UNDER HIS SPELL (29 page)

Skye pressed her palm over the beat of his heart.
 
“That’s taking on a lot of responsibility.”

He tipped her face up and kissed her while the soft breeze sifted
through her shiny hair.
 
“I’ll take my
chances.”

She smiled a little.
 
“You
should have had me arrested when I broke into your house.”

Rane gave her a mocking look.
 
“And miss out on all of this fun?”

She squeezed his arm.
 
“Unger
will find us here, Rane.”

“What would you like to do for dinner tonight?
 
We could go into the city.
 
They have a wonderful tavern with the best
steaks and…”

“Don’t do that,” she whispered.

He closed his eyes briefly and then opened them to meet her
gaze.
 
“We can’t spend our every waking
moment worrying about Unger.”

“We don’t even know the depth of his abilities, Rane.
 
Tell me why we shouldn’t be worried about
him.”
 
She clutched at his shirt.
 
“Give me one good reason why I should forget
all about this monster somewhere on another continent who just so happens to
want me and my sister dead.”

Rane released her and took a step back away from her, lifting his
eyes to scan the horizon.
 
In the distance,
he saw the tiny speck which was Emily.
 
With the barest flick of his finger, he scooted her closer, closing off
the path behind her.
 
He heard her
complaints even from the distance separating them.
 
“Do you not think I can protect you, Skye?”

She touched his arm.
 
“I’m
saying I have to learn how to protect myself and Emily.
 
I can’t always suppose you’ll be around to
protect us.”

“Why not?”
 

Before Skye could speak, Emily came racing back toward them.
 
She came to a dead halt seconds before she collided
with Rane’s chest.
 

“Why did you bring me back?”
 
The teen’s voice held the barest hint of a pout.

Rane rested his hand atop her head.
 
“It’s not wise to be so far out.”

“You knew where I was.”

“Yes, I did, and I wanted you closer,” Rane responded in a quiet,
authoritative tone of voice.

Emily’s face assumed a stubborn expression and for a moment, Rane
was sure the girl was going to argue with him.
 
Then, she relaxed and stuck her hands into the back pockets of her
jeans.
 

“Okay, fine.
 
So what do we do
now?”
 
She shot a saucy look over her
shoulder
,
which Rane could only imagine meant
trouble.
 
“I have an idea.”

Skye held up one hand.
 
“I’m
not so sure I want to hear it.”

“There’s a lake behind the castle,” Emily continued anyway.
 
“We could go skinny-dipping.”

While Rane roared with laughter, Skye hustled her sister toward the
castle.
 
“No, I don’t think we’ll be
doing any skinny-dipping, Em.”

Emily trotted to keep pace with Skye.
 
“Why not?
 
There’s nothing like the feel of the cold water on your . . .”

“Emily, that is enough,” Skye interrupted.

The teen lifted her shoulders in an innocent shrug.
 
“I was only going to say skin.”
 
She took off toward the castle with a laugh.

Rane came up behind Skye and whispered.
 
“I think we’ve been busted.”

Skye sighed.
 
“She definitely
knows something.”

Rane cradled her against his chest.
 
“You have had that talk with her, haven’t you?”

Skye chuckled.
 
“It’s a little
too late for that.
 
I’m sure there are
things she could tell us.”

Rane groaned.
 
“I know I don’t
like the sound of that.”

She turned in his arms.
 
“Well, here’s something you might like.”

Rane’s breath stalled in his throat.
 
“I’m listening.”

Skye stood on tiptoe and whispered the naughty suggestion in his
ear.

Rane’s blood heated and dropped below his waist.
 
“That’s a date.”

Skye started to saunter back toward the garden, paused and added,
“But don’t tell Emily.
 
She’d be
incredibly disappointed to know we went skinny-dipping without her.”

***

The light flashed in his eyes.
 
Once.
 
Twice.
 
Rane came awake before it could blink the
third time.
 
He slipped from beneath the
sheets and leaving Skye sleeping, he answered the summons.
 

“Sabrina is alive,” Jaxon said without preamble.

