“Yes. The Lore Keepers are also tasked with recording our history and our genealogy. They must memorize everything and be able to recite the contents on demand, for if the books were stolen or destroyed, we would lose everything.”
I thought about that. “So, does that mean my family line is recorded all the way back to Cailleach?”
Gage nodded. “Although, thanks to Nora and Reuben’s secret, you don’t exist. Your line still ends with Andrew.”
Which again begged the question: Why had my father done that? Why did he travel to the other side of the world, cutting all ties with his family? And had it really been about me? Or himself? I knew these questions would plague me relentlessly until I had the answers.
“If Nora and Reuben didn’t trust me enough to tell me of your existence, I doubt they would have told anyone else.” Almost as an afterthought, he murmured, “It explains why I didn’t have a connection to Nora.”
“A connection?”
“A Guardian should have a strong connection with a Daughter of Winter. Some Guardians have been known to sense what their Daughter was thinking or feeling.”
My mouth dried to sandpaper, and I hoped my voice didn’t betray my emotions. “You can read my thoughts? Understand what I’m feeling?”
His lips firmed. “Not yet. It doesn’t happen instantly. It can take days, months, sometimes years to establish.” He considered me. “I was around Nora since I was five, and we never established the connection. I always wondered why. Now that I’m aware of your existence, I’m wondering if it was because she wasn’t my descendent to protect.”
“And you think I am? Do you—” I hesitated “—do you feel a connection?”
His face was a smooth, urbane mask, completely unreadable. “Yes. It’s weak, but it’s there. I can sense where you are within a certain distance, and I can feel strong emotions but nothing more. Over time, that connection should become stronger.”
I quaked inside. There was no way I wanted that kind of relationship with anyone. I needed my privacy, and I would be mortified if he knew what was going on in my mind. “Is there a way to stop it?”
“We will test it when you’ve come into your powers.”
When I’ve come into my powers. His casual comment was anything but. My fork clattered against my plate, and my stomach roiled as conflicting emotions surged. I couldn’t comprehend having magic. It was something I’d only ever dreamed about—read about. To find out it was real, and part of my heritage, was near impossible to comprehend.
I felt Gage’s eyes on me as I reached for a glass of water and took a sip. The water cooled the tingling at the back of my throat and pooled in my queasy stomach, churning with the food I’d eaten.
The back of my neck felt clammy, and I could feel my cheeks flush with heat. I raised my other hand, lifting the thick length of my hair, allowing a cool breeze to touch my nape. Conscious of Gage’s intense gaze, and thoroughly sick of his close scrutiny, I suddenly craved privacy. Taking a breath, I offered softly, “I’m feeling quite tired. It’s been a long day. I’m going to bed.”
Without looking at him, I stood and carried my plate to the countertop. “Thanks for dinner. And please, don’t worry about cleaning up—I’ll look after it tomorrow.”
As I turned to leave the room, I paused, wondering where he was going to sleep. I carefully made my voice neutral. “Would you like me to make up the couch?”
He shook his head. “I’ll be fine. Go.”
I gave him a swift nod, too tired to care.
Leaving the room, I headed straight for my bedroom and firmly locked the door. Propriety had no place in tonight’s events. Deciding that I didn’t care to change into my pajamas, I jumped into bed fully clothed, burying myself in the bed and pulling the comforter tight under my chin. It gave me a false sense of security that I was safe. Safe from the horrors of what lay outside.
I lay there for what felt like hours, my mind afflicted with questions and images of James’s attack. I stifled the sobs that I couldn’t control, hoping that Gage couldn’t hear them over the sound of the storm wailing outside.
Finally, when I’d wrung every last bit of emotion out of my body, I felt myself drift under. My last thought as I succumbed to the numb silence was that I regretted not going with Chloe on her overseas trip.
19
Gage
The lock was child’s play. A simple flick of my wrist and the door opened.
She looked so peaceful lying there, asleep. So naive. She had no idea what I was capable of, and I decided I liked it that way.
At that moment, she sighed and rolled. I froze, silencing my breath. She gave a small moan as if distressed, and I frowned, pushing the sliver of emotion to the side.
I’d done what needed to be done.
Focusing on my inner flame, I coaxed a tendril of my power. It flickered in welcome, and I bent it to my will, nurturing it. Calling on the essence within the room, I drew a symbol in the air with my fingertip and released my breath on a long, soundless sigh.
I watched closely as my breath sinuously curled and evolved, as it floated down toward Brydie. It hovered above her face for a moment, then as she inhaled, it arrowed down into her nostrils. The pendant flared brightly under her clothes, and I tensed, wondering if it would divulge my actions. But her body just gave a light ripple, as if floating on a rising swell in the ocean, and the pendant’s glow dimmed. I released my breath, aware that the pendant had allowed me this violation because it knew my mind and my intentions.
Leaning over the bed, I raised one of her eyelids. The pupil was large and dilated. Satisfied that she was well under, I reached down and tucked one arm under her knees and the other around her back. Lifting her effortlessly, I carried her out of the bedroom and turned left, walking directly through the open front door. Pausing on the veranda, I narrowed my eyes, piercing the darkness and searching the shadows for hidden deceits. There were no noises that didn’t belong. All was quiet; no one was about.
Satisfied that for now everything was as it seemed, I moved forward quickly, down the cobbled path to where I had parked the four-wheel-drive at the curb. My skin prickled with energy as I walked through the wards I’d laid earlier that evening. I didn’t stop to remove them. They would stay in place until she returned—if she ever did.
I opened the door and positioned her along the back of the vehicle, struck by the thought that I’d done this only hours before with her ex-fiancé. This time though, I didn’t hesitate to use the seatbelts to strap her in. There was no knowing what we’d meet on the drive to the airport. Pausing, I considered her position.
It was a mistake. Her pose was relaxed, her face snow-white in the pale shaft of moonlight. She looked waif-like, with her tumble of wild blond hair and red lips that were soft and full.
She enticed what I shouldn’t desire.
Clenching my jaw, I pulled back from her and firmly shut the door. Murmuring a quick chant under my breath, I stretched the extent of my wards to encompass the vehicle before I re-entered the villa.
Returning to the bedroom first, I smoothed the comforter down, ensuring it looked undisturbed. Taking a cursory glance around the room for anything else out of place, I couldn’t help noticing that her bedroom was a haven of luxury, with its romantic bay window, long flowing drapes, and a bed endowed with plush, silky pillows. I recalled the sight of her asleep; the comforter pulled up to her chin. So trusting. So peaceful.