Captivating Magic (The Thorne Witches #14)

Chapter 26

26

PRESENT DAY

L aszlo jolted as his spirit rejoined his body. He woke slowly, vaguely aware of the conversation around him. Words like wolf and Ebba were spoken in hushed tones, and the sense of dread he experienced was staggering.

Panicked, he bolted upright and looked around the living room. Seeing only Castor, Alastair, and Damian caused his heart to slam painfully against his chest wall.

“Where is she?” he demanded.

“How much do you remember from the accident scene?” Alastair asked him.

“Other than Ebba fawning over Damian, not much,” he admitted grimly.

“Yeah, that was annoying for me, too.” Castor crossed his arms and sent a sour glance toward the Aether. “He’s honing in on our territory.”

“ My ,” Lo snapped. “My territory.”

Alastair tsked as Damian’s black brows shot skyward.

“Who raised him to be such a barbarian, Al?” Castor wanted to know. “Women aren’t chattel. They’re meant to be honored for the queens they are.”

“I know my wife just stepped into the room, Alex,” Alastair replied, extending his hand for Aurora to take. “You can drop the act.”

“Nice try, Alexander,” she said in her cultured British tones as she cuddled up to her husband’s side. Tilting her head to study Laszlo, she smiled. “How are you, darling boy?”

How was he? It was a damned good question! He took stock of his person.

“I’ve got a raging headache and a desperate need to know what happened to Ebba, but these yahoos refuse to tell me anything.”

“Ah. Clearly they’ve forgotten how the uncertainty can be stressful.” She shoved off Alastair with a reprimanding glare. “Unkind, darling. Very unkind.”

“Rorie—”

“We were just about to tell him,” Damian said. “But now that he’s awake, I’ll leave that to the rest of you.”

Laszlo blinked, and the Aether was gone.

“He’s a man of few words,” Lo said with a rub of his neck.

“Unless he’s droning on about areas of the brain,” Castor said.

“What’s this?” Alastair appeared confused. “When did Damian drone on about the brain?”

“When he told Ebba he had to remove her memories.” Lo shot Castor a worried glance, but the other man shook his head. “What am I missing?”

“He won’t remember. The timeline shifted,” Castor said simply. “You only remember because your spirit made the journey with me.”

“But he was there. So was the Aether,” Lo argued.

“Yes, but they recall what happened then , not what led to it or your spirit taking a side trip tonight. Or rather, Al won’t. Damian might remember both because he holds pieces of every magical ability.”

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“Think of it as two roads at an intersection.” Castor created a V with his hands. With a small shake of his left, he said, “This was the road we were on, but when we rewound to this juncture”—he tapped the heel of his palms—“also known as Ebba’s accident, we all took this road instead,” he concluded with a shake of his right.

“So they never traveled the other road,” Lo said softly.

“Correct. I did, along with your spirit, so we’ll retain the memories.”

“But I don’t remember much—” Sharp, stabbing pain in his head caused Lo to gasp and press the heels of his hands to his eye sockets. “Agh!”

“What is it, son?”

Before he could answer Alastair, he was cut off by Castor. “The new memories are shuffling around in his brain. Reorganizing to match the new timeline. The effect is a wicked migraine.”

As if Lo’s headache wasn’t bad enough when he woke!

Gritting his teeth, he scrunched his eyes.

“Just tell me where Ebba is,” he ground out.

“She gave Kyrella control two days ago, and she’s running around Alastair’s woods.” Castor shoved him back down and dropped a sopping rag on his forehead, chuckling when Lo swore. “Sorry.”

There wasn’t an ounce of remorse in his tone.

“Fucker,” Lo muttered.

With a laugh, the Traveler moved away and, from the sound of it, sank into the closest chair. “I’ll give you the cliff notes while your memories unscramble,” he said. “Ebba and Kyrella became one?—”

Lo lifted the edge of the washcloth. “Who’s Kyrella?”

“The wolf.”

“What— oh! Oh, god!” His stomach revolted, and he swallowed back the threatening bile. When he could speak again without vomiting, he asked, “Is this physical reaction normal?”

“Somewhat.” Ice clinked in Castor’s glass tumbler. “Al, you want to field this one?”

“Actually, I will,” Rorie said, crossing to Lo and stroking the damp hair back from his temples. “I experienced something similar not that long ago. It’s a normal reaction when your soul reunites with the body. You came back mere minutes ago, am I right?”

He nodded with great care, incapable of any other physical movement. Hell, he’d do well to hold on for dear life while the world spun off its axis.

“Not the world, just your equilibrium,” she told him, alerting him to the fact he’d spoken aloud. “The headaches, the lack of coordination, and the discombobulated thoughts will disappear after your body self-corrects. You weren’t gone that long, so it should only last a week or two at the most.”

“Why are you all here?” he asked.

“Alastair insisted on it, suspecting when your soul rebounded, you would need someone who had experienced it to discuss the symptoms and ease your transition.”

Lo peeled back a corner of the rag and managed a half smile. “Thank you, Rorie. And thank you, Al. I appreciate the support.”

“Always,” Alastair said, and it sounded like a promise.

“Does—what is her name? Kyrella?—does she know me?” The new memory surfaced. “Scratch that. My brain downloaded the information. I see that she does.”

