Page 92 of Chaos Tempted

“But how do we do that?” Jaden asks with a tight jaw. “You’re not the king. And we cannot trust King Nathaniel to stop the madness. He was ready to kill all of us, and that was before the ghoul attack!”

“Well, I…” Eldrin hesitates and then confesses. “I could use my influencer magic.”

“It wasyourmagic?” I ask in surprise. “Then it really wasn’t one of Twyla’s powers?”

Eldrin shakes his head. “But she still might have the rare gift. You were likely mirroring me. However, I doubt I’m strong enough to shift an entire battlefield. I barely know how to use it.” He grimaces, obviously feeling inadequate. “You seemed to have more of an affinity for using my magic.”

Merlara steps forward. “IfWyn has mirror magic, then she might amplify your power exponentially. Between the two of you?—”

“But Idon’thave it anymore,” I cut her off and bite my lip anxiously. “I lost it when our mate bond was broken. Perhaps I only had it because of Twyla’s changeling magic. I’m no longer connected to her, so my bonds and magical connections are gone, along with my link to my mates.”

“We are dealing with the unknown, but perhaps your mate bond can be reestablished through another ceremony,” Merlara suggests. “It might not bring your ability back, but it is worth trying.”

I blush and glance around at the group of elves and faeries watching me. “What? You want us to try to re-bond…now? While soldiers are killing everyone and hunting us down?”

Eldrin kisses my forehead. “I’m willing to try. If only to ease the suffering in our hearts so we can focus on our tasks. I can see you are alive, but the broken bond inside me is still grieving your loss.”

“Agreed,” Jaden says.

Oakes looks at me. “What do you want?”

“Should we go somewhere else?” I look back to the shelter-turned-prison. “What if Turgon returns and?—”

“Wyn has a point,” Corwin says. “I don’t trust him near any of you. If it serves his goals, I believe Turgon is prepared to kill you, Your Highness.”

“Then where?” Eldrin asks.

Lalo flies forward. “There is a faerie circle close by. We can use our magic and slow time inside the circle, making it so you can be with each other for what feels like a day to you, and only a short time will have passed on the outside.”

Eldrin opens his mouth in shock at her unprecedented offer. “But… won’t it drain your reserves?”

Lalo nods, her tiny face set in an expression of determination. “It’s worth the sacrifice to heal you.”

“You would do that for us?” Jaden asks, his own surprise clear in his voice.

“Yes. Just promise to try to stop the war,” Lalo says somberly. “And we will keep you safe by asking the creatures of the surrounding woods to protect you.”

“I can cloak the circle in invisibility and allow you further privacy to focus on your bond,” Merlara offers.

“Then let’s see if we can at least attempt to fix our bonds and hope it works.” Oakes takes my hand as we all follow the faeries to their circle.

42

CIRCLES

WYNSTELLE

Lalo leads my mates and me into the faerie circle, which is approximately a dozen strides across. “You will have the time you need to heal your bonds inside the circle, and it will only be a short time passed on the outside.”

We nod our understanding, and Lalo flies away.

I glance around the grass clearing and surrounding dense forest and then back to my three mates. A quarter moon is above us, barely illuminating but enough to see. “Doesn’t it feel… uh,exposedout here?”

“It’s only us.” Jaden strokes my hair to calm me. “Merlara is concealing us.”

“Are you embarrassed?” Eldrin smiles knowingly.

I pull a face, feeling silly. “I guess that seems stupid, doesn’t it?”

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