Lux
When Declan explained what happened in the bedroom, Lux considered turning herself invisible. Anything to hide as mortification gnawed in her gut, but after she excused herself to finish getting dressed, the embarrassment gave way to fear. She fastened the top button of her jeans and pressed her hands against her abdomen to settle the sudden rush of nausea.
There were a lot of things she was afraid of, but knew she could fight if she had too. Bloodborn. Check. Demons. Check. The Fae Queen. Check. Each was terrifying in their own way, but she had her magic, her Circle, and Declan. Together they could do anythingâshe truly believed it.
But losing herself? That she wasn't sure she was strong enough to handle.
The time after turning seventeen and before she found her channeling stone had been the darkest moments of her life. Not only did she feel weak and out of control, but she was forced to watch her loved ones turn themselves inside out to save her. Even then, when her father came up with the solution to bind her human half, she had refused because it would mean giving up who she was, and if that was gone, what had they actually saved?
None of that compared with now. If Declan was right and someone else was riding shotgun in her body, they were at a far greater risk than they'd been a couple of years ago. Lux's magic had been new and undeveloped, but she'd devoted nearly every free hour to increasing control and gaining knowledge. She was a loaded gun with perfect aim.
Lux paused in front of her mirror. Whoever Declan had seen was dormant at the momentâthe only thing in her eyes was worry. Worry that detonated as a thought came to her. Was this what Kitty had seen? The things her old friend said to her never made sense. She couldn't fathom how she crossed the line from a witch dedicated to protecting her Circle and earth to one who'd willingly work with Morgan and unlock the Gateways.
But what if it had never been her to begin with?
"Shit," she cursed, kicking at a pile of laundry.
The clothes toppled over, revealing the sack of books she'd purchased at the mall. In all the chaos surrounding Declan's return and his new friends, she'd forgotten that she wanted to look through them, and while now didn't seem like the best time, the familiar nudging of intuition urged her to pick up the book on Faerie magic. At least this way, she could ignore her revelation.
She flipped through the pages, skimming most of them. It seemed the writer focused on individual species of faeries like sprites, goblins, and nymphs, and it didn't tell her much more than what she already knew from childhood fairytales. Frustrated, she began to close the book, but the last chapter caught her eye.
"Faerie Stones"
Higher Fae like the nine enchantresses of Avalon used crystals to store magic inside of them. Often, it was benevolent magicâperhaps a water stone that might be given to a farmer experiencing a drought, or a stone imbued with life force for the woman trying to conceive. Once these stones were common gifts from the High Fae, but after they returned to Avalon, faerie stones became coveted objects passed down from one generation to the next. A few lucky individuals may stumble upon one of these gems, but be wary. Not all faerie stones are good.
The banished sister and faerie queen, Morgan le Fay, has no love for man, and she has given humans cursed stones. Stones that would steal youth or spread disease. Her cruelty knows no bounds.
Lux stopped and frowned. Who was this person who knew so much? She flipped the book over to read the cover and was shocked to find no author was listed. No publisher, either. Perhaps Calum would know if the Fae used crystals this way, though it wouldn't be surprising that other beings used gemstones and crystals. The stones themselves, while possessing normal magical properties like nearly everything else in this world, were important to the witches because they were conduits and could focus magic. They eased the burden of the angelic portion of their soul. But what this book described sounded far too much like the way Bloodborns used channeling stonesâa prison for magic and souls.
She grabbed a rose quartz from her dresser. It was a favorite for meditation, helping her focus on calming and healing, but she always focused on drawing those vibrations from the crystal. What if she pushed the emotions into them? Turning it over in her palm, Lux wondered if she could make it a bit more complicated than that. The book said the faeries put spells in them.
With a deep breath, she nudged her magic, waking it from its slumber. She flinched when something else seemed to stir with it, but whatever it was disappeared so quickly, she thought she imagined it. Her bottom lip wobbledâshe needed to have imagined it.
Love. Trust. Harmony. Each of these emotions came to the forefront of her mind as she worked a simple spellâone that helped a person focus on their heart's desire. This had been something Thorne taught them over the summer. Where she lived, it was normal for the locals to come to her coven and request spells. This was a favorite among high school graduates who wanted help to take the next step. With a little tweak here and there, Lux fashioned it so it was less about focusing on a desire and more about being open to something new. A new person. A new journey. Whatever their heart needed the most.
Then, when she would normally cast it toward the recipient, she wove it into the stone's vibrations, twining each thread of magic into the rose quartz until the spell and the stone's natural magic became indistinguishable from one another. And she knew she'd done it. Her spell was immortalized in the stone and would forever give the one who carried it an open heart.
A knock on the door startled her, and she shoved it behind her back like she'd done something wrong. Declan poked his head in, his hesitant grin failing to mask his concern. "Making sure you didn't fall back asleep."
