Lux
"It's too late."
Elaine's dooming proclamation kept replaying in Lux's head while she sat staring into the woods behind Elaine's cottage. The trees were stripped bare of their leaves and the bark was dullâmore gray than brown in the dimming twilight, and though there was a light breeze, it was barely strong enough to stir her hair, which meant all the rustling and snapping coming from the shadows within the trees were creatures waiting and watching. But she didn't feel threatened by them. Their presence offered comfort that not even her friends inside the house could give her.
Declan had looked so hurt when she asked him to stay inside with the others while she came outside to process what Elaine revealed. He might have put up a bigger fight if it hadn't been for Kitty. He was torn between wanting to hold Lux and monitor the former Circle member now that they had proven her right. Kitty was liable to kill her on the spot to stop the future from happening. Lux was dangerous, and if she wasn't stopped, the world would burn. And she would kill the person she loved most.
"No," she whispered. "It isn't me."
She flipped her hands over and studied the familiar lines of her palms. The freckle in the crease where her right pointer finger met the palm. The scar on her thumbâearned after breaking a beaker in ninth grade Physical Science. Her flesh was a map of her life, but it wasn't who she was. Each of those marks were attached to memories she carried in her mind, and when Morgause took over, those would be gone. Lux would be gone, and the face and skin Morgause wore were of little importance. She had to keep telling herself this over and over. She would not be the one who carried out those vile acts.
But it would still be her fault. Lux rubbed at the space beneath her breast as an ache formed. It was almost as if Morgause stirred, responding to thoughts of her, but thankfully, she didn't surge forward or wrestle for control. Not that Lux was certain she would know if the woman did. She didn't remember being taken over this morning, but she was beginning to believe she couldn't take over any time she wished. The Dreams were the link between them, and Morgause was strongest afterward.
"So, I just have to stay awake forever."
"Talking to yourself?" Kitty asked, letting the door snick shut behind her as she joined her on the patio.
"Maybe I'm chatting with Morgause." Kitty froze, deadly intent bright in her blue eyes. "Too soon for that joke?"
The former earth witch chuckled dryly. "I don't think that joke will ever sit well. Not for me." She said the last sentence in a whisper.
"Kitty. I'm sorry we didn't listen to you, but... you have to know why we didn't, though. If it had been Sara Elizabeth proclaiming the things you were, would you have believed her?"
"That's probably not the best person to pick for this analogy." She stretched her legs out in front of her and raised her arms above her head, making her sweater lift and exposing the pale skin of her stomach. Skin etched with scarsâsome old and white, some soft and pink, while a few were angry and red.
"Did you do that to yourself?" Lux gasped.
Kitty jerked her shirt down at once and turned her face, hiding her expression in the falling darkness. "I've done a lot of things since I left the Circle, but these scars are the one thing I don't regret. At least I was only hurting myself."
Lux reached for the girl, but she pulled away. "Kitty."
"Don't. The things I've done. The lives," she sucked in a breath and hesitated. Tears spilled over Lux's lashes. She knew what Kitty was going to confess to, but the knowing of a thing didn't make hearing it easier. "It will never be okay. I will never find forgiveness or peace. But I need you to understand me, Lux. After what you Saw today, you have to understand. I truly believe if the blood on my hands will stop that future, then it's worth it. I would kill again."
"Would you kill me?"
She whipped her head back around, holding Lux's gaze as she spoke. "Yes."
Licking her lips, she rose and held out her hand. "Good. Because if it comes to it, Declan won't, and I need you to promise me you will stop me whatever it costs. Now, let's go inside and try to come up with a plan doesn't end in my death."
"Lux?" Kitty asked. Lux drew her long, dark hair over her shoulder and twisted it as she waited for Kitty to continue. "If we win this fight, I need you to promise me you'll try me before the Circle, and ifâwhenâI'm found guilty, you will strip me of my powers completely. I don't want to feel them anymore. I don't want to be tempted by them."
Her chest tightened. A sudden urging that this was right, and even though it broke her heart, her mind agreed. "You will be held accountable for all your crimes one day, Kitty."
When the girls entered, Declan, bless his heart, didn't rush over to check on Lux, even if his expression said it physically pained him to remain where he was. It was one of the many things she loved about him. He didn't smother her, and later, she would let him hold her. But right now, she needed to be strong.
Calum and Percy huddled near the windows, their heads bent so close together, the black and red strands of hair tangled together. They stopped when Lux came into the living room and sat in a chair. Elaine's satin skin gleamed in the firelight, and she did not take her eyes from the bright flames, even when Lux spoke.
"Daphne, my ancestor, told me the enemy had orchestrated my birth. She said I was a seed planted by the enemy." Elaine stiffened. Sadness darkened Declan's eyes as he ran them over Lux's face. "Do you know anything about that?"
