Page 19 of Catastrophe

I spluttered my protest, “I know Fafnir is important, but we have to find Zaide and Charlie. They are my priority right now.”

“That’s understandable. But Fafnir is the biggest threat.”

“But—” I stopped. Despite wanting to argue, I knew how selfish it was to want to save my bonds before attempting to deal with Fafnir. Fafnir was a threat to the realm and beyond. But my world wouldn’t be right without my men.

Baelen squeezed my hand before letting go as Elizabeth came over to us holding the plate of breakfast she’d made me and a glass of water, which she placed on the table in front of me before sitting.

It smelled amazing, and my stomach growled, very much anticipating the meal, but I felt sick. Guilt warred with desperation and turned my stomach sour.

“You and I can look for Charlie and Zaide,” Baelen said to me, his eyes and expression solemn, the falseness gone. He knew how difficult I was finding this, and I hoped he could also feel how appreciative I was to have him. Then he looked at Elizabeth. “While you investigate your family.”

Elizabeth scoffed. “How am I going to do that alone?”

“Why do you think you need us? You’re a strong, independent, powerful witch,” I muttered as I cut a square of toast and eggs and took a bite.

She gave me a bored look, the kind you give a child arguing about wearing a coat outside in bad weather. “I am powerful, but I cannot create portals.”

“You can drive a car, though, yes?”

She ignored me and added, “I am recognizable to them. Someone else would be better to sleuth.”

“Sleuth? Do the dirty work, you mean?” I shook my head. “We’ll be able to deal with Fafnir and your family when we have Zaide and Charlie back. And when we find Zaide, we find the other witches and the council, too.”

“Clawdia, Fafnir is not waiting for you to find your men!” she shouted and waved her hand. “Right now, he is working on a goal he planned centuries ago, and we need to stop him before it’s too late. And while you have no leads on Charlie's or Zaide’s whereabouts, shouldn’t you concentrate on something productive rather than go on a wild goose chase?”

My lips twisted, and I tried not to flinch at her shouting while the small bites of my meal threatened to come back as my stomach rolled. She’s really not going to help us find them, but she expects us to help her?

For someone who had lived her life hidden from the rest of witch society, she was suddenly so desperate to stop this threat when she’d had to be talked into it in the first place. I couldn’t help but wonder if this was more about her than about defeating Fafnir.

“That’s not to say you couldn’t do a tracking spell to find Charlie for us,” Baelen said, glaring at Elizabeth.

“I could,” she conceded. “But his situation may not be time sensitive, whereas my family being here is. They could move at any point before we have found them and evidence about their plan. We need that.”

“If we had Charlie, he could locate them again if needed,” I muttered, but I was mostly defeated. Without my bonds, I couldn’t find them myself, and if I wanted Charlie back quickly, Elizabeth was the only way we could track him. There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for my men, my love for them so stupendous, even if it meant leaving them in danger until I had a way to get them back.

At an impasse, we stayed silent, stewing and glaring at each other.

Baelen interrupted. “There’s a way for us all to get what we want. I will find Charlie while you both go in search of your defected family. Clawdia can slip into her feline form to avoid detection and portal you back here. So do the tracking spell, and let’s not waste any more time.”

While I was glad Baelen would find Charlie, I couldn’t help but huff out a frustrated breath that I couldn’t go with him. Instead, I’d be doing the hard work of finding Elizabeth and Mary’s evil family to discover why they were working with Fafnir and what he wanted.

Elizabeth gritted her teeth but eventually sighed and nodded once. “Fine.” She retrieved a knife from the drawer and sliced it across her palm without any preamble. I gasped as blood pooled—didn’t she know how many nerves were in the palm? She muttered a few words, and a red line drew up, pointing the direction to Charlie.

Baelen moved slowly toward her in a way that looked predatory, and fear flashed in her eyes as he dipped his finger in the blood. She swallowed. “Can you use this?”

He nodded and a small blue glow appeared and started growing. My chair scratched against the wooden floor as I stood and gazed longingly at the portal. Baelen took my hand, and I gave him a trembling smile.

“I hate that we have to separate,” I whispered. “I can’t bear to lose another one of you. Please look after yourself.”

“I will bring your witch back to himself and back to you.” His red eyes bore into mine. “Trust me.”

“I do trust you.” My lips twisted as I held back tears. “Tell Charlie I love him and I can’t wait to see him in dragon form. Don’t get singed.”

“All will be well, my sunlight. I have met many drakorians before, and I will be quite safe.” He kissed me soundly, full of the confidence his voice held, and I leaned into him, lost again, before a cough interrupted us.

“Your portal is ready,” Elizabeth said with her fingers knitted and her expression blank.

“I will be back before you know it,” Baelen told me quietly, “but keep yourself safe. Charlie lived without his mother before and will do so again if necessary.”

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