The Opal Witch: Prophecy (Book Two)

Chapter Thirty-Two

Kitty

Flames flickered in the fireplace, devouring the logs with pops and sparks. Normally, it was a comforting sound, but right now it only emphasized the heavy silence in the room, and no matter how high they built the fire, Kitty couldn't get rid of the cold ache in her bones.

Across the table, Declan's face was a twisted mask of sorrow and rage. Every so often he would reach for his discarded necklace, but before his fingers brushed the milky white stone, he jerked his hand back as if it would burn him. She wanted to hug him or tell him a truth that would make it hurt less, but she had nothing to give. No matter how many spells they cast on the necklace, they found nothing. Not even its own innate magic. What had once been a channeling stone and a tangible connection to Lux was nothing more than a pretty rock.

"Connection," she whispered, slapping her palm on the table to steady herself. The movement caught everyone's attention. Sara Elizabeth rolled her eyes, but Travis' jaw clenched as he held her gaze. "It was right in front of us."

"No shit," Sara Elizabeth snapped and scrubbed her hands through her hair and exhaled. "It was around Declan's neck."

"You think you might let me finish what I was saying before you insert your bitchy commentary?"

"When you say something useful, sure."

"Girls," Travis shouted, putting a thick hand on Declan's shoulder and squeezing tight. Kitty didn't know if it was to hold the sorcerer back from knocking both their heads together or if it was to impart comfort. Probably both.

Moira, the Third Circle witch, crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm going to make some sweet tea and bring y'all some snacks. No one works well on an empty stomach."

When she exited the room, Kitty said, "The Faerie stone had to have a physical connection to Lux. Callum and Percy found nothing at the house, and Lux had nothing on her. Declan, why were you taken back to the Institute of Sorcery?"

He rolled his shoulders and frowned. "Some of the Council members decided I needed to go through training again. It was a bunch of bullshit." His eyes widened. "Nigel's father is on the Council, and he was very interested in the bond I shared with Lux."

"They used your stone as a conduit."

Declan swore and threw the table across the room, only missing Sara Elizabeth narrowly. The necklace hit the wall and clattered to the scarred hardwood floor. A lightbulb in the ceiling fan shattered, raining glass over their heads, but no one made a move toward the sorcerer to calm him. In fact, Kitty wished there was another table she could toss.

"I don't get it," Travis admitted.

"Lux and Declan are perfect soul mates. They share an angel and a human soul, and that necklace is a piece of Lux's channeling stone. It is a physical connection to one another, and their magic, which comes from the soul, flows through it. Nigel and his father brought Declan to the Institute so they could exploit the bond without having to get close to Lux," Sara Elizabeth explained, turning paler with every word spoken. "And that means this mess goes a lot deeper than just one sorcerer choosing the enemy. How do we know the entire Council isn't corrupt? How do we know there aren't corrupt Circles?"

Kitty dropped into an armchair and rubbed her temples. All the visions of destruction and ruin ran through her mind, and a laugh bubbled up in her throat, choking her until she finally let it out. Hooking her arms around her waist, she rocked forward as laughter turned to wails and tears fell down her cheeks. What an idiot she'd been to think she could stop this all? That Lux was the only piece of the puzzle when really there were so many moving parts it wouldn't have mattered in the end. The Fae Queen's evil had spread too far, too fast.

"Kitty," Travis whispered in her ear.

She looked up through wet lashes as he pushed back her hair. With a hiccup, she threw herself into his embrace, tensing as she waited for the inevitable rejection. Only, it didn't come. Her second oldest friend hugged her tight, his body trembling as they both wept.

"Thank you," she said when she regained control of herself. She didn't know if it was the tears or Travis' acceptance, but she felt cleansed. Not perfect or whole, but better–like a fraction of the stains she'd collected had been removed.

"So, what are we going to do?" Sara Elizabeth asked, turning her face to the side and wiping at something near her eye.

Declan still paced the room like a caged animal, his features feral. The kind boy she met at Lux's bonfire was completely gone, but this was still better than the shell he'd been right after Lux was taken.

"A transfer. Like we said earlier."

Declan paused before the fire. His brown eyes turned gold in the light. "But to do that, we're going to need something of Morgause's. Their plan only worked because of my connection to Lux. I don't have that with Morgause."

"Morgause wore a stone. I saw it in the Dream I shared with Lux. I bet that's the Faerie stone. She'll wear it to protect her connection to Lux."

Travis snorted. "That's worse than it being hidden somewhere. Not only is it a moving target, but where Morgause is, Morgan will be."

Moira returned to the room with a tray of sandwiches and a pitcher of tea. She raised a brow at the overturned table, and with a flick of her wrist, she set it right side up and set the food on its surface. Wiping her hands on her pants, she jerked her chin toward the hallway, where two figures followed behind her.

"I let these gentlemen in. They said they knew you."

Callum entered first, as handsome and brooding as always. No matter how dire the situation, she couldn't help but think he was the most beautiful man she'd ever seen. Unfortunately, it was the snarky redhead who joined him that made her stomach flip uncomfortably, but Percy's gaze only settled on hers for a moment before landing on Travis. His mouth dropped open, and she had to admit there was no denying they shared DNA now that they were in the same room. It was uncanny.

"Sorry, it took us so long to get here. I overheard the last part," Callum said, leaning against the wall and shoving his hands in his jean pockets. "I may not be able to find Morgause, but everyone knows where Morgan is when she's not out in the world terrorizing people."

Percy winced. "Guess we're going back to Camelot."