Loch

your body going through the movements. That’s true. You are a vessel of my will, but I do not control your physical form. You have more control than you realize. Your mind needs to learn to look for things. Your body needs to become stronger. You’re worth nothing to me, or the bear clans, dead.
I’m sure you meant that to be comforting, but it wasn’t.
The Maiden paused.
I was not trying to comfort you. I am trying to be honest. Coddling you won’t benefit either of us.
Good to know.
Pain shot up Holly’s neck and settled between her eyes.
I think you’re giving me a headache. Can we speak later?
No. The Maiden’s voice grew stern. This is part of your training. You must learn to bear the weight of me in your mind. When the time comes for me to reveal things to you, I need to know you can withstand the impact.
I thought I had to figure things out on my own?
Holly pressed her hands against her temples and winced.
There are things you will learn that are not meant for human minds. When the time comes, I will reveal those things to you. Now is the time for you to prepare.
Holly’s finger reached the end of another branch. Still no Elise. Shaking her head as if that would help relieve the building pressure, she walked the opposite wall. Now able to see the entire wall, she searched for Elise.
She’s not here. Where is she?
You will find the answer, the Maiden replied. That was an example of me trying to be comforting. Be honored. I don’t often do that for mortals.
Just Phaedra?
The Maiden sighed softly. If she had a mouth, Holly imagined it to be smiling.
Phaedra was exceptional. I expect the same of you. Don’t let me down.
I’ll do my best.
The pressure in her skull lifted so suddenly she teetered off balance. She reached out for the wall to steady herself.
As always, she had no clue what to make of her latest conversation with the Maiden. She could be mistaken, but from the sound of it, she had a new ally she could count on even if said ally mentally kicked her ass every time they spoke.
She turned her attention to Trevor’s family tree one last time, just to be sure. No Elise. Trevor had called her sister. Why wouldn’t she be on the family tree?
Holly felt certain the Maiden knew the answer to that question but refrained from asking. Things were only going to get harder from now on. Holly needed to learn how to rely on herself in this. She knew she had her men. Johnny, Keller, Garret, and even Loch would help her in any way she needed, but what if she were kidnapped again? What if she ended up alone somewhere and they couldn’t get to her?
She was in the middle of a conflict that could erupt at any moment. She needed to be able to hold her own, should it come to that.
That started with solving her mysteries. The Maiden did urge her to destroy Trevor and his followers from the inside out, no matter how lost she seemed to think Trevor was.
What did she even mean by that? Trevor didn’t seem lost at all. He seemed to know exactly what he was doing and didn’t care who he hurt to do it.
“Lost, my ass,” Holly muttered as she left the study.
She felt a little better knowing Elise truly wasn’t anywhere to be found on the murals, but that discovery only left more questions.
Holly still didn’t feel like she could go back to sleep. A piping hot cup of tea sounded like the next logical step. As she padded through the living room on the way to the kitchen, something outside caught her eye.
A figure stood on the deck.
The blood in her veins turned to ice as fear gripped her heart so tightly, the air rushed from her lungs. She felt like she’d been hit in the chest with a baseball bat. Sucking in a burning breath, she forced her fear back. Her panic cleared just enough for her to recognize the man on the balcony.
It was Johnny.
Holly leaned against the back of the couch as the first hit of adrenaline seeped out of her.
What was he doing out there? Didn’t he realize the house was likely being watched?
She had to get him inside before someone struck him with a silver bullet or whatever killed bear shifters. Holly should probably look into that. That seemed like valuable information for her to have on the back burner.
On shaky legs, she stepped onto the deck.
“Johnny?” she whisper-shouted, keeping her eyes trained on the dark woods before them. Anything—or anyone—could be hiding in the blackness.
“What are you doing up?” Johnny looked at her with that hazy smile of his.
She didn’t realize how much she’d missed it until right then. “What are you doing out here?” she countered. “It can’t be safe.”
“Remember that gift from the witches I mentioned?” he asked. “It’s the motherlode of concealment spells. To anyone who wasn’t written into the spell, the house is literally invisible. How cool is that?”
His face lit up like a kid on Christmas. Not even Holly, whose nerves had reached a new level of fried, could hold back her smile when she saw him like that.
“I didn’t realize you were so into magic,” she said.
“It’s completely fascinating to me,” he went on. “Maybe it’s because shifters can’t do magic the way witches can. They can pull magic from mushrooms and swamp water.”
“You forget you can turn into a bear.” Holly laughed. “I can’t do anything with mushrooms, and I can’t turn into a bear, either; how do you think I feel?”
“You’re