by Rae Rivers
When Jenna had first joined them, convincing Megan she sided with them had been a challenge. After all, the woman knew her better than most, but Jenna had pulled it off. It had helped that Megan was as determined to hide their connection and history. Ameera.
“Hell would freeze over before I support your cause, Megan. I will never –” Jenna stopped, distracted by a movement in the street.
“I came alone,” Megan offered.
Jenna eyed her suspiciously. “If you knew I’d be here, why not tell Hazel?”
“How the hell would I explain this?” She waved a hand at the room. “Hazel’s not stupid. She’ll sniff out the truth in the blink of an eye and will know –”
“That you’re from Ameera? That you were raised by good people that took you in when you had nothing? They loved you when no one else would! They believed in you, dammit!”
“Don’t you dare preach to me about your parents!” Megan yelled. “Your mother sent us away! That’s not love, Jenna.”
How could Megan so easily discount everything her parents had done for her? Jenna bared her teeth, clenching her fists. “You know nothing of my mother and what she stood for, what she fought against.”
“No, I don’t because your parents were always so damn secretive.”
It was true. Despite taking Megan off the streets, her parents had insisted they keep their magic a secret from her. From everyone. They’d owned a store, sold herbs and medicine for healing. Placebo crap that covered their magic. A good front, one that everyone had believed.
Megan’s eyes narrowed. “But now, in hindsight, knowing you’re a Keeper, I can’t help but wonder why. Who were they, Jenna? What were they hiding?”
It was only a matter of time before Megan figured it out. Shit. “They were good people, Megan. A trait you know nothing of,” Jenna shot back, her tone clipped with anger and resentment. “And somehow, they must’ve known that.”
The words struck a chord for Megan as Jenna had known they would. Her breathing hitched and her nostrils flared. The energy shifted in the room. A blast of magic smacked into Jenna, hurtling her across the room. She slammed into the wall and slid to the ground.
“Why did you come back here?” Megan asked, circling. “Your parents are gone. There’s nothing here for you. All you’ve done is upset Hazel again.”
“Why’s Hazel in Ameera?”
“You really expect me to answer that?”
Jenna dashed across the room so fast that Megan barely had time to register the movement. They collided in an exchange of punches and curses, fuelled by divided beliefs and years of accumulated frustration and disagreements. But Jenna was stronger and faster and Megan was quick to break away. Breathless, they circled each other, gazes locked.
“Does Ethan know why you’re really here?” Megan panted, her voice dripping with challenge.
“To search for Hazel.”
“We both know that was only half the agenda.”
“Maybe, but I’ll still fight to my death to protect my witch and the people back home. My entire life is about that, Megan, and if you threaten that, I won’t hesitate to annihilate you.”
“Just like that? Despite what we meant to each other?”
“That was a long time ago, a relationship soured by our different beliefs. We’re on opposite sides of the war now.”
Megan tensed. The ground trembled with a speed and violence that took Jenna by surprise. A beam dislodged from the roof. It crashed to the ground, splintering on impact. Windows and walls quivered.
“Stop it!” Jenna breathed, reeling back.
“Why? We’re enemies, remember?” Megan scowled at her, breathing heavily, exuding a scary energy she’d never used on Jenna before. A frightening force wedged itself between them and Jenna took a step back.
Another beam collapsed above them, bringing down the floor above. Jenna dove for cover but building debris engulfed her. She threw her arms up to shield her head and squeezed her eyes shut as soot and dust blurred the air. The noise muffled her cry as something sharp pierced her flesh. The pain was sheer agony and in an instant, her body clamoured to heal itself.
Megan towered over her, hands outstretched, her face twisted with fury.
But she screeched as she was flung across the room, crashing into the wall. Jenna gritted her teeth and felt for the object lodged in her side. The smell of blood filled her nostrils.
And froze when she saw him. Ethan!
He had his arm around Megan, trapped in a death grip. His expression was beyond anything Jenna had ever seen before. A blind rage that overruled everything else.
