Ascended (War of the Covens 3)

A cool hand clasped her shoulder, eliciting a sharp thump from her heart. She looked up to see Reuben staring down at her kindly. There wasn’t even enough time to be surprised by the concern in his eyes before she was pulled out of her seat and enfolded in his arms. Shocked at his display of sympathy, of solicitude, she tensed against him. He tightened his hold and pressed her head against his chest, soothing her with quiet words.

“You’re allowed to cry, Caia. She meant a great deal to you, to everyone. In this war you will see a lot of death, and feel much grief, but you have to let yourself feel it. If you stop allowing yourself to, you will stop caring about why you are fighting in the first place.” He placed a soft kiss on her forehead. “I know I seem ruthless … and I can be sometimes … but I still care. I need to.”

Tears rolled quietly down her cheeks as he spoke, and as his voice faded to silence, she could no longer stop, burrowing her head deeper into his chest and soaking his shirt with her salty, uncontrolled sorrow. When at last she had quieted and stopped shuddering with the force of her emotions, reality intruded and Caia pulled back from him, instantly uncomfortable with her outburst. And as her gaze locked onto his dark, unfathomable eyes, wariness sprang between them. Caia was frightened by her need to trust him, and he seemed unnerved by the idea that he might just trust her.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized shakily.

Reuben sighed, and she felt him brush her hair back from her face. “It’s fine. You needed to do that to get on with the rest of today.”

She nodded, her eyes glued to the floor. “We should go to Alfred Doukas’s home.” She referred to the Council member she was acquainted with. “Enlist his family and get them to organize the others.”

“Vil can take you to them. I think we should hurry this along.”

She looked up at him now, her eyebrows raised in surprise. “What did you have in mind?”

“I’m going to call on Vanne. He and I are going to the MacLachlans while you deal with the Council. With Vanne’s help, I’ll be able to convince Alistair MacLachlan and his daughter to join us. We should arrange a time for us all to meet at the portal.”

Caia frowned. “Can Vanne get away from Marita without raising suspicion?”

The vampyre chuckled. “Of course. When I whistle, he comes running. End of story.”

She guffawed. “You really are sure of yourself, aren’t you?”

“I’ve had over two thousand years to perfect arrogance and acquire a solid arsenal of diverse weaponry to support that arrogance.”

Before she could mock his cockiness, the door to the room blasted open and Jaeden strode in, now in human form and fully clothed. She curled her lip at Reuben and turned her attention and respect to Caia.

“Saffron’s arrived with the children. Two of them are Joaquin and Seana. Cera and the Treys are in hysterics.” She paused so they could hear the commotion rumbling up through the floors from the kitchen. “The other three kids aren’t ours.” Her lip trembled. “Jaela and the others must still be at the Center. Anyway, Vil’s going to take the kids home one by one.”

Caia glanced at Reuben who was frowning. He seemed ready to dispute that decision when Caia subtly shook her head at him. She looked to Jae who seemed to be watching them both with narrowed eyes, a quizzical furrow between her eyebrows.

“That’s fine. But tell him to hand the children over and leave. We don’t have time for explanations, and I need Vil to take me to Alfred Doukas.”

“OK.” Jae grimaced. “But isn’t that a little mean? These people deserve to know what happened to their kids.”

Reuben rolled his eyes. “Then pin a note on them.”

Caia winced at his insensitivity and the volcanic look on Jaeden’s face. Before Jae could erupt, Caia stepped in between them. “Ignoring his charming delivery, Reuben has a point.” She sighed wearily. “I don’t like it very much, but maybe we could return them with a note explaining everything, for now.”

She wasn’t sure Jae was going to respond. And then she snorted in disgust. “Don’t spend too much time with him, Cy. You’re starting to think like him. And remember, if he can mesmerize me with his voodoo crap, who’s to say he won’t do it to you?” With that, she spun on her heel and left the room.

Hmm … she hadn’t thought about that. Was that what Reuben was doing? Wafting his powers over her so she felt like she could trust him? She slanted her gaze at him and noticed with some annoyance he was smirking, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking.