Carter glanced over his shoulder. “At least you know it’s Julius who’s working with the vampires. You can confide in Calandra and ask for her help. Maybe you can trust Boris and Ava too. They’d know how to take down Julius.”
“Effing Julius.” Saying his name left a bitter taste in my mouth. I still couldn’t believe he’d been behind all of this. It was his fault we were attacked at the fair. His fault Orla had been kidnapped. How could he do this to Boris? To the Raven Coven?
“You need to get back to the house.” Carter got to his feet. “Garrett’s probably called his sister, and if you’re not home soon, he’ll come looking for you again. So, unless you want to deal with him tonight, we need to go.”
“Fine.” I followed him across the street and into the shadows of the buildings. We walked in silence until we reached Hale House’s backyard. Every light in the house was on, including the kitchen. No doubt everyone would want to know what had happened between Garrett and me.
I cleared my throat. “Can you do me a favor?”
“Don’t think for a second that me following you around makes us friends,” Carter grunted, sounding annoyed. “I don’t like doing favors for witches.”
“Whatever you want, I’ll pay it,” I said. “I’m sure there’s a potion you want.”
“What’s the favor?”
“Can you go to Woodlake and find Markus? He’s one of the Norwood wolves. I need you to tell him about the prophecy.”
“You want me to warn the Norwood pack about the prophecy?” He sounded surprised. “What makes you think they’d believe me? My uncle isn’t very trusting.”
“Markus will if you tell him I sent you. Will you do it?”
He stared at me. “I’ll do it for a bottle of truth serum, and I want it before I leave.”
“How will I know you’ll keep your end of the deal?”
“I guess you’ll have to trust me.”
“Fine. It’s a deal.” I walked to the back door, hoping I hadn’t made a mistake in trusting Carter. Unfortunately, I had no choice. I had to warn Markus about what was coming. Now I just needed to find out where to get a bottle of truth serum.
Chapter 33
“Calandra stopped by this morning, but I told her you were asleep. She wants to see you at the High Council’s sanctum at two o’clock today.” Rosella straightened the comforter on her bed. “Don’t be late.”
I sat up, pushing my blanket aside, and glanced at the clock. Already close to noon. Then again, I hadn’t fallen asleep until four in the morning. Too much stuff running through my mind. At least Rosella had kept everyone away when I’d returned to the house last night, telling them that just because Garrett and I had fought didn’t mean we’d broken up. “About last night. Thank you.”
“It’s the least I could do after my brother showed up drunk, demanding to talk to you.” She slipped on her ankle boots and stood, glancing around the room. As usual, she wore the coven attire of a black skirt, white blouse, and purple vest cardigan.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“My mom needs me. She says it’s important. After that, I’ll check on Garrett. You want to order pizza tonight and eat up here?” She glanced at me. “That is, unless you and Garrett make up.”
“Pizza sounds good.” I fixed my bed and ran my hands across the blanket to smooth it. “Garrett and I won’t be seeing each other today. I need a few days to think about stuff.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?”
“Not right now.” I felt guilty for not telling Rosella the truth. The likelihood of her working with Julius was slim. Unlike the other girls, she never went out of her way to spend time with him; I couldn’t recall them even talking. Maybe she’d know how to take him down. “How about we talk tonight?”
“Okay. I’d better go. Don’t be late for Calandra.” With that, Rosella left the room, closing the door behind her.
“Sienna, how are you?” Boris asked as he came up to stand in front of me. He still had bags under his eyes, but unlike the last time I saw him, he’d actually combed his hair.
I closed my grimoire, hoping he had no idea what I’d been reading. After eating lunch, I’d come to the library to study before I had to meet Calandra. Luckily, everyone else in the coven had remained in their houses, safe behind the protection spells, which had given me all the peace and quiet I needed.
Until now.
“I’m okay,” I replied, managing a smile. “Any word on Orla?”
“Not yet, but I’m sure she’s okay, and we’ll have her home soon.” His gaze lowered to my grimoire. Nothing in his expression suggested he’d recognized it. “I came to get a few things and saw you sitting here. I see you’re busy studying spells. That’s good. Orla always said you’d save us all. I never understood what she meant until now.”