Fully clothed if not fully awake, Rane tilted his head to one
side.
 
“Okay.”

Jaxon folded his arms.
 
“Did
you not hear what I just said?
 
Falcon’s
sister is alive.”

Rane matched his brother’s posture.
 
“I heard.
 
I am just wondering why
you pulled me out of a restful sleep to make such an announcement at three in
the morning.”

Jaxon clenched his hands into fists.
 
“You know, seldom a day goes by that I do not want to hit you.”

Rane scrubbed his eyes and tried again.
 
“Look, I was asleep.
 
You have obviously been awake for some
time.
 
So you will forgive me if I am not
as quick on the uptake as you would like.
 
Spell it out for me, Jaxon.
 
What
does this information mean?
 
And what do
you want me to do about it?”

“Falcon wants her to stay alive.”

Knowledge sank in and Rane circled the table, pressing his palms
against the wood.
 
“I cannot make any
promises.”

Jaxon took position on the other side of the table.
 
“This was not intended to be a suggestion,
Rane.
 
It was a direct command.”

Though Rane knew his next words would ignite his brother’s temper,
he tossed the gauntlet anyway.
 
“Falcon
is no longer in charge of the Assembly.”

Jaxon’s breath hissed out of his throat.
 
“No, but I am.
 
The direct command is coming from me.
 
Sabrina will stay alive.
 
Is that clear?”

Rane sauntered around the table, slapped his brother on the shoulder
and grinned.
 
“How about I make you a
deal?
 
You refrain from waking me up in
the middle of the night to issue asinine orders and I will consider your
request.”
 
With a wink, he was gone.

But Rane knew he wouldn’t sleep now.
 
Though he hadn’t shown it, Jaxon’s information had disturbed him.
 
Sabrina was of no use to Unger alive
now.
 
So the question was, why hadn’t he
killed her?

***

Sabrina sat in a huddled ball in the corner of the dungeon.
 
She’d exhausted every spell she knew and
still she couldn’t escape.
 
She’d lost
the ability to perform even the smallest of magic.
 
So her options were limited.

She wrinkled her nose as the overpowering scent of urine reached her
nostrils.
 
Unger had chosen her prison
without thought to creature comfort.
 
She’d have to make sure he suffered especially long for this one.

Never one to consider herself defeated, Sabrina waffled between
plotting Unger’s demise and scanning through her repertoire of spells in the
unlikely event she’d passed one over.
  

Her breath caught in her throat the second the thought came to
mind.
 
She did have one more option.
 
One she thought she’d never use.
 
Never even consider.

Her brother.

***

Emily placed the brush on the vanity table and turned to look at her
sister.
 
“When are we going home?”

Skye pulled herself out of her trance and walked toward the
bed.
 
“Why?
 
Don’t you like it here?”

“Don’t avoid the question.”
 
Emily sounded considerably older than her fourteen years.

Skye sat down.
 
“I’m not
sure.
 
Rane thinks we’re safer here and I
tend to agree with him.”

Emily tugged the hem of her blouse down over her hips and
stood.
 
“We can’t hide out here
forever.”
 

“We’re not hiding.”

“Then what are we doing?”

Skye doubted ‘licking their wounds’ would sound any better.
 
“We’re regrouping.”

“There’s three of us.
 
Not
much of a group.”

Skye patted the mattress beside her.
 
“Why don’t you tell me what’s really bothering you?”

Emily plopped down and fluffed her hair with her fingertips.
 
“Rane’s in love with you.”

Skye would never again doubt her sister’s powers of intuition.
 
“I know that.”

“And you’re in love with him.”

“I never said that.”

Emily harumphed.
 
“You didn’t
have to.
 
It’s written all over your
face.
 
You want to stay with him.”

Skye touched her sister’s baby fine hair.
 
“Em, staying here is not an option for
me.
 
I have other duties.
 
You know that.”

“Ostara.”

“Yes, Ostara.”

Emily stood and walked to the bedroom door.
 
“But you don’t really want to be Queen of the
Covens, do you?”

Skye saw no reason to lie.
 
“No, I don’t.”

