I snorted. “Sure, whatever you say.”
“As for the revenants, I’m not saying we experiment on them, but none of us knows much about necromancy because it’s forbidden. We should try something.”
“You know that you are one step closer to becoming dark once you even begin to think about that, and you have to be strong. More than any of us, you need to be strong, Ash.”
He looked at me then, and I almost saw a glimpse of the brother I loved.
The one who used to smile with me and teach me magic alongside our parents. The brother who had laughed and always had a kind word or a joke for others.
The man who had fallen in love with Rowen and made my best friend look lighter and happier than she ever had been.
Only that Rowen was gone. As was he.
“Did you ever find it weird that Mom and Dad named me Ash when you’re the one with the fire?” he asked softly.
I blinked, once again wondering if this was my brother or if it was just who I missed. “Yes, but I thought they were just being ironic. After all, Mom said that there was seer blood in our family.”
“Perhaps. Or perhaps she thought I would be the one with the flame.”
“Maybe. But you have earth. You’re part of this, Ash. Even if you leave.”
“I don’t think I’m leaving again, Laurel. I think this is it for me.”
The way he said that didn’t sound like he meant he was staying for good. Only that he would never leave.
Those were two far different ideas.
“We’re not going to do that, Ash. Do you understand me?”
“I do, even if it makes it a little difficult to stomach. We’re going in blind when it comes to Oriel and what he wants.”
“He wants Ravenwood. He wants the power the coven holds, even if it is small. It has history and worth, and roots deeply embedded in the town. If Oriel comes for Ravenwood, he’ll want all the magic that centuries-worth of Princes and Ravenwoods and Christophers have put into it.”
“And what happens when he takes it?”
“We all perish,” I whispered. “I need to go through a few boxes of inventory. Did you want to stay for a bit?”
Ash shrugged and then rolled up his sleeves and went to work. My brother was a billionaire. He excelled in real estate and finance and worked his ass off. He didn’t steal. He didn’t cheat. He didn’t use his magic. He was just good with money and didn’t need loopholes to make things happen.
He also tasked me with making sure that I found ways to use that money that wasn’t evil.
With that said, my brother wasn’t technically a billionaire anymore. He gave away enough that he had lost that status. And it was my job to ensure that happened.
Ash had an entire team to handle that for him, a company that didn’t understand why he needed to give away so much of what he made. But then again, some part of him knew he needed to retain that aspect of himself.
And it was my job to ensure that.
That and working at Aunt Penelope’s bookstore. Though, now I owned it. Only sometimes, it felt as if it were all futile, especially considering everything could burn up or blow up at any minute if the revenants came.
How many times had we fixed windows and restocked and replaced floors and drywall because of magical attacks, accidental shifting, or the revenants?
Too many.
It sometimes felt like that was all we did—patching holes for the next attack, the next ending.
Ash worked in the back, his headphones in as he talked with his assistant and staff about a few work things. I let him be and worked on stocking the front area. We were closed for now because it was so late in the day—we kept different hours than we would if we were a nonmagical town.
The place was doing okay, and I didn’t think I would go out of business anytime soon, but it still felt as if I were marking time and saving Penelope’s place even though she would never be back.
I loved books—the way they felt, the way they smelled. I loved eBooks too. And audio. I just loved reading. Loved feeling like I could throw myself into any story or world and pretend that mine wasn’t as bad as it was. I lived in a world of magic and the unknown, but it was books that genuinely brought me to that place. And that was why I liked romance more than anything. Because no matter where you went, no matter what path they took you down, no matter what pain was shoved in your face, you always knew what would happen. That was at least one aspect of the story. That the love you cherished, hoped for, and begged for would occur. There would be that happily ever after, even as the embers burned around you.
That didn’t happen in real life. And as my power fluctuated within me, singeing my skin, I knew that it wouldn’t happen for me.
But it was still nice to pretend.
At least, for the moment.
Someone banged on the door, and it shot open. I twisted, fire on my fingertips. My magic pulsated as I reached for my sword, only remembering that I had left it back with Ash.
“You!” Aiden, the wing’s second, called before coming at me, moving faster than I’d ever seen him move. He had one hand around my throat in an instant, the other pinning me to the wall as he leaned forward. “Where is he?”
“What the fuck?” I gasped.
“Where is he?”
I pushed at him, trying to get him away from me, but there was a reason that Aiden was the second. I couldn’t get out of his hold.
“Where is who?” I asked, coughing as he squeezed my neck even tighter. I couldn’t breathe, and I scratched at him, trying to get away. But I would hurt him and anyone else in the vicinity if I used my magic. I needed my sword. I needed the one thing I could control.
“Laurel.”
It wasn’t a scream or a shout. It wasn’t a growl.
But it was Ash.
He shoved out his hand and muttered a spell under his breath as he tossed Aiden away, the hawk rolling to the floor hard as I slid down the wall, rubbing my throat as I sucked in gulps of air.
My brother tossed me my sword. I caught it, grateful that he hadn’t thrown it at my face.
Some days, it felt as if my brother wasn’t entirely human. Occasionally, I was afraid he forgot what I was capable of.
