Destined (War of the Covens 2)

Still, taking her down was a huge deal.

Yet when Lucien told her what Caia did to the Midnights who planned the attack on the MacLachlan pack, she was blown away. Never had she heard of any magik doing such a thing. Caia was a weapon. The most powerful weapon in their world. She guessed they should feel lucky she was one of the good guys, one of their own.

And that was why she found herself at Lucien’s house, waiting for Caia to climb out of her love nest so they could talk. Ryder thought they should clear the air, and she agreed. They needed to trust one another if this was going to work.

“Jaeden!” Caia bounced into the room, her cheeks flushed, her green eyes brighter than jade. “Sorry to have kept you.”

Jaeden regarded her knowingly, somehow comforted by the blush that blossomed across Caia’s cheeks. It made her seem more approachable. She made a face and sat next to her, glancing idly at the swatches Ella was looking over. Caia grimaced.

“Ah, mating ceremony plans. Don’t envy you that.”

Relaxing a little, Jaeden shook her head. “My mother is taking care of everything and slowly driving me nuts. It’s been one day. It feels like years.”

“Tut-tut,” Ella admonished. “Your mother loves you. She wants you to have the best.”

Jaeden harrumphed.

“Morning.” Lucien strolled into the kitchen, his hair more mussed than usual. He threw a scorching look at Caia before noticing Jae. “Hey, Jae.” He made his way to the coffee machine. “What’s up?”

“I just wondered if Caia had a moment to talk.”

Caia nodded at her. “Of course.”

“In private?”

“Backyard?”

Prying ears could still find them there. She looked around at Magnus, Ella, and Lucien. Magnus was the only one who noticed. He folded his paper and tapped Ella on the shoulder. “Sitting room.”

“Huh, what?” She didn’t look up from the folder she was going through.

“Ella, you can do that in the sitting room. You, too, Lucien.”

Jaeden smiled gratefully at Magnus and smirked when Lucien couldn’t resist pulling Caia in for a kiss as he passed her.

“Ready?” Jae asked, unable to keep the amusement out of her voice.

Caia smoothed her hair, looking a little flustered, but she nodded in the direction of the back door. “Sure. Let’s go.”

They stood in the middle of the yard, their backs to the house, their eyes drawn to the forest like magnets. A wind whistled gently through the trees, and Jae watched as Caia tilted her face into it, pulling the rubber band from her hair so that it fell down and into the wind.

“Reminds me of the wind in my pelt,” she explained, and Jaeden smiled. Somehow it made it better knowing Caia loved her lykan side even though her powers as a magik were phenomenal. “So what’s going on?” she asked, lowering herself onto the grass.

Jaeden stretched out beside her. “I thought we should talk … about things.”

“Such as?”

“Our friendship. What happened? Other stuff I have yet to explain.”

“Friendship-wise, you still have mine. Always will.” Caia turned her face away so Jae couldn’t read her expression. “When I found out the truth, that you weren’t you, that you were gone … I was devastated.”

Memories of those first two weeks together swallowed her momentarily. They’d hit it off instantly, bonded from the moment they met. A lot of those memories included laughter, lots of laughter.

“You know I haven’t asked anyone about that faerie.” Jaeden shuddered at the thought of her. “No one seems to want to bring it up. What was it like, Cy?”

Caia turned back to her with tears shimmering in eyes that blazed with hatred and anger. “It was shocking and heinous. She was you, Jaeden. She must have watched you for weeks, memorizing your mannerisms, the way you laugh …”

Jaeden gulped at the thought of that ghoul pretending to be her, sleeping in her bed, wearing her clothes, laughing with her friends. “No one had any clue?”

“None whatsoever. It was only when Saffron, Marion’s faerie, felt her in the house and knew she wasn’t …”

“Me.”

“Yes,” Caia answered hollowly. “Then I started getting the visions of you through Ethan’s eyes.”

That someone had paid witness to the scars on her soul was difficult to deal with, but looking at Caia’s pained expression—the fury in her eyes because she genuinely cared about Jaeden—made it a little easier to cope. “Ryder told me you saw everything.”

Caia nodded, blinking back tears. “I am so sorry I didn’t get to you sooner.”

“Don’t be,” Jaeden bit out. “You didn’t give up. That’s what matters.”

“I couldn’t save Sebastian.”

Like always, his name set off a fire of grief in Jaeden’s chest, her breathing labored, her throat burning with unshed tears. He’d been her best friend, and he died trying to protect her.

“Sebastian would’ve found a way to be there with or without you bringing him along. I was his best friend, and he did what either of us would have done for him.”