Elaine twisted on her cushion. "Nothing concrete. Though, it would not surprise me. Morgan could have transferred Morgause's soul to anyone with magic and fulfilled her promise to our sister, but that is not how the Fae Queen works. She does nothing that will not benefit her, and ever since she was banished from Avalon, her goal has been to return to take her revenge. Morgan has many powers, but she has always been very gifted in the arts of divination and prophecy. It would not have been difficult for her to map out the path to weakening your Circle and giving her access to the army imprisoned in the Underworld."
"But why stop there?" Lux pushed.
Elaine smiled, her teeth sharp and bright in her dark face. It was not a comforting smile. "Why stop there, indeed? My sister is nothing if not thorough, and I'm sure she studied the many threads that would follow after your Circle collapsed, and if she foresaw your birth in one of those threads, she would have been very, very excited indeed. A modern witch withâ" she sniffed. "A fully angel father, and a mother descended from the First of the First Daughters? Power like that has not walked the earth in thousands of years, and she would certainly want that power for herself."
"Or for Morgause?"
"Or for Morgause."
"Shit," Percy said with his usual lack of eloquence. "What do we do?"
"Bind her powers?" Calum suggested.
Lux glanced at him, and he shrugged apologetically. She gave him a soft smile to let him know she felt no ill feelings toward him. After all, that had been her first thought, but it wouldn't work.
Declan was the one to explain why to everyone. "Her powers aren't the problem, and binding her powers won't protect her from the Dreams."
Elaine nodded. "If Morgan used a Faerie stone to store Morgause's soul, then your solution won't lie in taking away Lux's powers. It would only leave her defenseless. Faerie stones are containers that put magic out into the world, so the Faerie stone has been tied to Lux somehow, and Morgause's soul is slowly being pushed into Lux. She has to be linked to the stone somehow. It would have to be a physical link. At least initially."
"But how?" Lux demanded. She touched her channeling stone as anxiety coursed through her. It calmed her enough to draw in a deep breath. "These Dreams didn't start until a few months ago, and I've not left Sweet Water in all that time."
Elaine gave a little shrug. "Sounds like that's the mystery you need to solve. Destroying the Faerie stone is the only hope you have of stopping Morgause from taking over. Now, I think I'm at the end of my usefulness. I've set a tray of drinks by the door. If the newcomers would so kindly take a sip, you'll all be welcome to leave. And never come back."
Indeed, there were three drinks sitting on the kitchen table, steam curling above the rims. Percy and Calum both scrunched their noses as they walked by them, and the redheaded Guardian threw them a thumbs up before he went outside.
"I'm guessing that's the binding potion, so we can't tell people you're related to Morgause and Morgan?" Kitty frowned into her mug.
"Such a clever girl," Elaine purred, then abruptly turned away from them again and watched the fire as if it held all the secrets of the world.
"Good grief, she's a bitch," Kitty said before chugging back the drink.
Lux and Declan followed. It wasn't as bad as she expected, but it certainly wasn't pleasant. A bit like warm black licorice and cinnamon that had gone slightly sour. When she set it back down, she looked over her shoulder to say goodbye to their host, even if she wasn't all that gracious, but the tiny living room was empty. Elaine was gone.
"Well, that was interesting," Percy said, clearing his throat as everyone huddled in a circle next to the vehicles.
Declan rubbed Lux's shoulders, his fingers kneading into the tense muscles and making her relax. She leaned against him, inhaling his scent and wishing they were alone. She didn't know how many more moments they would have together, and she didn't want to waste them.
"So what's the plan?" Kitty asked.
"I guess we go back to the house and search it from top to bottom and see if we can't find something that might have been planted," Declan suggested.
"That's a start," Lux agreed. "But I don't think we're going to find anything. Maybe we need to go back to the mall in Jackson? Something didn't sit right with me when I talked to the girl who worked there. Jessie? There was also another girl. They could be planted by Morgan, and there is that new Bloodborn business we found in the woods."
Kitty frowned but didn't confess to being responsible for the new activity. Instead, she said, "Maybe. I feel like I would've known if Morgan sent any other witches into the area."
Calum straightened, his blue eyes icy as he demanded, "How would you know that?"
"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?" the girl said, not retreating from his glare. "I originally thought it was the best way to stay in the know, but Morgan isn't dumb. She only lets us know one or two other people in her web, so no one ever knows what's going on completely. It's also really easy to catch spies that way, so I had to be careful, but I do know one person we can talk to. He and his witch follow the Fae Queen, and they might know more."
Declan's fingers dug into Lux's arm, and she pulled away from him, rubbing the sore spot. He gave her an apologetic smile before focusing on Kitty. "He and his witch? Are you telling me you know a sorcerer who is involved with her?"
"Yeah," Kitty said. "You know him too. He's a recent graduate. His name is Nigel."