by Sierra Cross
“Hear, hear,” Asher said. “Well done, witch.”
Matt smiled at me, like he was proud. I couldn’t help it; I drank it in. I wondered if he was able to look beyond doctrine and accept who he was, would he be able to accept what existed between us?
Matt held open the thick plastic that served as a door to our trashed Air B&B. I should’ve negotiated more money from the vamps to pay for all the damage the Fidei—and our coven—had done to this place. I’d put figuring that out on the list for tomorrow. We warded it so it was safer than the solid door and flimsy lock that were there before.
He stepped in behind me, so close I could feel his chest move as he took a breath. We surveyed the damage for a moment.
“I don’t suppose we could sue them in magicborn court?” I ventured.
“No, but we can apply for the Fidei Recompense Fund.” His words were barely breath, warm against the back of my neck. “It’s designed for this sort of thing.” He was trying to keep his words measured, rational, but I could tell it was a front.
I slowly turned into him, butterflies going wild in my belly. Would he step away? I couldn’t be the one to reach out. It had to be him this time. Looking into his eyes, our bodies weren’t even an inch apart. We shared the same air.
“I almost lost you.” He rubbed my shoulder with his warm palm. “But you saved yourself. You’re so brave, Alexandra. You have it in you to become an amazing coven leader. It’s a beautiful thing to behold. Like your unique magic. And…like you.”
My blood was pounding in my ears, heat rising at my center. I couldn’t form words. Was this really happening? Was Matt admitting his feelings for me—what about his vow?
“Alexandra.” He said my name like a prayer, slipping his big hands around the small of my back, pulling me into him. His lips met mine and a groan of pleasure escaped me. His kiss became more urgent. Our bodies met, hard to soft, heat to heat.
My hands couldn’t get enough of touching his skin. I slipped them under his shirt, running my fingers across his abdomen. He sucked in a sharp breath. Emboldened, I lifted the hem of his T-shirt. He had to bend down so I could pull it over his head. Our lips crashed together again and my hands roamed over his hard pecs, carefully working around his tattoo.
His big arms lifted me like I was nothing, and he carried me into the bedroom. He set me on the bed as gently as if I were made of glass. Then he knelt over me, looking down on me, needing me in this moment as much or more than I needed him. I felt his desire for me rolling off him in waves. His breath was fast and his body shuddered as he dove down on me, his big knee between my thighs. “Alexandra.” He grunted my name.
While barely breaking contact with my body, he pulled my shirt over my head. Our hips met, rocking in a syncopated rhythm that promised ecstasy. My breath came in short pants.
As if he’d received an electric shock, Matt suddenly pulled back. “I can’t.” Our legs were still tangled, but he sat up on his knees looking down at me. “I can’t do this to you. What I am. It’s not right—” A wave of disgust overtook him.
“So what. You’re an Amalgam.” I said it as lightly as I could but I could see his self-loathing grew in his eyes. “I’ll tell you what else you are. You’re my guardian. A warrior for right. You’re the man I—” I stopped myself. There was a word I wanted to say, but instinctively I knew he wasn’t ready to hear it. How could he not see how beautiful he was, from the inside out? “The man I trust with my life,” I finished instead.
He hissed at my last words. “Everything you went through at the cave, acting against your own beliefs,” he said. “It reminded me. That can happen to me at any time, without my touching an evil amulet. I’m like a ticking time bomb. The evil’s inside me. When there’s an unholy union—”
“There is nothing unholy about you.” I sat up and took his face in my hands. “You are a pure soul.”
“No, I’m a man who suppresses his wicked desires. But it can’t last. Lately I can feel my resolve weakening—giving in… I won’t put you in danger any longer,” he said. “It’s only a matter of time before I turn evil.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“I can’t risk your life. Or anyone else’s.” He pulled his face from between my hands and headed back to the living room.
“Matt, please…” I said. Please what? Please stay with me? Please reject the prejudice that you’ve been fed your whole life because I have a gut feeling?
“I shouldn’t exist.”
“Don’t leave like this,” I pleaded. “You’re scaring me.”
“I’m just going to get some air.” He smiled sadly, leaned in and kissed me. And rather than heat, this kiss was filled with goodbye.
