“Why does it matter if he wants to or is forced to invade Sitia?” Leif asked. “He’s still going to invade.”
“It matters because if we give him a good reason not to invade, he won’t,” Valek said.
“And how can we possibly do that? There’s only ten of us,” Zohav said.
“For now,” Valek said.
Janco straightened. “You thinking of recruiting, boss?”
“Thinking about it, along with a few other...nasty surprises for the Cartel.”
“Sweet.”
Valek scanned their faces and then met my gaze. “It’ll be dangerous.”
“Suicidal,” Zohav muttered.
Valek addressed the group. “It’s your choice. Fisk can find you a safe place to stay until it’s over.”
“I’m in,” Janco said.
Ari nodded. “Me, too.”
“And me,” Zethan said.
Zohav glared at her brother. “I’ll help,” she said in a resigned tone.
Leif met Mara’s gaze. “We need to discuss it.”
She huffed in amusement. “Where you go, I go. It’s that simple.”
I suppressed a smile.
“No way I’m hiding,” Heli said.
“I’m already signed up,” Teegan said.
Everyone looked at me.
“You need to think of the baby,” Leif said.
“I am. And I don’t want to raise our child in a world controlled by two power-hungry megalomaniacs. So I will do whatever it takes to prevent that from happening.”
“And that would be a yes.” Janco grinned.
“What’s our first move, boss?” Ari asked.
“You and Janco go scout for a more permanent hideout. I’m going to need time to plan.”
Janco jumped to his feet. “We’re on it.”
* * *
Valek recovered his strength a few days later, but we still didn’t get a chance to talk about all that had happened while we were separated. Ari and Janco found an abandoned farmhouse inside the Stormdance Clan’s lands. We traveled to the site in small groups, each going a different way. Reuniting with Kiki soothed my soul.
We planned to renovate the inside to suit our needs, but keep the outside in its dilapidated state. The horses would stay in a camouflaged structure in the forest nearby.
On the first night, Valek and I arranged our bedrolls and blankets in the largest bedroom on the second floor. We added coal to the small brazier, coaxing a little more heat. Most of the others stretched out by the fire around the central hearth downstairs, but we hadn’t had any privacy in forever. Or so it seemed.
Even with so much to discuss, we spent the first couple hours getting reacquainted.
Finally, with our hearts beating in sync and our bodies pressed together skin on skin, we shared the events that had changed both our lives so drastically.
Valek explained about the Storm Thieves and discovering his new siblings. The epiphany by Vincent’s grave.
“I had no idea letting go would have such...consequences,” he said. “A huge weight lifted off my shoulders, but it took my immunity with it.”
“I was right. You attached a null shield to your soul when you witnessed your older brothers’ murders. Once you didn’t need that protection, it returned to the sky.”
“Rotten timing,” he murmured.
“I wouldn’t say that. Nor would Leif or Mara.”
“I lost control and almost killed us.”
“But you didn’t. Next time—”
“There’s not going to be a next time.” He sounded like a sullen child.
“Yes, there will be. We need every advantage we can get. Leif and Zethan can teach you how to control it.”
“I don’t have to like it.”
Amused by his tone, I said, “Look at the bright side. You reconnected with your parents and gained three new siblings.”
“And you gained a mother-in-law.”
Oh. Right.
“Not so amusing now, is it? I even promised her to bring you for a visit.”
“Fighting Bruns’s Cartel doesn’t seem that bad now,” I joked.
“Ha.”
The silence stretched as I considered how much Valek’s world had been turned upside down in the past two months. The Commander’s mistrust, our marriage, the baby, his family, his lost immunity and the discovery of his magic. No wonder Bruns’s men had been able to capture him at Mara’s. Anyone else would have been unhinged by just one of those incidents.
“Your turn, love,” Valek said. “Why does your touch block my magic? Not that I’m complaining. In fact, I love your touch even more now.”
I told him my theory about the baby being a void. “But after my experience with Loris’s magic and Teegan’s comment, I’m not so sure anymore.”
“Something drained the magic when we were connected,” Valek said. “Is that what Teegan meant?”
“I think so. But if that was the case, then what did the baby do with the magic? I didn’t regain my powers. Nothing happened. I don’t think so, anyway.”
“But this blocking power has grown stronger, right?”