Page 56 of Of Flame and Fate

“Your mother,” Bren growls back. He veers on Gemini. “Why in thehelldid you think this was a good idea?”

“I never said this was a good idea,” Gemini says, meeting Bren with equal force. “But I trust Koda and we were out of options.” He jerks his chin in Johnny’s direction, tense with a heaviness I’ve never witnessed. “We have to get back to the Den. We have to figure this out.”

“And we will,” Bren replies. “Ifwelive.”

Our bitching morphs to groans when the helicopter tips to the side and we bounce several times.

“Sorry, dudes,” Shayna calls from the front. “We hit some turbulence.”

“I just hope we don’t hit the side of the mountain,” I mumble.

“No shit,” Bren agrees.

I reach out and touch Emme’s hand. Her expression is as pained as mine. Gemini’s right, we have to figure out what’s happening, and maybe distract ourselves from this hellish ride. “Em, what did you feel when you touched Destiny? Did anything feel out of the ordinary?”

“That’s hard to say since I never felt anything like her.” She pushes a strand of her blond wavy hair behind her ear and gives it some thought. “Her magic is outrageously strong, but I think she keeps most of it contained, or it’s contained for her.” She pauses and adds, “The best way to describe it is power trapped in a diamond case.”

Gemini and I exchange glances. “Power that’s trapped?” I question. She nods. “So she’s not fully using all the mojo she has?”

“From what I can tell, no.” She presses her lips. “Like I said, I’ve never felt anything like it.”

Wow. I’ve experienced the magic Destiny does allow through firsthand. I can only imagine what she’s capable of at full-strength.

“If she’s that strong, perhaps there’s hope,” Gemini says. “She might recover.” His focus glides toward Johnny. “So long as we keep their magic from clashing again.”

“If that’s the case, shouldn’t Koda turn this bitch around instead of heading to the same damn place Destiny is waiting?” Bren asks. “You saw what happened last time. We don’t need a repeat performance.”

“It should be fine,” Gem tells him.

“Should be?” Bren challenges.

Oh, and this is so not a good time to test Gemini. “The Elders are placing Destiny within the confines of the vault,” he snaps. “All the objects housed there, in addition to their collective magic, should be enough to keep hers and the Fate’s power from connecting.” He frowns when he looks at Emme. “What is it?” he asks, lowering his voice.

“I’m not certain Destiny will recover,” she admits.

“Why?” I question. “You said so yourself she’s outrageously strong. Maybe she can, I don’t know, tap into all that mojo she has stored and allow it to save her.”

“I don’t think it works like that, at least not from what I felt,” Emme explains. “It’s as if her power remains, but her body is weakening.”

“How so?” Bren asks.

Under his scrutiny, her words slow, and she struggles to explain. “Everything that makes her human, her cells, tissue, and organs aren’t functioning,” she says. “At least not as they should. I’ve felt this in my hospice patients before, right before they go into the light. But it shouldn’t be happening to Destiny, she wasn’t sick or injured.” She wrings her hands, appearing at a loss. “It’s like her body has decided it doesn’t want to live anymore.”

“Could he be doing something to her?” Bren asks, motioning toward Johnny.

His voice is terse and Emme doesn’t look at him when she replies. “I don’t see how. When I touched Johnny, it felt like he was shutting down, too, only not as rapidly as Destiny.” She shrugs. “Perhaps males of their kind are stronger.”

“As opposed to females in general?” Bren asks. He holds out his palms when Emme lifts her chin, her cheeks flushing pink. “Hey. Just asking.”

“What would you know about being strong?” she demands.

It’s like a verbal slap across the face. A strong one. Hell, even I jump.

All the muscles along Bren’s chest and arms constrict, and his face reddens. “More than you think, doll.”

“What the hell?” I ask. My attention drifts between them. Bren mutters something I don’t quite hear and Emme averts her gaze. “Seriously, what is it with you guys, lately? You’re behaving like bitter exes instead of close friends.”

My jaw pops open when both find someplace else to look. “Did you—” I can’t even finish my own thought because this is all sorts of messed up. I hold out a hand, forcing the words out. “Are you sleeping together?”

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