Page 73 of Tangled Power
“I said I’ll do it,” Carter cut in again. He glared at Juliette, stopping her from giving a sarcastic reply. He turned his headback to Arie on his shoulder. “May I have some of your blood for the ritual?”
They would dothe test once they got to Rose’s island. Rose hadn’t missed Juliette’s talk of wild magic in the cave where she met Zrak.
Arie latched onto it as well. “If wild magic is required, there is nowhere better than the center of Lake of the Gods.”
“The center of the lake?” Carter asked. They were on the crater trail, headed toward the lake’s edge. “The island? I thought the lake had a magical barrier.”
Rose smiled. “Our path is just ahead.”
“The lake is just ahead,” Carter said, jumping off his horse as the trail grew narrower.
Juliette’s gaze lingered on Rose before looking out to the lake, landing on the island.
It didn’t surprise Rose that she’d figured it out—she had experience with this mode of transit, after all. “I have a portal just ahead that will take us to the island. That’s where I lived.”
Carter’s eyes widened, but he didn’t object.
She first took them through in groups of two. This was the most fae that had been on the island. She wasn’t sure she liked the feeling. It was her space—hers and Arie’s. While she had been intrigued by Luc investigating her home, she had no such interest in Carter and Juliette’s assessment.
They gave it to her anyway.
“This is unique,” Carter said.
Juliette snorted. “It’s impressive,” she said. “Not that we expect anything less from you at this point.”
“Where are we going to do this? Do we need anything else besides blood and wild magic?” Carter asked, his gaze darting between Juliette and Rose.
“Juliette has the Osten Artifact when she does it. I’m not sure if that is a requirement.”
Carter reached into his pocket. As Rose suspected, the coin was never far from him. “I have the Vesten artifact.”
“Then it is your blood, Arctos’s blood, and your will,” Juliette said.
“What about my will?”
“You have to be a willing participant in this. I don’t know what form it will take for you, but you will feel it in your magic. You’ll have to cede some of your strength to Arctos.”
“What?” Rose glanced at Juliette.
Juliette nodded. “It’s not just strengthening the god’s power, it’s weakening your own—for a time.” She looked around at the others. “We should all know—better than others—that magic seeks balance. If we give power to a god, that power must come from somewhere.”
What Juliette said made perfect sense. It was heartbreaking to Rose in a new way. Had Aterra created Luc to destroy him? To drain his power? Rose couldn’t imagine the result going well for the Compass Point if too much magic was given.
“Let’s stop guessing and try,” Carter said as if understanding the silence that met Juliette’s statement. “Lord Arctos, would you allow me some of your blood?”
Arie transformed into a black cat and quickly nicked his paw, smearing drops of his blood into Carter’s open palm. Carter didn’t hesitate as he cut himself in return, allowing their blood to mix. He placed the coin in the same palm and closed his fist.
“Now I will it?” he asked, looking at Juliette.
“You’ll know in a moment,” she replied, stepping back.
Carter’s body jolted. His knees buckled, hitting the ground. Rose moved toward him, but Juliette grabbed her arm and held her back. “He won’t have control of this the first time. We should give him space.”
Rose didn’t have time to reply as fire erupted from Carter’s hands. In some last-minute instinct, he seemed to force the flame skyward.
The black cat’s tail flicked. It paused mid-swing, the only indication that something might be wrong. Rose tried to get to him. Power flared around them. This wasn’t right.
Arie’s hackles rose, his hair standing on end as he grew before their eyes. Formerly a small cat, his size now matched a bear. But this animal was still wholly feline. Dark brown fur was striped with deep red as it shook itself in its new shape.