It also registered he and Ebba weren’t together as a couple, and his stomach tightened at the unexpected knowledge.

“Relax. The calmer and more open your mind is, the quicker the new info will flow,” Castor advised. “And because you’re about to ask, Ebba hasn’t dated anyone else, as hard as I tried to convince her she should. She’s faithful to you.”

With an amused snort, Lo eased into a sitting position and set aside the damp cloth. When Alastair handed him a tumbler of scotch, he happily drank.

“I think I’m okay now, gang. I appreciate the support.”

Alastair nodded and set his glass aside. “My security team has watched over Ebba and Kyrella in the months since they merged, and will continue to do so. She’s as safe as can be, Laszlo. I promise.”

“My main concern is Charlotte. It seems my divorce isn’t finalized in this timeline.”

“No, but it will be in two days.”

Two days. The timing seemed perfect. Ebba would be human again, and they could plan their future, if indeed they had one. As best he could recall, they hadn’t discussed their feelings since the night of the accident, despite his separation. He had a harder time remembering why.

“Are you okay?”

He glanced up to find Castor studying him, and the concern was warming, all things considered. “Yeah. Thanks.” He held out his hand to shake. “For everything, both the first time and this time. You saved her and gave us a chance at a future.”

“Don’t think I wouldn’t seduce her if I could.” The Traveler laughed when Laszlo tightened his grip. “Calm down, killer. I’m teasing.”

“I don’t believe you are, but I’m assuming nothing’s changed as far as your potential mate.”

Castor’s dark frown lightened Lo’s mood. “Not cool, man.”

“Why are you running from it?” he asked softly.

“Every female I’ve cared about has died and/or moved on. I’m not looking forward to the fallout from another relationship gone bad.”

“Why does it have to?” Alastair asked.

“Come on, Al. You know why. Guys like me, the ones always walking into danger, are a risk to anyone we care about.”

“You’re wrong, Alexander.” Rorie kissed his cheek. “You’ve got a lot of love to give, and any woman worthy of that love will not care about the risks.”

“Leave Al and run away with me,” he urged, wrapping an arm around her waist. “You, me, Mai Tais on the beach. What do you say?”

“I’d say Alastair would tear down the world to find and murder us both.”

“Just Alex, my love. You, I could never harm,” Al responded gallantly. “But I do love the idea of Mai Tais on the beach.”

She laughed as Castor released her. With a hug for her husband, she said, “You hate frou-frou drinks, darling. Admit it.”

“For you, I’d pretend to enjoy them.” He kept his arms locked around her as he gazed deeply into her eyes.

“And because I love you, I’d never make you,” she replied with an adoring smile. “Let’s go home, darling. It’s late, and I have something that requires your attention.”

Alastair’s answering grin was worthy of the devil and pure wickedness as they teleported away.

The wistful expression on Castor’s face said how much he craved a relationship like theirs, and Laslzo felt a kinship with the man.

“Maybe you should take their advice to heart,” Lo suggested. “It might ease the loneliness.”

“I’ve had my great love, boyo. It’s not fair to promise the next woman forever when I’m still crazy about the last one.”

“What happened?”

Castor took a long chug of his drink, making it appear his past trials still weighed on his heart. Finally, he said, “I faked my death and disappeared for almost a half century. My lover was shot in the heart by her half-brother and met her soulmate in the Otherworld.”

“My cousin Preston’s wife, Selene? She’s the one you love?”

“She’s the one.”

Lo cast him a compassionate look. “Sorry, man.”

“I didn’t just tell you all that for my benefit, Thorne. You owe both Charlotte and Ebba one hell of an apology for marrying one when you were in love with the other.”

“Because Thornes only love once,” Lo said with a nod.

“Personally, I think that’s a load of shit. A secondary love may not be as consuming as the soulmate love, but it’s just as beautiful if it works out.”

“But all my family eventually found their soulmates.”

“True, yet Preston loved Rorie for a time, and Al loved his son’s mother. Both were content.” Castor shrugged. “Hell, Holly married another man before returning to Quentin.”

“Wait—”

“Separate timeline. Quentin and Francesca reset the one you remember.”

Lo’s brows met. “How often does that happen?”

“Not often at all. Seems to be specific to my line.” Castor removed the empty glass from Laszlo’s hand. “Refill, or are you good?”

“I’m good.”

“Okay. Then clean up this place so your girl doesn’t come home to a mess,” he ordered. “Add vases of her favorite flowers to each of the rooms and leave her a note. Tell her you’d like to take her to dinner to celebrate your divorce if she’s willing.”

“You think it’s as simple as that?” Lo asked dryly.

“I do. Ebba loves you, boyo. Try to recall the night of the accident and how she wanted to make sure you were okay with having her as a familiar for life.” Castor nodded his satisfaction as Lo’s face registered the shocking memory. “That’s right. She was willing to give up her life if you weren’t good with it. A woman who would sacrifice everything for you is the one woman you should sacrifice everything for in return.”

“Understood.”

“Good, because if you treat her poorly, I’ll gladly steal her away.” He winked. “It only takes a time hop.”

“That’s disgusting. You’re old enough to be her father.”

Castor grinned. “Yeah, but I look the same age as you , and I’m a helluva lot better looking.”