Megan swatted him, gasping air. Her eyes bulged when he added more pressure. A simple tug would snap her neck like a chicken bone.
“NO!” Jenna screamed and lunged for him. The force broke his hold on Megan and she scrambled out of his reach.
Ethan’s gaze found Jenna’s, confusion clouding the fury in his eyes. Megan rose, straightening her jacket. She’d lost her scarf in the scuffle. Watching Ethan warily, she fled.
Ethan let her go. He was in front of Jenna in a heartbeat, his face inches from hers. The air had turned icy, but he was all heat and fury. His eyes blazed something lethal. A vein throbbed in his neck.
A shiver of apprehension trickled down her spine, but she fought the urge to step back. Instead, she lifted her chin.
“Megan is one of Hazel’s sidekicks,” he said slowly, the words dripping with venom. “She supports everything we fight against. She tried to hurt Kate and Sienna. Repeatedly.”
“Ethan, it’s not what you think.”
“We protect those we care about. Those we side with.” He jabbed a finger in the direction of the door. “That bitch hurt you and you just defended her.”
“It’s not like that,” she whispered, loathing the desperation in her tone.
“Then explain it to me,” he said, towering over her. “Because right now it looks like you’re in her corner and if that’s the case, we have a big fucking problem.”
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
He caught the flash of fear in her eyes, knew he was the reason for it, but didn’t give a damn. Screw that. She’d left him behind to meet with Megan. A damn witch who sided with their greatest enemy.
Anger churned, along with a sense of betrayal that scorched like a bitch. He’d tasted betrayal before, but this was different.
This was Jenna.
He swiped at the blood on his cheek – a result of Megan’s frantic attempt to claw his eyes out. His mind reeled as he tried to reconcile the woman he knew to the woman in front of him. He’d heard the end of their conversation and it had taken every ounce of strength he had not to tear into them both.
“Last night at the warehouse,” he said through clenched teeth. “It was you who dragged Megan to safety, wasn’t it?” She gave a brief nod, her hands squeezed into fists against her chest. “I thought you were on our side.”
“I am, Ethan. I swear.”
“Then explain why the hell you keep protecting the very person who’d kill our witches in a heartbeat!”
“We have history. It’s complicated.”
“So uncomplicate it for me. ‘Cause right now, all I see is a Keeper who’s playing both sides.” He took a step closer, tightening his fists. “And you of all people know how much I hate being played.”
“I’m not playing you, dammit!”
“You saved Megan! Twice.”
Her eyes flared and she shoved him. Hard. He was about to bolt forward but hesitated when he smelt blood. Her blood. He scanned her for injuries, his stomach twisting when he saw the telltale red stain on her jacket, hitched above a small steel rod that protruded from her flesh. “You’re hurt,” he said, reaching for her.
“Don’t touch me!” she snapped, reeling back.
“You’re bleeding, Jenna.”
Frowning, she waved him away. She gripped the rod and pulled, stifling a cry. It clattered to the floor, the sound ringing in the silence of the room. She drew in a
deep breath, and energy exuded off her in waves.
He moved around her, surprised when she let him. Her grim expression eased and her breathing grew more level. She squared her shoulders and lifted her head, the fire back in her eyes.
“The pain’s gone,” he said. He could see it in the way she stood, the way she looked at him. He moved aside her jacket. There was so much blood, but the wound had healed. Her expression remained unreadable. “How did you heal so fast?”
She looked at the floor and blew out air. “The reason I never showed you and your brothers my elemental powers is because I don’t have any. My magic heals – myself and others too.”
His eyes narrowed. “Keepers can’t heal others.”
Her head lifted and she raised her hand, her fingers cold against his cheek. But warmth soon filtered through his skin, gentle and soothing, erasing Megan’s scratch.
He frowned, his mind scrambling to make sense of her revelation. “There’s only one lineage of Keepers who can do that and they’re as extinct as the damn dinosaurs.”
