by C. L. Bright
I moved closer to Dante and wrapped my arms around his waist. “It’s safer for you if we go our separate ways.”
I still worried his excuse about me leaving would ring untrue with his father or Nicolas, but Laranissa and Ambrose would defend Dante. They knew I was leaving, just not when.
He held me tightly. “I’m not going to be okay with you going that far alone. Please, don’t argue. I have to know you’re safe, or I’ll forever be worried something happened to you.”
The door slammed open, and Nicolas stalked into the room before I could reply.
“What are you doing here?” Dante demanded as he spun and glared at Nicolas.
“Is that any way to greet your brother?” Nicolas asked with a taunting smile as he closed the door behind him. “I came by to have a word with you and your little pet.”
Unease crept up my spine.
Dante ignored his taunt. “The door was locked. How did you get in here?”
Nicolas waved a small orb hanging from a ring on his index finger. “I recently acquired this spell that grants me entrance to every room in this wing. Someone needs to be able to enter in case there’s trouble, like you being trapped in here with a dangerous rebel.”
“Do you have a lot of rebels break into your home?” I did my best to sound bored.
“It seems they don’t need to break in,” Nicolas’s smug grin widened. “I just got back from the Tulurgate Peninsula, where I had a very enlightening conversation with the head of the Shadow Walker family. You might have the Shadow Walker eyes, but you’re nothing more than a dirty, rebel familiar.”
“A familiar?” Dante scoffed. “That’s crazy. Even if you were right about Juliet not being a Shadow Walker, what could possibly make you think she’s a familiar?”
Nicolas stepped closer, still looking smug as he whispered, “I intentionally touched her magic when I brushed up against her yesterday. It felt strange, and I couldn’t place it at first. Something was off, so I went to the Tulurgate Peninsula.”
“Really?” Dante asked with his arms crossed in front of his chest. “You drained yourself of enough energy to test her magic, and then you went to the Tulurgate Peninsula on the same day? That’s as believable as your claim that Juliet is a familiar. Look at her? Does she look like a familiar?”
Nicolas sneered at me. “She looks and acts like a filthy stray.”
Dante’s fist connected with Nicolas’s chin, knocking him to the ground. “Apologize!”
Nicolas got to his feet, smirking as he wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.
“That was a stupid move, little brother. All it will take is one call to Father, and your pet will be in a cage while you’re locked up until your trial. If you want to keep her safe, I suggest you start negotiating, that is, unless you’re done with her. I’ll take her off your hands if you don’t want her anymore.”
Nicolas wasn’t bluffing; he knew what I was. I could deny his accusations, but it would do me no good. If I got hit with the right spell, I’d turn into a cat. I was surprised Nicolas hadn’t already used that spell on me. I didn’t know if he wanted to toy with us first or if he genuinely wanted to negotiate with Dante.
“What do you want?” Dante demanded.
“What do I want?” Nicolas asked with a hand under his chin. “I should turn you both in. Scratch that. I should kill your pet and then turn you in, but I can see her appeal.”
When he stepped toward me, Dante blocked his path. “Don’t go anywhere near her.”
Nicolas chuckled. “Do you think you’re in a position to make threats? I hold all the cards.”
“And you plan to turn me in,” I stated. “You just want to play some twisted game with us before you make your move.”
“Not true,” Nicolas insisted with a shake of his head. “I’m sure we can come to some sort of agreement. You’re an intriguing creature, Juliet. I see why my brother wants to keep you as a pet. You even saved him when you had no reason to do so.”
“So, you’ve moved past your ridiculous conspiracy theory about Juliet trying to kill me?” Dante asked.
Rather than responding, he asked, “Why did you stay? Why not let the nāga kill Dante?”
“He doesn’t deserve to die,” I replied.
“And you like him,” Nicolas added.
“Yes,” I admitted. “I like Dante.”
“But not me?” He waited for me to respond, continuing when I remained silent. “I’m likable.”
Nicolas once again tried to move around Dante. This time when Dante blocked him, he frowned.
“What’s wrong, Dante? Are you afraid I’ll break your pet? Play too rough with her?”
“She’s not a toy,” Dante snarled.
“She’s whatever I say she is,” Nicolas hissed. “Either that or I can kill her. The choice is yours.”
“I’d rather die,” I told Nicolas.
He grinned. “Fine, but that won’t change anything.” His attention shifted to Dante. “You’re confined to this room until I arrange for guards to take you away. Your pet is coming with me.”
He took a step toward me as Dante moved to stop him again. This time, Nicolas pulled something from his pocket, and when he pressed it to Dante’s skin, it sent Dante flying back.
The door flew open, and Serena raced into the room. “Don’t go anywhere near Juliet!”
Nicolas spun to face her; his voice filled with rage. “Why are you defending this mutt?”
“Don’t call her that!” Serena shouted.
“That’s right,” Nicolas began. “You don’t know that she’s been playing you for a fool, do you? You still think she’s a witch and that she cares about you. Get out of here, Serena, or you’ll regret getting involved.”
“I know what she is,” Serena whispered. “I’ve known since shortly after she got here, and I’m not going to let you hurt her.”
