Yet another surprise. “He sent the invitation?”
The Priestess gave a simple nod in confirmation. “He's never been content with leaving you behind, Aislinn, but we've both come too far in our effort of liberating Sylva Abbott to stop now.”
For all of Aislinn's anger over the situation, she found herself too curious to resist asking, “What do you mean, liberating Sylva Abbott? Wasn't she one of your founders?”
“Yes, and she's the sole reason we need the tome. Perhaps Derick related some of the story already. Twenty years ago, he came to The Trine looking for me after having visions of a past life as Sylva's husband. I'd never met him before, but he knew all about her plight, and was even able to communicate with her in Limbo as I can.”
Aislinn exchanged a surprised look with Troy. Sylva Abbott was the cursed woman Derick had refused to divulge information on, and likely the same spirit who'd possessed Aislinn that night.
This prompted her to inquire, “Wait, was Sylva the apprentice of a magician named Heliger?”
Estelle answered with a simple nod, elaborating, “Heliger is the one who cursed her three centuries ago. You see, Sylva became so powerful under his tutelage that he came to fear her, and eventually cast her into Limbo where she's remained trapped to this day. Without the counter spell in his tome, there was nothing we could do.”
Finally, everything became clear, and Aislinn gripped Troy to steady herself with the weight of the information slamming into her at once. None of it was easy to take in, including the conclusion she came to, stating angrily, “So he only came back to find out if I was mated to a werewolf, and once you knew for sure, you sent your cronies to hex me so my soul could be branded before Troy brought me back, all to get your hands on that fucking book.”
She didn't even care how they'd managed to locate the tome to begin with, and for all the emotions roiling within her over these discoveries, the most painful part of all was Derick's betrayal. Her own father had gone along with this, meaning that even if he'd legitimately hoped to fix their relationship—one built on lies—some ghost from a past life was more important than his flesh and blood.
She'd never fully developed an opinion on Derick Rowden before, but now?
Aislinn thoroughly hated him.
“There was no other choice,” Estelle responded apathetically. “Once we figured out where the tome was, it was just a matter of devising a way to reach it. I wish it could've been different, but—”
The priestess stopped suddenly when Troy moved as if to attack her. He'd even startled Aislinn, who quickly rushed ahead of him and placed her hands against his chest, exclaiming, “Troy, don't!”
There was serious doubt over whether he'd listen considering the fire in his yellow eyes promised Estelle nothing but lethal intent. Yet she'd just use the stone to teleport away, and if there was no chance at finding out where Derick was hiding, Aislinn wanted to pass on a message.
After all, he deserved to be made well aware of her intentions.
It was nearly impossible for Troy to reign in his vengeful desires, even for Aislinn. All he could think about was ripping Estelle apart, particularly when she'd fed them some bullshit about having no choice and wishing things could've been different.
Yet the effect of the transit stone clutched tightly in her palm was likely instantaneous, meaning she'd disappear before he could get close. Additionally, Aislinn seemed to have a different idea in mind for the priestess, and Troy desperately fought his violent urges.
Thankfully, a distraction came in the form of Alec's voice sounding in his mind without warning. -Troy?-
Hearing the faint thought was both surprising and relieving. Troy had questioned his cousins' fate since the Palmer sisters showed up with Derick, inquiring, -Alec? Are you okay?-
-Andi and I were knocked out with magic. We just woke up and uh … well, Derick's gone.-
Alec seemed sheepish, and Troy resisted the urge to roll his eyes. -I know, a lot's happened. Just track my scent, and get here as fast as you can. I need you to sneak up on the witch we're facing and stop her from teleporting away.-
-On it.-
The confirmation was promising—Alec and Andi were fast, and may just make it in time to keep Estelle right where she was. So Troy stood down, and in seeing he wasn't going to impulsively attack the priestess, Aislinn lowered her hands from his chest, then turned to face Estelle. Judging by her expression, she had something important to say, and he hoped it would stall their foe long enough to capture her.
