The Immortal Vow

by Juliana Haygert

  Bagatha looked at me. “You already feel it, don’t you? You’re already weak. It’s because the child feeds off your magic, making you sicker and weaker than a normal witch’s pregnancy.”

  “But … until a couple of weeks ago, I was more powerful than ever.”

  “That’s because you were able to borrow your child’s power to fight back. Now that she’s getting bigger, she needs more from you to keep growing.” She pressed her lips into a thin line. “I’m sorry, but you’ll get sicker and weaker as the pregnancy advances.”

  Drake stood, startling me. “I can’t accept this. There has to be a way to save Thea.”

  “If there is a way, I don’t know it.” Bagatha reached for my hand. “I’m sorry.”

  So, I was going to give birth to a powerful girl who was destined to be the Queen of All Witches, but I was going to die in the process. And all of that while we fight a war. It was too much to process.

  Drake started pacing beside us. “We’ll find a way. We have to.”

  “Shush,” Bagatha snapped.

  Drake halted and bared his fangs at her. “What the hell?”

  The old witch raised her hand and closed her eyes. A moment later, her eyes opened. “Werewolves are coming.”

  “What?” Luana shot up.

  Bagatha said, “They’ve surrounded the clearing.”

  5

  Drake

  A moment passed before I was finally able to hear them. They waited outside the enchanted vine barrier, for us.

  Hell.

  “Can you tell how many are out there?”

  “Over fifty.” Bagatha stood. “I’ll buy you some time. Meanwhile, I suggest you run.”

  “But I thought they couldn’t enter here,” Luana said, her voice shaking.

  “They can’t,” Bagatha said. “But you can’t stay here forever. And they will wait for you forever if it comes to that.” The old woman turned to Thea. “Have you drunk all your tea? You’ll need its help now.”

  In a daze, Thea blinked, then brought her mug to her lips. She drank all of her tea before handing the empty mug to Bagatha.

  The news of the pregnancy had shocked Thea. When Bagatha revealed she would die during childbirth, she hadn’t been as shocked, though, and that concerned me. Wasn’t she scared? The old witch didn’t know of a way to save her, and still it was like Thea’s mind was stuck on the fact that she was pregnant, nothing else.

  I let out a long breath. I would worry about that later. Right now, I had to get her home safely. Then, I would do everything in my power to save Thea. Because I would save her. There was no other option.

  I hooked a hand under Thea’s arm and helped her up. “I’ll carry you again.”

  “No, it’s okay,” she said, her voice low. “I think I’m fine to run now.”

  I shook my head. “We’ll be faster if I can carry you.”

  “He’s right,” Bagatha said. “Let him carry you.” She rushed to the kitchen and brought a small thermal bottle and a small note. “Here. Take some of the tea. And its recipe.”

  I took the bottle and paper. “Thank you. For this and for the information.”

  “I’m sorry I can’t be of more help,” she said, sounding truly disappointed. “Now, you should go.” She walked to the door. “I’ll use my magic on them. When I say now, you run.”

  Without ceremony, Bagatha opened the door and walked out onto the porch. The wolves howled and growled upon seeing her. I kept Thea and Luana out of view, but I knew they could probably smell us now.

  I hadn’t given the old witch much credit, but when she called her magic, I felt it. The air sparked with energy, the hair on my arms rose, and everyone grew eerily quiet. She threw her arms out, and a massive wave of magic washed over the wolves, pushing them out and away. A second wave went out, opening a path between them.

  “Now!”

  I picked Thea up, and along with Luana, we ran.

  We ran past the vines and past the wolves, who cried and howled as they saw us go. We kept running, hoping Bagatha could keep them distracted.

  Not thirty minutes later, we heard them coming for us.

  And … toward us.

  Luana and I came to a halt when I heard a dozen or so of the wolves coming from ahead of us.

  Fifty behind us. Ten plus in front of us.

  “What now?” Luana asked, looking around. We were atop a small hill with the trees close together, but none of the wolves were that near yet.

  “I’m out of ideas,” I said.

