Laz, of course, didn’t react since he already knew, but Isiah and Raphie wore identical expressions of shock. Izzy was the first to recover, asking, “How did you get it?”
Shooting Laz a glance, I answered, “Laz found it before Christmas, before I was released.”
Raphie turned to Laz, anger making his face pink. “You knew about this and you didn’t tell me?”
I thought Laz might get a little upset at the anger directed at him, but all he did was shrug as if Raphie’s anger was no big thing, and he said, “I gave it to Grady and never saw it again. I figured if it was important, he’d bring it up.”
“Unbelievable,” Raphie muttered under his breath, then he focused his ire on me. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”
I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. “I don’t know.”
“What?”
“I… at first I wasn’t sure if I could trust you.”
“What the fuck, Alaric? I’m your brother, how could you think for even a moment that I’d hurt you?”
I crossed my arms over my chest defensively. “Oh, I don’t know, maybe because my own father betrayed me and after you ‘died’ you never came back to check on me or anything. Or maybe because I was stuck in a damn prison for two hundred years while you were out here free and alive and no one ever even tried to help me! Maybe I didn’t want to be tricked again and trapped for the rest of my life, maybe I wanted to protect my soul-pledged, maybe I was scared of you.”
He opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off by Isiah saying, “This isn’t about you, Raph.”
Raphie huffed and muttered under his breath, but I couldn’t understand what he was saying. Which was probably a good thing.
Isiah stood and began pacing in front of the fireplace, then suddenly stopped and turned to face me. “Thank you for trusting us and telling us. Would you… are you going to let us see them?”
I nodded. “Why don’t we move into the dining room?”
Raphie stood and stiffly marched into the other room with Laz sighing and following behind him. Izzy put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it in comfort before we walked after them. Once everyone was seated, I pulled the grimoire out of its secret spot behind the buffet and set it on the table. Grady had stored it there for me, but we’d left the globe in the fireplace, so we’d have to retrieve it. But not until we put our grimoire away. I didn’t want the two items close together in case their magic didn’t mix well.
Raphael ran his fingertips gently over the book’s cover, then opened it and began reading.
Grady had been quiet the whole time, but after several minutes, he said, “There are missing pages in the back.”
Raphie glanced at him. “Really?”
Grady cringed, and I could feel his unease, so I answered for him. “Yes. Father must have ripped them out after… after he kicked you out.”
Raphie’s jaw clenched before he nodded, and Grady reached under the table to grab my hand and lace our fingers together, so I sent him a small, sad smile. I appreciated his comfort.
Leaning back, I watched as Raphie, Izzy, and even Laz read page after page after page. It was a little boring, but since I got to sit beside my soul-pledged and hold his hand, I was fine with it. I’d spent years simply staring at nothing, so this wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.
Raphie flipped through the book to get to the end near the section that’d been torn out. He huffed in frustration and ran his fingertips over the edges of what was left. “I can’t believe he did this.” He shook his head and glanced at me. “He must not have wanted you to find out what he did to me.”
I nodded. “That was my thought as well.”
Laz asked, “Why wouldn’t he just write that you died in the book instead of ripping something up?”
Raphie shot him a glance, but stared at the pages as he spoke. “A family’s grimoire has magic of its own. It records the actions of family members itself so it always speaks the truth. He couldn’t stop the grimoire from recording his actions—or mine—so he must’ve found a spell that got rid of the evidence.”
Laz ran his fingertips over the ripped page edges. “Does that mean there’s more of you in the grimoire, then? It should’ve kept recording you after your father was imprisoned, right?”
Raphie nodded. “It should have.”
I interjected, “There’s nothing.”
Raphie frowned at me. “What do you mean?”
“There’s nothing about you. The last entries are about me going into the snow globe, and then there’s a few random entries about my time inside, and of course, there’s entries about my soul-pledge with Grady and how he’s the one that figured out how to release me.” I shook my head. “There’s nothing in there about you, Raphie. I don’t know how he did it, but Father found a way to keep the grimoire from recording your actions and whereabouts.”
