“Now that you’ve stirred up enough trouble,” Marcus said, trying to redirect their conversation. “Have you heard from Zelda?”
Rafe rolled his eyes. “Of course I haven’t. Zelda doesn’t give a damn about our schedule or needs.”
“Sounds about right to me,” Fox muttered.
Aiden’s head snapped around to pin the witch under his sharp gaze. “You know Zelda?”
Fox quickly shook his head. “Not personally. Only by reputation as a troublemaker and meddler. But I’m sure she’s like all witches. You can’t make any of them give a shit about what you want or need. Even if it’s a life and death matter. If this didn’t have to do with a witch’s prophecy, I’d say you’re better off not getting in contact with her.”
Bel shifted in his seat so he could get a better view of Fox, his mouth tipping into a worried frown. “You sound as if you’ve had some troublesome interactions with your own kind.”
Fox grunted. He dropped against the sofa, his arms folded over his chest as he glared at the coffee table. Winter had to lock his fingers together between his legs to keep himself from wrapping his arm around Fox’s shoulders.
“Witches typically only learn how to use magic through apprenticeships with other witches,” Winter explained. “And…they’re not exactly helpful about teaching the next generation of witches.”
“You can’t teach yourself?” Rafe asked.
“And risk blowing myself up?” Fox squawked. “No, thank you.” He took another deep breath and released it noisily. “What Winter is being too polite to say is that I don’t know shit when it comes to magic. I can’t turn you into a frog. I can’t levitate things or make them disappear. I can’t…” he stopped, his hands up in the air as if he were trying to grasp for another example before he finally dropped them. “I can’t do just about anything you can think of. It’s why this whole idea that I’m the witch from the prophecy is utterly laughable. I’m no one.”
Now Winter couldn’t keep his hands to himself a second longer. He reached over and covered one of Fox’s fists with his own hand. “Don’t talk about yourself like that. You’re not no one. We just don’t know if you’re truly linked to this prophecy or in what manner. We do know you don’t intend to hurt anyone in this room.”
“Which is at least a good first step,” Ethan murmured.
A timer went off, and Fox immediately jumped to his feet. “I’ll grab it.” He looked anxious and something else that Winter couldn’t quite put a name to as his eyes lingered on Winter for a second and then moved away. Not that Winter could blame Fox for his nerves after everything he’d been put through already.
“I’ll help,” Ethan said, rising quickly as well. “I can at least remember how to use an oven from my human years.”
Fox opened his mouth like he intended to argue, but snapped it shut again and nodded. “Thanks. You haven’t been a vampire long?”
Ethan’s easy tone drifted into the background as he talked to Fox about how he and Marcus had met nearly a year ago. Like River, Ethan had an easy way about him that would help Fox to relax and maybe forget that he felt so lacking when it came to his abilities.
“If Fox doesn’t know anything about the prophecy or how he’s supposed to hurt the Variks, where does that leave us?” Wyatt asked.
And that was the million-dollar question.
Winter sat forward on the cushion and rested his elbows on his knees. “Pretty much at square one, knowing Damon wants the Varik clan destroyed.”
“And somehow the stars have aligned in a significant way to make that possible,” Rafe snarled.
“Who knows?” Winter threw his hands up in the air. “Fox brought up a good point that any witch can make a prophecy, but it doesn’t make it true. He claims I’m going to give up blood and survive on mashed potatoes. I don’t think that is going to come true.”
“Do you think that’s the case here? Should we stop trying to reach out to Zelda?” Aiden inquired.
A slow sigh slipped past Winter’s parted lips and he had to shake his head. “No, I think we still need to talk to her—or at least a witch who knows about the prophecy. The exact wording of it. We need to know how we’re being threatened and if Fox is in danger as well.”
“But…it would be wise if we didn’t put all our eggs in a single basket,” Marcus murmured. “Aiden and Rafe will continue to pursue Zelda. You and I can reach out to the vampire contacts we have. We need all information we can gather on Damon’s plans and movements.”
“What can we do?” Bel asked.
“Get Ozzie and any birds you can lay your hands on searching for anyone linked to Damon.” Winter shoved one hand into his hair, his fingers twisting in it. “With Fox taken rather than killed, Damon is going to suspect we have him. He’d going to be planning an attack to get him back. We will need to be extra cautious.”