by Rae Rivers
CHAPTER FORTY THREE
Icy needles crept down Jenna’s spine and she fought the urge to cringe. Her mind raced for a response, an excuse, a denial. Anything to preserve her secret.
But Hazel was onto her and wouldn’t easily be fooled.
She’d felt the twinges of pain from Hazel’s spell – one that created a mini aneurysm, painful and debilitating. Witches loved them. She’d also been bitten but her magic had healed her before either one could set in.
“After you took Kate from us at the cemetery, there was one thing I could never figure out,” Hazel said casually. She circled, fiddling with Jenna’s braided hair. “Her wrists were slit. She was bleeding out and then suddenly, she wasn’t.”
“She’s half Keeper, we heal quickly.”
“Not that fast.” Hazel’s eyes sparkled when she realigned the rip on Jenna’s sleeve to the patch of blood on her arm. She raised her inked brows, a smirk on her lips. “So tell me, Jenna. How the hell did she heal so fast?”
“Next time I see her, I’ll ask her.” But Jenna already knew. When she’d rescued Kate, she’d given her a potion to drink, one she’d doctored with her own magic. It had rapidly stopped Kate’s bleeding and healed her injuries.
“It all makes sense now.” Hazel’s breath quickened, her body bristling with anticipation. “For so long, we searched for a Salubrious and all this time you’ve been under my damn nose.”
A spurt of fear, cold and paralysing, swept through Jenna. She kept her gaze on Hazel refusing the cringe her body demanded.
The tattooed lines on Hazel’s face creased when she cracked a wide grin. “My sister suspected there was a child.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She was pleased her voice sounded calm, unwavering, even though her insides were a mess.
“We never thought of looking for a child in the mortal world. That explains where your mother disappeared to that night. The portal. And you have no idea what happened afterwards, do you?”
Jenna clamped her jaw so tightly that it hurt. Her racing heartbeat pulsed in her throat, her wrists.
Hazel crossed her arms, her eyes glistening. “She returned, found your father’s body, and everything turned so … messy.” Jenna’s body jerked as though the words had struck her. Hazel grinned. “Ah, so you do know what I’m talking about.”
Jenna fought for composure, even though she wanted to scream. Rip Hazel’s fucking throat out. When the anger took a grip on her, she went with that, knowing it would shield the emotions that could cripple her.
“My sister and her husband were smart,” Hazel continued. “Without our family Grimoire, we were stumped for the location of the massacre. She had the bright idea of searching for a descendent of one of the Keepers who’d witnessed the witches’ slaughter that night. She thought they’d know the location.”
“A bummer The Circle took care of them.”
“It wasn’t hard to figure out they’d been sent to Ameera. The Circle never understood what had transpired that night. They’d never murder their own, which is why they exiled them here.” She smiled, waving her hands at the city in the distance. “How fortunate for us that those old bitches are so transparent and that we now hold the only key to Ameera.”
A key Jenna had in her possession only moments before. Guilt trickled through her and she glanced at Ethan, her heart tightening. If she’d figured it out sooner, taken the time to process the nagging voice in the back of her mind …
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
Hazel’s forehead crinkled when she frowned. “Unfortunately, Ameera had already taken care of most of the Keepers and the few brats they left behind had no knowledge of the location. The Circle had altered the memories of all the Keepers at the massacre. A little spell-casting confirmed they were telling the truth.”
“But you killed them anyway.”
“They’re Keepers,” Hazel said with a careless shrug, as if that justified everything. “We tracked down all the lineages but one. Yours.”
It took sheer willpower not to flinch.
“And then one night, my sister and her husband received a tip.” Her smile was one of pure pride and awe. “She roped in the locals, triggered an early Annex and all hell broke loose. But she found them.”
Horror flared in Jenna’s chest. She’d been right. The attack on her neighbourhood that night hadn’t been random. They’d been searching for a Salubrious.
