Page 33 of Ascension of the Pack

Then my smile faded. I’d managed to save him but not Xander. I closed my eyes and saw again the moment of the young boy’s death. I swallowed hard and looked out of the window. Greg reached over and rested a hand on my thigh in silent support.

I’d never needed it more.

Chapter 20

As we drew up to the mansion, I pulled the orb from my bag. It felt smooth and somehow warm, even though my skin was telling me it was cool to the touch.

It is holy,Esme said, her tone reverent.It will change everything. The Great Pack will finally be restored!Her eagerness was palpable.

‘You don’t have to do this now,’ Greg said. ‘You’ve been through a lot today. The orb has already waited a couple of hundred years, it can wait another twenty-four hours.’

‘No,’ I said firmly. ‘I do need to do this now. If I can get the orb to work, Xander’s sacrifice will mean something.’

‘It means something anyway,’ Greg said firmly. ‘Ben said he saved you.’

I closed my eyes. ‘He saved me fromfire,which I could have absorbed. He died for no reason.’

‘You don’t know that you could have absorbed it. Not for sure. Dragon’s fire is hot, Lucy. Really hot.’

In my mind’s eye, I saw Xander’s bones crumble into ash. I grimaced. ‘Yeah. It was.’ I rubbed my hands over the orb.

When the car pulled to a stop, I turned to our passenger who was still riding in the boot. ‘Tarkers, are you okay? Do you need to see a witch?’

‘Nah, I’m good, Your Maj. Thanks.’

I grimaced: the ‘Your Maj’ was back. Yay.

‘Glad to hear it. I’ll help you out.’

I released the naked man from the boot and he hopped out of the car. I looked down at the wrong moment and caught sight of his wang: it really was impressive, especially for such a slim, athletic guy. My cheeks warmed and Tarkers shot me a cheeky wink.

‘Just because she saved you, doesn’t mean I can’t kill you,’ Greg called, making Tarkers bark a laugh. He strolled back to the mansion with a fair bit of swagger – a swagger that I could honestly say was pretty justified.

Debbie was driving the other car. He parked next to us and everyone climbed out. Impulsively, I hugged him and Wakado. ‘Thanks for all your help,’ I said. ‘Now, go inside, all of you.’ I turned to Daniella. ‘Daniella, find David. He’s been out of his mind with worry.’

‘Really?’ she asked hopefully.

‘Really.’

She smiled andwent inside with the others right behind her.

I licked my lips and thought about the Devon Pack inside. Thea would be gutted to hear of Xander’s death – and she wouldn’t be the only one. I’d have to announce it.

Greg squeezed my shoulder. ‘Take the orb to Nina,’ he murmured to me. ‘I’ll notify them.’

‘I should do it,’ I said stubbornly.

‘Listen, Xander doesn’t even have next of kin – his parents are already dead, courtesy of Beckett. His friends need to be told and I’ll do it. It’s a second’s job to do the shitty jobs for you. Go, see Nina. Restore the orb. Let me lessen the load.’

I blew out a breath and, though I knew it was cowardly, let him take the lead. I didn’t want to tell anyone about Xander’s death; I didn’t want to replay his last moments. I knew I should be the one to inform the pack but I couldn't, not while it was still raw. ‘Okay,’ I said abruptly. ‘I’ll go to see Nina.’

Greg turned to walk away but I reached out to pull him back. ‘Thank you,’ I said as I gave him a quick squeeze.

‘Anytime,’ he replied and kissed me gently.

I watched him go into the mansion to do my dirty work then squared my shoulders. In my head, I could feel Terrance’s excitement at the prospect ofseeing Nina and I felt a little surprise as I realised that his feelings for her weren’t just friendly. He was excited to see her the way I was excited to see Greg. Huh. I guess I’d been thinking of him as a crown and her as a house, but in truth they were neither of those things: he was a fire elemental that had been wrested from his body, and she was a dryad turned undead vampyr bound into the tree that served as the heart of the seat of power. Neither one was truly an inanimate object, despite their current status.

I crossed the short distance to the seat of power with purposeful strides. This was a huge moment: we had the orb of Lochlan. After two hundred years of being separated from our air magic, it would finally be restored.

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