them, he hasn’t scared me. I know I can help him exorcise the beast. At the very least, I have to try.
“So that’s it? We just turn our backs on him? We just run away the moment he needs us the most?”
“Daire—he’s beyond our help! He’s—” Before Lita can continue, Axel moves to her side, his presence enough to silence her. Still, I can’t help but notice
how he fails to come to Dace’s defense, seemingly content to add no dissent.
“Listen,” I say, exerting great effort to remain calm and on point. Getting upset will only give them further reason to doubt me and with the way things are going, I can’t take
the risk. “I understand how you feel. Really, I do. But here’s the thing, here’s what you don’t know: We can and will win this. But not if we continue arguing, taking sides,
and accepting defeat before we’ve had a chance to get started. The only way we can win is by
intending
to win.”
And possibly with another idea that I’m not quite
ready to share . . .
“Is it really that easy?” Auden strives to keep his tone light, but his skeptical expression betrays him. “I’m sorry to say it, Daire, but I’m with Lita. Dace is
dangerous, and what you’re offering sounds a little too woo-woo to effectively go against the beast he described.”
“I don’t expect any of this to be easy, but when has that ever stopped us from trying?” They all look at each other, but I can’t help but notice how they avoid looking at
me.
“Daire, you need to understand that you make it nearly impossible for us to trust that you care about our safety when you insist that Dace can be rehabilitated. He told us point-blank that
it was too late. That it wasn’t his to control. And, seeing as how it’s happening to him, I think he just might be the authority on the topic.”
I look from Xotichl to Axel, willing him to chime in. I can understand my friends’ unease, but I thought for sure Axel would be on my side.
“You too, Axel?” I fix my gaze on his. “Just this morning you said intent was magick’s most important ingredient—that belief was the spine of intent. Did you
believe what you said, or were you just humoring me?” His eyes meet mine but his mood is impossible to read. “Are you willing to stand behind your words, or have you changed your mind?
And Lita—” I switch my focus to her. “What about when you said that I didn’t have to go it alone? That you were all willing to help? Is that no longer true? Because
it’s really starting to feel like you’re all standing on the sidelines shouting for the kill, when I’m the one in the arena—I’m the one fighting the fight—which
means I just might have a better perspective than you.”
Lita flinches, drops her gaze to her feet, as Axel pushes away from the wall and swipes a hand through his halo of curls. Looking from Lita, to Xotichl, to Auden, then finally to me, he says,
“I’m here for you, Daire. But, I guess there are limits. If it comes down to it, I won’t hesitate to save all of you over Dace and I think we’re all hoping we could get that
same assurance from you.”
They nod in unison, and I take a moment before I reply. “I assure you, that if it comes down to making that choice, your safety will be my first priority. But it’s really a moot
point, since it will never come to that.”
“Not exactly the reassurance I was hoping for.” Lita scowls.
“Well, it’s the best I can do. Which means we’ll just have to call a truce on this one and agree to disagree because I’m not going to lie to you. So, that said, I was
hoping we could put this behind us and move on. We have a battle ahead and we need to prepare.” I turn my attention to Axel, motioning for him to follow when I say, “I need your help in
the bedroom.”
“Uh—should I be worried?” Lita feigns a look of mock concern that soon shifts to curiosity when we return with a beautifully carved, hand-painted wooden trunk
“So that’s it? We just turn our backs on him? We just run away the moment he needs us the most?”
“Daire—he’s beyond our help! He’s—” Before Lita can continue, Axel moves to her side, his presence enough to silence her. Still, I can’t help but notice
how he fails to come to Dace’s defense, seemingly content to add no dissent.
“Listen,” I say, exerting great effort to remain calm and on point. Getting upset will only give them further reason to doubt me and with the way things are going, I can’t take
the risk. “I understand how you feel. Really, I do. But here’s the thing, here’s what you don’t know: We can and will win this. But not if we continue arguing, taking sides,
and accepting defeat before we’ve had a chance to get started. The only way we can win is by
intending
to win.”
And possibly with another idea that I’m not quite
ready to share . . .
“Is it really that easy?” Auden strives to keep his tone light, but his skeptical expression betrays him. “I’m sorry to say it, Daire, but I’m with Lita. Dace is
dangerous, and what you’re offering sounds a little too woo-woo to effectively go against the beast he described.”
“I don’t expect any of this to be easy, but when has that ever stopped us from trying?” They all look at each other, but I can’t help but notice how they avoid looking at
me.
“Daire, you need to understand that you make it nearly impossible for us to trust that you care about our safety when you insist that Dace can be rehabilitated. He told us point-blank that
it was too late. That it wasn’t his to control. And, seeing as how it’s happening to him, I think he just might be the authority on the topic.”
I look from Xotichl to Axel, willing him to chime in. I can understand my friends’ unease, but I thought for sure Axel would be on my side.
“You too, Axel?” I fix my gaze on his. “Just this morning you said intent was magick’s most important ingredient—that belief was the spine of intent. Did you
believe what you said, or were you just humoring me?” His eyes meet mine but his mood is impossible to read. “Are you willing to stand behind your words, or have you changed your mind?
And Lita—” I switch my focus to her. “What about when you said that I didn’t have to go it alone? That you were all willing to help? Is that no longer true? Because
it’s really starting to feel like you’re all standing on the sidelines shouting for the kill, when I’m the one in the arena—I’m the one fighting the fight—which
means I just might have a better perspective than you.”
Lita flinches, drops her gaze to her feet, as Axel pushes away from the wall and swipes a hand through his halo of curls. Looking from Lita, to Xotichl, to Auden, then finally to me, he says,
“I’m here for you, Daire. But, I guess there are limits. If it comes down to it, I won’t hesitate to save all of you over Dace and I think we’re all hoping we could get that
same assurance from you.”
They nod in unison, and I take a moment before I reply. “I assure you, that if it comes down to making that choice, your safety will be my first priority. But it’s really a moot
point, since it will never come to that.”
“Not exactly the reassurance I was hoping for.” Lita scowls.
“Well, it’s the best I can do. Which means we’ll just have to call a truce on this one and agree to disagree because I’m not going to lie to you. So, that said, I was
hoping we could put this behind us and move on. We have a battle ahead and we need to prepare.” I turn my attention to Axel, motioning for him to follow when I say, “I need your help in
the bedroom.”
“Uh—should I be worried?” Lita feigns a look of mock concern that soon shifts to curiosity when we return with a beautifully carved, hand-painted wooden trunk
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