“She didn’t mean to kill them,” Hazel said casually, not taking her eyes off Jenna. “That was rather unfortunate. They wouldn’t talk and she couldn’t spell them too. A fire broke out and …” she snapped her fingers, “… poof.”
Jenna blinked, the words slicing through her, just as Hazel had intended. Pursing her lips together, she bit back a retort, and tried to keep herself from unravelling. She’d wanted the truth. A truth so crippling that breathing was impossible.
“Did you know my family destroyed yours?” Hazel taunted. “Is that why you pretended to side with us all those years ago? Revenge?”
“If it’s revenge I wanted, I would’ve set you alight in your sleep.”
“So why didn’t you, Jenna?” They glared at each other in silence. Hazel’s eyes widened as understanding dawned. “Ah, Ameera. You needed a way in and I was it. Kate was never the priority, Ameera was.”
“You really think I’d spend two torturous years biding by your evil if Kate wasn’t a priority? I risked my life to save her from you!”
“But the first chance you got, you left her behind to return to Ameera. Oh, honey,” Hazel gushed, giving an exaggerated gasp. “Is that why you returned? You think your parents are alive?”
“Jenna,” Ethan’s voice cut through the taunts. “Don’t listen to her. She’s trying to rattle you.”
She knew that and it took a mammoth effort to maintain her equilibrium. Even though it felt like her heart had been ripped into pieces. She clung to the little composure she had left, refusing to allow the guilt to take root.
Kate had always come first, even when her longing to return home had been unbearable. But the truth was, when the opportunity she’d been waiting for finally arose and knowing that her witch was safe with Ethan’s brothers, she had left for Ameera.
And she couldn’t deny that her quest for the portal spell had been outranked by her need to find her parents.
Hazel chuckled, almost as though she’d read Jenna’s inner struggle. But then she sobered. “Now that we’ve established you’re a Salubrious love child …”
The blow came from behind, vicious and sudden, as something connected with Jenna’s head. Pain arrowed through her and she collapsed. On her hands and knees, she tried to rise, hampered when Rick delivered another two punches. Everything went blurry. She turned her head, tasting blood.
“Jenna!” Ethan shouted, rattling his chains.
Hazel knelt in front of her and captured Jenna’s head between her bony fingers. Her eyes danced with excitement and a sick smile twisted her tattooed features. She whispered a chant.
Jenna cried out as heat seared through her, powerful and overwhelming. A blinding pain pierced her skull. Her vision clouded and she fought the darkness that threatened.
And then the images struck. Brief, flashing moments of Jenna’s life. Her parents, her home, the city. Even grandparents she’d hardly known. Ethan and his brothers, Kate, the night she’d saved her at the cemetery.
The memories rolled through her, snatches of her life, like clips of a movie – but out of order. Moments she’d treasured, memories she’d buried – like the one of her mother when she’d given Jenna the doll. But it disappeared too soon and Jenna cried out, aching to cling to that moment – a time when they’d been happy, before everything had changed. She saw a blurred image of Megan, the night her parents had brought her home. Small and helpless, her head bowed and covered in a hoodie.
Dozens more images followed, brief and murky. But Jenna recognised them all, her body shaking with the familiar
ache of despair.
The night of the attack replayed itself in her mind. The fire, the fear, her father’s desperate attempt to protect them. Her mother’s mad dash for the portal and the moment she’d separated them.
NO!
A scream echoed through the room, long and desperate, and Jenna fought the panic and terror. She vaguely heard Ethan shouting her name, the frantic jerking of chains. But the memories kept coming.
And just like that, they vanished and the pain subsided.
Jenna felt the pressure ease and when Rick released her, stepping back, she couldn’t move. She felt broken. All over again. Her self-preservation shattered. Tears welled in her eyes and she lifted her head, hating Hazel’s close scrutiny.
The witch had seen everything. Invaded every goddamn memory.
“Anything?” Rick prompted, helping Hazel up. She shook her head, evoking a curse from him. “We finally find one and she doesn’t know?”
