Page 65 of Wicked Heirs

There was no black and white.

Everything was gray.

I held up my hand. “Later.”

“You better believe it,” he ground out.

I gestured at Talon who was raging completely, slamming against Alena’s dome over and over again, roaring out into the night. “He’s our focus right now. Calming him down. Taking the edge off for him, something I’m sure you can agree that he needs so badly.”

“Fine, but I’ll anchor your spell.”

“You don’t trust me now? Is that where we’re at?”

“Not when it comes to her. Can you honestly tell me that you trust yourself with her?”

It was on the tip of my tongue to do what needed to be done, at least for the moment, with the two of them questioning me when it came to this, and deny their accusations that I wasn’t thinking straight—or in my usual cold and rational way—when it came to Alena.

But then she stepped into the fray, done with our shit, and demanding, “Let’s do this. As much as he pissed me off for coming at me, I don’t like seeing people suffer, and all the while he’s raging like that, he is.” She winced. “All that pain… it’s too much for him to hold onto for so long.”

And there was the angel in her.

That care in the face of horrendous things.

That purity of heart.

She hid it behind a defensive and forthright approach, because she was definitely no fool, but that softer side was clearly still there, and strong at that.

As she stepped up to the dome, Xavier and I joined her with me ignoring his glares and disapproval and working on centering my mind for the spell I was about to perform.

He held out his hands to her. “I’ll ground your mind to ensure the search is smooth and not lingering, and that it’s only directed to the moment Talon needs to see. The rest won’t be exposed to him or to Orpheus as he searches. Basically, it will be blurred from their view.”

“Okay,” she said.

“Are you sure you can hold your magic steady?” I asked him.

Ever since he’d been turned, it had been unstable in that regard.

“I can now,” he told me with a glint in his eye.

Ah, angel blood.

“All right. Ready, little angel?”

After she gave a nod, I stepped up behind her and pressed my palms to either side of her head.

“Relax for me, let me in,” I breathed at her ear. “It’s important you don’t react in any sort of intense way or it’ll taint the spell like it did last time.”

She sucked in a breath. “I know and I’m okay, I’m calm.”

I took her words in, then gave Xavier a chin lift, signaling him to anchor her.

As soon as I saw his vibrant cobalt-blue glow emanating between their joined hands and heard a serene moan escape her as she felt his magic flow into her, I began my part.

I closed my eyes as I streamed my magic carefully, searching Alena’s mind.

She was doing exactly what I needed, guiding me along, clearing the rest of her thoughts out to make an easy path for me.

I reached the memory we needed not moments later.

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