Page 69 of Magic Claimed
“Mom.” Kira sounded like she was about to break.
“Jeremiah and Tabitha,” Logan added.
“And our treacherous court members who are already on their way here to pretend to mourn over Callum’s corpse,” Angelica put in acidly.
Somehow, the list never seemed to get shorter.
But we could do this. If only…
“Ryker, you keep working with Rath and Draven on the poison.” Callum folded his arms and surveyed the room with a keen glance, taking on a hint of his usual authoritative manner. “Angelica, I’ll need your help to arrange a meeting with theShapeshifter Court, and Faris, any assistance you could give us with the city would be appreciated.”
Faris grunted in acknowledgment. “Whatever I can do.”
“If worse comes to worst,” Callum continued, “we can always prove Mom wasn’t responsible by having her shift so the humans can see she’s the wrong color. But even so, we probably need to get her out of their custody as soon as possible, before she loses her patience and causes another incident.”
Even my brief acquaintance with Tairen indicated that his concerns were justified. If she got angry and shifted while in human custody… I shivered.
“Kira, maybe you could visit her and try to keep her calm?”
She murmured her agreement, but her expression was strangely absent as she gazed at her oldest brother. As if her mind were elsewhere, working on a much different problem.
“Raine”—his gaze fell on me—“once I’ve taken care of the court, I’d like to help you with the missing kids.”
Something was off in his eyes and his voice, but he seemed to be silently pleading with me not to draw attention to it.
So I just nodded.
“Thank you,” I said simply. “There’s nothing I’d love more.”
It seemed to take forever,but we eventually all agreed on a plan to move forward, and one by one, everyone left for the evening. Even Ryker finally seemed to accept that Callum would be fine without him, and pulled Angelica out the door despite her protests, leaving Callum and me alone.
At first we just stood there, silently absorbing the weight of the last few hours, and perhaps both waiting for each other to be ready to talk. Part of me was braced for him to say something I wasn’t prepared to hear.
But in the end, it wasn’t talking that we needed. Callum broke first, striding across the room and pulling me into his chest. One arm wrapped around my waist, while the other hand threaded into my hair, tucked my head against his shoulder and held me close.
It felt desperate somehow. As if he needed the reminder that I was real. That I was still here, and I wasn’t letting go.
“It’s okay,” I murmured into his shoulder. “I’m not going anywhere.”
His hold did not loosen.
“Callum, what’s wrong? You need to tell me.”
He didn’t want to. I could feel his reluctance through the bond, muffled but unmistakable.
“The poison isn’t gone,” he finally admitted.
“I know,” I told him gently. “It’s still blocking your magic, and our bond. But we’ll figure it out. As long as you’re here, that’s what matters.”
“No, Raine.”
I felt a sudden chill, and a dark, unwelcome certainty. It wasn’t just his magic. Wasn’t just our bond.
“The poison is still working. It’s draining me. Eating away at me. The only reason I’m able to function right now… I think it’s you.”
I tried to keep panic from setting in, but I knew he could feel me start to tremble. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that nothing has actually changed except whatever you did. If you were able to complete our bond on your own, that may be all that’s holding me steady. The only thing keeping me conscious and aware.”