“You weak, sniveling excuse for a witch,” he snarled as he stalked toward her. “There’s nothing you can do to stop me.”
With his attention on Serena, I picked up a table lamp and stepped closer.
Dante got to his feet and moved toward Nicolas.
Serena slashed Nicolas with her knife. Expecting her to cower as she always did, Nicolas didn’t jump back quickly enough to completely avoid the blade. It didn’t go deep as it sliced across his belly, but it was a good distraction.
As Nicolas howled in pain, I smashed the lamp over the back of his head just as Dante hit him with a blast of magic.
Chapter 36
We all stared down at Nicolas’s crumpled form in shocked silence for several heartbeats.
“Do you think he’s dead?” I asked in a shaky voice.
Dante shook his head. “No, and this won’t keep him out for long. We should go now. We need to be out of Azuredale before my brother wakes up.”
“My bracelet. We need to pick it up.”
“I’ll have to figure out how to get it from Torrent another time.” Dante continued when I started to argue. “If we go there, someone will see us, and Torrent will get in a lot of trouble.”
“Dante is right,” Serena agreed. “You need to go.”
“Thank you for helping us, Serena,” Dante told her.
“This will make things worse for you,” I added.
“They’ll kill me,” she whispered before clearing her throat and speaking in a more confident voice. “I don’t regret helping you. You’re my friend, Juliet. I had to do something. Sorry it took me so long to get up here. When I heard Nicolas on the phone telling someone he had big news about you, I suspected there was trouble, but I was afraid.”
“It’s fine,” I assured her. “I was terrified—still am terrified. Are you really okay with me being a shapeshifter?”
She nodded. “Knowing hasn’t changed how I feel about you. You’ve been kind to me and Dante. I’ll try to find a way to delay the hunt for you. Maybe I can make sure Nicolas stays unconscious longer.”
Dante shook his hea
d. “I’m not leaving you here. You’re right about them killing you for this. I won’t let that happen.”
“We should kill Nicolas,” I suggested. “I know he’s your brother, but it’s the only way to keep everyone safe. Maybe we can find a way to hide his body and still pick up my bracelet.”
“That will make this worse,” Serena argued. "I’m sure he already told someone what you are, Juliet. Even if he didn’t, the Shadow Walkers know he was asking about you. If Nicolas disappears, everyone will know he was killed. Dante will receive an automatic death sentence if Nicolas dies.”
Dante looked over at his brother, and I saw the struggle on his face. He knew his brother was a threat as long as he lived, but he didn’t want to kill him.
“There’s no time to dispose of a body,” Serena argued. “It will just use up valuable time you need to escape.”
I nodded. “We don’t have time. You can’t stay here.”
“I can’t leave.” Serena pointed to the cuff on her ankle. “The spell keeps me confined to the house.”
“I have a plan for that,” Dante assured her. “For now, I need you to gather up anything you absolutely have to take with you. Hurry.”
Serena nodded and ran from the room.
“Where can she go?” I asked Dante. “Is there a place for a spellcaster to hide? You both need to hide.” He didn’t respond. “You don’t know where we’re going.”
“I know where you’re going,” he replied. “We have to find Alaric, and then we have to convince him to keep Serena safe. The way I see it, he owes me.”
“Why didn’t you mention yourself in this plan?”
He looked away.
“You’re not planning to come with us,” I accused.
“I need to find a way to get the bracelet from Torrent, or you won’t be able to go home.”
“And how are you going to do that if you’re locked away or dead?” I demanded.
“I’ll find a way,” he insisted.
“No.” I shook my head wildly. “I’ll find a different way to get back to my people. Maybe you can get a message to Torrent and have him meet you somewhere. You can’t come back here once we leave. It’s not safe.”
Dante blew out a frustrated breath and nodded. “Fine. We can ask Alaric if the rebels will also provide shelter for me, but Serena has to go with you if it’s between me and her. It will be hard enough getting them to take in someone from a hunter family, even if one of them saved Alaric’s life.”
I didn’t like the idea of Dante being refused help, but we’d cross that bridge when we reached it. “How are we going to get Serena out of here?”
Dante looked down at his brother and smiled. “I’m going to temporarily disrupt the spell on her cuff so I can transfer it to Nicolas. I’m also going to drug him to give us a little more time to escape.”
“Do you think this will work?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “If you have any ideas, I’m willing to listen. For now, I need you to help me tie up my brother before Serena gets back.”
“All right,” I agreed, hoping we’d make it out of this mess alive.
Chapter 37
Our escape was going better than expected. Not knowing how much Nicolas had revealed to others, I worried there might be guards at the gate to prevent us from leaving.
A warlock did stop us at the gate, but just to ask if Dante was back on the hunting rotation. When Dante mentioned taking a more extended leave to stay with me at the Tulurgate Peninsula, the warlock further delayed us by telling us about how he’d met his own witch.
Dante kept his voice light, not showing an ounce of apprehension as he tried to wrap up the conversation.
I felt less patient and contributed very little to the conversation, which the overly chatty warlock didn’t seem to notice.
Finally, he got called away, and we were able to leave.
As Dante drove the truck through the front gate, I breathed a sigh of relief.
