Page 104 of Touched

Cyrus’s bare chest rises and falls as his head dips, his eyes meeting Devyn’s. “It seems I am outnumbered, and surely, outwitted,” he says with a grin, gazing at Devyn with affection.

Does he care for her?

“Grab whatever you can carry. We don’t know when we will return. Chances are, we will soon be met by our enemies, and this will be a difficult fight.” His voice is firm yet resigned.

We grab what we can, but as we start to leave the cabin, my head spins.

The Trahan brothers were bad enough.

The FaeDorcha will pose an even greater threat.

And how many are there?

What kind of army have they formed?

As my mind races, a knot of tension forms in my stomach, twisting and rolling. Pulling myself from the thoughts of what is to come, I look around as we soar through the thick, humid air above the warded Preserve.

“Do you feel that?” Cyrus asks, his tone apprehensive.

Devyn nods, only once, as her head swivels. Her hands go to the hilt of the sword strapped to her back between her majestic green wings. “Something is coming.”

My brow furrows as I, too, look around, searching the sky and the murky swamp waters for any sign of danger. I shiver as awareness races down my spine. “I feel it, too. But nothing can pass the wards.”

“This is true. The wards are strong. However, we are on our wayoutof the wards. Maybe something knew to expect us to leave.” Devyn holds up her hand, halting us. Her tone is almost a whisper, but loud enough for us to hear. “It may not work if it’s FaeDorcha, but we should attempt to cloak ourselves.” We hover.

“We can’t be seen?—”

She interjects, “We can’t be seen byhumanswith our Glamor. Other creaturescansee us, butnotif we’re cloaked. Cloaking can momentarily shield our presence from most other Gifted beings. It’s not widely taught.”

Oh, hells. At his apartment… when the Trahans were there… Callum cloaked himself.

That’s why I couldn’t see him!

How did he know how to do that?

He didn’t… he just did it. Like when his wings suddenly appeared.

How powerful is he?

Devyn looks at me with her brow raised, almost as though she can read my mind. I quickly school my features. Her eyes narrow, and she points down, indicating we should land. We do, and she says, “I’ll teach you both the incantation. Theonlyexception to seeing through cloaking would be something very powerful… like the FaeDorcha… using dark magick.” She centers her cinnamon-colored gaze on me, but I don’t react. Shaking her head, she continues, “They’ll expect that, and will already have a counter spell in play. But it’s worth a try.”

It takes a bit, but she says the enchantment and has us repeat it, making sure we pronounce the words correctly. And that we understand them.

They’re too important to mess up.

We all stop talking, doing our spells quietly to ourselves. Devyn only recited it aloud before so we could hear it. And learn it.

Once cloaked, we shoot back into the air, traveling as silently as we can.

As we approach the edge of the Preserve, the shimmering wards are visible. My heart races and I slow down, hesitant to cross the barrier when I view the other side. “Who are they?” I quietly ask as we look out at a line of creatures flying about just on the other side of the wards.

Cyrus steadies himself and squints, floating in midair, studying them. “I’m not sure, but I don’t think they’re dark creatures.”

Devyn whispers an incantation in Latin.

“Occulta mysteria revelare oculis meis.”

She repeats it in English. “Reveal the hidden secrets to my eyes.”

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