Capítulo 11: Chapter 11

"She's having a surge." Ceara stepped closer to Kaida, whose eyes had gone dissonantly vacant. "Take a deep breath."

"A surge?"

"Power surge. She doesn't have control over hers yet and stress or fear or anger can trigger a response." Ceara skimmed her hand down Kaida's strands. "Rein it in, sister. Take a breath and draw it back into you."

Tristan, pale as snow, grabbed his chest. His gaze ping-ponged from the events to the group. "Power? Power!"

She turned, impatience in her eyes. "Yes, powers. Fire." She held out her palm, where a ball of...flame flashed, then disappeared.

"Holy shit." Riley stumbled into Tristan.

Brady's heart lodged in his throat.

"Somewhere in the back of your puny minds, you knew we had them. Kaida's element is water. Obviously."

They looked to Fiona as if beseeching her demonstration, too shocked to do anything more, but Kaida's eyes rolled back in her head and her face tilted toward the sky. A strangled noise filled the quiet as her body jerked taut. The hovering droplets swirled, creating cyclones of water, and Brady couldn't deal.

He pushed aside powers and curses and insane weather glitches to zero in on her. Concern and alarm shifted inside him to block out everything else. His Kaida. Something was wrong, and he needed to fix it. Before his brain had caught up with his body, he took two faltering steps toward her.

Fiona threw up a hand, and Brady hit a wall of...solid air. "Stay away from her."

He flew backward onto his ass with a jarring thud and blinked. Tried to process. Failed miserably. "How'd you do that?"

"Air is my element."

As if that was any explanation. His brothers, being no help whatsoever, stood like mute morons with their jaws agape.

Brady lumbered to his feet. "In the not too distant future, we're going talk about this in a way that doesn't include a trip to Hogwarts. For now, Kaida..."

Collapsed. One moment she was quaking on her feet, and the next she was in a heap on the ground. The suspended rain fell in a rush, drenching everyone in the clearing.

Concern clenched his gut as he took in her limp form, hair spread around her fair face, and lashes creating shadows on her cheeks. Her plush lips were parted like she was having trouble getting oxygen, but the rest of her features were relaxed. Deathly so.

"No. Kaida?" Panicked, he rushed forward, only to be met with the invisible wall again. Anger merged with anxiety. "Let me through, Fiona."

"Not happening." Palm extended, she looked at her sister. "We should get her home."

Ceara knelt beside Kaida, smoothed a hand down her arm. "She needs to recuperate. Drawing that much power drained her."

"Agreed. Meeting over, boys."

The hell it was. Brady pounded against the barrier. No sound emitted for his efforts, but the air shimmered and pain licked his knuckles. "Let me through, Fiona. Now, or so help me..."

"What? Exactly what will you do?"

Kaida didn't stir, not even a flutter of her lashes, and terror clamped his windpipe. A rush of emotion, so fierce it almost broke him in two, seized his body. Defend. Protect. Hold. He pounded like a madman until his fists bled and tears burned his eyes.

Arms banded around him from behind, pinning his to his sides, and he realized his throat was raw from...screaming. He shook, fought off the restraint, and beat at the solid mass of air anew. He had to get to her.

"Brady, man. Calm down."

Riley's voice barely registered through the fuzz in Brady's ears. He glared daggers at Fiona, huffing. Eyes rounded, she stared at him like he'd gone mental, but her hand remained up, maintaining the shield keeping him from...

A roar, and he went toward the wall, determined to get to Kaida.

"Brady Meath."

He halted at Ceara's calm, lilting tone and found her intense gaze on him. She picked him apart in a study bordering on dissection while keeping one hand on Kaida's arm. Lungs straining, he willed her to hear his plea, understand this need to be beside Kaida even though he didn't comprehend it himself.

And then sudden intuition told him what Ceara sought from him. Heartbroken, jarred to the bone, he wondered if he should hit his knees to vow.

"I would never hurt her." He'd die first. He was not his ancestors, nor did he harbor the hate his family seemed to brandish through the centuries. One look at Kaida would've cindered that to ash if he did. He slapped a hand over his heart, tears blurring his vision. "I would never hurt her."

Gaze on him, she eventually nodded. "Fiona, pull it back."

Fiona dropped her arm and the air before him rippled.

He tentatively put his palm out and met no interference. Rushing to Kaida's side, he squatted by her hip and reached for her with a shaking hand, only to fist his fingers and draw short.

