by C. L. Bright
“You’re the only friend my cousin has,” Dante remarked as I sat on the edge of the bed.
“Did she have friends before her arrest?” Somehow, it made me angrier to think that her friends had abandoned her.
His head cocked to the side as he thought before answering. “She spent time with a few witches, but I wouldn’t say they were friends. Our family tends to make friends when we’re young, but once we start training to hunt, everything changes. That’s about the time our friends take on a familiar and start their own training. It’s when the differences between us stand out more, and we’re also extremely busy.”
“That’s sad,” I replied.
“Do you have many friends?” he asked.
“Not many. I’ve been training to be the next ruler my entire life. Even when I didn’t realize that’s what I was doing, I was training. We’re just different. The young shapeshifters I spent time with were all told they had to be nice to me because of my position. I have a couple of friends who never cared about any of that.”
“That must have been hard. At least I had a short time where I didn’t realize I was different.”
I shrugged. It seemed that my situation was easier since I hadn’t lost any friends because of my role.
“Do spellcasters have more than one familiar?” I asked.
Dante took a bite of meat, and I suspected he was chewing extra slow to avoid responding.
“Why don’t you want to answer my question? I heard they can only have one, but why would you need to do so much hunting if that’s the case?”
Dante swallowed, and his expression turned grim. “Spellcasters only bond with one shapeshifter. There are some instances with stronger shapeshifters where the bonding process doesn’t work, and they’re returned to the marketplace. A spellcaster usually starts looking for a new familiar when their current one dies.”
“When they die,” I whispered. Shapeshifters didn’t live long as slaves. “I thought their lifeforce was joined with that of the spellcaster. Wouldn’t they both die?”
“That’s how it was before familiars became shapeshifters,” he explained. “Once they could take on a human form, they no longer shared a lifeforce with the spellcaster they were bound to. That’s probably part of the reason spellcasters don’t feel the same attachment to their familiars.”
“They don’t care if they drain them dry,” I muttered. “They plan to use up all their energy and then watch the shapeshifter die. How long do they live?”
Dante sighed. “Every situation is different.”
“I feel like I should stop asking you about this because it’s just going to upset me.”
“But it’s not in your nature to bury your head in the sand,” he finished for me. “You’re a curious cat like you said.” He frowned. “That makes it sound like silly curiosity. You want to understand everything around you. You thought about the plight of the rebel shapeshifters before you were in a position where you could be mistaken for one.”
“My father says there’s nothing we can do to help the rebels without endangering our people.”
“And what do you think?” he asked.
“I’ve never understood using the boundaries of the Heathergate Refuge to determine who’s one of us. My father says the rebels chose to break from us and refused to come to an agreement with the spellcasters.”
“But you disagree,” he stated.
“I think it may have happened that way, but they could have also been a sacrifice of sorts. Some of our earlier leaders were more ruthless. It’s possible they were never willing to welcome all the shapeshifters. They had to have given something in return for the protection spells around our home. Spellcasters wouldn’t have helped us unless there was something in it for them.”
“I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of outcast spellcasters having helped with the early spells,” he stated. “It’s also possible a bargain was made. At that time, the spellcasters in the area wouldn’t have likely made an agreement that allowed all shapeshifters their freedom. I doubt they were any less reliant on the extra power back then than they are now.”
“I suppose we’ll never know for sure,” I admitted. “Our histories all tell a different story. I’m sure the rebel shapeshifters don’t have it quite right either.”
“So, you’ve accepted that not everything you’ve heard about our history is true?” he asked as he studied me.
“I was already questioning that part of our history, so it’s been a little easier to accept that I may not have all the facts. That doesn’t mean I think your version is right.”
He nodded. “Both our versions likely have some truth to them. There are similarities, but I think they were both warped over the years. The perspective of the people recording our histories impacted how they viewed what happened.”
“I wonder what they’d think of us?” I asked. “A spellcaster hiding a shapeshifter in his room.”
“A shapeshifter saving a spellcaster,” he added.
“One could argue that I had no choice,” I reminded him. “What would have happened to me if you’d died?”
“Did you consider that when you saved me?”
I shook my head. “No, there wasn’t time to think about anything.”
Dante set his plate on the bedside table and laid down before holding out his arms for me. “Our story should be in the history books. Some sort of book, at least.”
I rested my head on his chest, and he wrapped his arms around me. “You’re going to start that star-crossed lovers nonsense, aren’t you?”
“You are my Juliet,” he whispered. “I’m falling hard for you. You’re everything I could have ever hoped to find in a witch, yet I can never be with you. Our families would never let that happen.”
“No one would let it happen,” I agreed with a sad smile.
Chapter 26
I felt surrounded by warmth as my eyes fluttered open.
The heat wasn’t coming from the light hitting the bed or the soft blanket I was nestled under. The heat came from the warlock holding me close.
I glanced over my shoulder and saw him watching me with hooded eyes.
“I wish I could keep you here forever,” he murmured. “I hate the thought of letting you leave.”