Raphie stared at me for a long time, his jaw clenching and ticking before he slammed the grimoire shut and stood. “That fucking asshole of a father! How could he do this to me?” He stormed out of the room and began pacing the living room angrily.
Isiah rushed to follow, and I heard him speaking in low, calming tones. “If he used a spell, we will find a way to reverse it.”
“What if he found a way to convince the book I don’t belong in there? What if he found a way to make his banishment apply to my status as well?”
“We will find a way to fix it.”
From my spot, I could see Raphie clearly, and I was surprised by the emotion on his face. He was close to tears, his voice coming out hoarse and crackling. “My hist—our history is gone, Izzy. Everything… everything that happened with… she’s not even in there.”
My brow furrowed. She?
Grady shot me a questioning look, but I was just as lost as he.
Izzy cupped Raphie’s face in between his hands and pulled his focus to him. “It’s going to be okay, Raph. We’re going to fix this.” My eyes widened as Izzy leaned in and pressed a kiss to the spot where Raphie’s lips and cheek met. Not quite an intimate kiss, but not quite a chaste one either. Isiah then rested their foreheads together, and I heard him whisper, “She’s in my family’s grimoire, Raph. I know… I know it’s not the same, but she’s there. Nothing is… gone, not entirely.”
Raphie nodded against him before pulling Isiah into a tight hug and burying his face in his shoulder.
I was shell-shocked and confused. What, or rather who, was Raphie talking about? What had him this worked up?
Being so distracted by my brother and his soul-pledged, I hardly noticed that Grady and Laz were staring at them in just as much shock as I was. When Raphie and Izzy broke apart, my brother saw the three of us staring at them, and his eyes narrowed before he barked out, “What?”
Laz jerked back as if he’d slapped him and Grady squeezed my hand tight. I was annoyed with… everything, so rather than answer my brother, I asked a question of my own. “Who is ‘she’? Who are you talking about?”
Isiah’s face scrunched up, but Raphie snapped out, “My daughter.”
My eyes widened again. “Y-you have a daughter?”
Raphie nodded once, then walked over and dropped into his seat without making eye contact with anyone. Isiah sat beside him, putting his arm behind his back before he addressed us all. “Could we take a look at the globe now?”
Grady murmured, “Yeah,” and got up to get the thing, but all I could do was stare, gaping at my brother.
By the time I found my voice, Grady had already put the grimoire in the kitchen and retrieved the globe that was still rolled up in a blanket, and I whispered, “I have a niece?”
Raphie sighed. “Yes. And no, I don’t wanna talk about it. Can I see the globe now, Grades?” We’d all adopted Laz’s nickname for Grady, and every time any of us said it, it seemed to make him happy, even when everyone’s emotions were high.
Grady’s gaze met mine in question, so I tilted my head since Raphael obviously wouldn’t talk to
me about it right now, and Grady handed Raphie the wrapped-up globe. Holding my breath, I couldn’t take my eyes off the package in Raphie’s hands. As he was about to pull off the last corner of the blanket, I stood up quickly, knocking my chair on the ground and making my brother freeze. His eyes went wide as he stared at me and asked, “What’s wrong?”
I shook my head. “I-I… I don’t want… what if… I don’t think we should…”
Grady set his hand on my arm, standing up beside me and cutting me off, saying, “Why don’t you and I go into the living room? Laz, come with us.”
“I want to see—”
“Come with us,” Grady demanded, cutting Laz off.
Raphie was still staring at me, and he asked, “Is it okay if Izzy and I take a look?”
Sucking in a deep breath, I nodded before allowing Grady to drag me into the living room and push me onto the couch.
Raphie whispered, “I’m not going to let it hurt you ever again, Alaric. You have my word.”
