A bright flame of energy formed at her palm, and Roman knew without a doubt that this would be his death.
“I’m dying for her,” Roman answered weakly, then he muttered the darkest spell he knew. One that would send whatever Cassandra was about to do right back to her. He would die, sure. But so would she.
Cassandra shrugged. “At least you’ll die reasonably happy. Let me know how that works out for you.”
The flame grew bigger and brighter. Roman could feel the mass of heat around him, threating to burn him alive.
Cassandra reared her hand back one more time.
Roman took a deep breath, readying himself for an agonizing death. Julia’s face flashed through his mind. This was for her.
Suddenly, Cassandra’s eyes went wide. Her face went pale, and the flame dissipated.
Roman gaped. As the energy left her, he could see a large shard of glass jutting through Cassandra’s chest.
He looked past her.
Julia stood there, cut within an inch of her life. She was ragged and tired and probably should have been dead. But she wasn’t. She was full of life and power. And the glass was still and lifeless on the ground, all but the large piece piercing Cassandra’s chest.
Cassandra turned slowly. “You fucking idiot. You’ll pay for that.”
“I already have,” Julia said. “I paid with my mind and my time, and the year and a half you stole from me.”
Cassandra formed another flame, but in a blink of Julia’s eyes, the power left her cousin.
“Don’t bother,” she said.
Blinking again, Cassandra was sent flying back toward the wall. She grunted as she hit, the force of it pushing the glass back out of her.
“I wanted to believe you, Cass. I really did. Even after all of this, I wanted to believe that there was a piece of the person I knew still in there. But I was wrong. I’ve seen the future, and you’ll never stop, will you?”
Julia didn’t wait for an answer. “So I have to stop this for you. For all of us.” She flew toward Cassandra, who was twisting and trying in vain to free herself. “Please believe me, this isn’t what I wanted. You said this was our fault, that our love made us weak, that our hearts would be the death of us. But that’s not true, Cass. Love is the reason I’m standing here. It’s not the power or the ancestors or even Grandfather’s favor. I was never better than you, Cass. That’s not why I’m stronger. Love is the reason.”
She closed her eyes, as if what came next would haunt her forever. “It wasn’t me who was blinded by love, Cass, but you who was blinded by hate. And my heart never made me weak, cousin. But yours did.”
Julia lifted her hand and, in a moment that took the breath from Roman’s body, he watched Cassandra’s heart pull out of her chest and fly across the room, landing in Julia’s hand.
The woman let out a loud sigh and dropped it to the floor below.
“I’m sorry,” Julia whispered. “But it’s over now. It’s finally over.”
Julia blinked hard again, and the power left her. She walked over to Roman, looking him up and down.
He thought she would heal him for a second, but instead, she lay down next to him, took his hand, kissed his cheek, and said, “Let’s go home.”
Chapter 29
It took a lot of explaining for Roman to finally understand that what Julia did hadn’t killed Cassandra. Of course, him waking up with both his legs intact went a long way in making that case.
In truth, she’d have never done something like that to her cousin, regardless of how much the woman might have deserved it. She wasn’t a killer.
They had been in an astral place, where things like broken bones and torn out hearts symbolized other things. The power transfer would have been permanent and the pain was real—but the death was only symbolic of the loss of power.
When Julia implanted a spell that one of the ancestors gave her, it stripped Cassandra of her abilities for now and for all time. In the astral world, that apparently looked like having your heart ripped from your chest.
The real pain, however, didn’t begin until the three of them returned to the flesh world. Waking up next to her now powerless cousin and watching her come to terms with the consequences of what she had done tugged at her heart.
Cass deserved nothing less, though, and she and Paris were both exiled by the Southeastern Council.
Traditionally, their crimes were punishable by death and, without words spoken by Julia, Roman, Grandfather, and various other members of the Louisiana and Blackwood covens, they likely would be gone from this world forever.
Instead, they were sent to a province in Canada, abolished of any ties to magic, their memories erased.
She could walk past Cassandra and Paris and neither of them would bat an eye. Perhaps she’d do that one day. But that day was not today. Today was a different sort of occasion, a much happier one.
It had been six months since they took down Paris and Cassandra—three months since they watched them be banished, and two months since the night Roman got down on one knee and asked Julia to become his wife.
