Chapter 74

Wes smiled and listened to her. If he was honest with himself, he’d admit that he could listen to her talk about the different shades of grass and still be enthralled. The expressions on her face was a marvel to watch. He was sure her mind worked faster than most because she would pause occasionally and just look around them without pausing the conversation. A few times, he’d stiffened and then tried to sense if there was a reason she did that.

She smiled at something she’d said, and he felt a warmth blossoming throughout his whole body. His magic wasn’t making it easy to focus at all. Being able to feel hers finally was more than a little distracting. Her magic was hot, but in a controlled sense, not out of control. She turned and looked across the room again.

Wes sat taller and glanced in that direction. “What is it?”

She slowly looked back at him. “I’m not sure. There’s just this—” She waved a hand around. “—feeling.”

“Good or bad?”

Pursing her lips, she looked at the glass sitting by her plate. “I’m not certain. It’s a new feeling, yet it feels familiar at the same time.”

He didn’t like the sound of that. While she may have dismissed their ancestors, the other three women’s magic could feel familiar. They had all worked as one long ago. “That may not be a good thing, Ann.”

Her gaze snapped to his face. “What do you mean?”

He opened his mouth and then exhaled while he tried to figure out how to explain it. “The other three—” He paused until he was sure she understood who he was talking about. “The trace of their magic—” He glanced around to make sure no one was sitting close enough to listen in. “It could feel familiar to you, safe, because at one time all six of you…”

“Worked together.” She nodded and then looked around the room again. “I don’t know if that’s it.”

“That’s part of what you need to learn. Working with Kat and Teegan so all of you can recognize each other’s.”

She leaned her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her clasped hands. “You’re talking about when the time comes?”

He nodded. “Yes. You will all need to recognize each other.”

She bit her lip for a moment. “That sounds complicated.”

Wes smiled. “Not complicated, just a new sensation.”

Her eyes lit up. “I don’t think we should use that word when we’re near each other.”

“What—sensation?” His smile widened. “You don’t think so?”

She shook her head and sat back again. “No. This—” She wiggled her fingers in front of her chest. “—buzz is very distracting.” She leaned closer to the table again. “What is it?”

He looked down at his plate and then pushed it away from the edge of the table. “Our magic.” He said it quietly, not wanting to flag it as something they needed to discuss constantly. He knew enough about Ann that if she didn’t have a choice in most things, then she would just push it aside like it didn’t exist. He didn’t want to be one of those to her.

“It’s never been this way before.”

Wes shrugged. “You had yours very well hidden.”

“Off. I more or less turned it off.”

He nodded slowly. “How?” He tilted his head to the side. “None of us sensed a thing from you.” He leaned over the table. “To the point that we thought perhaps it wasn’t going to be in this generation.”

She tisked. “Well, Celia blew that.”

“She did. I really need to know how you did it.” He gave her a mock-panicked look. “I will lose sleep trying to figure it out.” He was rewarded with a genuine smile from her.

“I don’t know if I can explain it.” She glanced at her bag. “I followed the instructions in the journal.”

“Is it completely off, or can you access it if needed quickly?” She bit her lip as she thought, and Wes licked his own in response. If he started drooling, he was out of here.

“I can still access it with more focus than normal.”

He nodded. “I think I need to read that journal. The fact that it survived, hidden in the families that followed Bridget, is nothing more than miraculous.” His phone buzzed in his pocket. He debated for a second to ignore it, but just in case it was important, he pulled it out and looked at it. It was a message from Leland. Get to the warehouse. There was a problem with the binding. He read it twice and then looked at Ann.

Her brows furrowed. “What’s wrong?”

“We need to go to the warehouse. There was an issue with—” He looked around, suddenly not liking that Ann had been having odd feelings since they’d been here. “—what Brother Kale was going to do.”

He watched what he was saying register in her eyes. “Okay.” She looked around. “I’ll go right now.”

“Wait.” He stood up and dropped more than enough money on the table. “I think we should go together until we see what’s happening.”

She stood up slowly and looked around the room. He thought she was going to say there was no need, but instead, she nodded and then just stood there hugging her bag.

“Let’s go.” He put his hand out and took it without question. The initial contact almost felt like mild electrocution, but as if their magic knew now was not the time for games, it lessened to barely noticeable. He would have to ask Leland if that was normal.

When they were outside, he released her hand and walked down the sidewalk with long strides. “What do you think happened?”

He glanced at her and then shook his head. “I have no idea. If the brothers had problems, then it’s nothing I’ve ever heard of, I can tell you that.”

“I don’t know much about things like that—” She stopped walking and turned around.

Wes’ spine felt like it was frozen, the chill was that intense. Someone close by held magic. He reached and took her hand. “Your car is closest. You drive.”

She gripped his hand tightly and hurried beside him. “I don’t like this feeling.” She stopped beside her car and got her keys. “Should we do something about it?”

Wes looked around, trying to sense the direction it was coming from. He shook his head. “No. That may be what they’re trying to provoke.”

Ann made a sound he could only think of as a growl. Whoever was playing games with her was going to regret it.