A special lineage of Keepers with the power to heal, the last of them destroyed after betraying their witches the night of the massacre. There’d been two types of Keepers that night. Keepers like him, and others like …
“Most of them, yes.”
Her expression clouded with something he couldn’t decipher. Fear? Hesitation? When she shrank back, he caught her chin between his fingers, bringing her back to him. “You’re not like me, are you, Jenna?”
“My magic isn’t elemental. It’s healing.” Her eyes burned with emotion and untold truths between them.
“If that’s true then …”
Her brief nod confirmed his suspicions. “I’m a Salubrious.”
****
Saying it aloud sparked a ripple of unease through Jenna. A word she never used to describe herself.
A Salubrious. A Keeper with the instinct to protect and the power to heal. Fix the broken. Something an ordinary Keeper was unable to do.
She’d never told anyone. She’d been taught from a young age to keep that part of her hidden. Her family had embraced their magical powers but never in front of others. Being such an isolated lineage, their magic would give them away and the threat of their enemies discovering their existence always lingered.
Ethan gaped at her, a harsh frown creasing his brows. Silence stretched between them.
“How’s this possible?” he demanded. “How are you here?”
“My ancestors were there the night of the massacre. The last of our lineage in the mortal world. There were other Keepers too. Afterward, The Circle wiped the memories of the humans involved and exiled the Keepers to Ameera as punishment.”
“Rose’s suspicions were right.” He jutted out his chin, exposing the veins that throbbed in his neck. “Why would they keep that from us? Hell, why would you keep that from us?”
“To protect us.”
“Your family killed their witches and you’re the ones needing protection?”
“Allegedly killed,” she hissed, unable to keep the anger and bitterness from her tone.
“I doubt The Circle would’ve banished them to Ameera based on allegedly, Jenna. They betrayed their witches, watched them burn and did nothing.”
She couldn’t deny it. Because it was true and her parents had never been able to fathom why. The details of that night were sketchy. After exposing their magic, the witches were rounded up by irate town folk. They were imprisoned in an old building and set alight. Their Keepers had done nothing to help them. An act of betrayal Jenna had never understood. It went against everything Keepers were sworn to uphold and protect. Against that inner desire to defend their witches.
“That’s why you’re familiar with the city,” he said, eyes widening. “This was your home.”
“I was born here, but it hasn’t been my home for a very long time.”
“You come from Ameera? How the hell did you end up in our world?”
“Once a month, when the full moon peaks, Ameera has an Annex.” She explained the most dreaded night of the month, but knew her words did little to convey the fear and terror that came with it. Her chest tightened and she lowered her gaze as the memories came. “The night I left, the Annex was different. Earth tremors ravaged our city and the boundary walls were nullified before the moon peaked, catching us off guard. Our neighbourhood was attacked.”
She looked away, swallowing, willing away the lump in her throat. Images kept coming, no matter how much she tried to field them.
“Jenna?”
The sound of her name jarred her torment and she looked up, biting her lip. “Somehow, my mother tracked the portal and insisted we leave.”
“She came with you?”
“No. Megan and I.”
“That’s why you’re protecting her? You have some sort of screwed-up loyalty?” She turned away, unable to explain or deny it. Hell, she’d bust herself up enough times because of her twisted loyalty to the witch. “What happened to your mother?”
“I haven’t seen them since that night,” she replied, her voice cracking.
He rubbed his temples and shook his head. “Everything we know about you is a goddamn lie.”
“I never lied!”
“Omission, lie, same damn thing. You should’ve told me!”
“Telling anyone that I’m a Salubrious puts me at risk.” She jabbed a finger in the direction of the window. “Sienna was right. We never stood a chance – here or back home. We’re loathed by your kind, hunted by enemies and because of that, most of the Keepers there that night are dead.”