And then he was gone, and I was left standing in the middle of the destroyed living room, tears streaming down my face, half naked with the scent of him lingering on my skin.
The sun refused to make an appearance. Heavy clouds let loose sheets of rain, mirroring my mood. Matt didn’t come back. Every creek or bump I waited for the door to open. The ghost of his last kiss lingered on my lips.
A farewell kiss.
My sleep was Swiss cheese. Awake being the cheese, sleep being the holes. I kept replaying the conversation with him, changing the words. What could I have said to convince him? Near dawn, I realized, nothing. I could never change his core beliefs with words.
I pulled my Honda into the visitor’s lot at Millennium Dynamics and marched to the front desk.
After a few minutes, Callie came to the security door, bringing her own special brand of dark, prickly magic with her. Her perky face was almost more than I could bear. When the elevator door closed, I looked into those twinkling eyes, “Callie, are you in there? If you are, give me a sign.”
“Silly.” Callie squinted at me, scrunching up her adorable pixie face. “What the heck are you talking about?” She laughed me off. I stared at her face, looking for any hint that Liv’s theory was right. Cold, mirthless eyes stared back at me. “I’ve never been closer to reaching my highest potential.”
Was that my answer? Was this the only Callie that remained?
Dark Callie chattered on about the career path my aunt had laid out for her the rest of the way to Aunt Jenn’s office. I was relieved when she headed back to her own desk.
“Twice in one week.” Aunt Jenn whipped off her designer reading glasses, not bothering to hide her delighted smirk. “Will you be coming ’round for brunch on Sunday too?”
“Yeah, and I’m going to sell my knife collection and take up quilting too.” Normally it would have stung to be reminded of how close, how normal, Aunt Jenn and I used to be. Now all I could think of was Matt. “But I do need your help with something.”
“Happy to help, but I’m confused.” She furrowed her brow and set the glasses down in front of her keyboard. “I heard you and your coven were cleared.”
Wow. Word traveled fast. “I’m not here about that.”
“Reconsidering my offer?” she said.
“Definitely not that.” Though I did miss her spinach quiche.
“Okay, enlighten me.”
“Remember that story you told me about your Fidei friend? The scientist who worked with Amalgams?”
“Of course I remember,” she snapped, like, get to the point.
“You said mals and Omnis and other deviants aren’t actually evil. That it’s all a conspiracy against them. Was that true, or did you make it up?” I wasn’t stupid. I knew she’d only told me that story to show me the magicborn leadership was archaic and corrupt. Priming me to flip to the dark side. But I also knew those innocent Omni children didn’t deserve to be shunned, hated, hunted down.
Neither did Matt.
“Yes, it was true.” Aunt Jenn sighed and looked into my eyes, that knowing auntly gaze that I once believed could see into my very soul. Maybe she could. But she’d never let me see into hers. “What is this all about, honey?”
Don’t call me honey. You are a dark witch. You�
�ve lied to me so many times. Please don’t be lying now; I need this too much.
“I need your help, Aunt Jenn,” I whispered, willing the tears to stay behind my eyes.
I felt it in my bones: Matt was in danger. He was having a crisis of faith, and since his whole life was based on truth and faith, this put him in peril. I didn’t know how, but I was going to find a way to help him see his malformed magic as beautiful. Just like he’d done for me.
And I needed to do it fast. Before Matt did something none of us could undo.
I hope you enjoyed book two in my Coven of Fire series. You can learn more about me and my books by stopping by my website. Drop me a line on email or tweet me at @sierracrossbook
“Laced with magic and a touch of romance, and enhanced by a truly creepy setting, this is an intriguing mystery. Give this one to teens who want something other than the typical supernatural romance.” (School Library Journal)
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Once again, thanks from the bottom of my heart to all of my Beta Readers. This book is stronger because of your invaluable insights. Go Team Coven!
Crystal McKegney
Amanda Hobson
Teri Hicks
Kayleigh Cook
Charlotte Curtis
Jessica Kristine Gilbert
Shira E. Schneider
Kryste Herring
Karla Kelley
Kathleen James
Michelle Jones
Deborah Eyre
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Glossary of Terms
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
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About the Author
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Acknowledgments