Empowered (Unbound, Book 6)

Chapter Fifty

I tuned out Luna and Mr. Corbin's bickering as they played the blame game with each other. Leaning back to rest my head on the wall, I closed my eyes and stretched my legs on the seat. In twenty minutes, all I'd done was move from a perch on the counter to move to a booth with a fresh cup of coffee. Every few minutes my strength slipped close to being unable to keep the barrier up—not that they'd notice if it wasn't—and the caffeine gave me frequent artificial boosts. At least enough to trick me into believing I had strength.

If it was wrong to drink Luna's coffee when I was turning her in, I didn't care. It was the least she owed after hurting people. Maybe me, definitely Aaron, and likely Zach. I believed she didn't hurt anyone physically. At least if drugging someone and ripping a piece of them away didn't count. Aside from that, it wasn't even the blatant lies that bugged me. No, it was the fact that she acted like she was trying to help me. I confided in her, which probably helped her stay under the radar for so long.

Betrayal.

Out of all my feelings, I couldn't get past that.

I opened my eyes and sat straight, glancing at Luna. Zach doesn't know. My shoulders slumped and I leaned back again, taking a sip of my coffee. I wasn't looking forward to breaking the news, but I really wished Devland could move faster so I could leave before Zach and Calin came looking for me.

As if my wish was being granted, my phone began vibrating, shuffling across the tabletop. I picked it up quickly, hoping maybe Calin or Zach had gone to the gazebo to call me. Brief disappointment went through me, replaced by guilt because of what I imagined followed. Instead of answering the call, I texted Devland to say the back door was open—I didn't have the energy to move the table away from the door.

I visualized the back unlocked and dropped the barrier keeping Luna and Mr. Corbin from leaving. They stopped the arguing, looking up as though sensing the shift. Their focus turned to the front door. I nearly laughed when they twitched in response to the back door slamming shut, cracking the silence.

Multiple footsteps hit the floor, marching down the hallway.

The snick of the curtain sounded, followed by crunches as people walked over the broken glass and liquid on the floor behind the counter. Luna looked at me, her eyes wide, and I brought my coffee back to my mouth. My eyes moved to the front as I sipped. Devland appeared first, not stopping until he was in the center of the room, his gaze roaming until landing on me.

I chugged the rest of my drink and lifted the cup in the air in a salute, swallowing.

Before either of us could speak, those Devland brought with him appeared, stopping between him and the counter. Not one of the faces were familiar. I'd really been hoping Islene was back or—and this was really stretching my comfortability—the men I'd met when we found Carter and I'd seen again in a vision.

"Well?" Devland glanced around and settled on me. "You said you had the people responsible?"

I smirked. "It's a joint adventure. I was confused too," I said, not outright admitting to being able to sense magic. I set my cup on the table and crossed my arms over my chest and my ankles where they hung slightly over the bench. "I wanted to help, so I tried locating magic that belonged to Aaron."

"We did that and found nothing," Devland said, not unkindly. For once, he didn't seem condescending but curious.

"I did." I nodded and licked my lips. I darted my gaze to Luna and back. "At first, it bounced between two places and made no sense. I pretty much gave up and came here to clear my head, and this is where the spell worked."

"What do you mean?"

I raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Because this is where it's whole. Ask them to hold hands or something, and you will know. I'm still unsure how it works, though. I guess that's for the Council, right? That's why I called."