Page 113 of Touched

Callum’s chin jerks as he nods, sweeping his arms out in a grand gesture to encompass the wary Sylph. “Devyn. If you will. Crash course time. You’re up.”

She quickly steps forward, saying with a firm voice, “Close your eyes andlistento whatcallsto you. Listen withmuch morethan your ears.” Her voice is soothing yet authoritative. Comforting, despite the havoc raging around us. “Focus on the energy coursing through your veins.Rememberwho youare. Who you aremeantto be. You havepower. Power bestowed upon you by your ancestors. Find the threads they have placed inside of you.Graspthem. Wrap them in your mind and pull them tight, like reins. Do you feel the warmth… the…current, so to speak? Do you feel it awakening, tingling, pulsing, ebbing through you? Flowing like a river?”

I look around, raptly watching while keeping an ear to the wind, anxious this might take too long. Some nod and murmur that they do.

Can we put some pep into this?

She continues. “Good, good. Now.Focuson what they are telling you to hold on to. You are connected to it. It is an extension of you. Is it the air? The rain? The ebb and flow of the bayou? Thunder? Maybe it’s the lightning, or the thick branch of the mighty oak? The essence, the verysoulof everything around you? Whatever it is your ancestors are urging you toward…grasp it.Holdon tight, anddon’tlet go. The rest will come naturally.” She opens her eyes, her bright cinnamon gaze flickering over everyone.

The wind picks up around me and leaves begin to whirl in erratic patterns as the branches dance and sway. Fine mist forms in the air, tickling my skin. The very ground beneath my feet seems to pulse like a heartbeat. The crackle of the raging fires absconding Laric seem to sing a melody. I splay my fingers out against it all, letting it run through the gaps and tickle the delicate skin between my knuckles.

So much energy. Everything seems alive… whispering.

This is good. No, this is great.

They’ve done it!

We might have a fucking chance at saving Laric!

* * *

Well, fuck.

This is insane.

I mean… this whole thing is insane.

I feel the energy within… everything…

We have an army. A Gifted one. But what the hell do I do now?

In what seems like the blink of an eye, I’ve gone from cop to flying air ninja who needs to save a Fae world I didn’t know existed. A fucking Fae world I’m a part of.

And everyone is staring at me, expecting me to tell them how to do it.

I don’t have a fucking clue.

Aeris is counting on me. Everyone is counting on me.

Get it together, LeBlanc.

Running my fingers through my hair, I stop at my nape, gripping it tightly. I squeeze at the tension building there. I’ve always been fine under pressure, but it’s never involved the woman I love, or her family. Or, you know… the creatures staring at me that were only in fairy-tales and Hollywood blockbusters before now.

This is different. It means something this time.

I wrack my brain for a plan.

I’m a detective, a damn good one… I can do this.

All we need to do is pretend this is a covert op take-down mission. Only, the bad guys have magick instead of fucking guns.

Yeah. Makes total sense.

The trees surrounding us begin to furiously dance and sway. I look up in trepidation.

There are wings…everywhere. Bright wings, iridescent but reflecting all the colors of the rainbow.

Fae.

---