Page 29 of Wings and Shadowthief

That was information that his mother hadn't wanted to share with the witches, but he'd been told as soon as they were alone. He still couldn't make sense of it, though he had to admit that he was glad not to be covered in mortal blood.

The implication was still flabbergasting. Enlightened blood? He didn't know any pureblood Enlightened except for his father.

Rakiel was one of the weakest of a powerful line—the runt of the litter, so to speak. Always rejected by his peers, he chose to move to Earth centuries ago. Although there was divine blood running in his veins, he had the strength of a strong witch, at best. He felt at home here on this planet. His clan, the Dragnars, considered his defection shameful and turned their backs on him. They had no interest in Rakiel, and even less in the half-blood bastard he'd sired.

"This is alarming."

Jack nodded, in complete agreement with Levi.

“Don’t sweat it, it’s ameproblem.” With the baby coming any day now, and Aveka on their backs, the last thing the couple needed was an Enlightened threat. "I'm just months away from presenting my thesis. I came back to wrap things up early and plan on moving back to London as soon as possible. Whatever divine issues I have should follow me back to town."

"What? No!" Chloe looked between her mate and Jack. "There's no way we’re leaving you on your own while you need us. You've had our backs since the beginning. He belongs here."

Jack smiled, touched. "I’m never on my own. Besides, I was always leaving in the summer. I'm just speeding up the timeline by few weeks. If the committee lets me, I can present in May and be out of your hair."

She shook her head left to right as she listened. "I don't like this. That's not right. You’ve protected us for months. I want us to be there for you.”

"And you are. You will be. This is what happens: we graduate and we stay friends. I'll call you for favors when I need some. You’ll do the same. And I'm not about to forget we have Queen Bitch to hunt together."

"Say something!" Chloe demanded of Levi. "Then he can't leave us."

Levi dropped his lips to his mate's throat and kissed it softly. "He just told you he won't. Not in any way that matters."

She started to sniff.

Great. Pregnancy hormones. He needed out of there right now.

A Scream in the Woods

2ndof April 2158

Gwen erected a wall of ice to block the balls of flame coming head-on at full speed. One hand reached forward as she expelled waves of energy with a grunt.

Blair leaned back, effortlessly avoiding the dark spikes coming at her. “Come on, you can do better than this. These were barely bigger than toothpicks! You're supposed to want to hurt me.”

Gwen grumbled in frustration. There was the crux of the issue. She didn't want to hurt her friend. She was fairly certain that she could do better in the heat of battle, or against a certain infuriating huntsman, but she recoiled from the thought of harming a fellow witch without meaning to. Of course, she was aware that Blair, like her, wore energy shields. Her spikes would just bounce off her magical shield if she were to strike true.

"Well, I don't." She sighed, frustration getting to her. "I really suck at this sparring thing."

"All right then. If you don't want to train, how about we chat instead?" Blair grinned wickedly. "So, Jack's back. You know, after not seeing him for a few weeks, I realized he’s crazy hot. Maybe I should make a play for him."

Gwen's blood turned to ice. Never mind the fact that she knew Blair was trying to get under her skin. It was working. All too well. All of a sudden, and without any warning, she felt it. The distinctive rays of magic radiating off her.

"I'll pass on the talking. Let's train."

Until now, she had directed her magic to resemble the thing she’d created in Jack's presence all those weeks ago. There was no need to, not anymore. Those blades of frost jolted out of her in waves. All she had to do was to give them a target.

Gwen didn't need to direct her magic with her hands, nor did she truly feel the need to focus on her prey visually. Her thoughts were enough. She told the magic to target Blair and that was all that was needed. Wave after wave rushed out of the forest floor, each of them aiming a deadly blow at her friend. If Blair twisted or leapt to avoid them, all it took was another thought and the spikes, still in the air, curved to attack her again relentlessly.

Anger. Anger was the key to unleashing her power.

She should have guessed so, given the fact that it had come to after Jack had royally pissed her off.

The fire witch lost her footing and fell on her ass. "I yield!"

While Gwen heard Blair's scream, part of her considered ignoring it. She did send another couple of spikes before recalling them to her. The ice melted in the blink of an eye and disappeared, absorbed by the now moist earth under their feet.

Gwen crossed the few yards separating her from her friend and offered her a hand.

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