by C. L. Bright
The tree near the bathroom window was close enough to jump to if I shifted to cat form. Too bad the windows shocked me when I tried opening them. It had to be a spell.
The spell hadn’t been put on the windows to keep me in the room, but it added to my feeling of being trapped.
So far, Dante hadn’t threatened me, but he didn’t have a high opinion of shapeshifters. Once he satisfied his curiosity about me, he might not be as interested in keeping me safe.
Before stepping out of the bathroom, I looked at myself in the mirror, surprised that I didn’t look worse after my ordeal. My hair was messy, and there were some twigs in it. Ambrose and Serena likely assumed I’d been rolling around on the ground with Dante.
I grabbed his brush to try to make myself look more presentable. If nothing else, it would make me feel more confident.
When the door opened, my stomach rumbled again as the scent of food wafted my way.
“I’m glad I got this food before we continued talking,” Dante remarked with a grin. “Hearing you would have been difficult over your stomach.”
“I’m starving,” I admitted. “This must mean you don’t plan to starve me to death.”
“Not today,” he replied with a straight face before smiling at me. “I don’t want you to suffer. More than that, I feel like I should protect you. This situation is strange for me.”
He set the food on a small table near the window and gestured for me to sit before taking his seat opposite me.
“It’s strange for me as well. I don’t understand why I’m trusting you to keep me safe. You hate my kind,” I replied before I started eating.
“I don’t hate your kind, but when I found out you were a shapeshifter, I should have bound you with a spell and brought you back here to be claimed by a spellcaster. Hunters don’t have familiars, so you shouldn’t even be here with me,” he remarked. “I have no reason to believe you aren’t a rogue familiar.”
“You wouldn’t have given me a chance to tell my story had you not mistaken me for a witch?”
“Probably not,” he admitted. “It’s possible I’d have been curious about how you ended up in the trap fully clothed. Familiars usually travel in animal form in that area. Sometimes, they trip one of our traps and change forms to try to break free before the trap snaps in place. In those cases, we find them naked. I assumed you were a poor witch who’d accidentally gotten snared.”
“Notice how it’s a poor witch or a dangerous shapeshifter,” I complained. “There’s no middle ground for your kind, is there? You’re determined to continue enslaving my people.”
“Enslaving your people?” he asked with a humorless laugh. “Familiars wouldn’t even exist if it weren’t for the power they stole from spellcasters.”
“What? That’s not how it happened.”
“Yes, it is,” he insisted. “Familiars were created to be companions for spellcasters. We shared our energy with animals and gave them the ability to communicate with us and share our lifespan. The bond was sacred until familiars betrayed spellcasters.”
“Betrayed? You expected some kind of loyalty from your slaves?” I asked.
“It wasn’t slavery,” he argued. “Spellcasters treated their familiars with respect, though they were little more than animals back then.”
“Are we any more than that in your eyes now?” I asked.
He didn’t answer, which was answer enough. Dante might be confused by his reaction to me, but we were still enemies.
At least, that’s what I thought until he finally spoke. “There are likely both truths and lies in the stories we’ve each heard. Let’s not argue about this. We need to figure out how we’re going to get out of this mess. I don’t need to tell you that things would go badly for me if someone found out the truth about you.”
“I’m sure they’d go worse for me,” I muttered.
“Yes, they would,” he agreed. “Are you really the daughter of the ruler of the Heathergate Refuge?”
“Yes,” I replied.
“You’re the first familiar I’ve met from there,” he mused. “Only those involved with trade ever meet any of your kind. I’ve never heard of a Heathergate Refuge familiar venturing this far.”
“Could you stop calling us familiars?”
He looked confused by my irritation. “That’s what your kind has always been called.”
“We don’t use that term,” I argued. “It’s what spellcasters call us. The term is meant to justify your claim on us. We’re shapeshifters who can be in this form and that of an animal. We don’t need a connection with you to increase our power. In fact, I’ve heard it weakens us.”
“Who told you all of this?” he asked.
“My father.”
“So, he told you spellcasters are abusing rogues for no reason?”
“Not exactly,” I admitted, but I didn’t say more on the subject.
I didn’t agree with my father’s thoughts on the rebels, but I wasn’t about to speak ill of him to Dante.
My face fell. “He probably thinks I’m dead.”
“Are you close?” he asked.
“Not like we were when I was very young. We argued about things, mostly related to my stepmother, but I never doubted his love for me. I hope my stepmother and the traitors don’t hurt him.”
Dante reached out and caught my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I’ll see if we can find out any news from the Heathergate Refuge.”
I wanted to ask him to get word to my people about my situation, but that was risky since I didn’t know who I could trust. There was no way he could speak directly to my father.
“Are you close to your parents?” I asked.
“I don’t really know my mother,” he explained. “She lives in Azuredale, but my father raised me. He’s kind of distant with us all. It’s just his way. While you’re here, I suggest you avoid him and my brother, Nicolas. With any luck, we’ll have a solution to your problem before you meet either of them.”