“I don't know how you found that tome, and I don't care,” Aislinn started. “I'm also not gonna try convincing you to hand it over because you're obviously too stupid to reason with, and I only stopped Troy from killing you because I need you to pass on a message. You'll be seeing Derick again soon, right?”
“Probably. What's your message?”
“It's simple,” she answered. “Tell him that he's not my father, and if I ever see his sorry face again, I'll rip it off and use it as a Halloween mask.”
Estelle was obviously unaffected by the harsh promise, stating plainly, “Fair enough. I'll make sure he knows.”
At that, she held the stone in both hands, and it immediately began glowing more brightly between her palms.
Fearing his cousins wouldn't make it, Troy nearly darted ahead to tackle the Priestess. Yet the sound of rustling nearby stopped him as both twins emerged from the trees swiftly enough to startle Aislinn. They were moving toward Estelle at top speed just as her transit stone flashed.
The light encompassed the priestess' body with the ferines reaching out to grab her arms from both sides, intending to pull her hands apart so she might drop the stone before it could transport her away. Yet their hands grasped nothing but air as they landed on both sides of the spot where Estelle stood only a moment prior.
The witch was gone.
“Damn!” Troy growled over the missed opportunity.
Stunned, Aislinn looked between them and asked, “Where did you two come from?”
Because she wasn't ferine, she couldn't hear their thoughts, so they reverted to their normal forms, and Andi was the first to respond.
“We were playing poker in the library, and Derick was sleeping in the study across the hall when we caught the scent of magic, apparently some kind of sleep spell because we blacked out before we could check on him.”
“We didn't wake up until about ten minutes ago, and he was gone,” Alec added, looking between the two of them. “Is he okay? And what happened to you, Troy?”
“Long story,” Troy muttered, unwilling to get into it just then. “We'll talk back at the manor.”
Not only was it finally starting to rain, but his injury was throbbing like hell. Such pain wasn't something that would've normally impeded him, but because the bullet was silver, Troy was having a harder time ignoring his discomfort. So going back inside and getting cleaned up was much more appealing than discussing how Estelle and Derick had gotten away with the tome out in the cold.
Though he did qualify to his cousins, “But just so you know, the witches who knocked you out are both dead.”
Hearing this, Alec grumbled, obviously wanting his own revenge. “You couldn't wait?”
Andi grinned, patting her brother's shoulder sympathetically before heading back to the manor. Alec merely shook his head, following behind her.
As they departed, Troy locked an arm around Aislinn to get going, but stopped short in noticing the tears tracking down her cheeks.
“Aislinn?” he asked, taking her shoulders in gentle hands. “What's wrong?”
She slowly looked up, whispering, “He's really gone, Troy. I never completely accepted it before, and I never actually hated Derick Rowden, I just resented the things he'd done. But now I know for sure that I really have lost him.” Wiping her eyes, she added more angrily, “But he betrayed us, so I shouldn't be crying. I should be happy he's gone!”
The rain started pattering harder with her response, and
Troy pulled Aislinn into a tight embrace. “Maybe, but he was your father, darlin'. So it's gonna take time to heal, and when you do, you're gonna feel a hell of a lot better knowing the truth than you did wondering about him all the time.”
She tightened her hold on him, crying even harder, and he ignored his wound in favor of leaning down to scoop her up and carry back to the manor.
The movement got her immediate protest. “No, what are you doing? You were just shot!”
“And I never feel better than I do when you're in my arms. So let me carry you back home. You need to have a good cry, anyway.”
“Troy!” she scolded, but then hugged him tight. With her face buried in the crook of his neck, she whispered, “I wish I'd told you how I felt before now. I love you so much I can't even put it into words.”
“And that,” he replied meaningfully, “makes me the happiest damned werewolf on the face of the Earth.”
