Fionn studied her a moment and then stood. “Wait here.”
She frowned, watching as he disappeared out of their carriage. What the hell? She sat for several minutes wondering what he was doing and if he was coming back.
Of course, he was coming back, she scolded herself. The dude was trying to save her life and the world at the same time.
When Fionn reappeared, Rose breathed a sigh of relief. “Where did you go?”
Instead of answering, he gestured for her to follow him. “What about your stuff?”
“What stuff?” He waved a hand over his belongings and the air shimmered as shadows from the dark corners of the train crept over the items, camouflaging them.
A swift grin replaced Rose’s concerned frown. “That is very cool.” She looked to him from the items and found him watching her.
Something like amusement flashed across his expression.
But it was gone so quickly, Rose wondered if she’d imagined it.
Rose followed him out of the carriage and through several others. He halted when they entered an empty carriage. He turned to her. “Let’s train.”
The thought was both scary and exhilirating. “Here?”
“Where’s better to train than on a train?”
She grinned. “Are you cracking jokes again?”
“Again, if you have to ask …”
Glancing around at all the empty seats, Rose’s smile slipped. Suspicion formed in her mind. “Why is this carriage empty?”
“I encouraged the occupants to move elsewhere. No one will disturb us here.”
“By encourage, do you mean that mind-control crap?”
Fionn shrugged.
Shrugged.
Unease moved through Rose. “You said it was only to be used in a life-or-death situation.”
“This whole situation is life or death, Rose.”
She glared at him.
He sighed. Heavily. “You need to practice if you want to learn to defend yourself. I made it so you could. Unless you’re happy to stand behind my back and let me protect you.”
Anger suffused her at the taunt.
Fionn nodded. “I thought not.”
“I don’t like it,” she told him. “The other abilities are exciting. But that mind thing—it seems wrong.”
“Because it is. But you live in a new world now, and you must make decisions, choices, that won’t sit well with you. That’s your new reality. Or are you okay that I killed two warlocks to save your life today?”
As if on cue, Fionn’s cell rang, thankfully saving her from answering his complicated question. The question was simple; its answer was complicated.
He pulled the phone out of his back trousers pocket. “Bran,” he told her before hitting a button. “You’re on speaker with me and Rose.”
Bran’s voice filled the empty carriage. “No humans listening in?”
“No.”
“Sorry it took a few hours but my contact at the coven needed further incentive to divulge the info we need.”
“Pay them whatever they want,” Fionn acceded.
“Already suspected you’d say so and already did.” He released an exhalation. “Rose, I’m sorry, but the two warlocks who came after you were in fact O’Connor warlocks. My contact relayed your story. Are you ready for it?”
She wasn’t sure but she nodded mutely anyway.
Fionn replied, “She’s ready.”
“Each baby in the O’Connor Coven is put before a psychic. The O’Connors have held a line of psychic witches in their coven dating back to the fourteenth century. Anyway, the psychic got a vision of what you were, so the coven gathered around you, felt your power, and brought your case before the equivalent of a high court to decide your fate. It should be noted they did this without informing the European High Council of your existence.
“Anyway, your parents pled for you to live. In the end, the majority decided to cast a spell that would suppress your powers. However, it was under the proviso that if the spell ever broke … they’d sentence you to death, Rose.”
Nausea welled inside her.
“They forbid your parents to leave Dublin with you, but when they died in a car accident and your aunt became your guardian, she had a different notion. You see, your mam was the eldest daughter of the coven leader and as such raised to be a leader, but her younger sister, Rihanna, whom you know as Anna, was a typical rebel. Apparently, she constantly disobeyed her family’s wishes, including marrying Cian Cosway, whom you know as Bill. Cosway was covenless and considered too common for the daughter of an O’Connor. Anna married him behind their backs.
“Once they became your guardians, Anna and Bill cast a spell that allowed them to flee Ireland. They took you to the States under a false identity, and they’ve been in hiding from the