The sight of the Sand Pit, however, confused Warren even more. He saw more trees and a few houses in between the Sand Pit and the Caldion compound to the west. He knew the occupants of every home. But not one of those dwellings could possibly be Kiara’s refuge.
She slowed then drew him to a stop.
He floated in the air, but struggled to hold his position given the wind. Lightning once more flashed in the distance. Thunder rumbled.
He shook his head as he searched the ground below once more. What gives? You can’t have a refuge here.
He watched her expression grow grim and her lips tighten into a determined line. I’ll apologize right now for not being up front with you, for doing what I’ve done in secrecy. As I look back now, I wish I’d told you.
But Roberts knows.
She shrugged. It was his idea that I move forward and build the refuge without anyone knowing. Not you. Not alpha Fergus. No one, except him. I’m only grateful he didn’t mention it in front of everyone.
Jesus. He supposed it helped a little to know she’d received permission from his station chief. All right. So, where the hell is it?
He watched her swallow hard. Behind a powerful security spell, the strongest one I’ve ever made.
When the first drop of rain hit, she offered her hand. Ready?
He couldn’t believe this was happening. He slid his palm against hers. Let’s see what you’ve got.
She tugged and pulled him through the spell that protected her refuge from view.
What appeared was a small piece of property, fully landscaped around the perimeter with rocks and evergreens. He could see the nearest houses, the ones he knew well. He flew over them all the time, but he’d thought they were much closer than they were. What kind of illusion had she created? How? Her spellcasting ability once again astonished him.
She took him to the front walk where she landed then released his hand. He didn’t follow her to the front door. Instead, he took a good long look around. The front yard was tidy, nothing out of place.
He heard her footsteps on the gravel path as she joined him. “I’ve found that order is calming to the wolves. Most of them have a form of PTSD from severe abuse by the time they come here.”
He turned to face her. “You run a tight ship.”
“I do. And once the women are inside, I make all the rules clear, as well as what’s expected of the women and what they can expect from me and from their rehab.”
He shook his head. “I’m mad as fire you didn’t tell me.”
“I know and I don’t blame you. In hindsight, I should have told you. I mean, you, of all people deserved to know what I was doing. Yet it seemed like the right decision at the time. But I would wish it otherwise.”
Another flash of lightning and quick roll of thunder, brought a pelting of rain. She ran for cover on the porch and this time he followed her.
The refuge was a modest block home that had probably been one of the original houses when Five Bridges had been created as an alter ghetto thirty years ago. But it had fresh beige paint and white trim around the windows. A new roof. Very tidy.
She turned toward him. “Before we go in, I need to take us out of the cloak. You ready?”
He winced, unhappy that he’d have to experience her shield again. “Sure.”
“Try to relax and flow with it.”
He drew a deep breath, but couldn’t quite resolve all of his tension.
When she took him out of her shield, it didn’t hurt quite as bad as the last couple of times.
Her brows rose. “You’re doing better with it. I can tell.”
He frowned. “It’s still an Elegance spell and you know how I feel about that.”
She chuckled softly. “I do know. But let’s go inside and I’ll show you my set-up. I just hope you won’t take too long to forgive me.”
Forgive her? That she had kept a spelled property hidden inside Savage might be something he could never forgive. “We’ll see about that.”