Winging It (16 page)

‘Absorbing them and feeding on the energy.’ Jared paced, his agitation clear. ‘You probably think I was making them stronger on purpose.’

I blinked. That possibility had never occurred to me.

He saw that, too. I knew it because some of the tension slid out of his shoulders.

‘Why did they try to recruit you, anyway?’

He winced. ‘And the implied question would be how did I decline the privilege.’

‘You said you took a pass on their offer.’

‘But you only have my word on that, don’t you?’ He spun to face me. ‘And what exactly is that worth, Zoë?’

‘I’m trying to trust you.’

‘But should you?’ His tone was challenging. I didn’t like it. ‘Isn’t it the point of a Mage spell to make someone believe something that isn’t true? Maybe I’ve enchanted you, to persuade you to trust me against your own instincts. Maybe I’m deliberately drawing you into danger. Isn’t that what you think?’

‘No. It’s what some of the guys think, but I trust you. That’s why I’m asking questions. You need to tell me what’s really going on.’

His smile was more of a grimace. ‘What if I told you that I got the book by stealing it from Sara’s shop? That ripping off the book was my initiation test from the Mages, the challenge they gave me to prove myself?’ He stepped closer and raised one finger, holding my gaze with defiance. ‘What if I told you that I realized then that their plan was to recruit me, both because of my innate talent and because of my connection with the
Pyr
?’

‘Because Donovan is your uncle?’

He nodded once and his voice softened. ‘What if I told you that they wanted me to be the bait to snare and destroy you?’

I held my ground, fighting to hold on to my instinctive trust of him. In reality, everything was spinning around me, spinning like a maelstrom of falling snow. Jared had stolen the book? Jared had been courted by the Mages to trap me?

I took a deep breath. ‘Then I would know why you declined.’

‘How do you know that, Zoë?’ he demanded with heat. ‘How can you be sure?’

‘You helped me. Last spring. You broke Adrian’s spell and helped us save the older
Pyr
—’

He interrupted me. ‘That could have been a trick to gain your confidence,’ he argued, his voice rough.

‘Or it could have been the truth.’

He stared at me then, and I held his gaze, letting him look into my thoughts. Because the truth was that I did trust him, and I knew in my gut that if the details seemed to condemn him, it was just because I didn’t have all of the facts.

I wanted to believe in him.

I wanted him to be everything that I believed him to be.

And maybe if I believed in Jared the way no one else did, maybe if I trusted him the way no one else did, maybe that could help him be the person I thought he could be.

The guy I yearned for.

I stared right back, unblinking, and I let him look.

Finally Jared sighed and closed his eyes, relief rippling through him. ‘I knew you were different,’ he murmured.

I’d thought he might touch me, but he turned away. He walked the perimeter of the roof. He scanned the sky, thinking, his fingertips drumming on his leg.

I gave him time to decide.

It seemed like I’d passed the test, after all.

‘Okay, here’s the deal.’ Jared spoke quickly when he came back to face me. ‘Mages work with an inherent ability. Only a few people are born with the particular kind of musical talent that the Mages can twist to their own use. You can’t learn spellsinging. You either enchant with your song or your music or you don’t. They sense those people, or maybe they hear their amateur spells. Either way, they target them and try to recruit them. More Mages mean more power.’

‘Because volume is part of the power?’

‘Sure. If I can make your sternum vibrate with my spellsong, it’s going to be a lot harder for you to ignore both me and it.’

So, it was similar to beguiling.

‘But not all musicians are spellsingers.’

Jared shook his head. ‘No. Not even close. I know a lot of musicians and I’ve asked a lot of questions. Most of them don’t know anything about Mages or spellsinging.’

‘But some …’

‘Do.’ He finished my sentence and held my gaze. ‘Those are the ones who lie when asked about it. Those are the ones who might be Mages already. I just keep my distance from them.’ He shoved a hand through his hair. ‘You’re sure their spells were absorbing mine?’

‘Gobbling them up.’

‘And getting brighter afterward?’

I thought about it, then nodded. ‘Yeah. They were feeding on your strength.’

‘And what did you feel?’

‘A pull. Like being tugged toward a vortex.’

‘Which was?’