Not quite sure what to say, I nodded. Had Orla talked about me to her father?
He glanced around, running a hand over his red beard. “I’d better let you get back to studying. If you need any help, you come and see me anytime. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Boris walked away, heading toward the High Council’s sanctum. Hopefully, whatever he needed to pick up wouldn’t take long since I was due to meet Calandra in less than five minutes.
With a sigh, I reluctantly picked my grimoire and headed over to the sanctum. I had no idea why Calandra wanted to see me, unless she planned on reprimanding me for breaking curfew last night. Just what I needed on top of everything else I had to deal with.
The sanctum’s door stood ajar, so I knocked before entering.
Calandra and Boris sat at the table, but they weren’t alone. Ava, Rosella, and Garrett sat with them in chairs that they’d brought from the main library. An empty chair faced them, and I assumed they expected me to sit there. Was this some kind of intervention?
I glanced at Rosella for a clue as to what was going on, but her blank stare offered no help. When I looked at Garrett and his gaze lowered to the floor, my stomach tightened in a knot. He was the reason they were here, but what had he told them? Did they know about his blood oath?
Hugging my grimoire, I noticed Julius wasn’t in the room. Better to play dumb than mention anything they might not be aware of. Maybe them being here together was a coincidence. “I see you’re busy, Calandra. I’ll come back later when—”
“I can’t believe you didn’t trust me.” Rosella leaped to her feet. “We were up talking until midnight, and you said nothing about Vadoma. How could you think I’d betray you? Didn’t I keep my mouth shut about what happened at the county fair?”
“You girls lied about the fair?” Boris asked, sitting up straighter.
Rosella’s gaze met mine, and I could tell she was sorry for bringing it up. She returned to her chair, leaving Boris to look at me for an answer.
At this point, what happened that night wasn’t important. Rosella knew about Vadoma, which meant Garrett must have told them about the missing part of the prophecy. That’s why they were all waiting for me. He’d asked for their help without talking to me first. If he wanted to get on my good side, this wasn’t the way to go about it.
“It’s not Rosella’s fault.” I sat in the empty chair, laying my grimoire on my lap. Garrett hadn’t bothered telling them the truth about that night. Had he forgotten or thought it was no big deal? “I lied that night about not remembering what had happened, and when Rosella woke up the next day, I asked her to stick to my version of the story.”
“The wolves took Orla, didn’t they?” Boris asked. “Her kidnapping has nothing to do with the prophecy. It’s about the Westland pack declaring me a marked warlock. She’s paying for my mistakes.”
“That’s not true.” I shook my head. “Everything I said about that night was true, except I didn’t fight those three vampires by myself. I had help. Carter showed up, and so did a vampire. He saved me by killing one of the other vampires.”
“You’re saying a wolf and a vampir
e helped you and Rosella?” Ava’s eyes narrowed.
“It’s true,” Rosella replied. “I remember Carter carrying me.”
Boris’ eyes widened, but he remained silent.
Calandra’s gaze lowered to my grimoire. She didn’t seem shocked to learn the truth. It was as if she’d already known. I bet Carter had told her what had happened.
“Where’s Julius?” I asked, feeling nervous he might walk through the doorway at any minute and figure out I knew the truth. “I shouldn’t be here. If he—”
“He’s in town, entertaining the other coven leaders over lunch. You have nothing to worry about, you can trust us, Sienna,” Calandra said. “Garrett told us about his blood oath and how we don’t have the complete prophecy in the coven book. Looks like Julius has been busy working with the vampires and trying to get close to you. We’re well aware of who Vadoma is and how she used dark magic to transform into a demon, but we’re still hazy on the prophecy details. Garrett doesn’t know the particulars, but he did say you were talking to Carter. Did he provide any useful information?”
I glanced at Garrett, who was still staring at the floor. He must have told them I’d planned to get information from Carter. Of course, Garrett didn’t know about my meeting with Carter and Devlin or that we’d unlocked my grimoire.
