by Arthur, Keri
“That would not be our first—”
I snorted. “Of course not, because marriages can only be annulled if one of the parties did not give their consent or consent was obtained by duress or fraud.” My gaze shot to Clayton’s. “Imagine what that would do to your reputation if it got out.”
Heat shot into his cheeks, but once again he held his tongue.
It might be wise not to antagonize him any further came Belle’s uneasy comment. He looks ready to kill.
It was only then that I realized she’d deepened our connection so that she could see through my eyes.
Yeah, sorry, she said, but I needed to understand exactly what’s going down. I think the rage stopped you sensing it.
Probably.
“A divorce would be more convenient,” my father said.
“Oddly enough, I’m not in the mood to make things convenient for either of you.”
Anger flared deep in his eyes, and just for an instant, his power surged over me, momentarily scalding my senses and sending the café’s remaining spells into a frenzy of activity. Lightning flickered out from the layers of wild magic, jagged little warnings of what waited if they didn’t watch what they were doing.
Unfortunately, it also served as a pointer that all was not as it seemed—not with me, not with the magic that still protected this place.
“Interesting” was all my father said. But his gaze, when it returned to mine, was speculative.
“Not so much,” Monty replied. “Not if you know the recent history of this place.”
“The magic of a wellspring can affect spells, but what just happened here is extremely unusual, and we all know it.”
“Except,” Ashworth drawled, “for the fact that the wild magic within this reservation does many things it should not—and I suspect you’ve both read my reports and Monty’s and are well aware of that.”
“Meaning you’re Ira Ashworth,” Lawrence said. “That would certainly explain recent events in Canberra. But back to the matter at hand—if we agree to an annulment, there must be suitable terms on both sides.”
“And what would you consider suitable terms?” Monty asked. “Given you forced a sixteen-year-old into a marriage she didn’t want, I’m thinking it might be better for you both to simply get the annulment ASAP and walk away. We all know you have enough tame judges in your pockets to get it done quickly and quietly.”
“That might well be possible,” my father said. “But we want the spell on Clayton removed, and I want you, Elizabeth, to return to Canberra and undergo a full magical audit.”
I forced a smile, even as my gut clenched. A full audit would reveal the ongoing changes within me. “So that you can drug me into another marriage? I think not.”
“Fine. We’ll do it here—I don’t particularly care.”
Of course he didn’t. Not when it might reveal that the daughter he’d tossed away like so much rubbish might actually hold some worth. The anger of the child who’d never been good enough rose, but underneath the hurt remained. Despite everything, there was some small spark of that child still aching for the love of her father.
“And why would I put myself through that again, Father dearest? I had sixteen years of being told I was a worthless disappointment. I don’t need to add an exclamation point to what is already common knowledge.”
“Oh, I think we do.” He studied me for a long minute, and I rather suspected he was seeing the things I was trying to keep hidden. “These are my terms. Do you agree to them or not?”
“If I say not?”
He smiled. It was cold and hard, and sent trepidation crawling across my skin.
“Then I shall release the leash.”
“That,” Monty said, “sounded a whole lot like a threat. And in front of witnesses.”
“No, it was just a statement of fact. I’m here to broker a deal between two legally bound parties, one of whom is not in the best state of mind currently. If terms cannot be agreed on, we will return to Canberra. I cannot be held accountable for what may happen after that.”
“If he comes into this reservation,” Aiden said, voice deceptively mild, “and makes any sort of threat or move against Liz, I’ll rip his goddamn throat out.”
Clayton’s laugh was a short, sharp sound of contempt. “You won’t get within ten meters of me, wolf, and that little trinket around your neck won’t in any way protect you.”
“Perhaps not, but you might be wise to remember that wolves always hunt in packs.”
Clayton bared his teeth, but at my father’s curt “Enough, both of you,” refrained from replying.
Monty thinks we’ve really got no choice but to agree to the terms, Belle said. If the audit is done here, then you’re at least fully protected against anything they might attempt afterward—especially if you’re right in believing the wild magic won’t release you.
I resisted the urge to scrub a hand across my eyes. I hate the thought of doing another audit.
With a whole lot of justification. But if it gets Clayton out of your life without any collateral damage, it might be a small price to pay.
The key word there is ‘might.’ And even if we do agree and my father does drag Clayton back to Canberra, would he stay there now that he knows where we are?
I seriously doubted it.
As do I, but to echo your earlier statement, let’s deal with one thing at a time.
“Daughter? Do we have an agreement?”
“I want the marriage annulled—and I want the paperwork in my hands—before we either remove the spell or I’m audited again.” I paused. “And I want assurances that once the spell is removed, Clayton won’t seek any sort of retribution for our past actions.”
“I so swear,” Lawrence said. “Clayton?”
“You have my word I will not seek retribution. I will, however, need to return so that the spell may be removed.”
“Indeed—but not alone. I don’t trust you, Clayton. I don’t trust you’ll hold to your word.”
“He will.”
