Page 41 of Langiappe & Lost Legends

Adèle's tail twitched as she watched us work. "The Lost Legends' fundamental mistake," she observed, "is thinking power comes from control. True power, as the guardians know, comes from respect, cooperation, and connection freely given."

My phone buzzed because, apparently, the universe has a sense of humor about timing. "Jasper and Peni’s advance team will be here in three hours," I reported, checking the message. "We need to make sure these circles won't interfere with the party preparations."

Hannah's laugh was rich with centuries of knowing. "Child, we helped host secret celebrations under the very noses of those who would have punished us for gathering. I think we can manage a Fae party."

"Besides," Marie added with a gentle smile, "your trap will work better with our circles supporting it."

The next hour flew by as we learned to layer protections. We also wove our party enchantments through the activatedcircles in ways that enhanced rather than interfered. When Noah arrived with more supplies, he paused at the edge of our work. He kept a respectful distance from the glowing patterns across the lawn.

"Do I want to know why the grounds are glowing?" he asked when he finally came to stand beside me.

"Just learning how to properly use ancient magical circles from the plantation's guardian spirits," I replied casually. "You know, typical party prep stuff."

His arm slipped around my waist as he smiled. "Of course. Totally normal."

Hannah watched our interaction with knowing eyes. "True love, freely given," she said softly. "Another form of power they'll never understand. Use that, too. It's stronger than any forced connection."

As sunset painted the sky in shades of purple and gold, I felt everything settling into place. The circles hummed with power. For the first time in days, it wasn’t the overwhelming force of the crystal's temporal manipulation.

"Remember," Hannah said as the guardians prepared to step back, and they began to fade with the dying light, "we'll be here during your confrontation. Not to fight your battle for you but to ensure this land's power is used as it should be. For protection and never dominion."

"Thank you," I said one last time, meaning it more than ever. "For everything."

"Child," she smiled as she grew translucent, "thank us by succeeding. Show them what real power looks like. You know, the kind that comes from respect and understanding. And from choosing to transform pain into purpose."

Looking at our preparations, I felt ready for what was coming. The Lost Legends thought they understood power. They were about to learn what real strength looked like. Now we justhad to get through the party without accidentally activating any temporal anomalies. Though given our track record, I wasn't holding my breath on that one.

But as I watched the last shimmer of the guardians fade into the gathering dusk, I felt something I hadn't expected. Hope. Not just for stopping the Lost Legends, but for honoring the legacy of those who'd chosen to transform their suffering into protection for future generations. Besides, when you have the blessing of spirits who managed to preserve their humanity and culture against impossible odds, how hard could one potentially reality-altering party really be? Note to self.Stop tempting fate with questions like that.I really needed to work on that habit.

CHAPTER 15

DREYA

The problem with getting profound magical advice from ancient guardian spirits is that it tends to make you forget about the more mundane aspects of life. Like making sure we had enough lights and balloons to decorate for this Light Fae celebration. I was in the middle of doing a final inventory of our balloon arch supplies when the first tear appeared right in the middle of our storage barn. The air split open like someone had taken metaphysical scissors to it. It gave me an uncomfortably close view of about five different versions all stacked on top of each other.

"Well, that's just perfect timing," I muttered, watching as my carefully organized supplies flickered between dimensions. "We get the guardian circles properly activated, and reality decides to start unraveling anyway."

"Dre!" Phi's voice carried from outside. It was tight with the kind of tension that made my healer's instincts go on high alert. "Shit has hit the fan! We've got more tears forming! The crystal's power signature is off the charts!"

Because, of course, it was. The Lost Legends couldn't wait until after we'd finished setting up the party and got our trap prepped to start their reality-breaking ritual. That would havebeen too convenient. I grabbed what was left of my emergency kit and headed out. I mentally cataloged what supplies we might need for dealing with whatever fresh hell this was.

The sight that greeted me made me seriously question if I had enough healing power to deal with the crap that was about to go down. The plantation grounds, which had been glowing with the gentle power of the guardian circles just hours ago, now looked like someone had gotten drunk while editing a movie about quantum physics. Slices of fuckery hung in the air like broken mirrors. Each one showed a different version of events.

Through one of the tears, I caught a glimpse that made my healer's soul want to scream. The Lost Legends had the crystal suspended in some kind of energy field. Its pure light - the same light we'd just learned was meant for harmony and connection - was corrupted with streaks of sickly purple. Hannah and the other guardians had shown us what the crystal's power was supposed to look like. This was about as far from that as you could get.

Steve appeared at my side. His steady presence warmed me as more tears opened around us. "They're following the ley lines," he reported, gesturing to where new rifts were forming. "The pattern matches what you guys showed me after the Jackson Square incident."

Before I could respond, reality hiccupped, and suddenly we weren't alone. Our visitor looked like she'd raided a Hot Topic store. Her hair shifted colors depending on which tear you viewed her through. Perfect. Because what we really needed right now was more chaos.

"Well," she said, surveying our disaster zone with entirely too much enthusiasm, "this is delightfully messy."

"Who are you?" Dani demanded. Her protective magic was already gathering around her. We'd learned not to trust peoplewho appeared out of nowhere. Especially, someone who looked at this chaos like it was an amusing art installation.

"Maeve," our visitor replied with a dramatic bow that somehow happened in multiple dimensions at once. "Dimensional witch extraordinaire. And you, my dears, have a rather impressive reality crisis on your hands."

"No shit," Kota muttered, dodging as another tear opened nearby. I shot her a look, but honestly, she had a point.

I studied Maeve more closely. My magical senses picked up something that made my head hurt. Her energy signature was wrong. Or not wrong, exactly. It was spread out as if she existed in multiple places simultaneously. It reminded me of trying to look at one of those 3D pictures where you have to cross your eyes to see the actual image.

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