“Sienna.” Boris cleared his throat. “I know you trusted my daughter, and I swear you can trust us too. We’re here to help you in whatever way we can, but we can’t do that if you’re not honest. I’m sure you’ve realized by now that you can’t do this alone. You need our help.”
A lump formed in my throat. Boris was right. I needed their help, and I had to trust them. Garrett obviously did, and although I was still mad at him for not coming to me when he learned the truth, I trusted his judgment. “Orla’s still alive, but I don’t know where she is. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but I couldn’t without explaining how I knew.”
“Go on. Please tell us what Carter knows about the vampire. It could help us find her,” Boris said.
“No. Carter didn’t…” I took a deep breath, feeling both nervous and sad as I looked at Rosella’s face. She looked hurt, and I could only hope she’d forgive me for not telling her sooner. “Carter didn’t know anything about the vampire, but he captured him that night at the fair. He brought the vampire to the coven, and I talked to him.”
Ava gasped. “You had a vampire on coven grounds? How did he get past the barrier spell without the High Council’s permission?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged.
“Perhaps he’s friendly with the High Council so has permanent clearance to pass,” Calandra said. “You say you talked to the vampire?”
“Yes.” I nodded. “The vampire told me about the rest of the prophecy. He said someone on the High Council was working with the vampires to raise Vadoma from hell. He warned me that traitors were all around me, and I should trust no one. And he said my best plan was to take down the High Council witch, so they couldn’t perform the spell to raise Vadoma on the Black Moon of Samhain.”
“He could be lying,” Ava said. “The only thing I know to be true is Garrett made a blood oath with Julius, but I’m sure it wasn’t to raise Vadoma from hell. Julius wouldn’t do that to you. He and Cyprian were best friends.”
“Cyprian didn’t trust Julius,” I said.
Ava’s eyes narrowed. “I suppose this vampire told you that too. Tell us his name and let us judge whether he’s trustworthy or not. He did give you his name, I assume.”
“Yes, but I promised not to reveal it unless my life depended upon it.”
“I’m sure Sienna has proof.” Boris’ gaze lowered to my grimoire. He definitely knew that I’d broken the protection spell but was keeping my secret. “She wouldn’t just take the word of a vampire. No matter who he was.”
“Did he give you proof?” Rosella asked, looking curious.
Garrett still stared at the floor, saying nothing. He wouldn’t even look my way.
“Yes.” I bit my lip, hoping I wasn’t about to make a big mistake. I’d planned to tell Rosella everything tonight, and I trusted Boris, but I still wasn’t sure about Ava and Calandra.
“So, where’s this proof?” Ava folded her arms and tilted her head, glaring at me. “Or maybe you’re wasting our time, and this is just a big misunderstanding.”
I walked over to the table and slid my grimoire in front of Boris. “I broke the protection spell last week. Marie wrote the complete prophecy on the last page.”
“You should’ve told me,” Calandra said. “Marie’s spells are unique to your bloodline. You’ll be able to control your powers more and understand why—”
“I have no reason to trust you.” I sat back down and crossed my legs. “You’ve done nothing but lie to me, and I saw you arguing with Grace in front of the library. Now she’s disappeared.”
Calandra’s eyes snapped up to meet mine. “That was a personal matter. It had nothing to do with you or the prophecy, and my lies were to protect you.”
“We all know Julius took Grace. She must have read someone’s mind and learned what he was up to.” Boris opened my grimoire and turned to the last page.
Ava scooted her chair closer as Rosella got up and stood behind Boris. All three of them stared at the page, reading the full prophecy in silence.
“It’s all true.” Rosella gasped, covering her mouth as she looked at me with wide eyes. “That’s why they’re kidnapping the witches and the pack alphas. The Black Moon of Samhain is this year.”
Boris pushed my grimoire over to Calandra and clasped his hands on the table. Despite having learned about the thirteen pure witches, he appeared optimistic. “You said something about taking down Julius, so he can’t perform the spell?”