At first, she was afraid of how her family would respond. It wouldn’t have stopped her, of course. She was a grown ass woman and, after all she had been through, she was going to live her life the way she wanted. Feuds be damned.
They surprised her, though. As it turned out, stopping a dual takeover and saving the witch world earned you a lot of points as far as both covens were concerned.
And, when Grandfather told her he would be honored for her to host her wedding and invite all her new inlaws to the ceremony, she actually believed him.
The wedding went as weddings go. The bride was draped in the same dress her mother tried to gift her during her failed wedding to Paris. Somehow, it looked much better on her today. The groom was, as grooms were, nervous and fidgety as he watched his bride move down the aisle.
The vows were of the ancient variety, spoken during the genesis of the coven clans and just as beautiful coming from the pair’s lips.
And the party, as anyone who’s ever seen a Blackwood party can tell you, was as badass as the stories would lead you to believe.
As it wound down, with Julia’s hand pressed firmly in Roman’s—the place it was meant to be, the place it would now always be—Grandfather stood and gave a toast.
“A few months ago,” the old man said, looking around the room. “A gypsy told me that I was going to die soon.”
Julia gasped. It was an admission that she never thought she’d hear her grandfather give in mixed company. Though, perhaps the company wasn’t quite as mixed as it had once been.
“Understandably, it shook me a little. Not because I’m afraid to die. On the contrary, death is maybe the one adventure I’ve never partaken in and, as anyone who knows me can tell you, I’ve never been one to shy away from an adventure. No, I’m ready to die if that’s what fate allows. What upset me—what frightened me even—was the idea that my family would not be ready for me to move on, even if I was.”
He looked over at Julia. “We’ve been through a lot, this girl and me. I was supposed to teach her things—how to be a witch, how to be a grownup, how to be a worthwhile person. That’s the funny thing about life, though. It takes you to places you’d never expect. And, in the end, it was Julia who taught me. This woman—this beautiful, perfect woman—taught me to be strong. She taught me to be smart. She taught me to be kind, brave, gracious, merciful, and most of all, she taught me to be honest.”
He cleared his throat, and Julia could have sworn she saw tears in his eyes. “You see, my Julia has never been afraid of the truth. Even when the truth was inconvenient, even when it was hard and scary. She always ran toward it. She let it give her life. And the truth is, there’s never been anyone for her but Roman Blackwood.”
He looked over at Roman. “I didn’t know much about you, son. Mostly because I wouldn’t let myself. I suppose I was afraid that, if I got to know too much about you, I’d end up li
king you. And, by God, that’s exactly what happened, so I guess my feelings were justified.” He grinned. “I see what my granddaughter sees in you, son. You’re strong and fair. You don’t let people push you around and you stand up for what’s right. I never thought I’d say this, but the Blackwoods raised you right.”
Laughter erupted through the room.
Grandfather cleared his throat, lifting his champagne flute a little higher. “Love completes us all, if we let it. It makes us stronger. And that’s what we are now. We’re stronger because we’re together. “
He laughed out loud. “And you want to know something? I’m not afraid to die anymore, because I know without doubt or question, that we’re all going to be okay. And that’s why I’m not giving my power to Julia.”
He moved toward the pair, taking their hands. “I’m giving it to both of you, to the union that is your love. Because I know, and boy how I know, that there’s no safer place for it. Nothing is stronger than the both of you. So be strong, my children. If you can, be happy. And, for the love of God, Son—kiss the damn bride already!”
And, like a good groom, Roman did just that.
The End
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About Kressley & Hamilton
Conner Kressley is a USA TODAY Bestselling Author represented by Rossano Trentin of TZLA. He is an avid reader and all around lover of storytelling. His book "The Breaker's Code" is the first in the epic "Fixed Points" series that pits free will against fate and true love against good intentions and bad situations. You can learn more about Conner and his books below.
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Rebecca Hamilton is a USA Today Bestselling Paranormal Fantasy author who also dabbles in Horror and Literary Fiction. She lives in Florida with her husband and four kids. She is represented by Rossano Trentin of TZLA and has been published internationally, in three languages. You can learn more about Rebecca and her books below.
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Moon Coven: a Paranormal Witch Romance Page 21