I glanced at my father and wondered if he was being willfully obtuse or whether the years of friendship between them were blinding him to Clayton’s ultimate intent.
“He’d better, because I’m not that frightened sixteen-year-old anymore, and I will do whatever it takes to protect both Belle and myself.”
My father studied me for a moment, then nodded once. He understood and accepted what had been left unspoken. I doubted Clayton did.
“Then we have an agreement.” He removed a small metal object from his pocket and placed it on the table. I wasn’t entirely sure what it was and was disinclined to admit it. “It has been recorded for posterity.”
“I want an unredacted copy of that audio,” Monty immediately said.
“And I will ask the same of whatever record you might have of this meeting.” His gaze came to mine. “While I certainly did consider you a disappointment when it came to power, I never thought you were stupid, Elizabeth.”
I snorted. “And that’s supposed to make me feel better?”
His smile was cold—distant. “I suppose it is too late for that.”
“You suppose right.”
He nodded and glanced at Clayton. “We may leave, now.”
Clayton picked up his phone and immediately strode from the room. But not without one final glance back at me. His silver gaze promised retribution. Promised hurt in more ways than I could even imagine.
I crossed my arms and glared back at him. I refused to show him fear, if only because that’s exactly what he wanted.
The strength imbued by the red rage held until my father had left. Then the utter enormity of everything that had happened hit; I began to shake so fiercely that my knees gave way and I would have fallen had Aiden not lunged forward and somehow caught me.
He didn’t lower me onto a chair. He simply wrapped his arms around me and held on tight as I shook and shivered and generally unraveled.
“It’s okay.” His vo
ice was soft—soothing. “It’ll be okay. The worst of it is over now.”
No, it wasn’t, I wanted to say, but the words remained stuck in my throat.
I remained in the security of his arms for a very long time, drinking in his scent and trying to find the courage to step back, to stand once again on my own two feet. To once again gather strength in order to fight on.
Because I would have to, before all this was over
“What we all need is coffee,” Belle said, as she strode in through the door. “And cake. Big slabs of cake.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Monty said. “Where are Ruby and Jenna?”
“They can’t fraternize with witnesses—it could lead to accusations of tainted evidence.” She took a small black device out of her pocket. “They’ve said we should keep this on hand; if we have any further meetings or confrontations with Clayton, we need to record them.”
“Did they manage to record this confrontation?”
“Yes and no. Whatever device the bastards were employing to jam the frequency worked well enough that their recording was patchy.”
“That’s what the silver disk was,” I said.
“Most likely,” Monty said. “Though I’d have thought holding it on their persons would also disrupt their own recordings.”
“Not necessarily,” Aiden said. “There’re jammers that can block specific frequencies, and they’re likely to have set their recording frequency to one of the unblocked ones.”
“Monty,” Belle said, “come and cut up the cake while I make the coffees.”
As he obediently followed, I finally pulled away from Aiden. His grip slipped from my waist but he hovered close, ready to catch me should I go down again. Which was possible, given the utter weakness still washing through me. The red wave had taken a very physical toll on my body, which was decidedly odd.
“Where are Ashworth and Eli?” I said, suddenly noticing they weren’t in the room.
“Following Lawrence and Clayton to make sure they’re leaving the reservation as promised.”
“I’ve no doubt they’ll return to Canberra,” I said. “It’s the whole ‘not coming back’ bit I reckon will cause us problems.”
“Even Clayton wouldn’t go against your father,” Monty said. “He wouldn’t dare.”
“Except that he and Father have had a falling out, remember?”
“Just like him and your mom,” Monty mused. “I wonder if it has anything to do with his odd comment to Ashworth?”
I moved across to another table and sat down. Not just because it was bigger, but because the air didn’t hold any lingering scents, be it their anger or the woody scent of Clayton’s aftershave.
Neither of which you should be able to smell, Belle commented.
I frowned. Since when have I not been able to smell aftershave?
I was fully connected, remember? Trust me, what you smelled and sensed wasn’t normal for anyone other than a wolf. We really do need to speak to Katie and uncover what the hell is going on.
Yes, but not tonight. I haven’t the strength.
Tomorrow night, then.
I was going to suggest tomorrow morning, before we open.
Aiden’s knee pressed against mine as he sat next to me; the contact had the still-churning inner nerves easing just that little bit more. The man definitely made me feel safe, even if it was more illusion than truth when it came to the likes of Clayton.
That would mean getting up before dawn. It’ll be cold.
Freezing. But it’s our best chance to get answers without having anyone tagging along with us.
Meaning Aiden.
Yes.
He’s aware of the changes in you, Liz. He wants answers, even if he’s not currently pressing.
He’s not pressing because he’s waiting for his perfect wolf to arrive.
Not true.
I frowned. Meaning what?
Oh, he is waiting for Miss Perfect, but that has nothing to do with his concern for you. Out loud, she added, “What odd comment are we talking about?”
