Star Crossed: an Adult Dystopian Paranormal Romance: Sector 11 (The Othala Witch Collection)

by J. E. Taylor

  I gave him a tight smile and climbed the stairs. I had no idea there would be access to the inside of the estate. My mind began to race, focusing on how I could get to where they held Jaden.

  Bartrum, a kindly butler stood near the coats. I approached, pulling out the ticket I had been given. He matched it up and handed me my coat.

  “May I use the facilities?” I asked, feeling my face turn red at having to ask a man for permission to use a restroom.

  He glanced around then gave me a nod. “They are down that hall,” he said and pointed towards the executive hallway I had gone down earlier this week.

  “Thank you, sir,” I said, catching myself before I uttered his name.

  The dungeons were accessible from the executive wing. If he had sent me towards the residential wing, I would have been completely out of luck.

  I stopped in the ladies’ room and hung the coat inside the bathroom stall. I slid the sandals off, positioning them far enough back in the stall so a glimpse could be had if someone was looking for occupied stalls. I locked the door and crawled under the opening, thankful that the floors had already been scrubbed.

  I checked the hallway and gathered up the length of my dress, bolting towards Samantha’s office. The light was on inside, so I tiptoed past the door. I snuck by, praying my protection spell would keep me invisible to her, then reached the elevator without notice.

  Holding my breath, I punched the last sequence I had seen a guard use when I was cleaning the floors the week all hell broke loose. Nothing happened. I closed my eyes, cursing the security of this place. The swish of the doors snapped my eyes open, and I exhaled and stepped inside the lift silently thanking the gods for their timing. The guards hadn’t changed the code yet. I stared at the options after the door closed. I didn’t know which level to choose at first, then logic seeped in under the numbness and I hit the button for the lowest level, the level for the most heinous of offenders.

  My heart pounded. I had never ventured into the dungeons because it wasn’t a place Jaden was willing to go explore. He always wanted to be far away from the complex and anything to do with the criminals locked within the cells down here. When the door opened again, I understood why.

  Dark halls met my gaze. I considered conjuring a light spell but thought against it. The cold from the smooth concrete wrapped around my feet. The hall was lined by bars on both sides.

  Each step was more uncomfortable than the next. The first few cells were empty, and I began to wonder if I had chosen the wrong floor. The next cell wasn’t empty, but I couldn’t see who was in the shadows.

  I stepped close to the bars. “Jaden?” I whispered.

  My breath caught in my throat when the thing turned. I barely got out of reach before the caged ravager swiped his clawed hand through the air, grabbing for me. The gray form bared his razor sharp teeth at me, hissing. Thinking this thing, this cement-colored monster, was once human sent a chill from the base of my spine all the way to my cranium, and I took another step away. Claws scraped across my back. I spun to another beast in the cell behind me. Horror filled me, and I stumbled the way I came as the growling noises reached a frenzied pitch.

  I pounded the button. When the lift doors opened, I jumped in and pushed the button for the next floor. My heart slammed in my chest, and my harsh gasps didn’t help. What the hell was Samantha doing with caged ravagers?

  The doors opened to the next floor, which was different than the lowest level. This one at least had more lighting and the floor wasn’t as cold. I was still freaked from the face-to-face with the death machines below, so I proceeded with caution. All my mother’s warnings now made much more sense.

  Each empty cell I passed set my nerves on edge. Halfway down the hall, I halted with a gasp.

  Jaden looked up from the chains holding him to the far wall in an open space that I could only deduce was used for the particular brand of torture afforded to warlocks. His shirt hung in tatters, and his bare chest was marred with bruises. So was his face. He blinked slowly, like he didn’t believe I was real.

  “Star?”

  I took a step towards him.

  My movement seemed to slap the grogginess from him and replaced it with raw fear. “You can’t be here,” he whispered.

  “Jaden.” I moved closer, my heart hurting with the sight of him beaten and bruised. “I’m sorry. All I meant to do was protect you.”