I nodded even though he wasn’t looking at me.
Grady sat beside me—practically on top of me, actually—and cupped my cheeks before placing a lingering, soft kiss there. “You’re safe, Ric.”
I nodded and pulled him into a tight hug before taking a deep breath filled with his scent and calming my nerves. They were right. Even if, god forbid, that thing sucked me back inside, there was no way they wouldn’t help me return. I had people now, people that cared about me. It wasn’t the same as last time. It wasn’t the same at all.
I rested my head on Grady’s shoulder and breathed him in as he spoke quietly to Laz. “What’s up with you and…?” He jerked his head toward my brother.
Laz scowled at Grady and muttered, “Nothing.”
“Real believable, Laz.” Grady shook his head, but I decided to ignore that complication right now in favor of the terrifying prison my brother was currently messing with.
I kissed Grady’s neck, then sat up and called over to Raph and Isiah, “Find anything?”
“Not yet,” Raph answered.
Isiah added, “We can sense her magic along with yours, but nothing is sticking out to either of us.”
“Do you think it’ll help with finding her?” I asked.
“Yes,” they both said, and I nodded in relief. I wanted to be rid of that thing, but if it could help in any way, if it could prevent her from hurting anyone else, then at least something good could still come out of this.
They examined the globe for over an hour before they stood and walked into the living room. Isiah had his arm behind Raphie, as if his hand was resting on his back, and Izzy said, “If you’ll allow it, we would like to take this to our friend, Cosmo. He has more resources and a lab where he could extract some of her magical essence. If we can get a tangible sample, we’ll be able to create a locator spell.”
Grady asked, “Do you trust this guy?”
“Yes. With my life,” Raphie answered.
Grady nodded. “And will you bring the globe back here after he’s finished? I don’t want it falling into the wrong hands.”
Raphie said, “Yes, we’ll bring it back, and when we do, we’ll find a more suitable hiding spot than inside your fireplace. We can set up a warded vault in the basement or wherever you want if you want to keep it farther away.”
Grady turned to me with a questioning expression, so I nodded and said, “Alright. That’s… fine.”
Raphie surprised me by stepping forward and kneeling in front of me, grabbing one of my hands. “Listen to me, little brother. I promise you that I will do everything in my power to keep you, and your family”—he nodded to Grady and Laz without taking his eyes off mine—“safe. I know it’s hard to trust me after everything you’ve been through, but I make this vow to you; I will protect you and your family, no matter the cost to myself, forever and always.”
My eyes widened as Raphie’s magic swirled around us, his burning firewood scent permeating the air as his magic swirled around. He’d made an unbreakable vow. To protect Grady and me, and Laz. I couldn’t believe he did that. “W-why would you do that, Raphie? Why would you… the consequences if you don’t follow through, you could be killed and in pain and—”
He touched his hand to my cheek to stop my rambling before pulling it away. “I know, Alaric, but I’m not worried because there’s no doubt in my mind that I will try to protect you and those you consider family. Now that I have you back, I’m never letting you go again.”
My eyes felt a little watery, but I held my emotions back as I nodded. “Thank you, Raphael. I… I’m happy you found me, and I’ll do my best to protect you as well.”
He grinned at me, then patted my cheek a couple of times with a smirk on his face.
Isiah came over next and knelt beside Raphie before resting his hand on my knee and whispering, “I make the same vow as my soul-pledged.” To my surprise, his magic swirled around us as well, and the air smelled of lilac on a spring day. I couldn’t believe he would do this when we didn’t know each other that well.
Raphie smiled at his soul-pledged, and Isiah smiled back as he squeezed the back of Raphie’s neck. Raphael said, “Thank you, Izzy,” and Izzy lifted his shoulder like it wasn’t a big deal.
I rested my hand on Isiah’s, saying, “Thank you. This means more than you could possibly know.”