“This bed?” I asked with a smile.
“Yes,” he replied. “It’s the only place where we don’t have to deal with the rest of the world. Once we leave this room for breakfast, reality will intrude again. I feel better, so we need to have breakfast with my family and work on getting you home.”
I flashed him a sad smile. “I’m glad you’re feeling so much better, but I kind of wish we could avoid reality a little longer. Sadly, we don’t have any time to waste.”
“You’re right. As much as I’d love to find an excuse to get you to spend another day sequestered in here with me, it’s too dangerous.”
Serena pounded on the door and shouted, “Dante! Juliet! You need to come quickly. There’s a problem.”
I hurried to answer the door.
Serena clutched her knife in both hands, looking frazzled and somewhat wild.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
Dante was already across the room, looking just as concerned. “Did something happen?”
“It’s Nicolas,” she replied in a shaky voice. “Your father returned and heard about the nāga attack. He heard Nicolas’s version.”
“What did Nicolas say?” Dante asked.
“He’s come up with this wild conspiracy theory,” she replied. “According to him, Juliet somehow orchestrated your attack.”
“That’s ridiculous,” I replied with a laugh. “I put my own life at risk to save Dante. Why would I have wanted to put both of us in danger?”
“It’s an insane accusation,” Dante spat out. “No one could believe that.”
“That’s what I said,” she whispered. “Nicolas used my defense of Juliet as proof she could be working against us.”
“Proof
?” I demanded. “How is that proof?”
“Nicolas thinks I’m a traitor to our kind. Everyone does,” she explained. “By his reasoning, my defense of you makes you guilty by association.”
“Not everyone sees you as a traitor,” Dante said softly.
“Most do, and they’re right. I am a traitor to my kind.” She held up her hand when Dante started to speak. “We need to focus on the situation with Juliet. It might be best if you go home, Juliet. Nicolas is determined to make people believe you tried to kill Dante. He will convince them. He always wins.”
I hated the defeat in Serena's voice.
“Juliet can’t leave yet,” Dante replied. “She’ll leave soon, but don’t tell Nicolas. I don’t want him to think he has to rush his timeline for framing her.”
“Maybe he doesn’t plan to frame me,” I stated. “It would be hard to prove I was behind Dante’s attack. Nāgas aren’t pets that can be trained to attack on command. We can’t even communicate with them.”
“I’m sure he’s arguing that you already knew they were there.” Dante sounded frustrated. “My brother always has a good story to back up any accusations he makes. It’s why he’s so good at causing problems for everyone.”
“You’re also a stranger here, so a lot of spellcasters will be less inclined to trust you,” Serena added. “I know you want to be with her, Dante, but you can’t. It’s too dangerous. Maybe you can stay with her people. They might be more accepting.”
Dante’s smile was sad at yet another reminder of why we couldn’t be together. “We’ll get Juliet out of here soon. I know Nicolas is dangerous, and I’m not about to underestimate him.”
Serena shook her head. “If you truly knew how dangerous Nicolas is, you wouldn’t walk around here unarmed.”
She hurried out of the room without waiting for a response.
“Promise me something,” I whispered.
He stepped closer and cradled my cheek with one hand as the other went to my shoulder. “Anything.”
I smiled and shook my head as I stepped back. “You can’t promise to do anything until you know what’s being asked of you.”
He caught my hand and brought it to his lips. “I have no problem promising you anything, Juliet. Now, tell me what you want from me.”
“Promise you’ll find a way to keep Nicolas from hurting Serena again. If you can’t make me that promise, I’m going to kill him before I leave.”
Dante showed no surprise at my threat. “I promise I’ll find a way to protect Serena from Nicolas.”
I nodded, satisfied that he would keep to his word. “I’m starving, and I’m sure your family has a million questions now that Nicolas has accused me of trying to murder you, so we should get ready to head downstairs.”
“You’re right,” Dante agreed. “My father will be waiting for us, and if we don’t come down soon, he’ll come up here. Let’s at least meet him looking like we didn’t just roll out of bed.”
“Yes, I don’t need to add to the bad impression he probably already has of me,” I muttered.
“And I don’t need to go down there smelling like this,” he said as he sniffed his underarm and made a face.
“You should definitely shower,” I agreed. “Shapeshifters have very sensitive noses.”
“So, I really stink?” he asked.
“It’s almost unbearable,” I lied, surprised that I hadn’t noticed his smell while cradled in his arms.
“I’ll go shower now. We’ll try to leave the house right after breakfast,” he stated. “Serena is right about the danger Nicolas poses to you. I need to figure out how to get you a bracelet so you can return home.”
Chapter 27
I lost hope of Dante’s father not believing Nicolas the moment I saw the cold glint in his eyes. He’d given us just enough time to fill our plates for breakfast before interrogating us.
When Dante answered every question for me, his father’s irritation grew.
Nicolas remained silent as he leaned back in his chair, watching my reaction with a smirk.