Chapter 34
One Week Later
Atlanta, Georgia
“I thought the mage emissary would be here an hour ago, Mom.”
“That's what I was told,” Miranda answered.
Aislinn sighed, letting her head fall back against the arm of the couch where she sat in Troy's lap. The couple had been staying in one of the elaborate guest chambers available at the Atlantan Spire for several days now, reporting recent events to both The Esbat and The Arcane Assembly.
They'd even petitioned The Crucible for an audience, but were rejected—not that an affirmation was necessary when submitting the request alone was enough to alert the Order of potential problems.
With so much to go over, it took a few days to get things straightened out, but most of their business was handled with relative ease. The Esbat was currently questioning several members of The Trine over their activities, and unsurprisingly, not all of them were aware of their High Priestess’ agenda. Many even agreed wholeheartedly with idea of dissolving the coven once the truth was revealed.
But sadly, no one had seen Estelle Abbott and Derick Rowden—or Heliger's tome—since the evening they'd disappeared. The Arcane Assembly was assisting their search, but there was no way to tell when, or if, anything would turn up.
Still, Aislinn and Troy's personal business was nearly concluded, and she was ready to return home and start on her new life with the man she loved. They'd made plans to spend their first day back sailing on Arkin Lake, and she looked forward to the excursion.
Before they could go, however, The Arcane Assembly requested for them to speak with a sorceress from Mystikkar over the matters concerning Heliger's tome—and this sorceress was taking her sweet time getting there.
“I'm actually glad she hasn't shown up yet,” Miranda mentioned. “It gives me a chance to ask you and Troy something before you leave.”
Lifting her head, Aislinn inquired, “What's that?”
“Are you two going to have a wedding ceremony or not?”
Aislinn grinned, and Troy seemed perfectly comfortable with the topic—which wasn't surprising. Being eternally bonded, marriage was just a formality, though she knew that wasn't the only reason for his smirk.
Just that morning, Aislinn had inadvertently gleaned a little inside information from her steadily returning intuition, and it was exiting—Troy was planning on proposing when they went sailing. She simply hadn't mentioned her insight because she knew he wanted it to be a secret, and felt badly that she'd picked up on such a thing.
But it wasn't the first time her intuition had ruined a surprise, and Aislinn knew how to act shocked, innocently replying to her mother's question, “He still hasn't asked me, Mom, so I don't know.”
At that, Troy quirked a brow. “Wait, I'm supposed to ask you?”
Aislinn laughed over his sarcastic tone while Miranda teased, “For shame, Aislinn, you have to explain these things to him.”
“If that's the case, then maybe it would be better if I asked,” she remarked, then laid her head on his shoulder, offering the cutest expression she could muster. “So, will you marry me, Troy Ashland?”
“I'll think about it,” he answered casually.
Chuckling, Aislinn swatted his arm, then climbed off his lap. “Oh, I guess I'm just not good enough for you then, huh?”
Going to stand next to her mother, Miranda shook her head over their playful banter. “Now don't start fighting because of me.”
At that, Troy grinned and qualified, “Aislinn knows I'd marry her right this minute if she wanted it. But honestly, I intended to ask, I just hadn't figured out how.”
He's so cute when he plays innocent, she thought, going along with it by suggesting, “You don't have to make it special, Troy.”
“The hell I don't,” he retorted. “After the way I marked you, I'm not half-assing anything like this, wedding ceremony included.”
“Good,” Miranda interjected. “I don't mean to seem pushy, but I was hoping for a chance to help my daughter prepare and walk her down the aisle.”
Hearing Miranda's enthusiasm to help plan for a wedding was touching, particularly after Derick's recent betrayal, and Aislinn drew out, “Mom,” while embracing her in a tight hug. I'll never take her for granted.
Just thinking about it had her misty eyed. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. I always will,” Miranda answered sincerely. It wasn't easy for her to learn what Derick had done either, and pulling back, she cupped Aislinn's cheeks with a loving smile, stating, “I couldn't be prouder of you.”
