Page 91 of Magic Betrayed

But when his eyes opened again, the glow remained, and the ground began to shake underfoot with the first ominous warnings of his intent.

I heard the house begin to creak and groan as it swayed. The turret folded in on itself without warning, then the balcony, just before the door flew open and people spilled out into the yard, running for their lives.

Jacob, Bianca, Reese, Chesney, and… that must be Noah.

But where was Logan?

I screamed his name. I knew he couldn’t hear me, but I couldn’t reach him. Couldn’t help him.

But then Faris was there. His skin seemed turned to stone, his eyes glittered like emeralds, and his grim expression promised there was nothing in the world that could stand between him and Logan. “I’ve got him. You stay alive.”

Callum was right behind him, earthbound for now, but more than ready to simply pick me up and take me out of there.

“I can’t,” I murmured, even as his comforting bulk loomed behind me, lending me strength merely by his presence. “I can’t give up on him, Callum.”

Almost as if he’d heard me, Ethan suddenly moved. The ground beneath Kes surged up and threw her again, and she would have slammed into a tree had she not been snatched out of the air by… Shane.

The golden-eyed mercenary wrapped her up in his arms mid-leap and rolled when he fell, protecting her with his own body as Ethan continued to bat them around like a cat, toying with its prey.

Maybe I was being naïve. Maybe this was Ethan’s true nature and there was no way to save him. But how could I know whether the destruction and vengeance were truly his own impulse, or that of the magic raging wildly through his veins?

I wanted so badly to give him a chance. The same chance I’d been granted. But if it was going to risk the lives of everyone I loved…

No.

There was another way.

A path I never wanted to take, and only a slim chance at that.

There was still a part of my magic I’d never explored. One that terrified me, and one that I knew would make me even more of a pariah than I already was.

Even Callum…

A bolt of agony pierced my chest at the thought, but I couldn’t go there. Not now. I couldn’t choose whether or not to help Ethan based on how I thought Callum would react.

If there was any chance it might work—any chance it might allow us to leave here with everyone still alive…

I had to take it.

“Do you trust me?” I asked simply, gathering what remained of my courage, my will, and my determination.

At my back, I felt the solid warmth of certainty, acceptance, even… something more. So I clung to that something more. Recalled the moment we’d stood outside the Symposium and I’d told him I was about to ruin everything. And Callum… Even then, he’d said that if it was the right thing to do, he would support me. I was about to fall back on that promise one more time, and hope that he was still willing to catch me.

“Thank you,” I said. “I’m sorry for what I’m about to do. Sorry for the secrets I’ve kept. Sorry if this feels like a betrayal. I hope…”

I hoped. That was all I could do. All any of us could do.

So I bit back the pain and hobbled a few steps towards Ethan before I dove deep into my own mind—reaching for the magic I’d never wanted to acknowledge.

Siren.

A siren’s power wasn’t just for hunches—that part was just a passive effect. It also gave me the ability to manipulate others with my voice. To convince them to do things they might otherwise not consider.

A lot of Idrians harbored distrust towards sirens—for understandable reasons—so even when I’d revealed the truth about my past, I’d kept the nature of my fourth power a secret. Only Rath knew, but now that secrecy was over. I was going to have to use this magic against Ethan—attempt to override his own will and force him to stand down.

And I was going to have to do it in front of Callum, whose inexplicable trust in me might not extend quite this far.

Even I had doubts. But if it was me… If it was my own magic raging out of control, I would want someone to stop me. I wouldn’t be able to live with waking up from that nightmare and realizing I’d harmed someone I cared about.

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