"Oh crap," she said, standing and sliding the stone in her back pocket. Her own channeling stone was warm between her breasts the way it always was after working magic, and for the first time, it occurred to her Declan's stone might alert him to whenever she used her power. It was originally a part of her stone, after all.
"Sorry, I got caught up reading this book."
Lux tossed it to him, and he chuckled as he read the title. "Faerie magic?"
She shrugged. "Something told me to read it, and I needed a distraction after... after what you told me."
He threw the book on the bed and pulled her into his arms. She buried her face into his shirt, seeking his heartbeat, needing that comfort, but then... There it was again. That uncoiling inside of her as if someone else was waking up, but she lashed out at it, tying it down, wincing as it screamed in protest.
His hand smoothed over the back of her head, down through her hair, and stopped at the dip of her back. She looked up at him, wishing she could stay in this moment forever, drowning in the rich warmth of his dark brown eyes.
"We're going to figure this out."
"I know we will," she said, sliding out of his arms before whatever was inside her, which clearly had the hots for Declan and couldn't control herself, broke free from her bindings and started something. She'd be damned if the first time she had sex with her boyfriend happened because she was possessed. "Aren't you tired of always figuring things out, though?"
He tilted his head, making his hair slide into his eyes, looking more like the nineteen-year-old boy who had been so out of place at her birthday bonfire than the confident twenty-one-year-old sorcerer he'd become. Her heart seized at the sight. She loved him more now than she had back then, but sometimes, she missed the kids they were.
"I don't mind it as long as I get to figure it out with you."
He said it to comfort her, but the words hung in the air between them, thick with a dark premonition. Goosebumps covered her skin, and the hair on her arm rose. Declan cleared his throat and shook his head as if to banish the tension.
"So what's the plan for today?"
"Initially, Calum wanted to get out to the Brennan's. His place wasn't far from there, and we could just stay the night at the Godelieve estate."
"And now?"
"And now," Declan said, following her out of the room. Downstairs, she could hear Percy talking to Calum, their polished, lilting accents drifting up the stairs without the fully formed words. "He wants to stop and talk to someone who might give us some insight on Morgause."
They walked into the kitchen as Declan finished filling her in on Calum's friend. The Guardians stopped talking and appraised her. Percy was eating another bowl of cereal, but he set it down as he waited for her to speak.
"How soon can we meet Elaine?" Lux asked Calum.
"I've already reached out to her, and she's willing to see us. But I should warn you," he paused, something suspiciously like emotion flickering through his blue eyes, "She's not the easiest person to deal with."
"That's what Declan said, but if she can give us any insight, then it will be welcome. We have far too much on our plate right now for me to deal with... whatever this is."
Percy choked, spraying bits of cereal across the counter. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he added, "Calum is underselling it. Elaine is fine with most people. She wants his balls on a silver platter for breaking their engagement."
Declan and Lux swung their shocked gazes toward Calum, who was glaring at his friend. Lux put her hands on her hips. "What about Adrienne?"
Not deterred by the fire in Calum's expression, Percy answered, "He met Elaine first. Basically left her at the altar and ran away. That's how he met Adrienne."
Declan snorted. "It's always the silent types."
Calum hauled Percy out of the room by his ear, dragging him down the hallway toward the front door. Lux grinned as she walked behind them. Declan dipped into the living room to grab something, and on impulse, she took the rose quartz out of her pocket and dropped it into Calum's coat as he pulled it on. If anyone needed their heart opened up a little, it was the surly Guardian.
"You okay there?" Calum asked when she jumped back, afraid he'd caught her.
"Yep," she said, pinks cheek. She pushed through them to grab the keys hanging on the wall. Opening the door, she tossed over her shoulder. "All goodâKitty."
"Y'all going somewhere?" Kitty asked, eyes roving over the bristling giants behind Lux. A spark of interest appeared in her eyes when she looked at Percy, but then she focused on Lux. Stark relief filled her face.
"What are you doing here?" Lux demanded. Their last altercation still stung, and she knew in her heart they couldn't rule Kitty out as being the Bloodborn.
"I need to talk to you. About a Dream I keep having," she shuddered.
"A Dream?" Could it just be a coincidence?
"You... you..." Kitty groaned and rolled her eyes. "You were with another man, and then you had your head chopped off. Only then it wasn't you. And it made me realize I've been right all along, but also wrong."
Percy and Calum stepped back to let Declan through. His hand was heavy on her shoulder, and Lux leaned against him for strength.
"What is this about?" He asked.
"I think the visions Daphne had of Lux are real in the sense that it's her body, but I don't think it's Lux in there anymore. And it's going to happen soon. By the next full moon."