Released Souls (10 page)

He cocked his head to one side, before bringing his lips dangerously close to mine.
God he was irresistible.

“Deadly,” he whispered.

My heart started racing uncontrollably.

“I have
to find the release before it’s too late,” I replied panicking, starting to back away.

“You’ve already found it,
” he murmured.

“What do you mean?” My eyes narrowed on him. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt me so what was he doing?

“Jealousy was one of the factors that brought it on…” his voice trailed off.

I let his fingers free my ponytail
, letting my hair fall to my shoulders.

“We can’t. Not
right now.”

“You’re not pushing me away. I
don’t think you really mean it,” he whispered, his eyes dancing with amusement.

“What
’s actually the release for this?” I asked again.

His lips parted
slowly, casting an uncontrollable spell over me.

“Kiss me
,” he muttered, his breath chasing over my chin.

“Will it fix me?”

His eyes flickered with dangerous desire but he didn’t answer. He didn’t need to answer. His eyes fed me everything I needed to know.

I drank in his beauty as the
jealous nightmares from the night before fell from my mind, crumbling into a million pieces. I stepped into him, feeling his hands slide up my spine. The length of his body pressed against mine as I lost myself in the space that was no longer between us, tasting the deliciousness of his lips with every kiss we shared.

“Do
you believe me now?” he breathed, moving his lips down my jaw.

He brought my hand up slowly and pl
aced it against his neck. It was no longer discolored.

The doorbell rang, startling me out of my intoxication.

“Feeling better?” he asked bemused, breaking away from me.

“Tremendously.
How do you know so much about this?” I breathed, trying to gain composure.

“Because this is one power that most black s
orcerers wish they could master, but it’s inherited — not learned. I know your father attempted it many times, but his level was the same as mine. It’s safe to say you didn’t inherit it from him. Sorcerers can get close but the end result is never as powerful as someone who was born with it. At least that’s how the story goes. Add this to the other two powers and —”

“
I’m perfecta!”

His smile deepened. “Yeah. Pretty much.”

“Sorry. I just had to throw that in there.” I smiled, beginning to feel stiffness in my joints return. “I’m not sure we should let anyone know about this new development, except for Dace and Bakula.”

“Agreed.”

“It’s starting to return though.”

“That’s because we got interrupted…” His grin was dev
ilish.

I smiled.

“I’ll let them in, but go try turning a rose bush or something.”

I stood up and let myself outsid
e. Our rose garden hadn’t been pruned for the spring yet, and they looked a little sickly. A touch of silver might add something to them.

My fingertips touched
a dark green leaf, and I thought back to when Caitlin came to Logan’s door. Her perfectly manicured self, strutting her stuff and staking claim… but nothing happened. It remained a healthy, green leaf.

I
forced myself to think about the possibilities of them as a couple, and my index finger began to feel slippery against the leaf. I then thought of Logan’s soft lips nipping at mine and watched the silver fall over the leaf. An excitement stirred within.

“Oh, dear.” Bakula fluttered over, with her hands clasped together
. She began flying all around me, lifting up my hair, and finally she hovered over my shoulder. “You’re looking quite silver. Are you stiff?”

“Now that you mention it. My fingers feel really stiff.”

“I started on the rosebush…” I pointed to the silver tips.

“You were able to do that without any help?” She placed her hand on
her waist.

“Uh.” I began to blush and looked over at Logan.

“Well, that’s one of the ways.” Bakula couldn’t hide her laughter. “But there are some others as well.”

“It just seemed the most logical.”
Logan shrugged his shoulders, his blue eyes connecting with mine. “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

“Exactly.”

“Young love,” Bakula hummed. “But we must get to work. This development means far more than well… just about anything.”

“So it’s true about being a
Caneo
witch?” I asked.

“It’s true about being a
Trifecta
, honey. You zoomed right past a
Caneo
.” Bakula motioned for Dace to come outside. I wasn’t sure why he was lingering in the kitchen, but I was sure I’d find out soon enough.

“So
Troni wasn’t able to fill you in on the latest developments this morning,” Dace queried, clearly agitated.

“We were a little preoccupied,” Logan interjected.

“I’m sure you were.” Dace flew directly in front of me, ignoring Bakula’s chuckle.

“You understand the emotions that control this
talent of yours comes from a very dark place, don’t you?” He eyed me suspiciously.

“I’d say all three have that potential, yes
.” I glanced nervously at Logan who took a protective stance.

“Why are you faulting her for these developments?” Logan
asked, coming up behind Dace.

Dace quickly turned to face Logan. “Because part of her family hasn’t had the best track record keeping their own emotions or
desires in check, especially when it comes to obtaining power.”

“She never aske
d for this,” Logan’s voice hummed with anger. “She never wanted to touch what I’ve touched. You can’t fault her for something she inherited.”

I shook my head at him, hoping to calm him down.
I didn’t know where this anger would lead him, but I didn’t want to chance anything with the fairies at the moment, especially since they were the only ones who knew where they would be hiding our families.

“Logan’
s right,” Bakula replied, flying past Dace toward me. “Now let’s get you trained on this.”

She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the far corner of the yard
, leaving Logan and Dace alone to hash out their differences. I glanced behind me and locked eyes with Logan. He wasn’t letting me out of his sight, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t appreciate it.

