Page 75 of Last Gift: Supernatural Battle

Sven edged out from between him and the wall, rubbing his throat. “What was that?”

The question was for me, but he didn’t take his eyes off Wild.

“A new development,” I answered, suddenly aware that we’d garnered attention through the open doorway. Just what I fucking needed. “Nothing to see,” I barked at the few magus there and slammed the door in their faces, checking that the silence charm always on the room was in place.

Wild remained facing the wall as Sven watched him warily. I circled my fingertips on my temples.

“We need to do a divination journey,” I said.

Sven said hoarsely, “Why?”

“Because my demon has gone, and without it, the mating ritual has ground to a halt. It’s getting to Wild, as you can see.”

Sven swore, then said, “You think a journey will help your demon return?”

“She’s always come to help me through chaos when I go back to the day my family was murdered. I can’t think of anything else to try. We already attempted to trigger the ritual by exploring our bond.”

Wild hadn’t turned from the wall yet, and I could feel his self-loathing. He did feel useless. He didn’t feel worthy. He believed my demon was right to stay away.

All of that was so… wrong, and I felt truly afraid for the first time since noticing the mating ritual wasn’t pushing at me. What if I couldn’t reach him through this mess?

How did I pull Wild back to me? And how long could I manage to hold him close until I was pulled to the same place?

Wild spoke for the first time. His voice was hollow. “Let’s do the journey.”

Attacking Sven had convinced him when I’d been unable to.

I said, “We shouldn’t delay. Sven, could you tell Rooke to prepare? I know she’s busy, but I don’t trust anyone else to guide us to the past.” Corey wasn’t an option any longer.

“I’ll go now.”

“I’m calling a meeting with the advisors to look over the contract with the Vissimo and Luthers, and then we’ll purify and meet her in the moss forest.”

Each time I’d gone to this moment in my past, I’d entered chaos. With Wild in his own version of it, this journey could solve a big problem or make an even bigger one.

If this did make things worse, then I had to ensure an alliance for the coven was in the works. And I could only hope to the full extent I was capable of that the coven would hold things together if I was out of commission for a time.

Wild had been right earlier. This really wasn’t the time to take such a risk.

It was just all the time we had.

19

I’d grown accustomed to leaning on Wild sometimes, and him on me. In this moment, we weren’t of any use to one another. I was a nervous wreck, and Wild was in full guilt mode that was only strengthened by my nerves and reluctance to go back to my past.

Yep, I was reluctant. Watching your family get murdered again could have that effect on a person.

We were a mess.

Everything was a mess.

“Ready?” Rooke murmured.

She held one of my hands and one of Wild’s. Wild and I held hands too. Though Corentin no longer had a divination affinity, he had ample knowledge about journeys and Rooke had wanted him here in case she had a question on the way. He sat cross-legged atop a moss-covered boulder.

“Tell me of your grandmother,” Rooke said to me, her hypnotic tone telling me she was deep in her divination affinity already.

I closed my eyes. “My grandmother didn’t fit well in the human world. She was too other. But she was old, so humans explained her behavior away as an age thing.” I smirked. “She got away with a lot.”

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