“Are you declaring war on the coven then?” Ash asked, tilting his head as he studied Aiden. “Because you will be out of your league, little hawk. You’re not even the strongest among your kind, and you think to come here and hurt my sister? You dare to hurt a witch?”
“You may be all-powerful, Christophers, but our wing can take you down. And we will if you don’t tell us where our leader is.”
I froze, ice chilling me even as it doused the flames. “Wait, where is Jaxton?” I asked as I scrambled to my feet, sword in hand.
Ash tilted his head, studying Aiden. “Why did you attack my sister if you lost your alpha?”
“Wing leader,” Aiden spat. “And you know that. Stop trying to rile me. You were the last one Jaxton was seen with. Where the fuck is he?”
I swallowed hard, my hands shaking. “Why would you think I have him? Where did he go?”
“That’s what we’re asking you. You’re lucky I’m the one who came. The elders want to gut you where you stand.”
I had known the wing didn’t like me. They had never liked me. They wanted their precious wing leader to mate with a nice little hawk, have nice little hawk babies, and stay within their nice little wing.
But that’s not how the world worked. I would never be good enough for them. And now they thought I would hurt him? That I would kill him? Betrayal slashed at me, and I swallowed hard, pretending that I was fine. That I hadn’t just felt betrayal wrapping its fingers around my neck and squeezing.
After all, Aiden had just done the same. I could still feel the pressure of his hands around my throat.
“Where is he?” I asked, flames dancing down my sword.
Ash cursed under his breath. “Stop using your magic.”
I ignored him. “Why did
you think I had anything to do with this?”
Aiden’s eyes were bleak as he answered. “Because you were the last to see him. I told you that.”
“We are in the middle of a cursed town with necromancers and revenants coming for us, and somehow it’s me? Why would you think I would dare?”
Aiden’s shoulders dropped, and it looked as if he were fighting himself. “The elders tasked me with questioning you. They used the power of the wing itself to force me. I’m sorry.” He let out a shaky breath. “Laurel, please help us find him.”
I heard it then, the fear. Because those who surrounded him thought it was me, but he was the one tasked to find out. He could have killed me in an instant, snapped my neck, or taken me back to the clutch as if I had been the one who had hurt Jaxton.
Nobody would have been able to find me because Aiden was that strong. It appeared he was as conflicted as I was.
“Nobody’s seen him since he left my house?” I ignored the way Ash glared at me and the fact that people had known Jaxton was at my house. There was no hiding that. There never had been.
Jaxton was mine, just as much as I wasn’t his.
In that twisted way of my brain, at least.
“We don’t know where he is, only that we scented blood. And then there was no trail. But we know it was magic. Magic took him away from us.”
Fear clutched at my belly, and I glared at Aiden. “It could have been a necromancer. You do know that, right? I would never hurt Jaxton.”
A pained look crossed the hawk’s face. “We both know that’s not true, even if you didn’t mean to. We know that’s not true.”
Ash moved forward, and I stopped him, glaring at my brother.
“Ash.”
“You’re just going to let him talk to you like that?”
“I’m going to find out where Jaxton is.”
Ash shook his head. “We can do a spell. Or I can.”
“I know we can. So, we will.”
“I am not letting you do a spell, little sister.”
“I dare you to try to stop me.” I glared and then I held up my hands, closed my eyes, and whispered under my breath.
“Flame of fire, beam of light, bring me the gift of second sight. Find what I seek, show it to me, bless me now to clearly see.”
Flames slammed into me, and my hands shook, bile filling my throat. I felt a trickle of blood coming out of my nose, and I ignored it. I had to.
My brother needed me to be stronger than this. Jaxton needed me to be stronger than this. I pushed away all thoughts of the pain and what it could mean and searched.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Rowen asked as she walked in, and I fell to my knees, the spell still working. I looked up at my best friend and Sage in the doorway, air and water flowing all around them.
“I need to find him.” The desperation in my voice sounded as if I were being dragged over glass, but I couldn’t hold back.
“That’s all well and good, but you don’t use a damn spell like that without us, and you sure as hell don’t use it on your own.”
Rowen stomped towards me, glared at Ash, and then knelt in front of me.
“I always knew you were a damn idiot. I didn’t realize you had a death wish, as well.”
“Stop it,” Sage whispered between us. “Tell us what’s going on and let us help.” Sage knelt in front of me and gently wiped the blood from my face. “You know you shouldn’t do spells like that alone.”
“She’s helping us find Jaxton,” Aiden replied from my side, and both my brother and Rowen gave the hawk nearly identical glares.
It would have been funny if the memories of what wasn’t weren’t so painful.
“Excuse me? Who do you think you are right now? I see the bruises around her throat, and while Ash is many things, he wouldn’t do that to his sister. I take it you’re the one who hurt my coven sister?” Rowen asked, air billowing as it slammed Aiden into the wall. A few books fell, and I sighed.
“Let’s not destroy the entire bookstore, shall we?” My body hurt, my soul ached, and I knew my attempt at humor fell flat.
“Speak, little hawk,” Rowen growled. I had to hold back a smile. Rowen sounded so much like Rome just then. She never used her powers to hurt. But, apparently, Aiden had crossed a line.
