by L. Danvers
The seconds stretched on for what felt like an eternity, but then her eyes fluttered open as she gasped for air. Tears streamed down her cheeks, the salty liquid mixing with the blood. “The glass,” she cried out, writhing, “it hurts.”
Of course. Hurriedly, I searched her body for shards of broken glass that had been lodged into her flesh, apologizing profusely as I plucked each one out of her. Grace was as tough as nails, but broken glass hurt no matter how strong you were. She moaned, tossing and turning and flinching. I did my best to calm her, but to little effect. She was crying harder now, and I started to wonder if it was really because of the glass after all.
“Here,” I said, offering her more blood. She took my wrist in her hands and pulled it to her mouth, drinking hard as she whimpered.
With my free hand, I brushed her blood-soaked hair away from her face. Using my thumb, I wiped away the blood and dirt from her cheeks while she drank.
Finally, her head fell back to the ground. She looked defeated.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
She slipped her hand into mine as her eyes turned into half-moons. Tears spilled out of them, and she sat up, now throwing her arms around my neck as she sobbed heavily.
“Grace?” I asked, unsure of what to do or say.
“My memories are back,” she said, trembling. “I’m so sorry, Xander.” She pulled away, and I realized her lips were quivering. I’d never seen this side of her. I’d never seen her look so broken.
I placed my palm on her cheek, hardly believing what she was saying was true. “There’s nothing to be sorry for. It was Nick, wasn’t it? He put the Albrights up to this.”
She shook her head. “No, you don’t understand. That’s not my brother.”
I looked back over my shoulder, even though the compound was far out of sight. Then, I looked back at her. “I’m not following.”
“It was Reed all along,” she said between sobs. And then she told me everything.
Grace
“There,” I said as my arms fell to my side, the remnants of the magic I’d used still tingling my fingertips. As soon as we’d returned to Ben’s house, I’d figured it’d be smart to create a boundary similar to the one the Carlisle witches had put up around his home. One that would keep any unwanted supernaturals out. “That should do it.”
Ben wiped his brow, still bloodied and bruised from the events of the evening. He was sitting on the couch since his favorite La-Z-Boy recliner had been destroyed the other night. Fangs was in his lap, licking at his wounds and whining in concern. He ruffled the creamy curled fur on top of her head. “It’s okay, girl.” She nuzzled her face against his chest and relaxed as he continued to love on her. “Here,” he said to her, rising to stand. “You deserve some fun tonight. You want to play fetch? Where’s your ball?”
Fangs barked and leaped from the couch. She scrambled around the corner, sliding on the wooden floor as she did so. She quickly returned from the hall with her tennis ball in tow, and Ben led her to the backyard.
Xander finished downing his third bottle of the “red drink”—Ben always kept some handy—and crossed the room to meet me where I stood. He dropped his head to look at me. With a tug at the corner of his lips, he said, “It’s good to have you back, Grace.”
I looked into his dark brown eyes, hardened after centuries of anger and loss and regret, and yet somehow gentle all at the same time. I hugged my arms around myself, feigning a chill even thought I wasn’t really cold. “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
I drew my lower lip between my teeth, searching for the right way to phrase this. “What happened back in New York? I remember the attack now, of course. I mean before that.”
His chest rose and fell, and he glanced up for a second before looking back at me. “I never should have picked that fight with you. It’s just... it’s hard wanting something so badly and feeling like you can never have it.” He paused, and the way he was looking at me made me wonder if he was referring to the faerie dust, or me. Squaring his shoulders back, he continued, “I was being stupid and irrational. You were right all along. And now that we know what Reed’s up to, we have to find a way to stop him.”
I pressed my lips together and nodded. “Of course. And those magical objects...”
“We won’t stop until we track down each and every one of them. We now know Reed wasn’t working alone, and who’s to say Sofia Albright is his only ally?”
“I can run tracking spells on the objects,” I offered. “Then we can go from there.”
“And then, we’ll work on tracking down some faerie dust and getting Julian, Charlotte and Danielle back,” Xander said, stuffing his hands in the back pockets of his dark jeans. “So, can I get you a drink or something? I never did get to toast to your birthday, you know.”
“Actually, I was thinking I’d head over to my place. I want to get cleaned up,” I said, tugging at my blood-stained hair and showing it to him. “I was thinking I could pack up some things and then come back here. Even with the boundary spell, I don’t feel right about leaving Ben alone again.”
“You do know that wasn’t your fault, right?”
“I know.”
“Well, would you like a ride?”
Seeing as that the alternative was walking, I nodded. “That’d be great.”
Xander headed toward the door and was getting ready to open it for me when we heard a knock from the other side. His lips twisted with suspicion, but he opened it anyway. I could see a figure of a man in the shadows. Xander cleared his throat and stepped out of the way, allowing the light from inside the house to illuminate my view.
My mouth fell open. A surge of shock, dread and guilt coursed through my veins. “Bellamy?”
Thank you so much for reading Secrets and Spells. I hope you enjoyed the book. If so, please take a moment to write up a quick review. It helps authors more than you know!
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More from L. Danvers
VAMPIRES OF CRESCENT CAPE
Blood Heirs: Free Origin Story
Curses and Crowns: US | UK
Fangs and Fortune: US | UK
Stakes and Daggers: US | UK
Royals and Realms: US | UK
THE FATE ABANDONED SERIES
Fate Abandoned: US | UK
Fate Surrendered: US | UK
Fate Reclaimed: US | UK
Series Bundle: US | UK
THE KRYPTOS CHRONICLES
Fostered Reality: US | UK
The Second Portal: US | UK
STANDALONE
Conspiracy Unleashed: US | UK
About the Author
L. Danvers’ goal as a writer is to offer readers an escape from reality—one in which they can explore new worlds, go on daring adventures, fight the bad guys and fall in love... all from the comfort of a cozy chair.
Her books are romantic, fast-paced and suitable for both teens and adults.
When she's not writing, you can find her in the kitchen trying out new recipes.
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