Crossing Boundaries

Chapter 30

Arrowan

The wards were in shambles. I knew the kind of ward work Luin was usually capable of, but these were so faded and shredded that I couldn't even tell what kind he had woven around the pack house. Rather than being a tightly-woven fabric of magic, the wards were like dangling threads. Almost anything could walk through the gaps.

"This is my fault," Luin whispered to me. "People are getting hurt and I should have prevented it."

His eyes shimmered with tears and he looked up at me, his expression pleading for something. Comfort? Condemnation? If I had to guess, trying to convince him that he wasn't responsible would only make him feel worse. I didn't want to risk it, so I hugged him tightly and he tucked himself against my chest. His shoulders shook, so I clutched him even tighter until he calmed down. In the meantime, Lachlan and Roderick wandered a ways off to give us some privacy.

"I should have come out as soon as the Unseelie were taken care of. I knew the wards hadn't been maintained in too long. Or I could have asked Glenna and Safiya to take care of it, or Roderick," Luin said.

"You're not alpha," I reminded him. "You don't make defensive decisions for the pack." I was fairly certain that was true, anyway, and Luin didn't disagree. "Magnus could have asked to have the wards reinforced. His security team could have caught the intruders sooner. Don't you dare take all of this on yourself."

Whoops. I really hadn't meant to try and push absolution on Luin if he wasn't ready to hear it. Thankfully, he looked up and studied me with damp eyes, then slowly nodded. "It wasn't all my fault," he finally said. "But I still owed the pack better than I gave them."

That would have to be enough for now. At least Luin was doing a bit better. He pulled away from me and rolled his shoulders back, then deliberately straightened his posture and fixed his expression into neutrality. "Let's get the wards back up," he said, all determination now. I nodded and we caught up to Lachlan and Roderick down the hall.

Weaving wards with Roderick was different from working with Glenna and Safiya. I had always felt Glenna's magic as a warm glow. Safiya's felt like it was crackling, sort of like those sparkler sticks people played with on the fourth of July. Working with the two of them never could have prepared me for the intensity of Roderick's magic. It felt sharp and had a dangerous edge, but there was never any doubt he had complete control over himself. The focus in his eyes and the careful way he wove strands of his magic together and around my own should have been comforting. Instead, it only made him feel more dangerous to me.

Magic like his, it had to be capable of complete devastation. And how was he not exhausted by now? As Luin worked, I kept funneling more magic into him through our bond and he still looked pale and ill. Roderick didn't look like all of this magic use was affecting him at all.

I was glad he was a friend, because even with our good relationship I felt intimidated.

The warriors still hadn't returned by the time the warding work was finished. Roderick looked to me and said, "Will you three be okay here? I can put up lightning wards around the borders of the territory. They'll zap anyone who doesn't belong."

"I don't belong," I pointed out.

"Stay in the pack house and that won't matter," Roderick said. "Just don't go outside."

I nodded and Roderick disappeared. It was interesting that Roderick had only bothered to get permission from me when Lachlan was here. Did being mated to one of the pack's alphas not give him any kind of authority? Or did Roderick just not know or care?

"I'm going to find a window. I want to see what's going on," Lachlan said. He started striding away, leaving me and Luin to trail after him. No way was I leaving the man alone, not until Magnus came back. Lachlan checked a few rooms, looking out the windows before moving on, until he finally found one that had a view of fighting wolves. He cracked opened the window and sniffed at the air.