One of them seems to know what is happening.” Devon gritted his teeth. “Let’s hope they can bring her around.”
Devon didn’t know what he’d do if he lost them both.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Second, they are bringing her in.”
Romulus glanced up from his plans, which he’d been staring at all day without making progress. Halvor stood at the door of his work shed, straight and proper. Not bad news, then, thank the bounty.
Romulus stood quickly, walking from around his desk.
He’d received news yesterday evening that a girl of about twenty had been recovered, with inverted magic and eyes of an unnatural blue. According to the healer who’d treated her, she should’ve died months ago. She’d only survived thanks to a band of shifters and mages.
The report sounded far-fetched, but given the accounts he’d heard of her magic, the elves’ interest in her, and the fact that she possessed a picture of Romulus himself, something that could’ve only been taken from the Brink… Well, waiting hadn’t been easy.
“What news?” Romulus asked.
“She has been kept under a sleeping draught. Magic seeps from her in great waves, and she tenses whenever it surges. They believe she is trying to subdue it.”
Romulus frowned. “That must be causing her great pain.”
“Yes, and it pains those around her.”
“Why keep her under? Why not guide her magic until she can be brought here and properly trained?”
A proud glimmer lit Halvor’s eyes. “Those in the seeking party are not strong enough to guide her. Only with the power of the Alpha Shifter were they able to subdue her. He calls it balancing, but Kairi called it competing. He is overpowering her magic with his and the pack’s magic to keep it from spiraling out of control.”
“An Alpha Shifter?” Romulus frowned. “I remember stories of shifters. I would not think one of them could handle this charge.”
“Some are stronger than others, as with anything. This young man, I have heard, is exceptional. I have also heard their magic complements ours, like the elders have always said. Those in the seeking party are all enamored by these shifters, especially the women.”
Romulus waved the comment away. “The young women in this village are enamored by anything unique. How close is the party?”
“They will be here within the hour. Where shall I direct them?”
Romulus looked over his shed, filled with sunlight and flowers. It was the place he liked best in the world, the ideal spot to spend a tranquil afternoon. If there was one place he wanted to show his blood, it was this shed.
“Here,” he said without another thought. “Take the tables and desk out and bring in a bed. Assemble the healers. Bring my mother—” He cut himself off. Maybe that wasn’t the best idea. She was less than open-minded. Still, if this young woman was his blood, and she was as strong as these early reports indicated, they’d need another powerful anchor.
He finished with a nod. Halvor matched it and disappeared from the room.
Romulus’s possible daughter was coming. He could scarcely contain his hope and fear.
An hour and a half and a lot of pacing later, Halvor turned up at Romulus’s door again, his face strangely pale.
“What is it?” Romulus barked, impatience getting the better of him. He schooled his expression.
“We are nearly ready, Second. The runner has just returned. The party is nearly upon us. One thing…they are being followed by three elves.”
Romulus frowned at his assistant. “They’re being followed by three elves? Are they accompanying her in a protective capacity to ensure she is delivered?”
“We will know the particulars soon enough, but these elves stood by while the shifters fought a group of demons that had infiltrated the area. The shifters lost one of theirs and have another struggling to heal. The elves have repeatedly offered to take the girl since then, and are only kept at bay by a fiery mage.” Halvor’s jaw clenched, his disapproval practically screaming through the shed.
Hope flourished even as anger simmered. The elves were clearly reacting to the woman’s power, which meant great things for her, but their eagerness to abduct her from her own people worried Romulus. In the past, they would’ve helped get her home at all costs. What had changed, and what did it mean for Romulus’s people?
“Alert the First of this troubling news. Have the elves attended to when they arrive, and then turn them away.”
“Yes, Second.” Halvor excused himself.
Romulus looked down at the fluffy bed in the center of his remade work shed. Colorful light streamed in from