“Those crazy bitches wiped their memories. All of them. Even her lineage. She doesn’t know where the massacre took place. Just like the others.” Hazel said the last words through pinched lips, her inked jaw clasped in fury.
“Your sister –”
“Was wrong.” His outraged roar split the silence and he spun around, aiming a furious kick into Jenna’s side. The pain exploded through her and she curled into a foetal position, gasping air. “Rick, stop that!”
But he lunged for Jenna, settling on her back like a lead weight. “We have no use for this treacherous bitch anymore.”
“STOP!” Megan burst out, appearing in the doorway. “Rick, leave her alone!”
“She deserves to die, Megan.”
Megan hurried forward, breathless, clutching the Brogan Grimoire in her arms. “Mason’s a genius. It worked.”
“What do you mean?” Hazel asked, reaching for the book. Her eyes widened and her face lit up like a kid whose wish had just been granted. She hugged the Grimoire to her chest, threw her head back and released a croaky laugh.
The location?
Before Jenna could process that revelation, the earth rumbled again, rolling in faster and stronger than before. The room shook with a frightening force.
“Hazel, we have what we need. Let’s deal with these two,” Rick prompted, nodding at Ethan and Jenna, “and get out of here.”
“In a minute. I have an idea. One far more satisfying than the quick death you have in mind.” Hazel knelt over Jenna. “Have you ever wondered why those Keepers betrayed their witches?”
Dozens of times, but she refused to take the bait and ask.
“I’ll give you a hint,” Hazel whispered, telling her anyway. “A Behesting spell.”
“They were spelled to ignore their witches?”
“Want to see how it works?” Hazel laughed and stood, fading in and out of Jenna’s view as she walked to Ethan.
Jenna tried to push herself off the floor, stumbling as dizziness overwhelmed her. But another blow from Rick sent her sprawling to the ground. “NO!” Her cry came out as a gurgle of blood. She spat it out, grimacing at the vile taste, and tried to make sense of the blurry images in the distance. Chains jerked as Hazel removed the glass embedded in Ethan’s body. His body swayed with the harsh movement. She murmured something in his ear.
“Ethan!” Jenna cried, her voice croaky. Her cheeks were wet, either from tears or blood, she wasn’t sure. She didn’t care. “Leave him alone!”
As the darkness overwhelmed her, she saw Hazel step away from Ethan. With a brief nod at Rick, they walked out.
Leaving them alone. Alive.
CHAPTER FORTY FOUR
Jenna awoke to another earth tremor.
They were becoming more powerful, lasting longer. She waited it out, her cheek pressed to the cement floor. Her teeth chattered and her body shivered uncontrollably.
The wind had grown stronger, colder, the room a whirlwind of dust.
She lifted her head, the scent of blood in her nostrils. Her injuries had healed while she’d been out, leaving her bloody and wet. The flames of the fire had died but orange embers floated in the wind, a sign she hadn’t been out too long. Without the light from the fire, she had to rely on the glow of the moon, sporadic from the movement of the clouds.
Her heart soared when she saw Ethan. Still chained, quiet, staring at her.
“Ethan!” He didn’t respond and she struggled to her feet, crossing the room, holding up her arm in front of her face to shield herself from the wind. It was dark, his features almost unreadable in the dim light. He stood in a puddle of blood.
A hard yank to the chains broke the lock and both clattered to the ground at his feet. He slumped but stayed upright, staring at her. She glanced at the wounds, relieved the bleeding had stopped. Which meant he was healing.
“She left us alive. They’re gone, Ethan. We made it!” Breathless, shivering, she threw her arms around him.
But he remained rigid, his arms beside him, feet planted firmly apart. A shiver of trepidation ran through her.
Confused, she drew back, searching his expression. “Ethan?” Her heartbeat sped up when he ignored her. She took his hand, fiddling with the shackles around his wrist. The chains rattled from the jerky movement. “Ethan?”
An icy wind blasted into her.
