The Enchanted: Council of Seven Shifter Romance Collection

by Juniper Hart

  The din increased, a sea of murmuring, but none of it distinct. Creeping deeper into the cavern, a light-headedness overcame Rowan’s body. She stopped abruptly and peered into a doorway, still and waiting.

  “Come in.”

  She pushed her way across the threshold, the air thickening around her as she entered the dungeon, alight with hundreds of candles.

  This feels like home, she thought, pausing to close her eyes and inhale the sanctity of the moment, knowing it was fleeting.

  “Sit.”

  Rowan obliged, reluctantly parting her lids to look at the being before her, his shoulder-length, black hair shimmering against the flickering wax light. Spreading her skirts around her in a fan, she looked at him, her rear resting against the thickness of the pillows.

  “It’s how you remember our past, isn’t it?” the being asked, and Rowan chuckled softly, nodding, conjuring the memory of her ancestors as she basked in the strange aura around her.

  “I miss it,” she confessed. “Before all the technology and electricity pulsating through the earth, disrupting all our natural frequencies and destroying.”

  “You are not the only one who feels like that,” he assured her. “That is why I choose to stay here now, where it is dark and untouched.”

  “I wish I could, too,” she sighed.

  “Perhaps one day, we all will again.”

  She did not bother to ask him how that could ever come to be. She suspected she knew very well what he had in mind. Instead, she only smiled and waited for him to ask the inevitable question.

  “Well?”

  “I have recovered the last of the Lanuarius Collection,” Rowan answered, pulling the brooch from her cleavage and handing it to him. He reached toward her, his long fingernails pinching the garnet and bronze and drawing it back toward him to study it closely.

  A small smile crossed over his fair features, and he nodded slowly, his translucent eyes glimmering with appreciation.

  “Your girl is good,” he said. “She’s gotten everything I’ve asked for. Almost.”

  Rowan’s lips curved into a slight smirk.

  “She does what I ask of her,” she corrected, slightly annoyed that he was not giving credit where it was due. To her mind, it was she who was good, not Sierra. After all, where would Sierra be without her but living in some dilapidated apartment in South Park?

  “Where is the rest of what I demanded?” he asked, bringing her back to the present.

  “You must exercise patience,” Rowan groaned. “I—” She was unable to finish the sentence as she flew to the ground, her throat ensnared within his crushing hand. Her blue eyes bulged from their sockets as she stared beseechingly at him.

  “Are you suggesting that I lack patience?” he hissed, and she felt the bones of her windpipe crush. She fought violently to shake her head, her blue eyes wide with contrition.

  How could she have forgotten his wrath so easily?

  “I have been nothing but patient. I feel like the only thing I do is sit around twiddling my thumbs waiting on word from you, from Vaughan.”

  She was losing consciousness when he released her. He was sitting back on his pillow, as if he had never moved, and Rowan gasped, choking and struggling to breathe.

  “How much longer will it be, Rowan?” he asked, his tone conversational. “This is becoming ridiculous. Do I need to find another priestess for the job? You are not the only one who—”

  “No!” she cried, rubbing her throat vigorously. “Please!”

  He eyed her with icy eyes, their prisms hypnotic as they studied her face.

  “How can you be sure she will get it?” he asked. “It is quite a risk to take, no matter the price. Is she suicidal?”

  Rowan shook her head, rubbing her hands against her crushed larynx as she shifted her eyes away. She didn’t want him to see the fury in her eyes. “She is vindictive.”

  His eyebrows shot up. “She has a personal connection to Tobias?”

  Rowan stilled her anger and offered him a knowing smile.

  “A personal dislike,” she replied lightly. There was no reason for the demon to know about the child. It was the only leverage she had, the only way to gain the upper hand if she ever needed it. Rowan was nothing if not an opportunist.

  I may have lied to Sierra about the spell being in the book, but I did not lie about my desire to own the earthly underworld. There is a way to defeat the demons in that book, and I will find it. The underworld will be mine.