  His sad eyes didn’t match the soft smile he sent me. “I know, but if my mother finds out, she’ll live up to her threats.” He coughed and spit a wad of blood on the floor to his side.

  “Why did they do this?” I asked, reaching for him. My fingers trailed down his chest. He winced when I grazed one of his bruises.

  “Because this is what they do to warlocks. You’ve seen enough exiles to know the condition of the poor bastards when they are banished.”

  I met his gaze, and my hand fell from his skin. The burn of anger filled me. “You are not the one that should be locked up. I am the one that put the spell on you.”

  “Why would you do that?” he asked, tilting his head to study me.

  “Because you deserve to be happy and not a slave to someone’s every whim.”

  He laughed under his breath, and some of the humor returned to his green eyes. “You still think that, even after the shit I’ve been?”

  “Yes. I never wanted to see you locked into a loveless marriage and a slave to someone so filled with hate,” I said. “And I certainly never wished you dead.”

  “A lot of people in this sector think I did that horrific thing. Did you know that would happen?”

  My gaze dropped to the floor. “If the intention of your bride is not pure, then at the kiss announcing man and wife, your bride turns to dust.” I gave him a shrug. “That’s the spell, so, I can’t exactly say I didn’t know what would happen when I cast it. I guess I just hoped the witch that was ultimately picked really did love you, or at least had pure intent. But after the heinous things Eleanor said to me at the bridal salon, that hope was dashed. I didn’t think it would be so...so spectacular.” I met his gaze. “She hated you, Jaden.”

  “A lot of people in sector eleven hate me.”

  His brutal honesty shocked me. I only knew the boy I played with and raced with. The boy whose warmth and laughter had filled every moment away from the estate. “How can that be?”

  “I am at my best when I’m with you. I’m more like that bastard in the street that let those dogs attack you when I’m not.”

  I stepped away from him. I was aware of the line of women who he dated and dumped, but I just suspected they weren’t right for him. I didn’t think he was capable of being a dick.

  Apparently, I was wrong.

  I thought back to the night I eavesdropped on him and his mother. I had never heard venom in his voice before that night, but if that was his normal persona, who the hell had I known all my life?

  “How do you reverse it?” he asked, shocking me out of my thoughts.

  “You marry a girl who loves you.”

  Silence filled the cell, and his eyes closed. “That would be you, and my mother would just assume see us both dead before that happens.”

  “Did you know she has ravagers in cells on the bottom floor?”

  His eyes snapped open, and a crease appeared between his eyebrows. My question made the chains holding him rattle. “What?”

  “I went there by accident and...”

  “What the hell were you doing down there?”

  My mouth fell open at the sharpness in his tone. “You...knew?”

  His mouth opened as if he were going to speak, but then closed it as his eyes cast to the ground. When his gaze found its way back to mine, his eyes pleaded with me. “We’re trying to find a cure.”

  “We?”

  “My mother has been trying to find a cure for years.” He hadn’t answered my question. Instead, he opted to stare back at the floor. “I went to school for molecular genetic pathology, Star.�
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  “So, you trap those beasts and perform tests on them?”

  He nodded. “Sort of. We do tests on their blood. But nothing has worked. My mother lost patience with trying to cure them and decided since we couldn’t cure them, she would figure out how to control them.”

  “You can’t control a wild beast,” I said and crossed my arms. My mother’s words of monsters within sunk in, as did the ramifications of Jaden’s knowledge. “So, technically, you are responsible for my mother’s attack?”

  He closed his eyes, and his chin dropped to his chest. “I didn’t know my mother was going to test one of her new serums out in the real world. I’ve always told her it was never a good idea to test outside of a controlled environment for that very reason.”

  “And she just happened to choose the area where my mother was scheduled to work to do a test?” Samantha set it up so that if something did go wrong, my mother would be the casualty. She just didn’t realize her younger son would be out there, too.

  “Are you sure it was just an experiment gone wrong?” I asked when he didn’t answer.

