Page 55 of Magic Betrayed

“So, how do we proceed from here?” I knew we couldn’t turn to the FBI or the police. “Is there any kind of centralized resource for kidnapping cases among Idrians?”

“Not an official one,” Callum informed me. “We tend to handle these kinds of things on our own, whether between families or between courts. But considering how many years our family spent looking for Kira”—he shot his sister a wry look—“we have a lot of experience on our side.”

We had experience, and we had a lead. What we didn’t have was time.

Chesney hadn’t done this alone. And if Kes had indeed been kidnapped by a group of Idrians whose magic had been stolen, we were now in a race to see who could reach them first.

If Blake’s mercenaries got there first, the kidnappers would have no defense against them. Kes would disappear again, and we would be back to square one.

And even if we got there first…

There were no happy reasons for the Idrian victims to have taken Kes. No reasons I could think of that didn’t end in tragedy.

Given her cryptic texts, I could now guess what they wanted her to do. But even if they tortured her, she could never give their magic back. Her power didn’t work that way, and if they pushed her too far?

I knew her. She would keep trying to help them until she had nothing left.

But how could I communicate the urgency to anyone else without revealing even more of Kes’s secrets? Callum, Kira, and the others might be willing to forgive me for concealing dangerous information, but if they found out Kes was ultimately to blame for Elayara’s reign of terror?

I couldn’t predict exactly how they would react, but it wouldn’t be good. And anyway, it wasn’t my secret to tell. I could never betray Kes that way unless there was literally no other choice, so I was going to have to find some other plausible reason for haste.

Thankfully, Callum’s train of thought was on the same track as mine.

“Chesney must have lost her magic to Elayara,” he mused. “So she and her friends probably want Kes for the same reasons Blake does. Which means if we don’t get there first, there’s going to be a battle, and…”

“Kes and the kids will be collateral damage.” I finished his sentence, not bothering to hide my horror at the thought.

“Then we hurry,” Callum said simply. “This is all we’re working on until they’re found.”

“Agreed.” Kira’s tone was brisk. “The Portal is closed anyway until Faris gets this nonsense with the humans sorted out, and until the fae contractor shows up to fix the glamour. So we can turn it into search headquarters, just like the last time.”

The last time?

She offered me a grim smile. “When Elayara kidnapped Faris and Draven, that’s where we planned their rescue. And between all of us, we have a whole lot of connections and resources. It shouldn’t take us long to figure out where she’s been taken.”

* * *

For the next few hours,everything moved too fast for my battered brain to follow. I felt simultaneously drained and over-energized—the unfortunate results of running on too much adrenaline for too long. I didn’t even have the strength to protest Kira’s plan—just followed her meekly to The Portal, where she corralled a handful of Faris’s employees to begin a search. They combed the internet, made dozens of phone calls, and even hunted down traffic camera feeds hoping for a lead.

Meanwhile, I was wondering whether I knew more than I was allowing myself to remember…

I certainly hadn’t met all of Elayara’s victims. She’d had more than one facility, and most of us humans were kept in a different wing of her prison than the Idrians. Also, even though I knew I’d done nothing wrong, I’d always carried a heavy burden of guilt towards those whose magic was stolen forever. It was hard to look them in the eye while knowing that they’d had some vital part of themselves ripped away and given to me—or another human like me.

In some sense, I think I’d avoided seeing them, let alone getting to know them. It would have been harder if I’d known their names and their stories. Even if I’d seen Chesney, I might have blocked it from my memory.

So when Talia entered The Portal—accompanied by an almost tangible cloud of anxiety mingled with hope—I had to fight the impulse to flee. I knew she would make me revisit those shameful memories, and I had no desire to endure any piece of them again.

And yet, I’d promised. Promised Talia that I would help her. Promised myself that I would do whatever I could for the other survivors, and this might be the only way I could keep that promise now that Elayara was dead.

That is, if our conjectures about Chesney’s history and motivation proved true. But what else could explain her being in my apartment and leaving no trace of her presence?

All Idrians carried the residual scent of their inborn magic, and it could be identified by shapeshifters even in their human form. So even if she hadn’t used her magic, Callum would have known if a water elemental had been in my apartment.

It was the most telling difference between me, Logan, and Ari, and the Idrians around us. None of us smelled like magic until we actually used our stolen powers, and even then, it wasn’t as strong. Just like Heather hadn’t really smelled like a shifter, since she lacked the ability to shift.

But how could I say any of this to Chesney’s mother? How could I explain that her beloved child had probably been robbed of her magic, and had now resorted to kidnapping out of desperation? How could I help her grasp the reality that her daughter was alive and free, and yet had chosen not to come home?

I wanted so badly to run, but I forced myself to stay. To stand firm in front of the bar while Talia strode towards me, direct and unerring as a shark scenting blood. Around seven feet tall, with brown skin, dark hair, and icy blue eyes, she was imposing even without the threat of her water magic.

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