Transfixed (Witches of Jackson Square Book 1)

by A Lonergan

  Sterling and I had spoken a few words, and he told me he was ready to pull out the date card. I had been wondering when he would come to his senses.

  But now as I waited for him to meet me, I wondered if I had made a mistake. Ayre was playing a game on her phone and not paying me any attention anymore.

  When Sterling knocked on the door, it startled me out of my thoughts. For once he wasn't wearing a suit, and I immediately felt self-conscious of my dress. His eyes beamed as he took me in and Ayn made a funny noise before she slid past us and disappeared into the courtyard.

  "You look beautiful," Sterling said, softly

  "Thank you." I gazed over my shoulder at Vailen still asleep on my bed. "Don't wait up!" He didn't even open his eyes. He probably slept more than a house cat.

  Vailen's voice popped into my head. "I eat cats for breakfast."

  "You're just plain gross." I threw over my shoulder as I followed sterling out into the humid Louisiana night.

  Sterling stopped and gave me a puzzled look. "Who?"

  "Oops, sorry, Vailen. We hate a weird telepathy thing." I shrugged, and he continued walking again. I tried to stay focused, but the way his dark wash jeans hugged his thighs was making me a bit scatterbrained.

  "I wondered about that. I've seen yall sit in the courtyard together. You'll make faces at him, but you don't speak." He stopped and let me catch up with him. I had fallen behind watching his behind. I was mortified.

  Sterling walked us to a small Cajun restaurant in the Quarter and jazz swam around us in the thick air. The conversations were, and the smiles were light. When we were finished with dinner, he extended his hand to me and nodded to the dimly lit area. I placed my hand in his much darker and rougher palm. He pulled me to the middle of the room and into his arms like a pro.

  Our movements were fluid and comfortable. There was no tension in our bodies. His fingertips brushed my hair away from my face, and he leaned in close. "This is not a scene that I frequent, but I could get used to it."

  I nodded my head, in complete agreement. But then something happened that I should have anticipated. A blond woman stared us down from the doorway. She marched in our direction, and I hoped that she would just continue on, That it wasn't as she was after.

  No such luck. She poked Sterling's shouldn. When he pulled away from me, his face was in complete shock.

  "This must be why you can't return my calls." Her voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't place it. It was high pitched with a slow drawl. She scrunched up her face as she looked at me. "You!"

  I took a step back, not wanting to be apart of whatever was unfolding.

  The woman continued to advance in my direction. "You're the one that was in Sterling's bedroom that night." It clicked. She was the woman that Sterling had been preoccupied with the night Ayre brought me to the compound. The night Sterling found me in the bed he was about to put to use. The night his hatred started. "He's not that good in bed. I hope you haven't already experienced how lousy he is."

  Sterling finally got his mouth to work. "Must not hate been that bad you tried for seconds."

  At that, I was done. I wasn't naive, but I also wouldn't be put in these embarrassing situations. So much for being a new place to frequent. Everyone was staring at us now, and even the band had stopped to see about the commotion. The woman continued to scream in Sterling's face, that he didn't even notice me slip from the restaurant. As I went, I saw the sympathetic looks thrown my way. It left an awful taste in my mouth.

  I could hear Sterling shouting my name, but I continued on. I pushed through crowds of people until I could barely make out the alley that leads to the compound. I looked both ways before I crossed the street and as I was stepping onto the curb, I slipped. The hard concrete bit into my hands and knees. I whimpered in pain and pushed myself back up. I looked up to the night sky and rubbed my hands down the front of my dress, trying to get the pebbles to free themselves from my skin.

  I barely registered the pain at the back of my skull as something hit me. I could hear Sterling shouting my name again, just as everything went black.

  Epilogue

  All I could hear was screaming and pain. The fear was thick in the air, and I knew I wasn’t in New Orleans anymore. Nothing about my surroundings was recognizable except maybe the terrain. The soft pink grass called to me, but I wasn’t in control here. My head whipped to the left, and guttural words tore from my throat, but it wasn’t my voice that I heard. “Callia! Callia!” Panic swelled within my chest and the body I was inhabiting took a sharp dive in the air. I hadn’t realized I was flying until that moment.

  “Callia! Drake!” The words burned up my throat, and tears pooled in my eyes. Why was I talking if it hurt so damn bad? Then I noticed the smoke and devastation on the ground, the people running for dear life and the monsters that had been slaughtered. Not monsters, dragons.

  No.

  I knew exactly where I was.

  I was in Vailen’s mind, and I was reliving his most painful memory, but what had made it surge forward like this?

  Vailen drove the ground and let out a scream of pain. There in front of us was an iridescent white dragon, everything about her was fierce and feminine. She blinked open her eyes, and I felt so much love course through the dragon. It made my heart ache because I knew what was to happen next. I tried to turn away, to close my eyes, but I knew what happened next. Her crystal blue eyes pleaded with us to leave and pretty soon I could hear her words in Vailen’s mind.

  “Please, find our son.” Her voice was silky and smooth.

  “I can’t leave you, Callia.” Vailen nudged her with his nose, urging her to get up.

  “I can’t fly with you. I am too badly injured. If our unborn is to live, you must let me rest here. The Tyrant King won’t come back.” Callia spoke softly. It wasn’t the Tyrant King that worried Vailen, but he did as she requested even though it tore him apart to leave his true mate.