  “We just fight? I don’t think we can take sixty wolves by ourselves.”

  “I can help,” Thea croaked. “Put me down, and I’ll do what I can.”

  I groaned. “I’ll probably have to put you down so I can fight, but you are in no condition to help.”

  “I have to try.”

  I gently dropped her to the ground and knelt beside her. “Listen to me. We just learned a great deal, and I know you’re confused, but you have to think of our daughter right now.” I placed my hand on her belly. Hell, I still couldn’t believe my daughter was inside Thea. I couldn’t explain, but I suddenly loved Thea even more, as if that were possible. “Please, just stay back. And if things go bad … you run. Just run.” I didn’t want to think of Thea in her state running from wolves. “Promise me. Promise me that if things go bad, you’ll flee.”

  Thea lifted her chin, but she didn’t answer. Hell. I was about to beg her to promise me when I smelled them.

  “They are here,” Luana said in a low voice.

  “I know.”

  As the wolves stepped closer and into our line of sight, Luana hastily took off her clothes and shifted into her wolf.

  The wolves came at us. Thankfully, our spot at the top of the hill, surrounded by trees, was advantageous. The wolves couldn’t come at us all at once. Luana and I were able to fight them off for a while.

  But they had numbers and didn’t stop coming.

  One sneaked past me and lunged for Thea. She lifted her hand as if she was about to cast a spell, but instead, she curled into herself, gritting her teeth. Pain. She was in pain.

  Panic rose in my chest as the wolf put his claws on her. I moved to her, but halted when pain shot down my arm—a wolf had bitten me. Then another bit my leg, and a third one lunged at my back.

  I fell to the ground and several wolves pinned me down. I roared, angered that I had been distracted. Raging for not being able to move and save my love.

  I glanced to the side, and as I expected, Luana was in the same situation I was.

  One of the wolves on Luana turned into his human form. Naked, he sat on her hips and leaned over her. “Traitor. You’re a traitor and you’ll die like one.” He spat on her.

  Still in her wolf form, Luana jerked, trying to get rid of the wolves pinning her down, but that only made them hold her tighter—and bite her.

  We were losing.

  A new wave of horror filled my core as more wolves advanced on Thea. She raised her hand to use her magic, but only a small spark shot out of her palm. Her eyes widened in terror as she scooted away from them.

  The wolves transformed into their human forms.

  “Careful. She’s a witch,” one said.

  “Can’t you see she’s weak? Just grab her,” another said.

  “She can’t fight the five of us,” another said.

  Thea fought against them, but she was no match for five of them when they grabbed her arms and legs. She screamed.

  Panic surged through my body. “Thea!” I cried. The wolves dragged Thea away. “No!” I groaned, summoning my remaining strength. “No!” With all my might, I jerked under the wolves. I was strong, but wounded and outnumbered, I couldn’t do much.

  Giving up wasn’t an option, though.

  A roar ripped through my throat, and I was able to push a couple of wolves back. I started getting up, ready to attack the others and run after my love, when a handful of other wolves pushed me back down.

  One
of them bit my shoulder, and burning pain spread through my neck and arm. I gritted my teeth, not caring about the pain. What I cared about was Thea and my daughter, and they were being carted away from me.

  Only hell knew what these wolves would do to Thea. Would they even care she was pregnant? I doubted it. Having a child would be one more reason to get her killed.

  I couldn’t allow that.

  I couldn’t.

  Through the pain, through the exhaustion, I reached up. I buried my fingers into a werewolf’s chest and pulled out his heart. The limp body fell over me, but I kept my arm raised so the others could see what I had done.

  They wanted to mess with me? They would all end up dead!

  I pushed the body aside, sat up, and grabbed the neck of the next wolf. He whimpered as squeezed his neck until it snapped. The wolves growled at me.

  “You think you scare me?” I yelled, a bit of a growl in my words.

  A wolf lunged at me. I spun my torso out of reach, but put my arm out, grabbing him by the neck.

