Page 43 of Gifted Destiny

I nod and tip my head back, enjoying the way the light breeze sifts through my loosened hair. Moonlight feels different from sunlight, but it’s equally pleasant. While I’m thankful that I can experience both, I prefer nights. This is partially because I feel it connects me to my brethren but also because auras are easier to interpret. Bright light confuses my already limited sight by distorting the energies of objects and people.

“They are. Their bond only required a slight nudge.” I pause as I gauge his reaction to my words. “They’ve loved each other for years.”

Garrett grunts, and I give thanks for the hints his aura reveals. I doubt his expression reveals anything; Addington would have taught him how to hide his emotions.

“What if it’s a mistake?” The question explains the worry I see in his energy. “What if Kodi fades? Ghosts and spirits areso rare that no one knows why they exist or how they function. One theory is that they have unfinished business. What if …?” He stops, and I hear the rasp of skin against stubble. I don’t know if he’s scratching his head or his face.

“You think sex is Kodi’s unfinished business?” Bren asks as he rejoins the conversation.

“I’m not saying that exactly, but think about it. If he loved her before he died, he might be satisfied to see her happy and protected. If she’s forgiven him for his involvement in her past, it might be even more likely. But what if her love for him stems from something more … questionable?”

Although his last question is confusing, a greater understanding soothes my apprehension. Garrett might still carry a little jealousy, but he’s more concerned with Zosia’s well-being than another man in her bed. While I’m grateful for this, I can’t provide him with answers. What he said is true. No one understands the true nature of ghosts and spirits.

Bren’s aura doesn’t adopt his brother’s concerns. His energy after the successful transfer might be the most relaxed I’ve seen since he arrived. If anyone attributed his silent, aloof nature to self-absorption, they’d be sorely mistaken. His actions indicate the opposite.

“I have a theory.” Bren’s words immediately pique our attention; his farseeing abilities inject possibility into his theories. “I think Kodi’s presence will persist as long as Zosia’s love for him. They might have met under the dubious relationship of captor and captive, but their friendship was cultivated after his death when neither remembered their previous circumstances. So the idea of Stockholm syndrome or latching onto someone because of trauma isn’t valid.”

Somehow, Bren understood what his brother didn’t say. The idea hadn’t even occurred to me. Garrett and I remain silent, sensing that Bren isn’t done yet.

“I’m not saying you don’t have a point about unfinished business, but Kodi could have slipped away the moment Zosia became the librarian if it were true. He didn’t.”

“Point taken,” Garrett grunts. “You didn’t give him your abilities, did you? Two weather mages is a recipe for disaster.”

“Magic of that magnitude can’t be gifted,” I say with strange certainty. The library classifies my words as true.

Garrett sighs loudly. “Ok. I don’t know why I’m upset.”

I hope it’s not his beast’s jealousy. Will the griffin ever accept that we share the sphinx? Zo’s affection for the man grew tenfold today, and it’s clear that the library needs him because of his political influence and diplomatic knowledge. If he is jealous and decides to leave, we don’t have a replacement.

“I do,” Bren replies. “You didn’t have any control over my transfer. Not having control means you can’t protect me.” The younger brother doesn’t pull any punches.

I listen silently. It feels slightly intrusive, but I remind myself that we will be a family unit once the brothers bond with Zosia. Not every group of guardians seeks to create a tight, familial relationship, but it’s what our souls crave. We’re still relatively young and our childhoods didn’t provide any sense of kinship; our inner selves require strong connections.

“Did that sound harsh?” Bren asks when Garrett doesn’t respond. “I didn’t mean to.” Although the mage regrets making his brother worry, he doesn’t regret the impulsive transfer. He’s ultimately more invested in the outcome than the possibilities. Garrett could learn from him.

“Everything is ok, though. I’m safe. Kodi is bonding with Zosia and he’ll be part of the library when the detectives show up, like we promised them. Jackie Joyner-Kersee said, ‘It’s better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret.’ I felt like we were running out of time.”

A couple minutes pass as Garrett absorbs Bren’s words. Just when I think one of them will go inside, Bren’s energy pulses with excitement. “I forgot to tell you! I talked to Fin before the transfer. Remember the guardian that supposedly betrayed Zosia’s grandmother? Fin says that he and the vampire were close companions. He didn’t note any indication that the guardian was thinking of leaving or that his relationship had faltered. Fin said that when he disappeared, hereallydisappeared.”

Garrett asks the question on both of our minds. “What do you mean hereallydisappeared? Isn’t that what happens when you die?”

“The library and the goblins didn’t sense his death. Because we’re contracted to the library, she should have felt it when he died. She felt the others pass on, even though they were miles away.”

“Agustin was a vampire?” I muse aloud as I conjure a list of ways vampires can die. Killing one wasn’t as difficult as the magicless believed, but a true death is when the soul leaves the body. Vampires might be classified asundeadorsemi-dead, but these qualities only refer to their physical shells. The ancients believed that any entity harboring a will, sentient emotions, or a soul would be considered alive. According to that definition, this building and Kodi would also bealive.

“Yes. Kodi asked if he was tethered, but Fin said that was highly unlikely. Although his bond with Zosia’s grandmother would have been erased by her death, his contract with Sage remains valid until he truly dies or betrays the library. If he’s done neither ….” Bren’s murmured words fade into the night. In the trees that border the campus, an owl greets the night with several echoing hoots.

“Can he still access the library?”

Garrett’s question carries a chilling idea. I had hoped, for Zosia’s and the library’s sake, that the battle with Addington would be waged entirely through political and social channels. If we expose the alpha shifter’s atrocious deeds and provide proof, the supernatural community will demand an investigation. Subjugating the will of another being is the worst crime either race can commit.

He deserves death after he suffers utter humiliation and loss, especially if he’s also behind the recent attacks against the vampire clans. At the very least, he’ll spend the rest of his miserable life in a dungeon like the one that imprisoned my mate. The vengeful vampire inside me hopes for the most horrid outcome.

However, if Addington has allies that could infiltrate the library …. My mind considers the threat. Can the guardian breach our defenses if he has betrayal in his heart? If he were inside the library already, wouldn’t Sage know?

Did the missing vampire have a connection to our kind before he transferred his loyalty to the library? Turned vampires typically belong to a hive. They prefer to monitor their own instead of relying on supernatural law enforcement, which is predominately composed of shifters. The vampiric tendency toward isolation and mistrust has widened the rift between the two factions for centuries. Did Atanea check in with his family after he left? I have to assume she exhausted all other avenues before leaving.

“I’ll need to get out there sooner rather than later,” Garrett mutters. I assume he gestures toward the campus beyond as he does so. “We need information from outside – the kind we can’t obtain in here, but I know he has people watching us. The next OSC delegation is three weeks away, but I can’t attend in person unless I’m armed with knowledge and evidence. One of us needs to make a move before then.”

---