Page 198 of A Fate of Blood and Magic
When they reached the snow covered in gray, the girls rushed into it, as if expecting the snow to melt and give way to grass the way the rest had. When they fell through the deep snow, Brenton and I hurried to our feet. Alastor dug them out as we reached where Teddy stood a few steps from the gray snow. A sense of dread filled me, making my blood turn cold. Something that felt a lot like rage thrummed through the suddenly chilly air.
“Teddy.” I put my arms around her, pulling her back while Brenton tugged on her arm.
Alastor carried the girls away from the snow, and together, we walked away from it. My body didn’t relax until that ominous feeling passed when we reached where we’d had our picnic. Teddy leaned into me with her arms wrapped around her chest.
“What was that?” she whispered.
When she trembled, I leaned down to bring the blanket we’d sat on around her shoulders.
“If I’m right, and that’s where the village was, then that’s where our people died,” Alastor said.
“It felt like . . .” Teddy paused. “They weren’t just angry. It felt like they wanted to hurt me. No, worse.” Her body quaked again. “I think they would’ve killed me if they could. I don’t understand. Why would they want to kill me?”
Already knowing the answer, I put a protective hand over Teddy’s stomach.
“They didn’t want to kill Teddy, right?” I asked Alastor. “It’s because of me. Because of my family, because of what my blood did to them.”
I drew her closer to me, wanting to take her away from the very land that spoke to her.
“Yes,” Alastor whispered.
“I don’t understand.”
“My parents massacred every single person who lived in this village,” I said to her, remorse filling me until I was certain it’d pour out. “The land responds to you because of your mage blood. How do you think the people would respond to my blood that swims in our babes’ bodies?”
She flinched. “The boys?” she asked. “They would hurt theboys?”
“Someone left magic where the village once stood,” Alastor said, his expression thoughtful. “Maybe all of them did. It isn’t their souls who wanted to attack, but the magic left behind. I don’t know that the magic understood who or what it was attacking. It simply sensed Elias’s familial blood.”
Teddy’s expression fell. “The boys will never be able to come here, will they?”
“I know you want your boys to learn our magic and be able to grow up here and in Niev. You have my word I will look into this. They will be safe in Respandora, but until we figure out how to calm the magic over the village, you must stay away from that area. Do you understand?”
She bowed her head. “Yes.”
“Did you bring the living book?” Alastor asked.
Brenton pulled it from his inner pocket and gave it to Alastor.
“Do you trust me to look into this?” Alastor asked.
“Of course, I trust you, Alastor,” she said.
“Then what do you say we enjoy the rest of our picnic, and I’ll start studying the book tonight?”
Without saying anything, we settled back on the blankets. Although conversation flowed with ease and the girls entertained us with their antics, I felt the way Teddy’s soul remained unsettled. Using our soulmate bond, I sent my love to her through our joined threads. When the ribbons of her soul stitched itself closer to mine, I knew she didn’t hold this against me. And I knew if anyone could figure out how to right this, it would be Alastor.
Chapter
Thirty-Nine
TEDDY
As Kieren lookedat the tulips he’d drawn, which we’d placed above our mantel, he smiled. We’d hung wooden tulips Brenton had crafted and painted on either side of the frame.
Although I was eager to go back to Respandora for our small camping trip, I’d wanted to wait for Kieren to arrive. It’d been an entire month since I’d last seen him, and I had about a million questions I wanted to ask him.
“Tell me as much as you can as quickly as you can before Elias drags me away,”I said, casting Elias a sideways glance.