‘Underground.’

‘Fuck.’ He marched to the other side of the roof, almost vibrating with tension. He shoved his fists into his pockets and stared at the lake, the wind lifting his hair. I’d never seen him so troubled.

I followed him and put a hand on his shoulder. ‘Tell me.’

‘Don’t you see, dragon girl?’ He spoke through his teeth, then turned to face me. ‘I always wondered why they took no for an answer. I always wondered why they just let me walk away. I just figured they didn’t want me very badly.’ He shrugged. ‘I mean, nobody else ever did. Why should Mages be different?’

I slid my hand down his sleeve, but he shrugged off its weight.

‘But they didn’t let me go,’ he said, almost snarling the words. ‘They let me think I was getting away, but they’re still using me to get to you.’

‘You don’t know that …’

‘Yes, I do. Every time you’re close to me, they show up. Now when I sing, they’re stealing my energy to make themselves stronger.’ He swallowed. ‘To give themselves the power to destroy you. The plan is carrying on, and I’m complicit, even though I didn’t know it.’

‘No …’ But I was thinking of what Kohana had said.

He pivoted, maybe sensing that I’d stiffened. ‘What?’ His gaze searched mine when I didn’t immediately answer.

‘Kohana said that when he heard your song, he knew I’d be in the vicinity. That’s how he found me.’

Jared winced, swore and turned away. ‘They’re doing it, even without my cooperation,’ he murmured and my heart felt like a lead weight in my chest.

There was silence between us. I heard a bird cry. I felt the wind grow more harsh. I heard a dog growl on the street below. I felt the cold of winter chill me right to my marrow.

I reached out and touched his sleeve, knowing he needed something from me, acting on impulse. When he glanced my way, I couldn’t look away from the vibrant green of his eyes, from his need.

‘
I trust you
.’ I filled my mind with that thought, letting him see my conviction. I felt him shake a little; then he touched my cheek with his fingertip again. I felt him come closer and closed my eyes, not wanting him to read my thoughts at this moment.

Maybe he had to see my eyes. I wasn’t sure, but he always looked deeply into my eyes before he understood my thoughts.

I couldn’t bear for him to see that I needed so much right now.

I was surprised when he touched me. His hands landed on my shoulders, his fingers curling around them. I felt his breath and then his lips brushed mine. That barest touch filled me with yearning and made me shiver. My heart was thundering, doing that crazy thing of matching its beat to his. Our noses were almost touching, his hands framing my face and I didn’t want to step away from him.

Ever.

‘I’m not going to let them win,’ he said with quiet force. I opened my eyes to meet the conviction in his gaze. ‘I’m not going to be a part of that.’

‘What can you do?’

‘Only one thing – leave.’ He smiled, but it was bitter. ‘They’re not going to follow me to you. Not again, dragon girl.’

‘But …’

‘So long as there are Mages hunting you, I won’t risk it.’

As much as I hated his conclusion, I feared he was right.

But I couldn’t let him go just yet.

I leaned against his chest, touched my lips to his pulse at his throat. He kissed my forehead and pushed his fingers into my hair. ‘I’m sorry, Zoë. You trusted me and you shouldn’t have. Turns out everybody else knew better.’

I had a lump in my throat the size of Illinois.

He tipped my chin up and studied me for a long moment, then forced a smile. ‘Be good, dragon girl,’ he said, then turned and strode away without looking back. There was defeat in the line of his shoulders and a good chunk of it in my heart. The snow danced around him, white against black, and then he disappeared over the lip of the roof.

He still didn’t look back.

And I was alone, the snow falling thickly around me.

I don’t know long I’d been standing there when I heard a van start. An old one. I heard doors slamming and heavy things being moved. Rick’s and Angie’s voices carried from the alley behind the club as they packed up, and I strained my ears for the sound of Jared’s voice.

No luck.

I guess he wasn’t taking any chances on inadvertently loosing a spell or two in my vicinity.

The van drove off, its tires leaving grooves in the snow on the street. I moved to the lip of the roof to watch, certain that he was driving out of my life.

Instead I saw a lone figure in black, one bag slung over his shoulder, standing at the curb, watching the van as it traveled down the road.

His band was leaving, without him.