  His gaze met mine, and he sucked in a breath. “No. I’m not sure.” Tears filled his eyes. “But I do know she blames me just as much as she blames your mother for Jack’s death. Your mother shouldn’t have been tutoring him at that time. He wasn’t scheduled to be with her in the garden for another hour. Your mother traded tutoring schedules without passing it by Tasha, and I was the one who struck the death blow, just like I did with your mom.”

  Dumbstruck, I asked, “Why? Why would you kill them if there was the remote possibility of a cure?”

  “There is no cure. We’ve exhausted everything there is between science and magic combined, and nothing works. I made a choice. I didn’t want my little brother to become one of those things just so my mother could use him as a test subject. It’s cruel.” Tears flowed down his face and his lips trembled as the words tumbled out. “If I don’t die when she exiles me, that’s exactly what I’ll become,” he whispered. “My mother’s test subject.”

  I huffed a strangled laugh. “I’ve been your mother’s test subject for years. Did you know about that, too?”

  He recoiled as much as the chains would allow. The horror painted on his face told me exactly what I needed to know. Jaden had no idea how many experiments his mother made me endure.

  “What tests?” he asked in a hoarse whisper.

  “New magic meant to harm. I survived, but it wasn’t without pain. I don’t think everyone she experimented on fared quite as well.”

  The sadness in his eyes transitioned to a fiery anger. He struggled against the chains before falling back in exhaustion. “I told her that if she ever laid a finger on you, I would quit. I would walk out of here, and she wouldn’t have a prayer finding either a cure or another witch to help her keep the ravagers out of sector eleven without me. Goddamn manipulative bitch,” he snarled. “She was hurting you while she held your safety over my head?”

  “Why should I believe you?” The question left my mouth without permission. There was so much I didn’t know about this man. He had a long list of secrets and I had no idea just how deep they went.

  Jaden’s gaze softened. “I’ve never lied to you, Star. Ever. I just didn’t tell you what kind of science I actually studied or what I’ve been doing with my degree.”

  I held up my left hand to show him my ring. “So, what’s with this? If you knew it was impossible, why even try?”

  “Because when I got out of school, I thought I could change the world, and that included marrying who I was in love with, and not marrying for a damn legacy that I don’t believe in.” He let out a sarcastic laugh. “I guess I was never meant to get what I really want.” He closed his eyes again. “You need to go. If she finds you here, even in that disguise, she’ll know it’s you.”

  “So?”

  He slowly focused on me again. “She will kill you just to spite me.”

  I took a deep breath. “So, I’m just supposed to watch you be exiled and attacked by those beasts?”

  “Yes. That’s exactly what you’re going to do.”

  “Bullshit.” I stepped so close, I could feel his body heat. “I cannot stand by and watch you be exiled for something I did.”

  “Don’t be a hero, Star. Just go. I can deal with anything that happens to me if I know you’re safe.” He stared into my eyes. “Please, just do this for me.”

  I hung my head, resting my forehead on his shoulder. The contact of my skin against his sent a jolt through me, and my hands found his waist, gently caressing his sides for a moment. He let out a soft groan as I leaned against him.

  “I love you, Jaden,” I whispered and pressed my lips to the side of his neck.

  I turned and walked out of the room. He was right about one thing—if his mother found me, I’d probably be thrown into one of the other cells until we both were exiled into the land of the ravagers.

  Chapter 17

  After retrieving my heels and Gypsy’s coat from the bathroom, I finally stepped into the hallway. I didn’t bother looking where I was going and nearly ran into Samantha coming down the hall like a hurricane.

  “What the hell are you doing in here?” she snapped.

  I pointed towards the ladies’ room, eyes wide. “I forgot my coat and needed to use the facilities, ma’am.” My nerves were already frayed, but I had the presence of mind to keep in character. I needed to move, to get out before she took a closer look at me. “I’m sorry,” I added and resumed my hasty exit.

  “Your aunt must be ecstatic with how events unfolded,” she snarled after a few paces.