“Yes, but I don’t think the vampire meant we’re supposed to kill him. He specifically said we had to take him down,” I said. “He did say the spell was in Vadoma’s grimoire, and Cyprian had it here at the coven. Maybe we can destroy it?”
“We could if we had it,” Boris said. “But her grimoire went missing along with several other items five months ago.”
“So, how do you take down a warlock?” I asked.
Calandra looked up. “We strip his powers at the First Altar. It’s the only way.”
“We need to be one hundred percent sure about this. Once we strip Julius’ powers, they can never be restored,” Ava said. “The prophecy in Marie’s grimoire is authentic, but Cyprian not trusting Julius is nonsense. For all we know, Julius could be working with the vampires to protect you and lying to Garrett. We have no reason to believe everything this vampire told you.”
“She’s right,” Calandra said. “What in the prophecy makes you believe this vampire? Because it sounds like you trust him, Sienna, but I’m not sure why.”
“I trust this vampire because Cyprian trusted him,” I said. “Marie didn’t put the protection spell on her grimoire, Cyprian did. He knew he wouldn’t be alive when I gained my powers, so he made a deal with this vampire. That’s why the vampires came to Woodlake. Cyprian sent them to protect me.”
“That still proves nothing,” Boris said.
“How do you think I broke the protection spell?” I asked. “I used the vampire’s blood.”
Ava’s lips twisted as her gaze dropped to my grimoire sitting in front of Calandra.
“Then we all agree. We trust what this vampire told Sienna, and we strip Julius of his powers.” Calandra pointed to the prophecy page. “Did the vampire know who the beast is?”
“He told me the beast was a wolf,” I replied.
“Let me see the prophecy again.” Boris took my grimoire from Calandra and studied it once more. “He’s right. This mark of greatness. I remember hearing the Westland wolves talk about it. They spoke of an alpha wolf with a beast mark. A lot of them were afraid of him, but I don’t know who he is.”
“An alpha wolf with a what?” My throat went dry as I nervously gripped the sides of my chair,
hoping Boris hadn’t just said what I thought he had. Kaleb had a birthmark on his chest. His mom had told him it was a beast mark and said he was meant for greater things.
Boris closed the grimoire. “An alpha wolf with a beast mark on his chest. Does this mean something to you?”
“No.” I shook my head, refusing to tell anyone what I’d just realized. Kaleb was the beast from the prophecy. But how was that possible? Did that mean part of the prophecy had already come true when Kaleb died?
Garrett’s phone chimed, and he pulled it out of his pocket. “Julius is on his way back. Someone told him about my fight with Sienna last night. He wants us to meet.”
“Did Julius tell you to date Sienna?” Ava asked.
“No,” Garrett replied. “But when he heard we were dating, he told me to keep her happy and not screw up the relationship. He expects me to take her to the Mabon Ball. I don’t know what he’s planning, but he’s adamant she wears the dress he bought her.”
“We don’t have much time. After we leave here, we must never discuss this topic without casting a privacy spell first.” Boris stood, looking at Rosella. “You and Sienna go back to Hale House and cast a privacy spell on your closet. The three of us will formulate a plan, and Calandra will come by later to tell you.”
“What about Garrett?” Ava asked. “We can’t expect him to meet with Julius right now.”
“She’s right. Garrett, text Julius, say you’re with Sienna, and you can’t get away. Tell him there’s nothing to worry about,” Calandra said. “Then go with Rosella and Sienna so that I can tell all three of you the plan at once. Watch a movie, eat dinner, act normal. Just stay together until I come by.”
Garrett texted Julius, then tucked his phone into his pocket and left the sanctum.
“We’ll wait out front, Sienna. Don’t take too long,” Rosella said before rushing out after her brother.
“Keep this safe.” Calandra walked me to the door and handed me my grimoire. Then she lowered her voice and continued, “Go easy on Garrett. You have no idea what half-warlocks go through, especially those without powers. His life hasn’t been easy, and it’s going to be even harder after Samhain.”
Romani Magic (Shifter Blood: Romani Curse Book 3) Page 21