  “Ensure it is enough, Rowan. When will she get the Chasm?”

  Rowan reluctantly turned her eyes back toward him and held his gaze, debating how much of the plan she needed to tell him. “In two weeks, there is a gala at Tobias’ estate. She will be among the guests.”

  He nodded and smiled. “Very well. I have waited this long. A fortnight will not kill me.”

  Rowan rose and swallowed, smiling demurely at him. “Until next time.”

  She spun to leave, the sense of comfort she had felt upon entry completely diminished with the threat on her life. One day, they would have the world back the way it was, a realm where the Enchanted reigned without the mortals tainting everything they touched.

  First, she would employ Helios to help her achieve that reality, and then she would end all the demons once and for all, just as the Collingwoods had always intended.

  7

  Simone’s light eyes did not mask her concern as she jerked her head up from Aurora’s bedside. She raised a hand from the little girl’s forehead, her irises almost the color of onyx, they had darkened so intensely.

  “Her fever is out of control, Sierra. She’s too small to stay like this for much longer. Who knows what kind of damage all this is causing to her insides.”

  Sierra didn’t need to be told how badly her daughter was progressing. There was nothing she could do for the time being but ply the child with mortal medicines and continue with the spells she knew to keep her at bay. In three days, she would have the Chasm of Purity in her hands, and Rowan would fix the spell to make Aurora well.

  If she did not screw it up.

  “Let me talk to Theo about this,” Simone urged, rising from Aurora’s side. “Maybe there’s something Lane Aldwin can do—”

  “No! You can’t. Not now.”

  Simone eyed her warily. “I know you’re worried about what they’ll say, but this is Aurora’s life we’re talking about here.”

  It was clear that she found Sierra’s refusal disdainful, her mouth pulled in at the corners as she frowned. Of course, Simone knew nothing about the plan to save her daughter, and Sierra wasn’t about to enlighten her on the topic, not until it was all said and done. After she knew that Aurora was safe, she could let the story spill, and if Simone wanted to turn her in to the Council, so be it.

  “I’ll figure something else out,” Sierra muttered, darting her eyes away from Simone’s. She felt like her friend could read right through her, and it made her uncomfortable.

  She turned away from the door and ventured into the main part of the bungalow, leaving Aurora to sleep. She was beginning to feel like she never saw the girl awake anymore, and it unnerved her. She feared that one day, Aurora would simply slip off into slumber and never wake again. The girl remained steadily watched between her and Simone, but that did little to alleviate her distress.

  I have to go back to Rowan and see if she can concoct anything at all, even if it’s a Band-Aid effect. I only need three days, and I don’t know if Aurora has it left in her.

  “Sierra, what are you going to do? We can’t sit around and watch her die!” Simone growled. “You’re not thinking clearly!” The words made Sierra physically sick to hear aloud, despite having plagued her mind for weeks.

  “I am not sitting around and…” She couldn’t finish the sentence, her voice cracking as she slipped onto a wooden chair and buried her face in her hands, her silken tresses slipping over her fingers. “I’m thinking of a plan.”

  “I’m cal
ling Theo right now. No matter what, he’ll figure out a way to save Aurora.”

  I need to tell her what’s going on, or she’s going to go to Theo behind my back. Then Lane will get involved. I might still lose Aurora when this all comes out.

  “Sierra, say something. You’re acting—”

  “There is a spell,” Sierra interrupted, slowly raising her head but shifting her green eyes away from her best friend.

  “What?” she gasped. “What is it? Why didn’t you tell me about it before?”

  “I didn’t want to curse myself,” Sierra lied, not meeting Simone’s dubious expression. Her friend thought she was making it up.

  “What is it? How did you find it?” Simone demanded, and for a moment, Sierra considered blowing off the questions, but she knew that it would not serve her well to avoid the issue any longer. If anything happened to her while she was at Tobias’ mansion on Saturday night, Simone would need to take care of Aurora… for as long as her daughter would require such attention.

  Sierra swallowed the lump forming in her throat.