She was so still, so pale. He had no clue where the blinding need to protect her had come from, but he'd acted out of character and didn't trust himself. Tristan held the bitter, angry card in their family, and Riley was the impulsive one. Not Brady. He'd always been about logic and good judgment. Control. How long had he hoped to touch her, truly touch her? Here she was, not a dream, and he was scared out of his ever-loving mind. Just being in her presence had turned him into a raving lunatic. What would contact do?

Riley stepped beside him and cleared his throat. "Are you all right?"

Honestly? "I don't know."

Tristan dug his fingers into his eye sockets. "Did you do something to him?" He glared at Fiona, then softened a bit at Ceara. "Are you responsible for this? The dreams? His rabid animal meltdown?"

Ceara rose to her feet from Kaida's side. "Harm none," she said through clenched teeth. "That is our way, our oath. We harm none."

"Well, pardon the hell outta me. We just found out you had a sister who can make it rain backwards, and you..." He let out a gusty sigh. "Jesus. You conjured fire from your palm. That's not accounting for the air shield. This is all a bit new for us."

Fiona closed her eyes a beat, her shoulders deflating. "You're right. We're sorry." She glanced at each of them. "We had no knowledge of the dreams, and we don't know what they mean. Aunt Mara might. You have to understand, our families have been at odds for generations. We had no way of guessing what you'd do tonight or how you'd respond."

Riley shook his head. "I'll admit, I was ready to piss myself. Still might. I'm not saying we're onboard for whatever whacked out plan you have, or that I'm okay with any of this, but we're not Minister Gregory Meath and this isn't the seventeenth century."

"There are still those out there who kill our kind." Ceara crossed her arms. "Most people don't have an inkling magick is real, but some do. We call them hunters, and a good portion of them stem from your family tree."

Tristan and Riley exchanged worried, confused glances before Tristan dropped his hands on his hips. "I don't believe you."

"Shocker." Fiona rolled her eyes.

"If your surprise at our powers is sincere, and I believe it is, then you've been purposely left in the dark by your relatives." Ceara bowed her head, then looked helplessly at Fiona. "Where are we supposed to go from here?"

Fiona shrugged.

It was apparent the girls hadn't expected the meeting to go down as it had, and Brady was trying to wrap his head around everything, but there was a more pressing issue at the moment. He swallowed, looking at Kaida. "Is she...okay?"

"Yes." Ceara knelt again and took his hand across Kaida's body. "Think of it like she ran a marathon without eating this morning or sleeping the night before."

"Or a tequila bender," Fiona mumbled.

"She just needs to rest." Ceara squeezed his hand and let go. "You really care about her, don't you?"

"I don't know how to explain what I'm feeling, but yeah. She matters to me." Since Ceara was studying him again in that unnerving way, he focused on Kaida. He might breathe with less effort if she'd just open her eyes. Something. Anything. "Kaida?"

Her lids flew open, revealing a frightening shade of white where her cerulean irises used to be. She sucked in a harsh breath, blinked, and her normal eyes returned, leaving him wondering if he'd imagined the change.

Pulse hammering, he leaned over her. "Hey there. Welcome back."

"Brady?" She pressed a hand to her brow. "I didn't realize I'd fallen asleep."

"We're awake this time." He smiled, forcing a serenity in the act despite the chaos inside him. "It's really great to meet you. Officially."

Confusion wrinkling her forehead, shock in her eyes, she glanced at the faces over her. "What happened?"

Tristan eased closer. "Not sure, but you put on a good show."

Realization crept into her expression and she swallowed. "I scared you. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to"

"It's all right." In a surprising move, Tristan squatted beside Ceara at Kaida's hip. "You've made quite the impression on my brother here, which makes you solid in my book. Not a big fan of your sisters, though."

She laughed nervously and tried to sit up, but didn't manage.

"Lay still for a few more minutes." Brady, unable to fight the urge anymore, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. The barest of touches, a trace of her soft strands, and...

Light blasted from where he'd made contact. There and gone in a flash, yet bright enough to fry his retinas. Heat shot from his fingers, up his arm. She gasped, eyes wide. He lost balance and landed beside her on his ass.

The others backed up, mumbling under their breaths.

Before he could so much as check if she was hurt, pain seared the inside of his left wrist. He cursed and watched in horror as black lines formed on his skin, burning as they merged into a...trinity knot. A symbol he recognized only because of his Irish heritage and the countless Galloway Wiccan documents he'd examined through the years. Slightly larger than a quarter, it branded him like a tattoo.

Kaida cried out, grabbing her arm as the same pattern emerged in the same spot on her inner wrist. Breaths soughing, she sat up and glanced from the mark, to him, and back again. "Oh God. Did I...do that?"

"No," Ceara breathed. "I have a feeling Celeste Galloway just sent you a sign."

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