Tangled by Erica O'Rourke Page A

golden sparks were so bright I was nearly blinded. The air around me seemed to charge, my scalp prickling as my headache returned with a vengeance.
    “You said it wouldn’t hurt,” I muttered to Luc. The bones of his face seemed even more prominent, and his eyes were gold-rimmed green as he moved toward me. “It feels like before. With Constance.”
    Only Pascal and Luc reacted. Pascal’s expression turned thoughtful, and Luc reached for me through our bond, trying to gauge exactly how much trouble we were in. The connection still felt muted by interference, and that made me worry more.
    “Stop the ritual,” Luc said. “It’s too risky.”
    “We can’t stop now,” said Orla. “The Covenant hasn’t been sealed. We’d be no better off than before.”
    “And your friend will be on her own again,” Pascal said to me. “You’ll be safe enough to continue, I think.”
    “Safe enough? ” I asked.
    “Are you sure?” Dominic asked. “We can’t lose her here.”
    I felt a rush of affection for Dominic. Finally, someone on my side.
    Pascal waved a hand. “Yes, yes. I can’t predict other ramifications, but she’ll live.”
    The hair on my arms stood up as the magic filled the air with a crackling tension. Orla made a noise of impatience.
    “Maura?” said Dominic. “Are you well enough to proceed?”
    I grabbed the increasingly heavy mass of rings with both hands, trying to hide my shakiness. “Okay.”
    At Dominic’s nod, Pascal spoke, words of power that seemed to rebound off the magic looming over us. I tightened my grip on the rings as Pascal bobbled the massive hammer, his thin arms straining under its weight. When he finally struck the links, it was only a glancing blow. The hammer head slipped off to the side with a faint clink. I wondered for an instant if it had worked.
    And then the room went blindingly white as the magic ripped through it, throwing me backward. Luc caught me, shielding my body with his. I could see his lips moving, casting wards around us as the magic burned, but everything had gone eerily silent.
    As the magic ebbed away, noise began to filter back in, popping and hissing like an old-fashioned record. Gradually, my hearing returned to normal. Luc hauled me to my feet, checking for injuries.
    “I’m okay,” I said. “My head’s ... better ... I think.” Better was a relative term, but the throbbing pain I’d felt before had passed.
    Luc shot an angry glance at the Quartoren, but they were too dazed to notice. “I’m taking you home.”
    I was still holding the rings, fused together like a complicated silver flower. “What about this?”
    “Keep it as a reminder of our Covenant,” Orla said.
    Like I needed one, after tonight. “C’mon,” said Luc, leading me away. From the other side of the room came a soft sound of distress. I turned and saw Luc’s mom crouched on the ground, arms covering her head.
    “Marguerite!” Dominic cried, rushing to her.
    Luc dropped my hand and dashed across the stage. “Maman?”
    Dominic helped her to her feet, murmuring reassurances, his broad frame dwarfing her tiny one. Effortlessly, she shook him off and looked directly at me.
    I clapped a hand over my mouth. Her eyes had gone milky white, and her hands were cupped in front of her like she was receiving communion.
    “What do you see?” Dominic asked. There was no trace of the concerned husband I’d seen a moment ago. Then again, this was an entirely new Marguerite.
    Despite her clouded pupils, she held my gaze as she spoke, her voice high and hollow, nothing like the way she’d sounded at the bayou cabin.
    “I see a new age rising, and we are brought low before it. Against the tide stands the Four-In-One, the Vessel bound forever, all the magic seeks.” She paused, gasping in a breath, hands trembling. “Listen to it. Join the heart. Seal it with yourself, or we are, every one, lost.”
    Her words echoed in the silent room. The color seeped back into her eyes, and she