“But—” Aiden clamps his mouth shut and shakes his head. “When did you decide?”
Now Jack’s mother comes to stand beside her daughter-in-law and links their arms. “While you were passed out cold, darling,” she tells Aiden with a small smile. “We realized that we want our children safe at all times, not just when weknowthere’s an attack coming.” She looks down at Cora. “And our grandchildren.”
Cora blushes pink, and I marvel at the meaning of it—are she, Maya, and Juniper having a baby?
But as good as this proposition sounds, I can’t believe there’s nothing more to it. I straighten my shoulders and face the entirety of the Amber Bay clan. “You know that it’s my family who hurt you,” I say. “But you still wantmeto do the spell?”
“They hurt you, too,” adds Nurse MacLeod. “Don’t forget that!”
“We’re not responsible for what our family members do,” calls out a man I don’t think I’ve spoken to before.
Jack leans closer and whispers in my ear, “That’s Ward’s brother.”
Wow. This means… I have no idea what this means, actually. But no one is throwing me out of the village, and they seem to want my help.
That, I can do.
“Okay,” I agree. “We’ll, um, need salt and…”
I trail off as Jack’s father walks up, carrying an entire ten-pound bag. “Will this do? We use it to salt our front steps in winter.”
I can’t help but grin. Alaskans are nothing if not resourceful. “Sure,” I tell him. “That’ll do.”
A warm, strong hand closes over my wrist. “Are you strong enough for this?” Aiden asks. “You only just got better, and I can’t risk you getting hurt again.”
I put my hand to his cheek. “I’ll be okay. And you’ll be there with me to catch me if I fall.”
A flurry of activity breaks out, with me directing the creation of the circle and everyone trying their best to help but simultaneously getting in each other’s way. The clearing in front of the Lodge is the only place big enough for such an activity. Ty brings out last night’s bread rolls and jam, and I take big bites of soft bread between issuing out instructions.
Aiden stands to the side, his arms crossed on his chest, his brow furrowed, but he doesn’t object. I think he’s baffled by the development. Maybe he’s even realizing that he should have trusted his people earlier, and that he doesn’t have to do everything by himself. Jack must have similar thoughts because he walks up to Aiden, slings an arm around his shoulder, and grins at him, his white teeth flashing.
It doesn’t take long for us to set up, and I invite everyone inside. This time,allthe villagers are here, from the eldest sea dragon, old Mr. Stuart, to the youngest, a baby girl called Amelie. For this to work properly, everyone must participate, even Mary Rowe’s unpleasant husband. I think no one wants to remain outside the protective bubble once it’s cast.
“How will this work?” Jack says as the villagers stand in an irregular circle in front of us. “You need us all to touch you, don’t you?”
I cock my head to the side. “Yeah, but not all the time. I need direct contact to take the power, then I can hold it in myself.”
“Is that wise?” Ty asks, his full lips twisting to the side. “Channeling that much energy?”
“I don’t have a better idea,” I tell him. “So it’ll have to do.”
Aiden sighs. “I don’t like this. Promise me you’ll stop if you need to.”
“For sure.” I run my fingers through my strangely short hair—the remains of what Cameron’s flames didn’t burn away. “My main problem was that the spell wasn’t focused enough.”
I walk to where the big bag of salt stands by the last gap in the circle. Reaching into the opening, I scoop out handfuls of coarse gray salt and close us in. I have an idea for fixing my issue, but I’m not sure if everyone will be on board.
We have no time to waste. Even though Cameron’s body has been removed and stored in an ice locker for the time being, we think that there are other witches out there. At least one, if not more, and since Cameron hasn’t returned, they might retaliate soon. I remember the churning water and the moment movement stopped, and I quickly stamp down on it. There will be time to process what happened—but not now. Not until these people are safe.
I march into the middle of the circle, bolstering my courage by glancing at my men who are right there with me.
“The spell will be stronger if I have something of yours to add to it,” I call out into sudden quiet. “The more focused it is, the less power I’ll need to construct it and lock it down.”
A woman asks, “What do you mean, something of ours?”
“A hair should do it,” I reply. “Or blood, but I’m not super comfortable with that.”
I cringe at the thought of collecting drops of everyone’s blood. How very medieval.