“A solution that doesn’t involve enslaving or killing me?” I asked.
“That’s what I’m hoping for,” he replied with a slight smile.
“Thanks for helping me when it would have been much easier for you to refuse.”
“What choice do I have?” he asked.
“Plenty,” I told him. “You didn’t have to lie to protect me.”
“Maybe I did. There’s a connection between us. A draw I can’t explain, and everything in me is screaming to protect you, especially after that kiss.”
When he stood and moved toward me, I put a hand up. “No.”
“What are you saying no to?” he asked.
“You want to kiss me again.”
There was no denying I wanted that as well.
Dante was incredibly attractive, and after touching his magic, I felt the draw. It almost felt like I could reach out and run my fingers along his energy.
My reaction made no sense. Even now, I could practically see the tendrils of his power hovering just above his skin. It reminded me of his eye color, with more shades of blue swirling among the silver.
I’d felt the magic of other shapeshifters close to me, usually as a warning they were angry or right before they changed forms. None had ever been this intense. Though Dante piqued my curiosity, I needed to resist the temptation to explore my attraction to him.
“I have to go home,” I stated. “It’s my responsibility to protect my people.”
He studied me for several heartbeats before nodding and turning his back to me. “If we’re going to make this work, everyone has to believe you’re a witch. You can push me away in here, but when we’re around others, that won’t work.”
“What are you suggesting?”
He turned to me with a reassuring smile. “Nothing too extreme. Just let me hold your hand or put an arm around you. Don’t flinch or pull away from my touch.”
“I haven’t done much pulling away so far,” I reminded him.
“I have a
feeling that’s had more to do with shock and the drugs you were given,” he remarked. “Just play along when others are around.”
“No one is going to believe I’m a witch—not for long anyway,” I stated.
“Why not?” he asked.
“I don’t know any spells, and I know next to nothing about this Shadow Walker family.”
“It’s not as if we walk around casting spells everywhere we go,” he stated. “As long as you avoid attending any ceremonies, you’ll be fine. I can tell you all I know about the Shadow Walkers. You should be able to remember enough to be believable. I already told them you’re not accepted as a legitimate member of the family, so that will explain any discrepancies.”
“And when I need to change forms?” I asked.
“You have to change forms?”
“Of course,” I replied. “How can you hunt my kind and not know that?”
He shrugged. “None of the shapeshifters, rogue or protected, share many details about your kind. I’m learning a lot from you.”
“I probably shouldn’t tell you any more,” I whispered.
“Because I’m a spellcaster?” he asked.
I nodded. “Eventually, you’ll use it against my kind, possibly even against me.”
He opened his mouth to argue but then closed it. “I wouldn’t trust me in your position either. Just tell me the stuff that won’t endanger you, okay?”
I nodded.
“I need to tell my father about you. When I went to get food, I found out he got a late start today, so he still hasn’t left for his trip. He’ll be suspicious if I don’t talk to him before he heads out. If anyone comes to the door, pretend to be asleep.”
“What if they keep knocking or come into the room?” I asked.
“Then you’ll have to kill them,” he replied with a straight face.
“What?”
He flashed me an impish grin. “I’m kidding. No one will barge in, so you’ll be fine.”
“You’re cute when you smile like that,” I told him.
“Only then?” he asked with raised eyebrows.
“I refuse to answer that question since I think your ego is already big enough,” I replied.
“I think you’re pretty cute, too,” he said before heading out of the room.
Cute?
Had I really told a warlock he was cute?
“It has to be the drugs,” I told myself, though I knew that wasn’t the case.
Chapter 8
I was back to pacing the room since I had nothing to do but wait for Dante to return.
Who knew how long that would take?
I’d finished eating, taken a shower, and put on one of Dante’s shirts before resuming my pacing.
Normally, I got to bed early, but between the stress of my current situation and the fact that I’d been drugged into sleeping away a big part of the day, I wasn’t tired yet.
I don’t know how long I paced the room, but my legs were tired enough that I collapsed onto the sofa with a sigh just before the door opened. I smiled, expecting to see Dante enter. Instead, Serena hurried in and shut the door behind her.
“I knew Dante was lying about you being asleep,” she said as she walked toward me, still clutching a knife.
“Do you always carry a knife with you?” I asked.
She glanced down at the knife in her hand and flushed. “I feel safer when I carry it.” She hesitated as she looked between me and the knife. “I’ll put it down while I’m here. You don’t seem too dangerous.”
Her gaze shifted to the knife again, and I could see that the idea of releasing it made her uneasy. I wondered what had happened to make her afraid of being unarmed in her own home.
“It’s okay,” I assured her. “Just keep some distance so you don’t stab me.”
She nodded. “Okay. Is your family going to be upset about you coming here to be with Dante? Are you staying long?”
“My father would be upset if he knew I was here.” I decided to steer the subject away from how long I planned to stay. “What did you do to get into so much trouble?”