“What’s bothering you
, dear?” Bakula’s voice was low.

“Besides having my fam
ily taken away from me? Nothing,” I lied.

“We are perceptive little creatures. How do you think we’ve survived so long? Now tell me what’s bothering you. We can’t afford to have you
distracted.”

Feeling like she was the closest thing I had to a mother at the moment
, I looked at her quickly and then back over at Logan.

“Oh, I see.” She nodded her head. “Well
, you two are all each other has, and if you do anything foolish I doubt it will be repairable.”

“He’s lost so much because of me, and I feel like the longer he’s around me the more dangerous for him it will become.”

“Do you really think you could stop him?” she chuckled quietly and shook her head. “You can’t actually think that you telling him to stay away would work, do you?”

“I
don’t know. I feel like more of a hindrance to him than a benefit.”

“You’re wrong about that. He’s gained much more because of you, but it’s just like you not to see it.” She shook her head and clasped her hands together. “Y
ou’ve got to get over this. Now, look at this juniper and without touching it, throw your cast.”

I concentrated on the green
, needle-like leaves and pointed my fingers, feeling the emotional rollercoaster begin once more.

“Now
say
Mercurius Mergunt,
” Bakula interrupted.

“What? I haven’t done that for the flame or water.”

“I wasn’t sure you were ready for it, but there are some for those as well that make your powers even stronger. Just like with this. Now say it and feel it.” She gestured with her arms.

“
Mercurius Mergunt,”
I shouted, feeling the liquid metal pour from my fingertips. The hot metal began dripping from the tips of the juniper, hardening within seconds.

“Whoa,” Logan replied
, coming up behind me. “Careful with that finger.”

“You better watch out,” I teased.

“There’s no coming back from that throw.” Bakula clapped her hands together. “Sensational!”

“We think it’s best if you stay off the grid for a few days.
Plus it will give you time to practice all three powers. We’ve got a place set up for you in the mountains. We know it’s not ideal, but with the space you need to practice and the activity humming along with the black sorcerers…”

“I thought they thought I was dead? Why would they still be coming here?”
I interrupted.

“They were already on their way,” Dace responded.
“Eben had a finding they wanted to announce to their members.”

“What was it?” I asked.

“Well, they hit a snafu there too. What they were searching for went missing, and it was part of their announcement so I’m not sure what they’ll be doing instead.”

“Did you have something to do with the item they were looking for g
oing missing?” I raised my right brow and couldn’t hide my smile. It makes complete sense that it was the fairies who got the item out of the coven first.

Dace and Bakula raised their hands
up innocently and shook their heads quickly.

“It wasn’t us,” Dace and Bakula
said in unison, but they couldn’t hide their smiles.

“It was Trevor.”
I looked at Logan who was shaking his head.

“We couldn’t go into the library for obvious reasons,” Bakula replied. “So back when we
were in the Adirondacks we gave him a little mission and swore him to secrecy. We told him if anyone found out then there would be grave consequences.”

“T
hat explains why he was acting so skittish,” I started laughing. “What was it you made him get?”

“
It’s absolutely nothing in the wrong hands, but in the right hands it’s absolutely world changing,” Bakula sang.

“What is it?”
I asked again, feeling very impatient.

“Turn your pendant over, Triss,” Bakula
requested.

I reached up to my arrowhead pendant
and flipped it over as directed, flashing Logan a look of concern.

Bakula
rubbed her fingertips together to produce a red amulet that was as tiny as her fingertips.

“Feel the
gouge on your pendant?” Dace asked.

I ran my fingers over the
pendant, finding the dip, and nodded at them. I never noticed it before.

“That’s where this goes,” Bakula
said, holding up the red stone. She was almost singing as she flew to me.

“And then what?” I asked.

“When the time is right, click it in.”

“How will I know when the time is right?” I asked.

“There will be no doubt, my dear,” Bakula reached for my hand and placed the amulet inside, folding my fingers around it.

“It’s so tiny. How will I not lose it?” I asked.

“Oh! You’re so right, dear,” Bakula produced a ring, larger than both of her hands together and presented the circle to me. “Flip the top open and place that piece inside. I’ll cast a spell to make sure that ring never falls off.” She winked at me as I slid the ring on my pinky finger. The ring was white gold and involved an intricate pattern that held two tiny rubies. It was simple yet beautiful. I’d never really seen a locket ring before, but I liked the idea.

“I can tell you, your mom tried on that pendant
you’re wearing when she was younger, and nothing happened when she had it on.”

“How do you know it will work on me then?”

“Because you’re a
Trifecta
. We knew it would work on you even when your first power began to unleash itself. This, however, is an entirely different set of circumstances. Your mom is a wonderful healer, but she doesn’t hold the powers that you do.”

“You were there when she wore it?” I
questioned.

“
We helped her find it in the trunk, actually. Many moons ago, we wondered if she was the one,” Dace replied, shaking his head. “We hoped so badly that she’d been the one we had been waiting for. Eben had already started acquiring his taste for power. He was able to boost the membership of the
Praedivinus
order like we’d never seen before. It was and is cause for concern. So it was a great disappointment when we realized your mom wasn’t the chosen one.”