She picked up the tray of coffees and brought them over. Even from where I was sitting, I could smell the alcohol she’d added to hers and mine. The sooner we got the whole marriage mess sorted the better, or we were going to end up alcoholics.
Monty followed with three plates of black forest cake and a fourth containing a stack of brownies.
“I’m not sure even I can get through that many slices,” Aiden said, accepting the plate with an amused smile.
“I have every faith in your eating prowess,” Belle said, sliding a steaming coffee mug across to him.
Monty handed out the remaining plates, then leaned the tray against the table leg and sat down. “On discovering who Ashworth was, Lawrence said ‘that would certainly explain recent events in Canberra.’ I took it to mean Liz’s parents’ recent separation.”
I frowned. “But how would learning who Ashworth was—” I stopped. “He knows Ashworth’s sister is head of the Black Lantern Society.”
“Which is?” Aiden asked.
“According to Ashworth,” I said, “It’s a secret society of witches, werewolves, and vampires who work behind the scenes to right wrongs and bring justice to those who escape it.”
“Sounds more like a vigilante group,” Aiden commented. “And it can’t be too secret if your father knows about it.”
“The Society is whatever it needs to be.” Monty glanced at me. “And if Lawrence is now aware of it, they must have recently contacted your parents. It would certainly explain your mother’s sudden decision to separate from your father.”
“And that would explain why he’s now attempting to make amends for his actions thirteen years ago,” Belle said. “It’s still all about power and his need to retain it rather than any desire to put things right for his daughter.”
I picked up my fork and scooped up a thick bit of chocolaty goodness. “To be honest, I don’t care what his motivations are, as long as it ends in an annulment. But I don’t for one minute believe Clayton will leave it at that.”
“He has to,” Monty said around a mouthful of cake. “He swore an oath, and that’s something no witch would go against lightly.”
“Maybe sane witches, but I’m not entirely sure Clayton could be classified as that anymore.” I remembered the look in his eyes and shivered. “His aura was nigh on black, and it wasn’t grief. It was a fury so fierce it consumes him.”
“Somewhat understandable if he’s been incapable of getting an erection for nearly thirteen years. That might send any man mad.” Monty scooped up more cake. “What I’d like to know, though, is how the damn spell lasted so long. Don’t take this the wrong way, Belle, but it really shouldn’t have. At the very least, he should have been able to unpick it without much hassle.”
“I know, and I can’t explain it.” She shrugged. “It’s not like I was actively thinking that night—I was running more on instinct.”
“Were the two of you connected?” Aiden asked. “Is it possible that some of Liz’s magic leaked over to Belle and fortified her spell?”
Monty pointed his fork at Aiden, his expression excited. “By God, I think he nailed it. It explains so much.”
“My magic wouldn’t have worried Clayton any more than Belle’s,” I commented.
“Except,” Monty said, “if the wild magic somehow got involved. It explains their desperation to find you—it wasn’t just the erectile dysfunction spell, but what that spell revealed.”
“Good theory, but there is one—”
Monty held up a hand. “Yes, I know, the seeker should have been able to use the still-active spell to track you and Belle down. But here’s the thing—that spell, if I’m right, was a combination of both of your magics and the wild magic, and therefore unviable as a means of tracking.”
“At least until we came here, and the wild magic within your DNA was activated again,” Belle said. “Which certainly explains the seeker’s sudden appearance
.”
“All possible except for one thing,” I said. “The wild magic didn’t actually make an appearance in any of my magic until we came here.”
“When it comes to conscious magic, that’s certainly true, but what if it was done subconsciously? What if the situation and your fear combined to tear through whatever barrier had previously prevented you accessing your inner wild magic for those few vital minutes? It’s not like either of you have been in such a dire situation since then—”
“Thank heaven for that,” I muttered.
“It could also provide a reason as to why the wild magic here responded to you,” Monty continued. “The barrier had already been breached and it sensed a kindred spirit, so to speak.”
Or rather, Katie did, Belle said. It makes a weird sort of sense, given that until you came into the reservation she had no conduit for the power she was now a part of and no means of communicating with anyone.
I guess Monty’s theory would also explain why it took so long for the inner wild magic to make its presence felt—the barrier had been torn rather than destroyed. It took a while—and multiple connections—for it to fail.
Yes. And I’m guessing that’s the real reason Clayton came here today—he wanted to see if there was wild magic within you.
Did my shield hold?
Yes, but the reaction of the wild magic woven into the café’s spells would have given him enough reason to believe its source was you rather than an accidental inclusion.
“I’m thinking,” Monty said, voice dry, “that there’s a whole different conversation happening between you two. How about you illuminate the poor males in the room?”
I flashed him a smile and picked up my coffee. “Sorry, we were just discussing the merits of your theory.”
“And?”
“It really only amplifies the danger we’re still in.” I glanced at Aiden. “And before you say it, you can’t keep sleeping on the sofa. It’s impractical.”
“You’re making him sleep on the sofa?” Monty’s eyebrows shot upward. “Why?”
