The four Compasses, their powers surrounding them, was a true sight to behold.
One of the mystics moved closer. “Now you will join.”
Shit. He probably should have stated that as less of an order. Sure enough, all four Compasses turned blazing eyes on him, their stares hard … scary as all hell. Especially with so much power riding them.
“Apologies.” Quale, always the diplomat, stepped forward. He’d been standing off to the side with Louis. “We’d really appreciate it if you’d attempt to merge as one now.”
I swear everyone in the room rolled their eyes right then. Seriously, what a condescending dick. But I was coming to expect that from these fey hybrid tools. The Compasses fell into a circle of sorts, their backs to us in the room. I saw them lock eyes, and I knew they were communicating.
Mirroring expressions rippled across their features. After a few moments they started to chant, and I was close enough now to hear the words. My dragon had won in her quest to move toward Braxton.
“How will they join?” I whispered to Jonathon. I’d always been under the impression that these sort of callings came to the supe, not the other way around.
His reply was almost inaudible. “Their joining should have been allowed to arrive naturally.” He confirmed my thoughts. “Time and growth of powers would have taken care of the timing. Now they will have to use a spell to push forward the process.”
“How do you know this?” I needed to understand what was happening to the boys.
“All multiples can join, the quads are just on another level, and involves a calling,” he said.
The quads started to chant.
Brother as one, we will be, brothers as one. Power of four, join as one, power of four will never be undone. United!
They chanted the first part, before shouting “united” to finish. Three times they repeated the phrase and each time the energy coating them rose, moving above their heads, swirling, and then as the four of them bled their individual power, it formed a peak above them. Energy flashed outward, filling the room with a single wave of light. I tensed as it shot through me, but there was no kickback at all. It just flowed through our bodies and off into the universe.
I looked up after the wave had passed me and froze.
Grace’s voice was barely a whisper. “Holy fuck me.”
Cardia and the witch healer were slowly moving closer to us, and I couldn’t blame them. The boys were even scaring me, and I had never been scared of them in my life.
The quads were not like the Four – they didn’t look identical or anything – but they were the most alike I’d ever seen them, as if facets of each of them had blended into the others. Braxton’s hair was a little lighter, Jacob’s a little darker, all of them with a highlighted golden brown sheen. All of their eyes were black, their skin the same shade of tawny brown – at least their faces remained true to them. Braxton’s scales were gone, as were the four elemental powers which had surrounded Jacob. They were awash in a glowing energy, power thrumming in the room. Four sets of black eyes leveled on me.
“Why are they staring me down?” I was proud that my voice didn’t tremor. They wore the look of a predator – well, four predators to be exact – who all seemed to have found what they were hunting.
Footsteps echoed from the back of the room, near the elevators. I wanted to spin around, hating anyone unknown coming at my back, but the far greater danger was in front of me. I didn’t turn from the dome.
A high, familiar voice sounded across the space. “They are the same as the others, they are not natural. They need to be eliminated.”
Okay, now I was turning around. No one talked about eliminating my boys without getting their ass kicked. Louis and Jonathon fell in beside me as we faced off with the fruit twins. And Mischa. My sister had clearly run straight back into the arms of those crazy ass bitches. I glared at Mischa, who remained quiet but didn’t back down from her place in the terrible trio.
“They are unnatural,” Orange said again.
Her words triggered a memory. This moment screamed of the dragon dream – where I’d stood on the opposite sides to Mischa in a war I knew nothing of. Those obscure references which had scared me, made sense now. They’d been talking about the Compasses. Didn’t these bitches know I would never turn on the quads? Not in this life, the next or the one after that.
“There are only two unnatural things in this room,” I said, “and neither of them are inside that dome.” I was determined not to reveal an ounce of my worry or fear but the reality was, the fruit twins were complete and total unknown elements and they did actually scare me a little. Loose cannons are always tough to judge, and I already knew they were slimy and scheming. I preferred foes who came straight at me, I wasn’t great with underhanded. I wished we could have just killed them, but since murder was frowned upon in the supernatural world and I still had a trial pending in Stratford, I probably should find a more diplomatic solution.
Lemon took over the bullshit advice. “You will see tomorrow, there are greater things awaiting you than being mated to a dragon shifter. After we retrieve the weapon from Krakov, you will have little loyalty to those abominations.”
Louis and Jonathon both reached out at the same time and captured my arms. I looked down to find my hands partially shifted into claws and my knees bent.
“Let me go!” I snarled, my voice deeper as my anger took control. “Let. Me. Go!”