Page 86 of Fated Exile

Delphine has the upper hand on us, and I don't know how to get it back from her.

Thirty-Two

Lance

"Ishould go with them," Delilah says, standing on the front porch and staring out at two fur-covered figures that lope off into the distance. "If something happens, they'll need a hybrid. Just in case."

"Not until we know how to kill Delphine." I step up beside her and put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing her gently to comfort her, though in truth I also want to hold her back. "Roarke and Kieran will investigate the factory further and give the signal if anything is wrong. Until then, you should stay here and brush up on your magic skills."

She sighs. "I guess."

"Look on the bright side—Kerry is certain that Cat is okay," I tell her, looking down into her pinched, worried face and wishing I could pluck it all away. "Whatever happened to her was just some kind of temporary sickness. She explained it better than me, but there's nothing to worry about."

Delilah smiles up at me, her mouth delightfully lopsided and soft. "It was a cantrip. A little spell set into the soil to protect the plants from predators, only Cat tripped it somehow, then tripped twelve more, and wound up sick in bed. She's promised to never, ever, ever weed the backyard again, which is probably for the best until Kerry and I figure out what other booby traps might be out there."

The wordcantripslides through my mind like water through a sieve, but I get enough of an impression of what it is to understand what happened. "Any idea why your father—presuming it was him—would put spells like that down?"

"I don't know. There are a lot of things I don't know about him, though." She sighs, crossing her arms over her chest, and I instinctively step towards her, my wolf growling in protection at the lost expression on her face. "If I had to guess, I think he was protecting the back garden from rabbits and deer. But maybe he was also trying to protect the house from vampires. A spell like that might've taken care of them just as easily as it took Cat out for a little while."

"That sounds like that's what it is."

I dip my mouth down to brush my lips against her forehead. She steps into me, unfolding her arms and pressing her chest against mine. Warmth stirs in me at the softness of her body against mine.

"I just wish I knew why Kerry couldn't diagnose it," Delilah murmurs against me as I reach around to massage circles in her back, enjoying the trusting way she leans on me and relaxes inch by inch. "She tried all kinds of spells, but none of them showed what it was. It wasn't until Bastian was out there digging for clues that he found one of the cantrips."

"Maybe she's just not good at healing spells," I reason, though my own brow furrows in confusion at the lack of a diagnosis. "Or maybe she wasn't expecting a minor spell."

"She did say she was only looking for curses, and it wasn't a curse," Delilah agrees, tilting her chin up to look into my mouth. I notice the way her eyes drop down to my lips, and the stirring heat inside me quickens. "But I think there was some kind of shield or interference over her magic."

"Is that possible?"

"Delphine did something similar with the vampire Ignacio. And I swear I saw her, or someone like her, near the factory. First she shields someone else, then she shields magic from us, then she tries the shield on herself near the outskirts of town... the only thing next is an attack."

I'm just as worried as Delilah, but I hold her close and steady, refusing to let the emotion show on my face. She needs confidence and solutions now, and I intend to give them to her.

So after a long moment, I reluctantly admit aloud, "Bastian could see through the vampire outside the Mating Circle. He found the spell in the garden, too. Maybe he'll be able to see whatever Delphine is up to."

"Maybe." She perks up at this, straightening her back and curving against me. "And if he can see through it, then the rest of us can too! We just have to figure out what makes him different."

"That's the plan, then."

Taking her chin in my fingers, I guide it upwards and bring my mouth down to hers. She's pliable and warm beneath me as I thrust my tongue out to part her lips, sinking down into the willing warmth of her mouth. At the same time, I grip her hips and grind against them, enjoying the pressure of her front against my growing erection. She moans into my mouth, and my arousal jumps, twitching with the desire to bury itself in her body again. I've thought of nothing save the sight of her white skin in the moonlight and my cock thrusting inside her pink lips since the moment it happened.

Before we can get hotter, or I can suggest a little break in her room, the door slams open. I reluctantly pull back from her, and glance over to find a very oblivious Kerry waving a manila folder full of loose papers around.

"It's not a shielding spell, it's some kind of a bending spell! Something that hides and bends the light. But sometimes it doesn't work against those who are familiar with it. Bastian..."

The witch turns and pulls a tall, dark figure from behind her, and he slips nervously forward, shooting a bashful look at Delilah as if he wasn't just rutting on top of her the other night.

Kerry continues, "Bastian over here is how I figured it out. He knew Ignacio, and he said his mother used the cantrip on their garden all the time, since the rabbits were always eating their lettuce. That got me thinking, so I tested a similar spell of my own, and he could see right through it! I'm betting we could replicate a similar kind of sight if we figured out how it happened."

"We were just saying the same thing," Delilah agrees avidly, and I swallow a groan of protest as she slips away from me. "Maybe practicing the spell should be our next magic lesson, since I'm free all afternoon today. Together we can find out what makes Bastian different."

Delilah is so excited about this, I choose to go along with it, and swallow my desires down low. I have no doubt that she's felt them through the mating bond, just as I can feel her excitement. She'll feel the frustration too.

As she heads upstairs with Kerry, I snag Bastian's shirt sleeve and hold him back, turning him around to face me. He shuffles his feet, hunching so he's slightly shorter than me, and it annoys me despite myself.

"You did good work today," I tell him, which draws his head up sharply. "I was wrong before, when I suggested we not bring you into the mating bond. Clearly you're not a threat to Delilah. You're an asset, and I should've seen it sooner."

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