  Her words created a tremble in my muscles, and I slowed to a stop. “I don’t share my aunt’s enthusiasm,” I said without looking back.

  I was through the gate and away from the crowds when the skies opened up. The bitter rain pelted me, washing away all traces of the rainbow of colors in my hair and the glamour Gypsy had set in place. By the time I stepped inside the door of the thrift shop, I was shivering and back to my old self.

  A train of wet fabric trailed behind me as I crossed the store to the door of the apartment. I wasn’t sure whether to knock or just enter. I did both at the same time.

  Gypsy looked up at me with such a glare I nearly slammed the door closed and took flight until my gaze dropped to the smoky glass globe in front of her.

  “You...and that boy?” she growled as if Jaden was toxic, and perhaps he was, but my heart wouldn’t pay notice.

  I bit my lip and nodded. “Yes. He traded his freedom for mine. He agreed to marry whoever his mother picked if she would release me.”

  She huffed a laugh. “And you believed him?”

  “Yes. I heard him with my own ears,” I said, and my hands found my hips. I wasn’t going to let this bitter and angry woman tarnish what Jaden did. He might very well be the prick she thought he was, but he had never been that way with me. “Jaden has never once lied to me.”

  “And yet, he literally threw you to the wolves. He has made it so you can never be seen in public without the magical ruse I fit you with.”

  I didn’t have a response for that. She was right. Both he and his mother branded me an outcast. That wouldn’t change with Jaden’s exile. I closed the door and leaned on it, staring at the ceiling above me. It took me a moment to collect my thoughts.

  “He is far from perfect, but he’s perfect for me.” I caught her glare and continued. “He’s been my best friend...” I let out a little laugh. “My only true friend, actually, since as far back as I can remember, although I didn’t know he had abilities until last week.”

  “So he is a warlock,” she said, crossing her arms.

  I laughed at the tag and shook my head. “No. Not in the sense you’re talking about. He has no mastery of the elements. He has only cast one spell that I’m aware of, and that was a truth spell that went awry.” I didn’t want to get into the fact he didn’t necessarily need potions or spells to cast his magic
.

  Her head cocked.

  “He wanted to know how I felt about him, and in delivering the truth spell to me, it affected him as well.” I offered a hint of a smile. “He was about as pleased to answer my questions as I was to answer his,” I said and my smile faded. “That happened to be the night my mother died.” The timing rubbed me wrong and I paused, hating myself for questioning his motives.

  She crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. “That’s all well and good, but he murdered that girl. You don’t think he should pay for that type of black magic?”

  “He didn’t cast that spell,” I said, meeting her gaze.

  She laughed at me. “I didn’t realize you were that naïve.”

  “I cast that spell. I was trying to protect Jaden!” I yelled and Gypsy’s eyes widened. The burn of frustration surrounded me, and the air became charged. “I’m the one who should be beaten and in chains, not him!” My legs gave out at the weight of my words, and I slid down the door. Tears blurred my vision. “I did this.” I dropped my head into my hands.

  “Child.” Gypsy’s soft voice cut through my sobs. Her hand caressed the top of my head until I looked up. She crouched before me with such a sad look in her eyes. “Why?” This time the question was asked with a soft sincerity.

  “I cast the spell after I found out he had magic in his blood.” I sniffled and wiped my cheeks. “If the witch he married didn’t love him, he would be her slave for life, or worse, exiled the moment he slipped and showed his abilities. I’ve lived that for twenty-two years. I know what a nightmare that is, and I cast a spell to protect him from that kind of pain.”

  She combed my wet hair away from my face. I didn’t know how to read the look she gave as she studied me. “You possess the skills to wield such a binding spell?”

  I stared into her eyes and nodded. “I mixed a potion based on an ancient protection spell. I was naive enough when I created it to think perhaps there was some pure intent out there, and perhaps Jaden would be lucky enough to find it. Unfortunately, the moment I ran into Eleanor in the bridal shop, I knew her wedding day would be short lived.”