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would be proud to
call his own—if they were truly meant to be together—and one he
would work to be worthy of for the rest of his life.
     
    Jacki enjoyed having lunch with the two
tigers, but in the back of her mind, worry set in. Tom wasn’t
getting any better. If anything, he seemed worse.
    Back in North Carolina, during the battle,
Tom had chosen to try to protect the small lake and had been
overrun by the evil magic sent against them. Despite his enormous
personal magical power, he had fallen.
    When they had planned out their positions
before the battle, Tom had relegated Jacki to the small stream that
connected to the lake. He’d probably thought he could stop anything
that might come their way before it got to her. She knew that Tom
was trying to protect her, but only Jacki had known what her aunt,
the seer, had told her.
    Aunt Sophia had given Jacki very detailed,
secret instructions about where she should be and when. Her aunt
couldn’t say what, exactly, would happen, but she insisted that
Jacki—and Jacki alone—needed to be at that stream at the appointed
hour. She had given Jacki very specific instructions not to tell
anyone. Aunt Sophia knew as well as Jacki did that the men in their
family had a noble, protective streak a mile wide. If Tom had known
that Jacki was going to face the bulk of the danger, he would have
been right there at her side. But their aunt had been adamant that
Jacki had to face whatever would happen at the stream alone.
    Jacki thought she understood now. By being
on her own, she had reached out for help, praying to the Mother of
All. And She had answered in the most amazing way. If Tom had been
there, Jacki would have naturally pooled her magic with his and
they would have tried to fight the evil alone. They would have
tried and failed, and probably died, never calling on the Goddess,
never receiving that miracle of Her intervention.
    Jacki was coming to the realization that Tom
had hidden the full extent of his injury from her—and from
everyone—while they’d been in North Carolina. He had fallen under a magical attack, after all. Although he’d had superficial
cuts and scrapes that had healed already, there was no evidence of
what she suspected was a gaping, magical wound that could not have
been treated by the doctors in North Carolina. No, the persistent
wound that plagued Tom now was on a different plane. It was a wound
to the soul. To the heart of his magical core.
    And it had festered in the time since the
battle.
    She sat with him after lunch, trying to
figure out what to do for him and worrying.
    “Tommy,” she fussed at him, her heart
breaking as she sat by his bedside. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?
Why did you hide this?”
    His deep brown eyes fluttered open. Seal
eyes. His beast was very close to the surface.
    “Didn’t want you to worry, Twirp.”
    She gave him a teary chuckle at the use of
her childhood nickname. Only Tommy had ever called her that.
    “Well, you suck at that. I’m really worried
now. What can I do to help you get better?” Her words were soft and
filled with choked-back tears.
    “Don’t think there’s much anyone can do.
Just hold my hand little sis, and don’t cry for me.” His words
trailed off and she took the hand he held out to her as his eyes
closed.
    She could feel him slipping away and the
tears came, no matter his instructions not to cry.
    A while later—it could have been moments or
it could have been hours—Jacki felt warm hands descend on her
shoulders. She looked up to find Beau behind her, his gaze on Tom’s
still face.
    “What can I do to help?” Beau asked when he
realized he had her attention.
    “I don’t know,” she replied, helpless. She
stood, placing Tom’s hand gently at his side. He was unconscious
again.
    She made to move past Beau but he stopped
her, his hands gentle on her arm.
    “Hey now,” he said softly. “Come here.”
    He opened his arms and she stepped into his
embrace, grateful for the