The hawk lowered his head as if acknowledging exactly who the dominant one was in the room.
And it wasn’t any of us.
Aiden shook his head. “The elder said it was her. That I was to get information out of her, no matter what.”
“The elders are idiots,” I growled. “You know that just as much as I do.”
“Those are my people. Watch what you say.” There wasn’t much heat in his tone.
“And that is my sister you tried to kill,” Ash spat.
Aiden narrowed his gaze. “I wasn’t going to kill her.”
“She was gasping for breath, so we’re going to have to agree to disagree,” my brother snapped.
“Enough,” I said, the spell still pulsating within me. “I can feel it.”
“Oh, you can feel it? Meaning you’re close to figuring out what is happening right now? And where he is? You can do that on your own?” Rowen narrowed her eyes as she spoke, the painful sarcasm slicing.
“Rowen, just help.”
“What do you think I’m trying to do, little one?”
She rarely called me that. When she leaned down and gripped my chin with her fingers, and Sage held my hand, magic suffused me, and I could breathe again. Whatever things had hurt before didn’t as much now, and I could breathe.
“I can feel him.”
“Okay, then, follow the path. We’ll infuse you with what we can. But never do this again, do you understand me? Never do this again.”
I nodded, knowing she was right. Realizing that I could have killed myself trying to find Jaxton. I was doing my best not to think about that, not to think about where Jaxton could be.
“You’re saying he just disappeared? Without a trace?”
“There was blood, signs of an attack, but all we could scent was magic and fire.”
My blood chilled, and Ash moved forward, his hands outstretched. Rowen stepped in front of him as if blocking him from hurting the hawk. I didn’t blame her since we didn’t want that situation on our hands, but it was definitely a close thing.
Rowen lifted her head. “Fire, as in the same magic the necromancer holds?”
“We weren’t aware that the necromancer had fire. Jaxton isn’t telling us much these days.”
“But Nelle was there. Did you listen to Nelle? No,” I spat. “Because your precious little elders never listen to anyone but another hawk. And even then, it’s only a hawk they agree with.”
He held up his hands and tried to say something, but I held up mine to stop him. “No, we’re not doing this. Not now. We’ll discuss how your precious little elders constantly disappoint you later.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he whispered.
“I know far too much.” I rubbed my chest. “He’s close.”
“Good, then we’ll find him.”
“Find my brother?” Nelle said from the doorway, and I cursed again. Today was a day for everything, it seemed.
Aspen, the fae king with his mysterious eyes and practically glowing skin, stood beside the mermaid, his hand around her waist. I swallowed the urge to say something. Because, damn, that was interesting, wasn’t it?
“We’ll find your brother,” Rowen promised.
Nelle raised her pointed chin. “You’d better, or you’ll have to deal with me.”
“You’ll have to deal with all of us,” I whispered. “He’s alive.” The spell shook through me. “But I don’t know for how long.”
Ash met my gaze. “Then we’ll find him. Together.”
I stood, my magic draining me as more blood poured out of my nose and down my face. My coven stood around me, and I had to hope that my mate was still ali
ve. That this wasn’t the end.
That I wasn’t going to lose everything before I even had a chance to claim it at all.
Chapter
Eleven
Laurel
My pulse pounded in my temples, but I ignored it, ignored the pain, and focused on what I could do. We needed to find Jaxton, and the only way that would happen before I passed out was if we worked as a team.
“I scent blood,” Rome grumbled from beside me. I swallowed hard and turned to where the big bear shifter pointed.
“Is it Jaxton’s?” I asked, my voice low.
Nelle and Aspen moved forward, the fae leader kneeling next to Rome as he nodded tightly. “It’s him. However, it’s not of death.”
Nelle let out a small whimper, and then Aspen stood and held her close.
“This way,” I whispered, my energy draining out of me.
Sage and Rowen stood on either side of me, their hands on my shoulders as they siphoned some of the spells from me. I was an idiot for not waiting for them, but all I could think about was finding Jaxton the only way I could.
I should have used a shifter to find him. Instead, I had used a spell, knowing it could be my last. But I hadn’t cared, not when it came to him.
“He’ll be here soon. I can feel him. But it also feels like something’s trying to block me.”
“I don’t sense the necromancer close, but they were here.” Rowen let out a breath. “I don’t know how they keep getting through the wards, especially with as much as we’re trying to strengthen them. That worries me.”
“We’ll figure it out.” I turned to my brother as Ash did his best not to stare at Rowen. They were good at doing their best not to be in each other’s orbits. And yet, that was all they did, constantly entered each other’s spaces.
It seemed like the entire town was out searching for Jaxton or keeping the wards and Ravenwood safe. But if they weren’t searching for the wing leader, they were circling the town, their dens, the aerie, or keeping people safe even if the humans and mundanes didn’t know what was happening around them.
Jaxton was strong, fast, and brilliant. Nobody could get the drop on him, and yet they had. Somehow, they had. Now, we needed to find out how.
Dusk Unveiled (Ravenwood Coven Book 2) Page 9