It wasn't often that the elder witch shed tears, but her blue eyes were now glistening, which didn't help Aislinn's resolve. Sniffling, she whispered, “I'm proud of you, too. I couldn't have asked for a better parent.”
A tear tracked down Miranda's cheek as she hugged her daughter once more.
“It seems I've interrupted a private moment,” came an unexpected comment from across the room.
Immediately, Troy stood from his place on the couch as the trio looked to see two women not far from the entryway. The one who'd spoken was a bit taller than average, with raven hair and piercing silver eyes. Her elegant gown certainly wasn't something a person would see worn every day in the mortal world, and the ornate silver staff she held at her side proved she was a mage—and the emissary they'd been waiting on.
“I can always come back later,” the sorceress added to her initial statement.
“No!” Aislinn rushed out, unwilling to wait any longer than they already had. “You're late as it is.”
She made no visible response to the claim, and merely stated in a less-than-sincere fashion, “I apologize. Bad traffic. In any case, my name is Chandra, and this is my apprentice, Edith.”
The apprentice, who was dressed in a simple blue robe, nodded in silence as Chandra went on, “We understand that you recently made a discovery pertaining to one of Heliger's relics, specifically, his tome, and that you no longer have possession of it.”
It was Troy who answered, “Yeah, we'd just found the damned thing when a witch coven called The Trine showed up and took off with it, planning on bringing their founder back from Limbo.”
Chandra didn't look impressed by the explanation. In fact, her expression was downright unamused as she muttered the word, “Witches,” and turned her gaze to Edith. “You used to practice the Craft, why don't you handle this affair.”
“Me?” Edith asked incredulously, raising a brow at her instructor. “You're the emissary, you handle it.”
That response seemed to please Chandra, who smiled—or obliquely smirked anyway—casting her piercing gaze back at the three of them to state, “Only two and a half months under my wing, and she's already as sassy as a Mistress.”
Edith folded her arms over her chest and shrugged while Chandra turned and stepped around the couch with a confident gait, coming to stand closer to the group as if wishing to speak on more serious terms. She also didn't seem content to beat around the bush, announcing, “I was sent to this realm a few months ago to locate rel
ics created by Heliger. The effort is of the utmost importance, and you located his tome. This is a very significant belonging, and I'd like to know where you found it.”
Nodding, Aislinn explained, “We found it in Arkin City, Georgia, at Braddock's Estate. Heliger even left a warning with it.”
Chandra scoffed, suggesting, “No doubt to inform anyone who recovered it that he'd been targeted too often for comfort.”
“Right,” Aislinn confirmed. “Where is he, anyway?”
“Disappeared over a century ago,” the sorceress returned without elaboration. “In any event, I'll need to search this estate for more of his belongings. Does it belong to you?”
“Yeah,” Troy started, “and feel free. If there's anything else there, you need to take it so it doesn't cause us needless grief.”
“Good,” Chandra remarked, then made a final query. “The last matter I'm concerned with is this witch coven. In specific, I want to know if they're fair game.”
“Not exactly,” Miranda answered, explaining how Estelle and Derick had vanished with the tome, and much of the coven was unaware of their actions. “No one's seen them since they took it, and we're thinking they're using some type of magic to mask their location.”
“Interesting,” the sorceress stated impassively, turning to rejoin her apprentice. On the way, she stated, “We'll leave for the estate now. With any luck, our hunt will conclude before you return. In the meantime, Edith, you need to devise a way to locate the thieves.”
Her apprentice nodded in agreement, and Chandra didn't give anyone time to respond. Instead, she vanished in a shimmer of light with Edith at her side. But all things considered, it was better if the sorceress got to work sooner rather than later, and no one commented on her abrupt departure.
“Well,” Miranda started, “now we can finally go back to Arkin City and pick up where we generally left off. Are you two leaving now?”
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