“I didn’t think he’d ever stop talking.”
“Neither did I,” Dante admitted. “I was a little worried he was trying to delay us at the gate until reinforcements arrived.”
“Are you sure Serena is okay in that trunk?” I asked.
Serena was hidden in a trunk in the back of the truck. It wasn’t all that big, and I’d have been in a panic after only a few minutes locked in there.
Shapeshifters didn’t do well in small, enclosed spaces.
“I’m sure she’s fine,” Dante replied. “Serena has a lot of fears, but she’s not afraid of enclosed spaces.”
“Good,” I replied quietly.
We both lapsed into silence.
I’d have expected my tension to ease the farther we got from Azuredale, but that wasn’t the case. Even if we found Alaric, I wasn’t sure we’d be safe. If he’d changed his mind about offering help, or if he was only willing to help me, then we’d need to find another place to go.
Where else could we go?
I also still worried Azureans would catch up with us.
It took about forty-five minutes to reach the spot where we hoped to find Alaric. It wasn’t exactly where we’d dropped him off, but Dante said it was as close as we could get because of that day’s hunting schedule.
Dante parked, and we got out before going around the back to remove the trunk.
“We’re here,” he announced as he opened the lid and reached out a hand to help Serena out of the trunk.
“Where is here?” she asked.
“Hopefully, where we’ll meet a shapeshifter willing to help us,” I replied. “When we rescued him, he promised his help if I needed it.”
Serena smiled at Dante. “You didn’t kill the wolf?”
“No,” he replied. “Juliet is making me see the world differently. The others will say she’s making me soft.”
“Compassion isn’t a weakness,” I argued.
“How long do you think it will be before the shapeshifter finds us?” Serena asked.
Dante shrugged. “I’m not convinced he will.”
“He seemed certain he’d find me,” I reminded him. “There has to be a reason he felt so sure.”
“It’s possible he was lying,” Serena suggested.
“Yes, that’s always possible,” Dante agreed.
About half an hour later, I was beginning to give up hope that Alaric would find me when I finally heard footsteps.
“Someone’s coming,” I whispered. “It sounds like only one person.”
We all turned, prepared to fight.
Alaric emerged from the woods dressed in cargo shorts with no shirt or shoes.
The rebels, for all their hatred of spellcasters, must have worked with at least one. There was no other explanation for how easy it had been for Alaric to find us. Security cameras wouldn’t have gone unnoticed by the hunters. The rebels had to have some sort of spell to tell them when anyone was in their area.
“You’ve brought two spellcasters with you this time. Why?” he asked.
“We need your help,” I explained. “You said I could come to you for help.”
“Yes,” Alaric agreed. “I said you could come to me for help. I made no offer of help to any spellcasters. Are they just dropping you off? ”
“No, they also need your help. Dante saved your life,” I reminded him. “He risked a lot for you.”
Alaric shook his head. “He risked a lot for you. Had you not been part of the equation, I’d be dead, but you’re right about me owing him. Regardless of his motivation, I’m alive and free because of him.”
His gaze shifted to Serena, and he studied her carefully as he prowled closer.
Dante moved protectively in front of Serena. “Don’t try to intimidate her.”
Alaric raised an eyebrow. “If I wanted to intimidate her, I’d try looking scary. There’s something familiar about her.”
Serena moved to Dante’s side, earning her a scowl from her cousin. “We haven’t met before.”
“No, we haven’t,” Alaric agreed. “Yet, you still seem familiar. What’s your name?”
“Serena,” she replied without looking away.
His eyes widened. “The witch who tried rescuing the cub?”
“How did you hear about that?” Dante asked with narrowed eyes. “Have you met my cousin before?”
Alaric shook his head. “No, this is our first meeting. I heard about Serena’s heroic act during my short time in Azuredale.”
Serena swallowed hard. “It was more foolish than heroic. I wanted to help the boy, but I failed and made everything worse.”
“Did you know you were making it worse?” Alaric asked. “Was that what you hoped for?”
“What kind of question is that?” Dante demanded.
“One she needs to ask herself,” Alaric told him, not looking away from Serena. “You wanted to help the cub, and you risked your safety to do so. I’m sure the Azureans didn’t react well to what you did. You were punished, right?”
Serena’s face flushed. “Let’s not talk about what happened to me.”
Alaric nodded. “All right. I’ll gladly help you, Serena.”
“That’s good to hear,” I interrupted. “We need a place to hide. A very dangerous warlock is going to come looking for us. He found out what I am.”
“It was bound to happen eventually,” Alaric remarked.
“We were hoping for more time,” Dante explained. “We came close to getting Juliet a bracelet. All we needed was a few more hours, and she would have been on her way home.”
Alaric looked frustrated as he ran his fingers through his hair. “And now you want me to convince my people to take in a strange shapeshifter and two hunters?”
“You already said you’d help,” I reminded him.
“I want to,” he assured me. “I’m not sure I can convince them to help all of you. We don’t trust spellcasters, and with good reason.”
“It’s most important that they help Serena and Juliet,” Dante announced.
My eyes narrowed as I glared at him. “We already discussed this, and you’re staying with us.”