Then he turned and started to walk in the opposite direction.

Alone.

As if he needed to think.

As if this wasn’t any easier for him than it was for me.

I watched him go, wishing it could be different. I felt cheated, as if something I’d never really possessed – never mind had time to appreciate – had been stolen. But I was the Wyvern. If the future was going to be different, I was going to have to be the one to change it.

First up would be thwarting the Mages’ plan. They considered me and my kind to be prey.

Well, that just meant that I was going to have to turn the tables on them. Treaty or truce would never be good enough. We would have to eliminate the Mages, one by one, in order to live safely again.

If I could lead the
Pyr
to victory, I could see Jared again. It was a heck of an incentive.

Even if I had no clue how to manage the deed.

Before I could think further than that, everything went to hell.

The bird’s second cry startled me. It was closer, closer than it had been.

And I realized a bit late that I recognized that cry. I’d guessed wrong: Kohana had been waiting on me. Heart pounding, I spun to look for him.

He was swooping down toward me, talons extended. His eyes blazed yellow, a sure sign that this was no ordinary bird. He was larger than most birds, too. He held a brilliant yellow thunderbolt in one claw.

I’d seen his arsenal before. Those thunderbolts exploded on contact, burning everything in proximity. Like lightning strikes.

Here was my chance to finish him forever.

Screw my dad’s new rule, the Covenant, and the risk of exile.

I roared and called to the power deep within me. The change rolled through me with breathless speed and I leapt into the air at the same time.

I felt my wings beat, lifting me higher. I saw the fire I exhaled at Kohana.

I saw his surprise, and I took advantage of it. I lunged toward him, struck him hard, and knocked him toward the earth. He was still fast and still slippery, but I was much, much stronger than I had been.

Plus I was mad. He’d lied to me. He’d targeted me. He’d tried to eliminate my friends. He’d allied with the Mages in an attempt to save his own kind, but he was stupid to trust them.

And he was part of the reason I was losing Jared.

I decked him and the rhythm of his flight faltered. I was right behind him, breathing fire on his tail, as he retreated. He spiraled into the snow-filled sky, but I snatched at him when he slowed to turn and pulled a fistful of ebony feathers out of his skin.

He screamed, but I let them fall, wanting more.

I snatched him and tightened my claws around him as he struggled. I had to be three times his size. He squirmed and fought, but I didn’t let him go. My talons were long and white and sharp, and they drew blood where they pricked him. He fought against me and I squeezed, remembering his deception.

And the price we had nearly paid.

‘You lied to me,’ I charged.

‘No better than you deserve,
Unktehila
.’ He sneered. ‘Oathbreaker.’

I held him captive. ‘Tell me more about this supposed treaty.’

‘Don’t you know your own history?’ he demanded.

‘Maybe you’re making it up.’

‘The Mages demanded a shifter.’ Kohana writhed in my grip. ‘It was me or you.’

‘So you would turn us in to save the Thunderbirds?’

‘My first loyalty is to my own.’

‘Right!’ Now I scoffed. ‘Only a moron would believe anything the Mages promised.’

His eyes shone. ‘No one says they know all of the truth.’

‘Where do I find the wolf and jaguar shifters, if they really exist?’

‘Open your eyes,
Unktehila
.’ He was mocking once again, and I tightened my grip.

Before I could ask more, pain flashed in his eyes and I was stupid enough to ease my grip just as he struggled violently. He wiggled free and I snatched after him. He danced beyond my reach, laughing, then spun and flung one of his thunderbolts. I winced and ducked, but was surprised to realize that he hadn’t aimed it at me.

He laughed and flew away with astonishing speed. I followed the trajectory of the thunderbolt and my heart stopped cold.

Jared’s hands were fisted in his pockets and his head was down as he continued to march away.

And Kohana’s thunderbolt was headed straight at him.

I knew Jared couldn’t see it, that even if he turned, he wouldn’t be able to perceive it until it exploded against his skin.

It would kill him.

No! I forgot Kohana and his mocking laughter, pivoted, and dove toward Jared. I wasn’t at all sure I could get to him in time, but I had to try. I flew harder than I ever had, pushing myself beyond what I knew I could do.