“You’ll kick me out of the room if I tell you,” she whispered. “Can we talk before you throw me out?”
“I’m not sure I can have a conversation while I pretend you didn’t just say that.”
“I shouldn’t have told you anything,” she admitted. “I’m not normally such an idiot, but the truth spell makes it hard to hold back.”
“How long will the truth spell last?” I asked.
“Only a few more hours,” she explained. “I hate it when he does this. Nicolas is horrible.” She covered her mouth. “I shouldn’t have said that. Please, don’t tell anyone, especially Nicolas. He’s already angry with me.”
“It’s okay,” I assured her. “What did you do to make him angry?”
“Nothing new. He’s still angry about what I did before,” she admitted. “I tried releasing a familiar. I know they’re only animals, but even animals deserve to be treated better. I know this makes me sound bad.”
To me, it made her sound heroic, but I couldn’t say that, especially when the truth spell might cause her to tell someone what I’d said.
“Did you succeed?” I asked.
“No,” she whispered. “I made things worse for him. It was so stupid. You want me to leave now, don’t you?”
“We all make mistakes,” I assured her. “I’m not going to judge you, especially when you’re already being punished.”
Her next question surprised me. “What do you think it was like before the wars with the familiars?”
I shrugged. “There are a lot of different stories about that time, so it’s hard to say.”
She walked to the window and placed her hand on the glass as she looked out. “I miss the garden. It’s hard being trapped inside.”
“They won’t let you go out into the garden?” That seemed unnecessarily cruel.
She shook her head. “I’m lucky. Things could have been much worse. This is one of those rare instances when being considered strange by others was a good thing. They might have been harsher with my punishment if I wasn’t the odd Verdugo witch.”
“Personally, I think it’s always good to be at least a little strange,” I told her. “Who wants to conform all the time?”
“That’s an unusual thing for a witch to say,” she remarked with a smile. “I guess we’re both a little strange.”
“It seems we are,” I agreed.
“Are you and Dante in love?” she asked.
“We don’t know each other that well,” I replied.
“But you must like him quite a bit to come here with him,” she insisted. “Dante also must like you a lot to bring you here. He doesn’t do that sort of thing.”
“You said earlier that he brings witches home,” I reminded her.
“This is different,” she replied. “Maybe you aren’t in love yet, but you could still be his witch. You are thinking about staying forever, right?”
I shrugged. “It’s too early to say.”
She smiled. “It would be nice to have someone to talk to. I don’t know you all that well, but I’m certain we’re going to be great friends.” I didn’t get a chance to respond. “I should go before Dante gets back. He made a big production of telling everyone you’ve had a long day and need to rest.”
I nodded. “It has been a long day, and I probably should already be asleep.”
She paused with her hand on the door.
“Was there something else you wanted to say?” I asked.
She turned to face me. “Thank you for not looking at me like there’s something wrong with me, even though you must think there is.”
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you,” I assured her. “Some might say it was brave of you to risk getting in trouble to do what you thought was right. The knife threw me at first, but I can see something bad happened to make you so afraid.”
Her gaze locked with mine as she process
ed my words. I’d said too much. She said nothing before hurrying out the door.
“Damn,” I muttered. “I’m never going to be able to pull this off.”
I grabbed a pillow and blanket from the bed before settling onto the sofa.
For about an hour, I watched the door, expecting Dante to return any time, but he didn’t. I had no clue what time he finally got back to the room, but I was so exhausted that I slept through it.
Chapter 9
I awoke in a panic and rolled off the sofa before scrambling to a sitting position as I looked around the room and tried to get my sleep-addled brain to remember where I was.
“Are you okay?” Dante asked.
I felt oddly soothed by his voice.
When I looked over, I found him watching me from his bed. He sat up, swung his legs over the side, and walked toward me.
I struggled to free myself from the blanket that had become twisted around me. “No, I’m not okay.”
He helped me out of the blanket. Once I was free, he surprised me by scooping me up from the floor and carrying me to his bed.
“Are you injured?” he asked.
“No,” I assured him as I sat up on the bed. “I didn’t mean that I was hurt from that little fall. It’s just everything else. My missing bracelet, the fact that I don’t know how I’ll get home, and of course, everyone in this house will want me dead if they learn the truth.”
“No one wants you dead,” he assured me.
“Because they think I’m a witch.”
“Right, there is that,” he agreed. “Still, not everyone would want you dead if they knew the truth. I don’t want you dead.”
“That part still surprises me.”
“It surprises me, as well,” he admitted. “I can’t figure you out, Juliet.”
“So, you only want me alive because I’m a curiosity?”
He shook his head. “It’s more than that. I’m not sure what happened between us, but I can still see your energy. It moved around you like a vortex when you fell off the sofa. It was a vivid green, but it’s becoming more muted as you calm down.”
“Can you see it all the time when you’re around me?” I was curious because I only caught glimpses of Dante’s energy unless I was focusing on it. When I thought about his magic, it became clear.