The force propelled her backward and she crashed into the fire drums. Orange embers exploded, raining down on her. A wheelbarrow swept across the floor toward the gaping window, the metal screeching on the floor. It skidded past her and disappeared over the edge.
She gasped when the temperature suddenly dropped – a cold like she’d never experienced before. Her shivering intensified and her eyes watered.
Ethan still hadn’t moved, but his expression had hardened. The way it always did when he connected with his elemental power.
Dread curled her insides when she realised the cause of the wind. Ethan.
She crouched against the drums, terrified the wind would push her toward the edge of the room. Her cheeks burned and every breath she took hurt like hell. “Ethan!”
His ferocious glare turned on her. Teeth bared, fists clenched beside his thighs, he stomped forward, dragging the chains behind him. The wind hampered his movements, but he kept coming.
An unstoppable force.
“Stop it! What are you doing?”
And then it struck her.
Want to see how it works?
Hazel’s words came to mind, along with a new kind of terror. A Behesting spell. She’d spelled him. It had to be. He’d never hurt her otherwise. Oh, no.
“Look at me, damn you! It’s me. Jenna. It’s Jenna!” Her teeth chattered and the wind muffled her cry. “Ethan!”
He spread his hands and a powerful whirlwind gathered force around them.
It twisted through the room, jarring tools and rubble. The chains slid across the floor, anchored by his body weight. The wind wrapped around her, fierce and unrelenting. She clutched onto the drums, leaning into them, crying out when they shifted and skidded toward the ledge. One toppled over, breaking her hold and surrendering her to the mercy of the wind. She screamed as she slid, horrified when the drum rolled ahead and catapulted out the window.
“Ethan!”
She frantically searched for something to grasp onto and cried out in relief when her fingers found one of the chains still attached to his wrist. She clutched on with both hands, rolling onto her stomach.
The sudden, harsh movement unbalanced him. Fuelled by the wind at his back, he tumbled forward. His chest collided with the floor and the momentum slid them along the ground toward the gaping hole of the window. As they reached the edge, she screamed as she went over, her body jerking violently when he grabbed onto a steel rod sticking out from the wall.
She felt the ground vanish beneath her and she swayed mid-air, clinging to the chain, anchored by his body. She looked up, unable to breathe, horror and fear freezing everything inside. He lay on his stomach, one arm outstretched toward her, trap
ped by the chain that supported her weight. The other arm clutched the steel rod behind him, all that stood between them and the horrific fall.
Her body trembled viciously and it was so damn cold. She glanced over her shoulder. The city loomed below, dark and ominous.
“You’re stronger than her spell!” she screamed, looking up at him. “We’re stronger. Fight it. Please, Ethan, you have to fight it!”
He gritted his teeth and tried to jerk free.
“Don’t let me fall,” she cried, her words a screech of terror. The chain rattled when she jiggled it, trying to reach him, terrified it was too late. “Please don’t do this. You have to fight it. ETHAN!”
She saw the moment it changed for him.
That flash of recognition.
“Come back to me!” she cried, louder this time, hope spreading through her like wildfire when his brows furrowed and his eyes softened. The wind eased.
He blinked rapidly. “Jenna?” With a loud grunt, he hauled her up, dragging them away from the ledge. Scanning the room, he cradled her, breathless and panicked. “You’re so cold. What the hell happened?”
Words escaped her, joy joining the ranks of her terror. She clung to him and closed her eyes, trying to catch her breath. Everything felt numb.
“You’re frozen –” He stilled and his frown grew more pronounced. “Oh shit, I did this to you?”
She tried to answer him, but the words remained trapped between her chattering teeth and shivers.
His low curse rumbled through her as a wave of energy emanated off him, fierce and sudden, followed by a trickle of heat. A warm wind wrapped around them, lessening the chill. She took a few deep breaths as her body temperature rose, easing the shivers.
“You were spelled,” she said, her voice croaky. “That’s why Hazel left you alive. She spelled you to kill me.”
He released her as though her words had scorched him. With a low growl that came from the back of his throat, he stood, clenching his fists.