  Vailen closed his eyes and pushed up from the grass. The air caught perfectly under his wings, and he was up soaring in mere seconds. HIs head went left then right, frantically searching the ground for his son. I didn’t know how he could see through any of the smoke or fires. It seemed like all that was left was death.

  That was when two figures below caught Vailen’s eye. A man in black armor was facing off with a red dragon, a dragon that looked too much like Vailen. I knew it had to be Drake. Vailen circled from above watching his son go blow to blow with the Tyrant King. I could just barely hear Vailen’s painful thoughts. Everything in his mind was chaos.

  Something distracted Drake behind his opponent, and he paused. It was enough time for the king to move in and deliver a fatal blow. Vailen dove from the sky screaming and blowing fire everywhere, but it did nothing. Something was holding Drake captivated and he wouldn’t move. Vailen fell to his son’s body and shielded him from the king’s final strike. Pain pierced through Vailen’s side, but he didn’t feel it. His grief had overwhelmed him to sacrifice his life for his child. His sacrifice was for nothing. As he faded from the world, he watched his only son die. Right before he was gone, he heard his mate let out her final cry too.

  All was lost.

  Vailen hadn’t been lying when he said the pain I would feel would be the worst pain I had ever experienced. It was gut-wrenching and like a knife in your soul. I gasped for breath, trying to get my bearings together until I realized there was no need to gasp or breathe. All I could tell was that cold water was covering my body and everything was cold. I didn’t know what was up or what was down. There was nothing. I was stuck in the void of not being alive or dead.

  All was lost.

  Looking forward to book 2?

  Well, lucky you! You get an early exclusive to book 2, Fixated. coming soon!

  Pain

  It was all I felt. It left a gapping hole inside my chest.

  I knew the moment Freya was taken, but with her unconscious, there was no way I was going to be able to track her. I
flew around the giant empire that Sariah had created and perched on one of the beams sticking out from the side of it. Vines had wrapped around the metal and exposed beams and almost made the monstrosity look pretty. I closed my eyes and tried to calm my heart and my breathing. The memory had come out of nowhere, and the pain had been renewed.

  I had lost her. I had underestimated the witches. I had underestimated Sterling. He was just as devastated as anyone, but he was to blame, unfortunately. He let her get away. A woman alone in the Quarter was enough to raise alarm, but a powerful witch that was wanted? He should have never let her out of his sight. I should have known it was a terrible idea for her to go on a date. Now I was stuck here beating myself up. I shrunk myself down a few more inches and crawled to the wall.

  I could hear Sariah screaming. “What do you mean you can’t bring me the steel that killed the dragons?”

  Queen Armia sighed. “We had it destroyed when my father died.”

  “There is no one in your kingdom that could recreate it?” I could hear Sariah pacing back and forth.

  “No, my father killed the weapons master before they marched to battle. He was too afraid he would create something else even more powerful than himself.” Armia sounded annoyed.

  “You must figure this out. Their bonding is complete. The only way to keep any damage from happening is to keep them separate.” Sariah said matter of fact.

  Red hot rage was all I could taste as I grew to the most significant size imaginable. I towered over her little kingdom and lit it up. I no longer cared for the beings that lived within it, I no longer cared for anything. All I felt was anger and fire. I heard screams and explosions, and I had no doubt that they were going to try to fight me off, but I continued to pour my white fire down on them like the fiery wrath of God. I watched as Sariah ran for her life and I chased after her, I wanted her out of my new city. I wanted her gone for good. There was nothing that I could do to help Freya, but I would take care of the nuisance problem.

  There was a part of me that told me to follow her, that she would lead me to Freya, but I knew the time would come. There was also a tiny bit of fear that Freya was left in the building I had melted to the streets.

  Acknowledgments

  Goodness, there are always so many people to thank and I feel like I fall short each time. So here goes nothing!

  I have to thank my dear friend, Tori, that loved my first series and loves this one even more. She would start reading as soon as I finished a section and if thats not dedication, I don’t know what is. Thank you for letting me bounce ideas off of you and for encouraging me. I doubt this would have been possible without your faith in my creativity.

  I would like to thank my husband for encouraging me to live my dreams and to constantly go after them, even if they are expensive. You always make sure I have the best and I don’t know how I deserve you.

  My family is next because without my mom and stepdad, I know I wouldn’t get hardly anything done. They take my rowdy toddler when I need them to for author events or just so I can clear my head. I would be lost without you both.

  My graphic designer, Jay, who always goes above and beyond for me. I KNOW I would be lost without you and I probably would refuse to publish haha. Your covers have propelled my confidence and continue to inspire me everyday. I simply want to write so I’ll be able to get you to do a cover for me.

  My little Mason, even though he can’t read now, someday I hope he has a love for it as much as I do. Mason, you inspire adventures and hilarity in my stories. You give me life through my sometimes dark days. You constantly keep me on my toes. You’re almost four years old, Happy Early Birthday baby.

  About the Author

  A. Lonergan comes from a small town in southern Louisiana. She loves to cook, chill out with her family and her dogs (One is secretly a wolf. No really he is.), and get creative with all things makeup. She loves to meet new people, so feel free to connect!

  Also by A. Lonergan

  Goddess Games (The Demi Chronicles book 1)

  Goddess Choice (The Demi Chronicles book 2)

  Goddess Trials (The Demi Chronicles book 3)