Dante looked ready to snap after about fifteen minutes of questions about how we’d met and the circumstances surrounding the nāga attack.
“I don’t know what you’ve heard from Nicolas, but Juliet saved my life.”
“That was convenient.” His father’s attention shifted to me. “I hear you were out alone the day my son brought you back here.”
“Yes.”
He continued after a short pause when I said nothing further. “A witch who’s allowed to wander alone could also know where to find nāgas.”
“She doesn’t normally go out alone,” Dante practically growled. “This was just to meet me.”
“That’s what she claims,” his father stated.
“This is a ridiculous argument,” Dante snapped. “Nicolas is trying to stir up trouble. The risk to Juliet was too great for her to have tried setting this up. The nāgas could have just as easily attacked her. I’m also the one who chose to take her there. She didn’t pick the spot. Stop harassing her.”
His father didn’t respond right away, but I watched as his anger faded some and gave way to worry.
“You nearly died, and I will not ignore any possible threats to you. Give me one good reason Nicolas would make up a story like this.”
“He’s jealous,” Dante replied. “As far as Nicolas is concerned, I’m taking all the attention away from him by being injured.”
“I also stood up to him when he threatened Serena, and it made him angry,” I added, “He goes out of his way to torment her.”
“Serena is a criminal,” Dante’s father bit out. “Were it not for Nicolas’s intervention, she’d be dead. He stood up for her because she’s an unwell child and has always had issues with reality. You must have seen that for yourself. What normal person walks around with a knife at all times? I haven’t seen her put it down in years. You have no right to question my son’s actions when you don’t know what’s going on.” He glared at Dante. “Even you don’t know everything.”
“I have a pretty good idea,” Dante stated. “I used to say Nicolas isn’t a monster and mostly ignored Serena’s behavior since she was attacked.”
“She had issues even before the attack,” his father added. “The attack drove her the rest of the way over the edge, but she was always a strange girl.”
I didn’t know if Dante was trying to steer the topic of the conversation away from me or he was finally fed up with his brother.
“Other than Nicolas, who was with Serena when she was attacked?” Dante demanded. “I never heard the whole story from anyone, but there are some strange details about that day. After the attack, she kept begging Nicolas to make it stop. Everyone said that was only because Nicolas rescued her. I’m not sure I believe that, and Serena never talks about the attack.”
“Stop with these ridiculous accusations!” his father roared. “We’re here to discuss Juliet. Why did you bring her here?”
Dante’s gaze locked with mine. “I’m falling in love with her.” He cleared his throat before continuing in a more matter-of-fact tone. “As I told you the day she arrived, her magic seems compatible with mine, and she would be a good match for me.”
Tears burned the backs of my eyes as emotion washed over me. “I’m falling for you, too, Dante. I was terrified when I thought I might lose you.”
His father remained silent, and after a few heartbeats, I looked his way. He didn’t look happy, but he no longer looked angry. There was still an underlying note of distrust.
“My son cares very much for you,” he began thoughtfully. “Whether you genuinely return those feelings or are just a very good actress, I’m not sure. I will not allow you to bind your magic with Dante’s unless I trust you. We’ll continue this discussion later. I have work to do. Let’s go, Nicolas.”
They stood and stalked out of the room. I heard their boots tapping a furious beat across the marble floor right outside the dining room.
“It could have also gone better,” I replied as I looked down at my food. “I was starving when we headed down here.”
“My father has a way of spoiling appetites when he’s angry,” he muttered. “We should try to eat a little and then head out. We both need to keep our strength up.”
Dante was right, so I began picking at my cold breakfast.
“Do you want me to see if we can get something fresher or warm this up?” Dante asked.
“Nah,” I replied. “Nothing sounds good. If you want to grab something else, go ahead. I’m going to try to force this down.”
Dante nodded and started eating.
“I wish we didn’t have so much to get done. I’d love to be surrounded by nature for a few hours. There’s this driving need to be outside among the trees, more than I normally feel. It could just be that I’ve been inside too long. I’m not used to being cooped up, but I wonder if my connection to you is also increasing my need.”
“Connection?” Nicolas asked as he reentered the room from a different door. “What connection would that be, Dante?”
“She’s meant to be my witch,” Dante replied as he glared at Nicolas. “I thought you were going out.”
Nicolas shrugged. “I am, but I don’t have as far to travel today, so I have a little more time.”
“But that’s not why you stayed behind,” Dante accused.
Nicolas smirked. “What other reason could I have for staying behind?”
“Enough,” Dante snapped. “I’m tired of your games and backstabbing.”
Nicolas’s eyes narrowed as he glared at Dante. “I wonder what you say behind my back. After hearing what you’ll say in front of me, it must be pretty bad. Is that what you think of me? Do you really consider me some kind of monster who would torture our cousin? Do you believe all that stuff you told Father about me?”
Dante hesitated.
Nicolas sounded convincing, making me wonder if he believed his own lies.
Nicolas grinned. “See? You already know Serena would be dead if it weren’t for me. I’ve always protected her.”