the bond, gushing to fill up all Logan had lost. The Council kept a tight hold, releasing one containment pin at a time. Rachel had a fuckloadof magic, built and honed over decades of training. Logan had been all raw power, the swing of an axe compared to the practiced cut of a scalpel.
Logan was jittery, her body overwhelmed by the rush, and it spilled into each of us, but with no cores of our own it did nothing but dissipate.
Rachel wilted as the last of her magic slid into Logan.
“And now the bond,” Violet said. “I’d suggest you all lie down.”
With barely two seconds of warning, we all got to the floor before a strike of lightning blasted through the bond. My teeth burned, my cells on fire as the Council viciously ripped apart the bond Rachel had tricked Caden into. Every tendril tangled around his soul snapped, feeling like a hammer against my bones with each one. I screamed until my throat was raw and I had no more breath, in too much searing agony for basic bodily functions.
And all at once it disappeared.
My muscles gave out, leaving me a limp mass on the floor, panting and disoriented.
The lingering sensation of Rachel in the distance was gone.
I didn’t even have the strength to look toward her as darkness swam over my vision and dragged me under.
“Thank fucking gods.” I clutched Seth to my chest; he and Caden were the last to recover from the severing.
Sharla and Kyoko had tended to each of us as we’d woken from the agonizing overload. I’d never experienced pain like that before and Ineverwanted to again.
I snared Seth’s mouth with mine, my panther laughing softly when I pulled away. “Hello there.”
“Kiss later,” Kyoko demanded, wedging herself in and taking Seth’s hand. The gentle sparkle of her magic fizzed against my skin where I touched Seth as she settled his nervous system the way she had done for me when I woke.
Violet moved to where we could see her. “Everything is complete. We’ll be taking Maeve and Godric into custody and departing. Cecily will stay to manage Logan’s education and report back to the Council. I understand that you made a witch a Protector of the nest?”
“We did.” I nodded.
“Curious. In consideration of that, as well as the fact you will be housing my daughter, the Council will offer our support to get the nest up and running again, and I will personally reach out to the Shifter Council and get them to speed things along.”
