The beast and the blessed novel by Ashley Breanne novel Chapter 163

Fifty-Six: Joselin

Joselin's P.O.V.

My tower was my safe place, my comfort zone when I wasn't with Tobias. Yet right now, I stood in the middle of it, feeling like there were bugs crawling on my skin.

The ward surrounding it hadn’t just been broken.

It had been shattered. I had seen the damage to it before entering. The shimmering surface looked like it had been attacked violently, like a glass window that had taken hail damage. Craters and spider webbing from the cracks covered the surface.

No one would have seen it if they didn't have magic in their blood, but they should have at least heard her attack. Based on the damage I could see, she had been wailing on my shield for a while. There was even a charred spot on the floor where she appeared to have resorted to throwing fireballs.

How had we been oblivious to this, and when did she do it?

She hadn't been here during the attack on Cyrus, so it must have been before dinner. That would have left her time to get to Rona's, attack her, and perform the ritual while we ate.

Meanwhile, I had been sitting at the hot springs with Natalie, distracted by the idea that I might be...

No. Don't think about that. There are more important matters to deal with, and knowing won't do anything other than distract me.

Still, the guards and servants, even Killian, should have heard it. Aisha and Margot, at the very least, should have recognized the sound of the magic slamming into my ward.

My skin prickled when I walked through it and opened the door to my tower. It felt like I was walking through a low-level electric fence. It was angry, yet so weak. I was almost expecting to find a trap in my tower, something to off me so Cora could be free of me and escape.

But my study was clear. There were no tricks or traps, just a safe door that, by the way the metal was bent, had been forced open, exposing that there were many missing valuables. The only thing that remained was the small vial of Rona's blood. It was crusted to the glass, having dried up when she died.

Cora clearly had no use for it. Either that or she left it as a clue, wanting to lure me to Rona's cottage so she could kill me too.

If the bears hadn't attacked her, I had to imagine she had plans to deal with me. The real question was whether they got to her in time to prevent her from absorbing Rona's powers. I could assume so since she hadn't completed enough of the ritual to take Cyrus's magic and seemed to be using Rona's magic as a conduit to get to Cyrus.

But I had already made too many mistakes. I wouldn’t underestimate Cora, not after everything she had done and planned.

I reached in and knocked the vial over, picturing the smug look she must have had on her face when she left it there.

The empty spot where Cyrus's blood had been made my body stiffen, and my hands curled into fists. She would have gotten his blood one way or another; I just made it easy for her to do it without being seen.

The air whipped around the room, feeding off my anger as I tried to push back the blame that rested squarely on my shoulders.

I shook my head, trying not to think about it as Tobias swept through the tower, checking every corner, closet, and shadow. He would have smelt or felt it if someone was still in there, but I knew my safety was not something he took lightly.

Grabbing a pair of scissors, I quickly cut out the bottom chunk of my bloodied shirt.

Killian would have a larger map in his office, and I didn't want everyone in my tower. Not that I had anything left to protect or hide.

Cora had stolen all of the important items.

'It wasn’t your fault," Tobias said as he looked into the empty safe.

I didn't respond because while I knew she would have found a way to get his blood one way or another, she still managed her most recent attack because of the blood I had been hiding. "We need to get the world map from Killian's office to search for Cora. She could be anywhere, and I don't want to waste time looking at smaller locations one at a time."

His brown eyes pierced through me for a few minutes. I held his stare, determined not to let him see how affected I was by my indirect involvement in Cyrus's attack.

When he stepped forward, placed his hand on the back of my head, and kissed my forehead, I felt myself start to crumble.

‘Please don't," I whispered. 'The more you touch me, the harder this will be. I can't let myself feel anything right now. I need to stay focused and handle this."

His arm dropped, and he nodded. I was grateful because I knew I would fall if he wrapped his arms around me and hugged me. "We have a world map in the command center. I'm having a few warriors bring it into the main conference room. We can use that one instead."

I smiled at his thoughtfulness. Killian hated when people went into his office when he wasn't there. A glance to my left and out my tower window showed a group of men running with a long piece of rolled parchment across the field from the war room attached to the barracks.

It had to be at least ten feet tall, and I knew it was even wider. I nodded with determination. This could work.