Isiah nodded and stood. “I know what it’s like to be alone, and I want you to know that you never have to be alone again.” He backed away before I could respond. He knew what it was like to be alone?
Raphie got up as well and immediately pulled Isiah into a hug. What in the world had the two of them been through while I was locked away?
Grady kissed my cheek, then stood and said, “Would you like to eat something before you head out?”
Isiah shook his head. “No, we should be on our way so we can be back to accompany you to work tomorrow.”
Grady nodded before Raphie made a call to one of the guards, and a few minutes later, we watched Isiah and Raphie collect the globe and walk out the front door. Although neither of them went without a whispered goodbye to Laz. On his part, Laz seemed disappointed, although I didn’t know why. When my brother was on the front porch, the guard Regan walked back inside and straight to the basement. There were enough cameras and such for him to keep watch from downstairs.
Pulling me from the couch, Grady dragged me to the kitchen and forced me to help him cook. Laz sat at the small breakfast nook where the grimoire rested and asked me, “Is it okay to look over your grimoire?”
“Sure,” I replied. I trusted Laz. I’d seen what a good man, what a wonderful friend, he was before I’d ever been released from my prison. I’d even seen how he behaved when he didn’t think anyone was watching on the nights Grady fell asleep before he’d left. He’d always been kind to Grady, and for that alone, I’d always welcome him with open arms.
Laz sent me a soft smile before he pulled the giant tome to himself and dug in.
Grady shoulder-bumped me with a smile as we stood side by side cutting up vegetables.
Chapter 24
Grady
Raphael and Isiah brought the globe back within forty-eight hours, and along with it, they’d made a potion or something to track this elusive witch, Claudette. Unfortunately, they were still coming up empty handed. They’d tracked her to a location where they’d found evidence of her stay, but she’d been long gone before they’d arrived. This witch was a slippery one for sure, but at least we now knew she was in the area. The place they’d found had been less than a ten-minute drive from my home. Which was really fucking terrifying, although I’d been working hard on not freaking out. I knew if I did, Alaric would freak out even more than he already was.
He must’ve apologized to me a million times, as if this was all his fault. Which was ridiculous. The only one at fault was the psycho witch lady gunning after him. It wasn’t his fault she was crazy, just like it wasn’t his fault he’d been trapped for two centuries. My p
oor little warlock.
Alaric smiled at me as I drove to the comic shop, but the smile was strained. He was so stressed out.
Reaching over, I laced my fingers with his and asked, “What would you like for dinner tonight? We’re going to have to stop by the store on the way home. Those guards eat a hell of a lot of food.” I’d been inviting our guards in for dinner every night, but it was starting to cost me a fortune. Isiah had told me yesterday that the Conclave was going to pay me some fees for allowing their men to stay with me and for feeding them. Hopefully that was true.
“I have no idea,” Alaric said. “I’m terrible at picking meals. I don’t know anything fancy.”
A smile tugged at my lips. “We don’t need anything fancy, baby.”
He sighed. “Then spaghetti with your homemade sauce.”
I nodded. “That’s easy enough. I’m glad you like my sauce.”
“I’ve liked every single thing you’ve cooked for me, minus that weird one.”
“Hotdogs aren’t weird.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him wrinkle his nose. “Yes, they are.”
I laughed when I glanced at him and got the full-blown expression of disgust aimed at me, and I said, “Alright, fine, I won’t make them for you again.”
“I couldn’t get over the shape and texture. That isn’t how beef should look.”
“You don’t mind ground beef in my sauce.”
“That isn’t the same. In your sauce, you can still tell it’s meat, as a… dog, it was… too strange. And it didn’t taste good, either.”
“Geez, rude,” I teased.
His eyes widened. “I’m so sorry, Grady. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. If that’s what you want to make, I will eat it. I apologize, my dove.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “Baby, you’re allowed to hate something I made. It’s no big deal. It isn’t like I made them from scratch or anything anyway. I just won’t make them anymore, no biggie.”
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