“And that surprises you after what they did?” He caught her wrist, drawing her closer. Fury dripped from him in a way that unnerved her. “You’re from a lineage of Keepers we despise. Your family is everything we aren’t.”
A small part of her crumbled when she heard the disgust in his voice. She’d always dreaded telling him, knowing he’d view her differently.
“This trip to Ameera … this had nothing to do with finding the spell, did it? Hell, did Kate even feature in your plans at all?”
She wrenched her hand free. “Of course she does. Kate – and Sienna – will always come first. Always. But not knowing what happened to my family is killing me, Ethan. I’ve searched for a way back here for years and when we discovered the portal was open, I had to return. I may be magical, but I’m also human, dammit.” Her voice trembled and she drew in a shaky breath. “I had to know. I had to return.”
They stared at each other in silence, hurt and anger wedged between them, a barrier of ugliness they’d never shared before.
“I know all about pain and loss and longing, Jenna. I know what it’s like to have parents ripped away from you. I get it.” His voice softened, but did little for his disgruntled expression. “But I trusted you.”
“You can still trust me, dammit! I haven’t lost sight of our goal or why we’re here.”
“You should’ve told me!”
“I was afraid! I had to protect myself.”
“From me?” Her words reignited the fury and he bulldozed forward, only stopping when he had her backed into the wall. “That’s why you never told me? You’d thought I’d hurt you?”
When she didn’t reply, he slammed a palm against the wall beside her head. She gasped and flinched, gaping at him. The air prickled with tension, rife and frightening.
For a moment, he simply scowled at her, his breathing shallow and rapid. “What infuriates me the most is that through all the years we’ve known each other, the dozens of conversations we’ve shared, the battles we’ve fought …” Placing his other hand on the wall beside her, trapping her between his arms, he edged closer, his face inches from hers. “You didn’t trust me.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
The Square looked different in the morning light. Deserted, less ominous. A contrast to the way Jenna felt.
Ethan had walked away and she hadn’t stopped him. Even though the pain in her che
st had magnified with every step he took. She’d wanted to call out to him, ached to make things right, but she knew he needed space.
From her.
That thought made her feel like a leper.
She sauntered into the courtyard, head lowered. The grey cobblestones matched the grey of the sky, the sun hidden behind the clouds. The courtyard was deserted, scattered with tables and chairs and empty beer bottles.
Susan’s bar was locked, the blinds drawn, but the sound of voices in the kitchen drew Jenna to the back entrance – faint, inaudible to most people, but she heard them. A Keeper perk.
She approached the kitchen window quietly, crouching low, and peered inside. Susan stood against the counter, a row of pots and pans dangling from the ceiling above her head. A bandanna subdued her hair and she wore an apron over her dress.
Axel leaned over her, his arms around her neck. His lips were close to hers but they weren’t kissing.
When Susan whimpered softly, he broke away, panting, dazed, and high on something that wasn’t sexual. He flexed his jaw as though he’d just feasted on something tasty. His bearded face cracked a lazy smile.
Susan glanced at the clock on the wall. “Shouldn’t you be going? You wouldn’t want to keep Hazel waiting.”
“Hazel’s on my turf. She shouldn’t keep me waiting.” A frown creased his studded brows and he backtracked to the door. “I’ll stop by later.”
The moment the door closed behind him, Susan paled and slumped against the counter.
Jenna gaped at her in surprise, her anger lessening. Whatever had happened had been consensual, but Susan hadn’t liked it. She faked it. And Jenna knew all about faking it. There were only two reasons a woman would tolerate the advances of a man she loathed.
Desperation or survival and, sadly, it was often both.
Susan spun around when Jenna pushed open the kitchen door. She saw the anguish in Susan’s eyes moments before the steely facade returned.
“You shouldn’t have come back to Ameera,” Susan said, her voice edged with annoyance, “it’s too dangerous for you here.”
Jenna’s brows lifted. “You’re helping us but you’re kissing the enemy? Which side are you on, Susan?”