  Nothing is going to go wrong, she told herself, chewing on the insides of her cheeks. They were still tender from the earlier gnawing she had given them. You won’t get caught—you’re the best thief in Seattle, or Rowan would have had someone steal the Chasm a long time ago. She ignored the idea that Rowan had likely not known anyone as desperate as she was to steal the book before now.

  “Sierra! What do you have?” Simone insisted, her face suddenly appearing in front of hers. “What is this spell?”

  “In the Chasm of Purity, there is a spell,” Sierra started slowly. “Only a priestess can perform it, and it works on hybrid offspring.”

  Simone gaped at her, a half-smile forming on her lips, as if she expected Sierra to laugh and declare her words a joke.

  “The Chasm of Purity,” she echoed. “The Demon Bible.”

  “It applies to all the Enchanted,” Sierra replied quickly. Simone knew her too well, and even without reading her thoughts, her friend could sense something wasn’t adding up.

  “And how do you intend to get your hands on this?” There was still amused skepticism in Simone’s voice, but it was clear she was beginning to realize the sincerity of Sierra’s intentions.

  “Rowan has borrowed it in the past,” she offered. Simone immediately picked up on the hesitation in her tone.

  “But?”

  Sierra didn’t answer immediately. She knew once she told Simone what she had planned, her friend would do everything in her power to dissuade her. That was the reason she had not told her in the first place.

  Moreover, Simone didn’t know the truth about Aurora’s father, only that he was a bear shifter who had never called her again after a one-night stand. Simone had no reason to suspect that her former lover was Tobias Sutton of scandal fame, billionaire and alpha bear of one of the biggest packs in Washington. Sierra had no doubt what Simone would have done if she knew.

  After learning about her pregnancy, Sierra could no longer live in the dingy apartment in South Park. It was too dangerous for a child, and after she had decided that she wasn’t going to inform Tobias about his daughter, moving was her only option. It was not Aurora’s fault that her father was a cunning liar, and no matter how rich he may be, Sierra didn’t want his influence over her.

  She never stopped to ask herself if she was the pot or the kettle, being a renowned thief. It wasn’t as if she had lived a sinless life herself.

  During her pregnancy, she had upped her thieving game, taking on as many clients as she could and squirreling away enough money to move from seedy South Park to a middle-class neighborhood in Hawthorne Hills. After the birth of her baby, Rowan’s jobs became higher paying and enabled her to sustain herself and Aurora in relative comfort. Sierra bought a small house under a stolen alias and maintained a low-profile life.

  If Simone had learned about Tobias, she would have stormed into Sutton Industries, flashing bolts of lightning out of her nostrils, and demanded money for the child. She would never understand why Sierra preferred to do it on her own instead of getting Tobias to pay. She had a perfect life with Theo. She had found a good mate. She couldn’t possibly understand what her friend was going through.

  Of course, Sierra had considered doing the very same thing—stomping into the glass building and thrusting out her palm. That had been in the beginning, especially when the smoke cleared somewhat and she realized whom she had taken to bed that night.

  I was so stupid! He was wearing an outfit which cost more than I make in a year. You knew he was rich. How did you not put two and two together? But out of context, she’d had no reason to question who he was, even when he had been honest about his name. Sierra had just been too enraptured in the sensation, in the light of his cobalt blue eyes.

  In her anger, she had wanted to threaten him and scream at him, all the while pleading with him to explain why he had left her so abruptly and without reason.

  You have no one to blame but yourself, Sierra reminded herself. You foresaw that you had no future with him, and you blatantly ignored it. It was never going to be anything other than a one-night stand. You just took it too personally.

  In the end, Sierra knew that she needed to cut the idea of him from her mind, no matter how much he snuck back into her psyche at the oddest times.

  “Sierra, what is it? What are you going to do?” Simone growled. “I don’t like the look on your face.”

  Sierra inhaled shakily and finally met Simone’s eyes boldly.

  “I’m going to steal it,” she announced firmly. “And when I do, Rowan will enact a Shroud of Protection over Aurora.”