Emily pressed her spine against the door.
 
“Then give it to me.”

Skye shot to a
standing position.
 
“Give what to you?”
  

“The crown.”

Skye stared at her sister, her heart thundering rapidly against her
breastbone.
 
“Emily, you just now
discovered you’re a witch.
 
You’re in no
position to lead the covens.”

Emily clamped her arms under her breasts.
 
“Then teach me.”

“It’s not something to be taught.”

Emily wrenched the door open.
 
“You just want me to stay young forever, Skye.
 
Well, it’s not going to happen and it would
be far better for me to lead the covens than to have a queen who’s heart isn’t
in it.”
 
She stormed out of the room.

***

“Sabrina’s alive.”

“There’s something wrong with Emily.”

Rane and Skye spoke at the same time.
 
Then both laughed a little.
 
Rane waved his hand to allow Skye to speak,
but as his words sank in, Skye shook her head slowly.

“Sabrina’s alive?
 
How do you
know?”

Rane ran a hand over his freshly shaved cheek.
 
“Jaxon summoned me from bed last night to
provide me with the information and to issue a direct command that she remain
alive.”

“Because of Falcon,” Skye surmised.

Rane touched her hair.
 
“So
what’s wrong with Emily?”

Skye shrugged.
 
“I’m not
sure.
 
She’s acting strange.”

Rane straightened and stared down into her face.
 
“Strange how?”

“She wants to be Queen of the Covens.”

Rane took hold of her shoulders.
 
“She asked you that?”

Skye nodded slowly.
 
“Why are
you looking at me like that?
 
You’re
starting to scare me.”

“I don’t mean to scare you, but there’s something you should know.”

She swallowed hard and looked around the room.
 
“What?
 
What’s going on?”

“Because Emily told me earlier this morning she wanted nothing to do
with the witches.
 
She asked me to make
her a normal teen.”

Skye’s breaths became ragged.
 
“It’s Unger.”

He cupped her face.
 
“He’s not
here yet.”

Her eyes filled with tears.
 
“But he’s inside my sister.”

Rane gave her a quick, hard kiss.
 
“No.
 
He’s not.
 
It’s mind-control.
 
Simple stuff.
 
He can’t get through the protection spells to possess her.”

“Then how can he control her mind?”

When Rane didn’t immediately answer, Skye’s blood ran cold.
 
“What is it?” she demanded.
 
“What is it that you aren’t telling me?”

Rane shoved his hands into the back pockets of his jeans.
 
“I sensed something was up this morning when
Emily and I were talking, but then the moment passed and I let it drop.”

“What do you mean you sensed something?
 
And why didn’t you tell me?”
 
It took a concentrated effort to keep the
hysteria out of her voice.

“I didn’t want to alarm you if I was mistaken.”

“Mistaken about what?
 
Stop
speaking in riddles!”

“Wizards can sense witches, Skye.
 
When I was around your sister this morning, I sensed nothing.
 
No magic.”

Skye took a stumbling step backwards.
 
“Emily’s not a witch now?
 
But how?
 
What happened?”

Rane met her gaze and responded in a quiet, controlled voice.
 
“He’s absorbed her magic, Skye.
 
That’s the only way he can control her.”

“Oh my God.
 
Does she
know?”
 
Skye took a look toward the
stairs, grateful to find them empty.
 
“How do I tell her?
 
She was just
getting used to the idea and now. . .” she shivered and clasped her arms around
her waist.
 
“That monster.
 
What did he do to her?
 
How did he take her magic, Rane?”

He didn’t move to comfort her and Skye was glad.
 
She didn’t want the sheltering protection of
his arms.
 
The only thing she needed from
him now was the truth.
 
“I’m not sure,
but however he did it, it’s clear that Emily doesn’t remember.
 
It’s probably best that way.”

Skye started toward the stairs.
 
“I don’t know what to say to her.”

“Let me tell her.”

She shook her head and kept walking.
 
“No.
 
This is something I have to
do.”

“Skye,” Rane called after her.

She didn’t turn around or stop walking.
 
“What?”

“It’s not your fault.”