“Jessa.” Louis’ voice was commanding. I raised my eyes to meet his. “Look at me.” His voice softened. “Focus on me.”
I did as he said, focusing on his face and forcing myself to take long, deep breaths. I would not let this beat me; so many women had had it far worse. They hadn’t been saved. I needed to remember that.
“Time will rid those memories, Jessa. Don’t be so hard on yourself, you don’t have to be strong all the time.”
“There you go reading my mind again.” How did he do that?
He dropped his forehead against mine. “I can see it written across your face. You keep beating yourself up for what you consider your weakness. I know how hard it is to be strong all the time and not to know what to do when that falls away.” Lifting his face, he dropped a kiss to my forehead, in the same place his head had just rested. “What happened yesterday in no way diminishes your strength.”
“Thank you,” I whispered.
We were quiet for the next few minutes, and in that time the strain across Louis’ features increased.
“I can’t lock your energy away. It’s strong and has taken root, moving through your body, into your cells. It’s part of you in a way I can no longer separate. Our one chance is for me to cloak you. It will hide the energy from anyone searching for the dragon mark, but it’s not locked away. You can access the power, and if you do, they’ll be able to find you.”
“Why didn’t you just do that originally?”
He laughed. “We worried about a child having that much power, and you wouldn’t have had the restraint to stop yourself accessing it. Now hopefully your control is good enough for this. Remember, the Four will find you if you use your mark power.”
I nodded. Warning duly noted. There was a sharp jab, followed by what felt like tingles caressing their way up and down my body. Then Louis stepped back. I shook myself out. It was the strangest sensation, like he’d poured a second skin over my body.
“Going to take some getting used to,” I said, forcing myself not to scratch at my arms.
“The numb itchiness will die down shortly and the sensations will be much easier to deal with.”
I freaking hoped so. I was like thirty seconds from dropping to the ground and rolling around in the grass.
Our heads spun toward Stratford as the town siren started to blare. The alarm wasn’t used much. It was a signal for the townspeople to gather in the city center.
“Is that because of the Four?” I asked.
Louis nodded. “Yep, they’re infamous in the supernatural world. Their presence alone demands some fanfare. They’ll be wanting to search out the source of the mark energy.”
He linked his hand through mine and started to lead me into town. The itching sensation was subsiding, but still a little irritating.
“How powerful are they?” I was having trouble imagining what they were like. The fear their mere names created just didn’t ring true.
Louis turned his head, scanning the area. “Individually, they are no more powerful than your average alpha or race leader, less powerful than some I’d say. But their real strength lies in their ability to join and elevate the power of each other.”
I remembered Braxton saying the same thing. I rubbed my free hand over the smooth, worn denim of my jeans. The chill was increasing the further we got from Louis’ place. Luckily my metabolism was in fine form, or I’d probably be on my way to frostbitten feet.
“So this ability to connect and increase their power is the same that the Compasses are supposed to possess?”
Louis nodded. “Yes, quadruplets are so rare that everyone pretty much expects your boys will turn into carbon copies of the Four.”
I snorted. He regarded me silently for a moment. “Not going to happen,” I felt compelled to add.
The Four were cold-hearted dicks. You’d have to be to lock away babies. The Compasses would never be that. I’d kick the shit out of them if they even started looking in that power-crazy-dictator direction.
“Do you know the exact location of the mountain of Drago?” As soon as the question left my mouth, I wondered why I’d asked him that. I let loose way too many of my thoughts around him.
“It’s in Romania. The Krakov supernatural prison and Drago are both in the Carpathian Mountains.” He didn’t ask me why I wanted to know, so of course I felt the need to babble out my reasons.
“Braxton said that the king is supposed to rise at the end of this month and that he rests at Drago.” Again, Louis was quiet, not giving anything away, so I continued: “Have you heard this before?”