Desire Untamed (Feral Warriors #1)(71)

She smiled. "Perfect."

At Lyon's hooded glare, Jag lifted his hands in surrender as he passed, chuckling.

Lyon shook his head and laid his hand on her shoulder. "Get breakfast. I have some things I need to do."

She nodded and followed Jag, who was entering the kitchen in the middle of the open house. Tighe was already there, seated before a plate piled high with bacon and eggs.

When he saw her, he stood and opened his arms to her, leaving the choice up to her.

With a smile, she accepted his hug. "Hi, Tighe."

"Hi, yourself." When she pulled back, he gripped her shoulders and held her in front of him, his smile dying as he inspected her. "You look a hundred times better than the last time I saw you. I never thought anyone could be that pale." He squeezed her shoulders. "Are you feeling better?" His mouth kicked up, a small gleam entering his eyes. Apparently everyone knew the Shaman had ordered her penetrated.

"I'm feeling much better, thank you," she said primly. But she flashed him a smile that said she knew full well what he'd been asking.

"Roar!"

Tighe was just pulling out a chair for her when Paenther's shout made them all freeze.

The two men beside her started forward, then as one, turned back to her. Jag grabbed her hand and pulled her with them to where Paenther waited in the foyer.

As they rounded the corner, three men she'd never seen before were entering the house, two large men helping a youth with long, dark hair and old-fashioned clothes who looked like he was drunk. Or drugged. Behind them, was Hawke.

"What happened, Shaman?" Lyon demanded.

To her surprise, it was the youth Lyon addressed. A man he'd told her was ancient.

Without looking at her, Lyon reached for her hand, took her from Jag, and pulled her against his side.

The Therians pressed the Shaman into one of two upholstered chairs in the wide foyer, then backed away as the Ferals pushed forward. The Shaman's head tipped against the wall behind him, his body shaking, his flesh white as snow.

"I couldn't get near the house. Halfway up your front walk, I passed out. Hawke drove me back."

"Magic?" Lyon asked. His hand tightened around hers.

"Yes. Stronger than I've felt in millennia. Old magic. And woven throughout that magic…"His gaze rose to pin her. "I felt your Radiant."

* * *

Chapter Twenty

Lyon's blood went cold, a warning growl rumbling deep in his throat as he pulled Kara in front of him and wrapped both arms around her, ready to protect her with his life.

"You said she was innocent."

"I did. Innocent, yes. But I felt her in the magic, and I believe the Mage… for this is clearly a Mage attack… has been using her. The cantric you found in her was doing more than I thought it was. More than it should have been able to."

"There's a Mage in Feral House?" Lyon roared.

"Yes. A strong one. No one else could wield that kind of magic."

Lyon looked at Paenther. "Let's go."

The Shaman held up his hand. "Wait, Warrior. This attack isn't new. The magic I felt has been there for months. If you haven't found it before now, you're not likely to."

Lyon snarled. "You want me to let the Mage have Feral House?"

"No." His weak gaze went to Kara. "There's another way. She holds the key."

Lyon shook his head, knowing where this was headed. "No mind-skinning. She's been through enough." He looked at his men. "We're going out there. Now."

Jag snorted. "We're going to waltz into a full-scale Mage attack without any clue what's going on? Sounds like a hell of a plan."

Lyon glared at him. "I'm not forsaking my men."

"So said the seventeen," Jag muttered.

A strained silence blanketed the foyer.

"What's the seventeen?" Kara asked, breaking the silence.

Lyon's jaw clenched. "Centuries ago, seventeen Ferals were lost in three days."

Kara turned her head to look up at him. "Seventeen? But I thought there were only nine of you."

"There are now," Tighe said. "There were almost thirty at that point. Six warriors walked into a cave they'd never seen before and never came out. Over the course of the next two days, eleven more went into that cave searching for them, every man certain he'd be the one to save the others. The last group included the chief. He gave direct orders to Lyon, his second, that if he failed to return, no more would enter. None did. Fourteen days later the bodies of the seventeen men littered the ground outside the cave. Apparently unharmed, yet quite dead."

"I thought new Ferals were marked when the old ones died, just as new Radiants are."

"They're supposed to be. But none of those animals ever came forth again."

"Jag's right," Paenther said, meeting Lyon's gaze. "We don't know what we're walking into." His gaze went to Kara, regret in his eyes. "We'd be fools not to use the one weapon we have."

"I agree." Kara shoved her way out of Lyon's arms and stood in front of him. "You have to use me."

He gripped her shoulders. "You don't know what you're agreeing to. Trust me on this." He started to turn, but she grabbed his hand, her grip surprisingly strong. Her eyes and voice stronger still.