  A wolf transformed into his human form. “Stop or I’ll tell them to kill your witch.”

  My hand tightened around the wolf’s neck. “If you didn’t want her alive, you would have killed her already.”

  That worried me. Why did they need Thea? Did they need me too? And Luana? Where was Luana?

  I found her in the same state as me. Pinned to the ground, with several wolves holding her down.

  Hell. I needed a plan. I needed to buy some time so I could come up with a plan. How to stall? How to save myself, Luana, and Thea? How to win against sixty wolves?

  A bright red light encased the forest, and I closed my eyes for a moment. When I opened my eyes, I saw a figure standing over the top of a hill, sending red magic bolts toward the wolves. The bolt exploded upon contact, leaving a nasty charred wound in its place.

  The wolves advanced on the figure, but the red light shone, pushing the wolves back. Then another round of red bolts came. In a matter of minutes, the wolves started howling.

  I watched as the wolves retreated.

  What the hell?

  Before I could worry about the stranger, I had to find Thea. I had to make sure she was all right.

  I pushed to my feet and turned toward where I had last seen Thea. The figure was now by her side, extending his hand to her. My breath caught, and ignoring the pain and numbness in my body, I ran to her.

  Thea embraced the figure and I halted in my tracks.

  “It’s so good to see you,” she said. Then, she saw me and beckoned me to approach them. Wary, I walked up to them.

  The figure pulled down the hood of his long jacket and grinned at me. “Hello, Drake.”

  6

  Thea

  Keeran didn’t object when Drake reached for me and wrapped a possessive arm around my waist.

  Exhausted, I leaned into Drake. Although I had a lot on my mind, I was glad to see Keeran. He looked a little bedraggled. His dark brown hair was longer and messy, stubble covered his jaw, and dirty, ripped clothes hung from his frame. The only intact piece of clothing was the thick, black leather jacket that went down almost to his knees.

  I tried smiling, but I was sure it looked more like a grimace. “It’s good to see you.”

  “Yes, you saved us,” Drake said. “Thank you.”

  Keeran opened his mouth to say something, but then his eyes wandered to where Luana had just shifted into her human self. She grabbed her clothes from before and put them back on.

  All the while, Keeran stared.

  I cleared my throat. “What happened? Where were you?”

  Drake stepped up. “It would be great to catch up, but we need to move. You’re hurt and tired, and if we don’t move, we’ll be easy targets for more attacks.”

  I turned to glare at Drake when I saw the bites on his arms and legs. “You’re the one hurt.”

  Luana limped to us. “Me too.” Blood dripped down her shoulders. “I want my bed.”

  I looked from Drake to Keeran. “Come with us.” Drake tensed beside me. “We can talk more after we’ve all showered and cleaned our wounds.”

  I knew Drake didn’t trust Keeran, but I did. And if Drake would give him a chance, I knew he would too eventually.

  Keeran exchanged a quick look with Drake, and then nodded. “It would be good to wash properly for once.”

  Back at the mansion, we found Thomas waiting for us.

  “I couldn’t summon my energy to reappear,” he had explained. “And when I did it, I couldn’t find you. So I came back and waited.”

  It was okay. Besides missing what Bagatha had told us, it wasn’t as if he could help much in a fight. But he did look frustrated over not being there. We all assured him it was okay.

  I turned my attention to the several wounds on Drake and Luana. I insisted on healing them before we set out for showers, but I didn’t have any strength left. In fact, I felt like I would pass out; I was trying to hide it from Drake, who hovered over me and wouldn’t allow me to lift a finger. Even if I had magic left, I doubted Drake would allow me to heal everyone since it would take a lot from me.

  So, I taught Keeran to make some magical healing salve and to heal with his power. After we were all on the mend, Drake took Keeran to one of the many vacant guest bedrooms.

  We all showered and put on clean clothes. I think I even napped for a couple of minutes while Drake took his turn in the bathroom. He was trying to sneak out of the bedroom unnoticed when I woke up.

  “Go back to sleep,” he said.