  Simone seemed frozen as she absorbed the comment.

  “You’re going to steal a Chasm?” she echoed. “Are you out of your mind?” The question was flat, and Simone’s blue eyes lost all their light as she stared, her expression blank.

  “Yes, I’m going to steal it, and no, I’m not out of my mind,” Sierra said. “And don’t try to talk me out of it, Simone. I will do anything for Aurora.”

  Simone studied her face for a long moment.

  “I don’t understand,” the brunette said slowly, beginning to stalk about, her long body shifting slightly to emulate a cat. “If the Chasm can be borrowed, and it is to save one of their own, why would you steal it, Sierra?”

  “Rowan wants it.”

  Simone’s eyes narrowed, and she shook her head.

  “Rowan is not the only high priestess.” Sierra gulped, realizing her mistake at once. “If she can borrow it, surely there are others who can, too.”

  “She’s a Collingwood witch,” Sierra offered quickly. “Aurora has Collingwood blood. It will make the spell stronger.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Simone argued. “I need to talk to Lane about this—”

  “NO! Dammit, Simone, I need you to leave the Council of Seven out of this! This is my problem, and I’ll deal with it.”

  Simone stared at her uncomprehendingly.

  “You are willing to get yourself killed for no reason whatsoever,” she continued. “That is foolish and uncharacteristic of you. Danger, you avoid. You would not put yourself in such a position without good reason. You promised me when you started with all these thefts that you wouldn’t put yourself in harm’s way. What if something happens to you? Who is going to watch out for Aurora?”

  Another pang of panic touched her heart, but Sierra refused to let it show on her face. “It’s happening, Simone. Just drop it.”

  Simone snorted contemptuously, folding her arms over her chest, and Sierra knew the matter was far from closed in her eyes. “Who has the Chasm?”

  Suddenly, Sierra wished she had not told Simone until the very last minute, but a small part of her had been aching to get the secret off her chest. Her life seemed to be spiraling out of control, and she needed an anchor.

  “It doesn’t matter. If I’m successful, you’ll find out soon enough. If I’m not, well, you’ll
hear about that, too.”

  “I can be your backup,” Simone snapped. “Don’t be a stubborn ass.”

  Sierra hung her head and sniffled slightly before looking back up at her friend.

  “You are going to be my backup,” she whispered. “I need you to take care of Aurora if things go awry.”

  The slap came without warning, and Sierra fell back against the chair, her eyes widening with shock.

  “You fool!” her friend screeched. “No one will be taking care of Aurora if things go awry! You can’t do this! Just ask whoever has the Chasm to borrow the damned book, and we’ll find another high priestess. Why are you fighting me on this?”

  Sierra’s hand reached to rub her face, and she choked back her indignation. Simone had every right to be concerned, to be fearful. The news was not uplifting, and the witch loved her and her pixie-faced daughter intrinsically. But she could not bring herself to tell Simone why she couldn’t ask to borrow the book, not without opening a resealed can of molding worms.

  “You’re afraid that you’ll lose her business if you refuse,” Simone spat, understanding overcoming her face. “You’re thinking about money at a time like this.”

  Shock consumed Sierra like fire, and she eyed Simone with hurt in her eyes.

  “If you think that’s the reason, you don’t know me at all,” she whispered, blinking back a sudden onset of tears.

  “Well, I can’t think of any other—” Simone abruptly stopped talking, and her pupils dilated. She inhaled deeply and tried again. “Who owns the Chasm, Sierra?”

  Shit. She’s onto me.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Sierra insisted, trying to stand from the sofa, but Simone pushed her down, her face inches from the bridge of her nose. She grabbed at Sierra’s shoulder and forced eye contact between them.

  “It’s Aurora’s father, isn’t it?” she muttered. “That’s what this is all about.” Sierra’s pale face turned opaque, but she didn’t respond, her eyes darting around in panic. She wanted to look anywhere but at Simone, yet her friend was relentless. “Who is it, Sierra?”