Page 118 of A Bolt of Magic

“McColl.” She takes a step forward, her hands raised in a gesture that’s meant to be calming but isn’t helping my racing heart in the least. “I need you to go back inside. Please.” Her tone is soft and pleading.

“I need to go after Kian.” I try to step around her, but she moves to block my path. “I have to speak with him. There’s been some kind of misunderstanding, and I—”

“I’m so very sorry, but I can’t let you do that.” Lydia’s voice is gentle but firm. “I’m sorry. I truly am. But I have my orders.”

Orders.The word sucks the air from my chest. “From whom? From my mother?” Adrenaline courses through me.

It’s all wrong.

All very wrong.

Lydia’s expression answers before she can speak. The guilt in her eyes, the way she can’t quite meet my gaze – it tells me everything I need to know.

“Lydia, please.” Panic starts to rise in my chest in earnest. “It was her, wasn’t it?”

She gives one nod. “Yes.” The word is barely audible.

“Kian is in trouble. You know that, right? I have to get to him. I have to help him! I—”

“I understand your concern,” Lydia cuts me off, her voice thick with emotion. “I get why you want to go after him. But I can’t help you. I’m sorry. I have to follow orders. Particularly those issued by the High Mystic. It would mean the end of my career, jail time, or worse, if I defy her. If any of us go against her.”

I look past her at the other warriors, searching for a friendly face, someone who might listen to reason. But the faces I can see all wear the same expression of grim duty. They’re here to keep me contained, and they’ll do whatever it takes to accomplish that mission. They’re following orders.

It’s all wrong.

I should never have let him leave, but it felt like I had been punched in the gut. I was so hurt in that moment that I wasn’t thinking straight. I wasn’t thinking at all.

“Please don’t think about trying to break free. It won’t work. There are twenty out front.” Lydia swallows hard. “And another twenty more around the back. We have been told to detain you using whatever force necessary. Your mother will be here soon to explain everything. Until then, I need you to stay inside. Pleasedon’t make this harder than it already is. No one likes this. None of us has a choice.”

“You do, Lydia. You all do. There is always a choice.”

“Please, McColl.” I never thought I would see the day but her eyes well with tears that she quickly blinks back. “I can’t. I don’t.”

Forty Children of the Veil. Forty of our best warriors, all here to keep one witch – me – from leaving this house.

The magnitude of it hits me like a sledgehammer. This isn’t just about keeping me away from Kian. This is something much bigger, much more planned out. My mother orchestrated this. Every moment of it. I fell right into her trap; we both did. I’m sure of it.

What is she up to?

Is she simply going to kill one of the lost kings? Is she going to kill Kian? Or will she use him as a pawn? My heart races a little slower because I’m pretty sure it’s the latter. She won’t kill him. Not just yet. At least, I don’t think so. He is far too valuable alive.

It’s all starting to make sense.

The warm welcome. The celebration in our honor. The alliance meeting that went too smoothly. Everything has gone too smoothly. Her unexpected visit this morning, which just happened to separate us. Kian’s anger. The look of betrayal I thought I saw on his face for just a second. And now this – me trapped here while Kian walks alone into whatever snare she’s prepared for him.

Divide and conquer. It’s the oldest strategy in existence, and we fell for it completely.

37

Kian

Instinct saves my life, but only just.

I throw myself sideways, the lightning bolt searing past me so close I can smell the ozone and feel my hair stand on end. The magical energy scrapes along my left arm, burning through fabric and flesh alike, and the force of it sends me tumbling across the rocky ground.

Pain explodes through my shoulder, but I roll to my feet immediately, my hand going to the scorched wound. Blood seeps through my torn sleeve, but I’m alive. That’s what matters.

I can already feel myself healing since it’s just a flesh wound. It certainly helps that I have fae blood coursing through me. Right now, it’s the only thing I have going for me.

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