The Beast And The Blessed

Sixty-Four: Joselin

Joselin's P.O.V.

A tired and grumpy Tobias greeted me the next morning. It was wise for everyone to stay out of his way, which meant they also stayed out of mine. It was amazing.

It helped that everyone was scared of him too. Cyrus practically shook like a leaf when Tobias lunged at him for bumping into me. Still, I had a feeling the shaking was more due to Cyrus's exhaustion and excessive caffeine intake over the past two days than anything else.

My mate was being even more protective today, and I was ready for this to be over so I could face the next challenge... the possibility of a baby. The more time that passed, the more I opened up to the idea, but I couldn't focus on it until Cora was dealt with.

Natalie insisted that we all leave the conference room after an early morning and head to the dining hall for breakfast, insisting that it would be good for our people if we would all show our faces. They needed to see that Cyrus was okay and that we weren't worried...even though we were.

Aisha and Margot stayed behind with Blanche to keep working. Since they usually ate in the private dining hall anyway, it wouldn't seem odd to the pack that they weren't with us. Once we returned, they would turn in and get some sleep while we took over.

As Cyrus entered the room, the volume dropped drastically. Everyone seemed to want to get a look at him. He forced on a smile and walked with his head held high. Still, the black circles under his eyes and his slow movements gave him away. He was weak, tired, and traumatized.

The room had been cleaned and was back to its former glory after the attack, with no trace of his blood anywhere, whereas it had been absolutely everywhere before. After what Cora did with it, I was sure he wasn't happy that someone had to clean up his blood or could have it again.

I had given him an enchanted necklace, similar to the one Natalie and Killian wore, but it was to prevent someone from controlling him. He hadn't been controlled when she tried to take his powers. She was playing with dark magic and was trying to steal his abilities, not control them. I had little faith that it would do anything for this situation, but he looked relieved to have it.

The pack was no stranger to talking about others, but they at least had enough decency to do it through the pack link and not to the person's face.

Yet as we waited for our plates to be served, the room's tension was almost palpable. Everyone was waiting for a repeat of the other night or a breakdown from the spell caster swaying with exhaustion in his chair.

My stomach had tossed and turned since I had woken up, and my mouth watered with the need for me to empty the already hollow organ. But I had held it down.

steady would win the race. Any faster, and I would lose my breakfast in

slower than I was. But after watching him for a moment, I realized that he wasn't eating at all, just pushing the food

she was annoying. Yet, I still hoped that she would help Cyrus come back from this, even if

one hell of a battle. But she had potentially grown more powerful with Rona's magic, and since she hadn't been able to kill him with it, she would either need a

out and gripped Tobias's forearm as I stared at the food before me. "It's about power. That's what Rona was to her and what each location has in common. We knew that, but I didn't piece it together until now. I thought it was what she got from each place, but she's not getting anything. She's looking for something; if

on me as I bent forward and shoved a

before rushing out of the room. Tobias was hot on my heels, and I

doors before me, and I ran through them. Aisha, Blanche, and Margot jumped at the sudden

here for protection, she figured out who he was but knew she couldn't get him out of there unnoticed. She went to Rona to use her as a conduit because she had more power, but Rona wasn't strong enough." I flung my hand toward the map, pausing briefly when I

raised eyebrows, silently telling me he wanted

as I regained my train of thought. "She isn't getting anything from these locations, and she isn't setting traps. The one thing these places have in common is a significant event that could be used as a power source. Cora is looking at places of

she been there before?" Natalie asked, but

you shifted." Killian told her, and I nodded.

pawn me off, saying she was too busy for me and that I needed to learn as much as possible. She would send me with the guards and the previous king on his travels, even when she didn't join us.

and I would then run off and play. He hated those meetings as much as I

ever seen, and the pull to it was intoxicating. I wanted to both be there and run away from it at the same time. Yet, it never deterred us. We would run inside and play for hours until it was discovered that

of the Goddess hadn't even been able to leave it for long stretches.

had been the first of her bloodline to live fully outside the Sanctum and not lose her

had to return to the Sanctum to recharge frequently, and it sounded so tedious. But her power.Jt was out of this

Killian asked, his arms

I wasn't arrogant enough to say one hundred. I could be wrong, and whatever we planned, we needed

a seat and devise our plan." Killian held out the chair for Natalie before taking his

my plate before me. No one batted an eye when I continued to pick at my food over the