The reality of what I’d done hit me. What the mage was I thinking! I shouldn’t have left without talking to him. What kind of a person did that—to their mate?
‘Rage?’
Panic clenched my chest, and I sucked in a ragged breath.
‘Rage!’
I didn’t even wait for a response before I glanced down at the black wolf at my side. ‘Honor, can you reach Rage?’
Grandfather stood, and I was vaguely aware of him rummaging through some books on his desk.
‘No.’ Honor looked up at me. ‘I lost the connection to my brothers the second we passed through the onyx door at the library.’
Crap!
We couldn’t communicate while here?
Rage was going to kill me. He’d think I left on purpose—which I had, but not to cut him off or be away permanently! Or what if he thought I got kidnapped or something worse? I needed to let him know I was okay.
“Umm, Grandpa Geoff?” I asked as my stomach sank with dread.
“Hmm?” He continued to riffle through his things, not even bothering to look up at me.
Meanwhile, Reyna must’ve felt more confident about his health because she now stood in the kitchenette, washing dishes at the sink. When we were all in that room at Rage’s coronation, they’d made it sound like getting here to High Mage Island was critical and time was of the essence, but now that we were here…
“I can’t reach Rage through our bond,” I said as dread and shame pressed in on me. “He’s going to worry—”
“Ah, yes,” Grandpa said, straightening. He stopped his search and faced me with a frown. “About that … you’ll be cut off from Alpha Island and anything in that world while you are here.”
My breath hitched in my throat. Say what?
I sucked in a sharp breath and pressed my hand to my chest—just in case my heart decided to jump out and flee. “Okay…”
Only it wasn’t okay. Not at all.
“Can I pop back over there and talk to him really quickly, then?” I asked, filled with remorse for my selfish actions. I’d wanted to avoid a confrontation, but abandoning Rage was taking it to a whole new level. “I could run and be back in five—just so he knows I’m okay?”
“Of course.” My grandfather nodded, but he didn’t quite meet my gaze. “But … first, we need to have you complete your initiation. If Kian knows you’re here and I’m about to claim you … I fear he’ll try to stop the process.”
I swallowed, wishing I had done things differently. Suck it up. I’d own my mistake when I went back. Besides, how long could initiation take? A few hours? Rage knew me, he knew I wouldn’t just leave him. Everything was going to be fine…
Grandpa Geoff let out a whoop and held up a water-clear crystal, six or seven inches in length and an inch in diameter. “Come now, let’s go to the castle so you can meet your ancestors.” Then his gaze dropped to Honor. “I’ll not tell you what to do, but if the high mages see Honor here, and you’ve not successfully completed initiation, they’ll try to kill him. Only after you’ve been recognized as my heir would you be permitted to have a shield, and even then, it’s a rare privilege.”
My eyes widened as my mind spun. What the what?
I looked at Reyna, but she continued to wash dishes, oblivious or uncaring. If I didn’t already know, I wouldn’t have believed she was a Harvest girl. Other than her red hair, she was nothing like the bubbly, chatty sisterhood I’d come to know and love from the Harvest sisters at Alpha Academy. Was she always like that, or was it this place? Did things happen here that muted her sparkle?
‘I’ll stay back with her,’ Honor told me. ‘If you need me, just holler, and I’ll come—consequences be damned.’
I nodded, because what else could I do?
My grandfather hobbled down the hallway, one hand on the wall and the other holding his cane. I followed him, watching him as he walked. After a dozen paces, we turned the corner, and the walls changed from wood to stone. Glass sconces burst to life with purple flames, lighting our way as he kept on, leading us through an endless stretch of corridor—at least a quarter of a mile long. This was the longest hallway I’d ever seen, and it had no doors. It reminded me of the passageways in the alpha king’s castle.
“This hallway connects to our estate,” Grandpa said. “But the study attached to the library is the only place Kian and the other high mages can’t access. Only those who share blood or shield bond with a master mage of spirit can gain access to that place. At least, for now,” he muttered ahead of me.
Good to know. Hide from Kian in the study if necessary. Check.
The hallway opened up, widening into a large foyer. Two large wingback chairs occupied the space on either side of the stone entryway, and a breathtaking crystal drop chandelier hung from the ceiling, casting small rainbows through prisms of light.
Between the two seating areas and occupying the majority of the entry hall was the base of a wide stone staircase. Six steps led to a landing that was bigger than my bedroom at Alpha Academy. On either side of the second landing, another set of stairs led to an additional entrance hall on the second story. Windows stretched from the third story to the top of the first, but the vestibule where I stood had only one obvious entrance point from the outside: the set of double doors on my left. They drew my attention, and Grandfather Geoff waved at them dismissively.
“Those are the formal entrance to Spirit Estate. When someone knocks, you don’t have to answer.”
Good to know. He made this place sound like a den of enemies.
He continued walking through the space, leaning on his cane, while I gaped at the giant freaking castle. This place was huge, and it wasn’t covered in dust like the dorm at Alpha Academy. This place shone with gold and crystal finishes all over.
I followed Grandpa Geoff down a wide hall, taking note of a sitting room, an office, and a library, as well as several closed doors. As we neared the end of the hall, the smell of cake wafted in the air. My stomach rumbled with discontent, having missed the party celebrating Rage’s triumph and all.
“Pappy!” a male squealed, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
I stepped up to the wide doorway and saw a teenage male rushing toward us. I froze at the entrance to an enormous kitchen, and the tall male, perhaps sixteen years old, skidded to a halt, his mouth dropping open as he stared at me. He held a chocolate cupcake in one hand; frosting was smeared on his lips and chin.
He was dressed in a simple black t-shirt and jeans. His feet were bare, and his pale silvery hair fell into his eyes and brushed against his cheekbones.
“Elia’s dead,” he said, his forehead furrowing. He dropped his gaze to the floor, avoiding mine, and his eyes filled with tears. “She’s gone.”
What the…? The mention of my mother shocked me. Did he think I was her?
“Donovan, this is Elia’s daughter, Nai,” Grandfather Geoff said as he shuffled over to the young man. “She’s your cousin.”
Cousin?
Holy crap! I had another cousin? One that wasn’t a douchebag like Nolan?
“Family?” he asked Grandpa.
“Family,” Gramps affirmed.
The young man nodded, mouth opening in surprise, before he wiped at his eyes, smearing streaks of chocolate frosting across his face. He sniffed but didn’t look up from the ground. “Where’s Mom?”