  But I wasn’t having it. There was a lot to talk about, and Keeran probably had a lot to tell us. Besides, my stomach hurt with hunger.

  Drake carried me downstairs and deposited me on the big sectional in front of the fireplace. Like his chambers at DuMoir Castle, the exterior of this mansion was different from the inside. The exterior was a huge colonial ranch, but the interior was modern. Beige leather sectionals and armchairs, glass and metal side and coffee tables, light stone fireplace and a sleek TV over it. In the kitchen, where Luana prepared something for us, the cabinets were white and beige with sand-colored marble counters, a long island, and several beige leather stools. To one side was a breakfast table with eight tall chairs.

  On the first floor, there was also the dining room for twelve, a library full of books, a half bathroom, and a second living room. On the second floor, there were Drake’s study, my workshop, Drake’s and my suite, Luana’s suite, and three other empty guest suites—and one had become Keeran’s.

  Drake placed a throw blanket over my legs. “What do you want?”

  The smell of waffles and pancakes and bacon and eggs reached my nostrils. And my stomach turned. “Nothing.”

  He frowned. “Aren’t you hungry?”

  “I thought so. But just thinking about food makes me nauseous.”

  A faint smile spread over his lips. “But you need to eat. If it’s not for you, then for our daughter.”

  A hand squeezed my heart. Our daughter. I hadn’t had time to process that yet. It sounded so crazy. How could I have a daughter? In this crazy, cruel world. We were at war, for all that was sacred! Besides, I wasn’t cut out to be a mother. I had never thought of myself being a mother. Even when Morda had ordered all our witches to get pregnant, I had never really considered it. I had wanted to get pregnant so I wouldn’t be killed, but now that I had a baby in my womb, I wasn’t sure what to feel.

  Drake cupped my face, bringing me back from the dread waging inside me. “Hm, just bring me some yogurt,” I said. “And some of Bagatha’s tonic.”

  He placed a soft kiss on my forehead, and then went to the kitchen to help Luana.

  A few minutes later, Keeran came downstairs. He looked sharp and handsome with his hair combed back, his face shaved, and wearing clean clothes—a pair of casual pants and a henley tee. Barefoot, he made his way to the kitchen and helped Luana and Drake bring all the food to the coffee table in the living room. I turned my nose and foc
used on my plain yogurt and tonic. It was the only thing my stomach could handle right now.

  Drake sat at the other corner of the couch, with my feet in his lap, and a glass of blood in his hand. Thomas leaned against the back wall, Luana took an armchair, and Keeran sat on another one, across from the low table.

  “So … you’re a warlock,” I said, remembering the day his powers first manifested. He had been chained to be killed. I was about to act when his power burst, and with my help, he was able to flee my coven.

  “That was a surprise to me, too.” He wrapped his hands around a steaming cup of coffee. “I’m guessing my mother was able to hide me from Morda? I don’t know …”

  “You’re saying you never knew you had magic?” Drake asked.

  “Nope.” Keeran snorted. “If I had known, I would have escaped a long time ago.”

  “And these past few weeks?” I asked. “Where have you been?”

  Keeran shrugged. “Nowhere. Everywhere. I’ve mainly hid in the woods, though I have to be careful with all the werewolves running around.” He stared at me. “I heard rumors that you had been captured by Morda, so I was practicing my magic. I wanted to get a handle on it, so I could save you.”

  A small smile adorned my lips. “If that was the case, I’m sure Drake would have appreciated the help.”

  Drake stared at his cup.

  Keeran extended his hand, and a small red light shone over his palm. It flickered a couple of times before disappearing. “But as you can see, I don’t have great control over it. I also realized that when in danger, my magic is stronger. That doesn’t mean it’s stable, though.”

  “I can help you with that,” I said, feeling proud of him. All my life I had been told there couldn’t be any males with magic. No warlocks. They were evil. They would turn against the witches and that would be our end. Yet, here was an example that not everything was black and white. Keeran was a warlock, and I knew he was a good one. His heart was in the right place. And now, with a little training, he could be a powerful ally.