“What, Wes?” Aern said. “What kind of connection?”
“It’s just, I think that’s how he’s doing it,” Wesley said. He shrugged. “I think somehow he’s got a line to her, figured out how to sink his claws in and send her these messages.”
“So it’s different from what I’m doing?” Aern asked.
Wesley nodded. “I can’t feel exactly how, but this isn’t sway. The sway doesn’t work on Brianna”—he glanced up—“or Emily. This is something else. Some ability to draw from her, but it doesn’t feel like your bond. Not at all.” He looked back at Brianna, his words earnest. “Their bond is pure. It’s secure, and it’s keeping them safe by giving them energy. It’s not a bond, Brianna. This thing he’s doing is one-sided, parasitic. And it’s ugly.”
Brianna had known she was in danger. It was why she’d not explained to them until now the shadow’s desire to create a bond. But if he could do so much damage with a partial connection, there was no way Brianna could risk allowing it go further.
The question was, how could she stop him?
Chapter Twenty-seven
Aern
The disagreements had ended the moment Wesley had revealed the extent of the shadow’s draw on Brianna, but they’d still spent the better part of an hour reexamining every angle and trying to decipher what other powers he might hold. Aern could see that it was weighing on Brianna, so he’d sent one of the messengers down for refreshments and some food. They’d taken seats around a small table in front of the desk, Logan leaning on the arm of Brianna’s chair and Emily pacing behind Aern while Wesley studied his power, attempting to feel out how it worked in comparison to his brief encounter with the shadow.
A knock on the door preceded their delivery, and Aern was surprised to see Ava had brought the tray in herself. She was wearing a charcoal suit, hair pulled back in a precise bun as she leaned over to place the tray on the low table between them. Her legs were bare below the knee, long and lean with the help of a pair of spiked heels, and Wesley’s gaze fell to the floor. Aern let the boy rest, releasing the energy he’d been sending out, and glanced at Brianna to be sure she intended to take a respite as well. Her mouth was twisted into a grimace, vacant stare aimed toward the tray where Ava poured steaming water into several stark white teacups.
She murmured, “Acacius,” clearly lost in thought, and Ava fumbled the pot, hissing as boiling water caught the edge of her hand. Ava wasn’t a soldier, so she’d not been included when Brianna had given the Council and Division men the connections that allowed them to heal faster. The sound of pain brought Brianna out of her stupor though, and she reached forward to brush a hand over Ava’s and give her that gift.
In that instant, three things happened simultaneously.
Ava’s scalded hand flinched back, not in fear, but to flip over and aim palms-out with the other at Brianna. Logan, seeing something in the woman’s gaze before she’d even reacted, launched himself from the arm of the chair, crashing shoulder-first into Ava’s chest and throwing them both through the low table, which shot water, ceramic, and splintered wood onto the lot of them. Wesley, his power letting him feel the strike Ava had released and giving him the advantage of certainty, came to his feet yelling, “Shadow!”
One second they were having tea and the next the room was chaos. Fire erupted from the woman beneath Logan, searing his shirt, the floor, and the fabric of the chairs before the rest of them had a chance to even move. Brianna sat staring, in shock, and Aern rushed to her, shoving her chair back and away from the melee of the floor. The wood beneath them shook, and Logan was hurled off the woman’s form, landing solidly against the far wall as she leapt to her feet. Wesley jumped in front of her and she thrust a hand out, catching him in the chest with a crunch of bone, knocking him back and clear of the circle of chairs. Emily was suddenly behind her, gripping the woman’s head with both hands, and Aern dove over rubble that was seconds ago the table to catch their attacker’s midsection and twist her down once more.