Instead of answering like a good little villain and spilling all their secret plans, the interloper pushed back at me. Out of frustration, I unspooled a little more of my power. The ghost stumbled forward from my command.
“So stubborn. Your brother is the same way.”
“Which brother?”
“Your twin, Abel.”
The shock of those words made me lose control for a fraction of a second, which was all it took for the other necromancer to pounce.
“And what do you think you know about Abel?”
“A great many things, but that’s a tale for another day. For now, I’ll be taking my prize.” The necromancer’s Lines slithered like a snake around the petrified ghost, trapping her further. Stepping forward, I had every intention of breaking the Lines with my blades. Reaching for my kodachi, its weight resting steadily in my hand, I allowed my magic to seep into the blade before stepping forward and attacking the Lines.
“Rowan!” The roar this time held a twinge of power to it. After growing up with and around werewolves, I’d become almost immune to their powers. While it might not affect me the same way, it was like getting an unexpected shock. Surprising, maybe a hint of pain, but very easy to ignore. Unfortunately for me, it was that extra second the other necromancer needed. The ghost was dragged away and disappeared before I could take another swing at the Lines.
“Why the hell did you stop me?” I fumed, spinning on my heel.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Indigo asked, his gaze fixed on the weapon I still held between my hands.
“Trying to save the ghost from being taken!” I replied, frustration leaking off me in waves.
Indigo eyed my kodachi blade again.
“I was trying to break someone else’s Control Lines.”
While Indigo fought with me on my tactics and lack of finesse—my word, not his—Willow stepped closer to the body. Her eyes glowed with the fire deep inside of her and became unfocused as she stared intently. “She’s the same as the last body,” she confirmed.
Nix stepped forward, his lips tightening. “What are the chances?” he mused mostly to himself.
“Chances of what?” I asked.
Nix turned to look at me. “That two Curse Breakers are found dead, in the same way, not two weeks apart from each other.”
Icy-cold tendrils coiled around my belly.
What were the chances, indeed?
Chapter 9
There were moments in everyone’s life when they needed to make a split-second decision that would change their lives. Sometimes those moments came way too frequently and suddenly. Finding out that the two bodies we found were Curse Breakers was one of those defining moments. What came later would eventually change everything, even though I didn’t know it at the time.
Curse Breakers. One of whom a necromancer spirited away before I could question them. A necromancer who also happened to know Abel. I stepped away from the group and immediately called Abel. I glanced over at the others as they continued to examine the body and the scene.
“What, Rowan?” He sounded strained, like he was in the middle of something.
“What to you, brother? Meet any necros lately?”
“Fuck. Hang on, Rowan.”
Leaning away from my phone to glance at the screen to confirm it was Abel I’d called, my brows rose. My brother didn’t swear. There was a rustle of clothes and a few more choice words. It sounded like he was speaking to someone else, but it was muffled, and I couldn’t make out the words.
“Who the fuck was that?” I asked.
“Don’t worry about it, Rowan. Now, what did you say about a necromancer?”
“Well, I’m one, you’re one, and then this crazy necromancer who claimed to know you is one,” I emphasized, hoping he would catch on to what I alluded.
“Did you see her face? What color were her lines?”
“First off, how do you know it’s a she? Second, they were green. And third, what the hell are you doing?”
“Rowan, right now you need to listen to me. Really listen. The necromancer you met is dangerous and powerful. Stay away and leave her to her own devices. I’m trying to come up with a way to fix everything.”
“But, Abel...” I argued.
“Rowan, stay out of it!” Abel snapped.
I ended the call, my muscles itching to toss the phone across the road. Immature, sure. But in my defense, he was being an asshole and deserved it. Abel had always been protective, but this time it felt different. He was being dismissive of me, which wasn’t like him. Maybe that was why when the next name popped up on my screen, I answered a little too eagerly.
“You got something you need to talk to me about?”
“Tomorrow, my deehire,” Balthazar purred through the phone line.
“Why tomorrow?” Why me? Though I realized Past Me said she would go on a date with him to pacify him, right now, Present Rowan was annoyed and wanted nothing to do with the pretentious vampire. “I mean, can’t we push this off for, I don’t know, a hundred years or so?”
“No.”
“Well, that’s unfortunate, because I’m completely booked for at least the next two centuries.”
Balthazar sighed. “Rowan, I don’t believe you grasp the full weight of this situation. Morris will not tolerate this charade for long. He barely condones it now. Will you be ready and dressed appropriately tomorrow at six p.m. sharp outside your building? If not, you will not like the consequences.”
Before I could offer a rebuttal, Balthazar hung up. Well, there goes my chance for asking what “appropriately dressed” means. Could be a great number of things. He just shot himself in the foot with that one. Either way, that’s Future Rowan’s problem.
Right now, I had to worry about the mystery surrounding the two dead Curse Breakers. While I’d been taking care of business, Willow had been speaking with Nix about the power levels and different aspects of the victims. I stood on the sidelines, watching as the others worked. Indigo kept peeking over at me, especially after my little altercation with Abel. I hoped the surrounding city noises managed to drown out my conversation with Balthazar.
Indigo crouched next to the body and spoke softly to Cornelius, who stood watching, and then looked over his shoulder at me. My heart fluttered with an echo of feelings. Maybe it was just the talk of dates with Balthazar, but it brought back memories of my dates with Indigo. He knew me, as I knew him. Indigo stood and clapped his hand on Cornelius’ shoulder before heading in my direction.
“Hey there, soldier.”
Indigo gave me a weird look, and I responded with my own.
“We should head out. The Guard is coming, and Kent might be on the squad headed over.”
Damn. If my brother saw me here, he would grab me and send me home. I couldn’t risk running into him.
“Okay, should I get Willow?”
“No. She, Nix, and Cornelius still have work to do.”
I nodded, and we headed back to the street, leaving the others to their work.
“We can get a taxi,” Indigo offered. “They’ll take the SUV back.”
I nodded, lost in my own thoughts as we walked back to the main road and hailed a taxi. After we settled into the warm car, Indigo asked the driver to stop at a different address from the apartment complex. Too tired to question it, I pressed my face against the window and enjoyed the feeling of the cool glass pressed against my forehead. After a short ride, the taxi stopped, and we got out. The night was chilly, but I didn’t mind it with my extra layers. Indigo walked next to me.
“Tell me something about what you were doing out here when you left home,” I asked, still hedging on whether I wanted to know. Why did he leave me and not come back? I grew up around werewolves and knew what happened as they got older. Younger Me had hoped...assumed...I shook my head. Ancient history.
“Honestly, I spent a lot of time training. And trying to stay away from home.”
“You could have called.”
I cringed as it slipped out.
“Rowan...” Indigo grabbed my hand.
I stopped walking but couldn’t force myself to meet his gaze. An old hurt that I thought had healed flared to life.
“It’s fine,” I brushed him off, tugging my hand back.
We walked in silence until the apartment building came into view.
“We should get inside. It’s...dark,” I added weakly, uncertain how to break this awkwardness between us.
Indigo grunted but stepped back, opening the door. I headed up to the apartment without a glance back at him.
****
Feeling restless and with an itch under my skin, I stopped pacing a hole in my apartment and changed into workout clothes. While it hadn’t been my thing for the last couple years, a shadow lurked in my mind, reminding me it might be time to come out of retirement.
I stepped out of my apartment after changing and throwing my hair into a messy bun. Indigo stood on the opposite wall, his wolf burning in his eyes.
“Can...I help you?” I asked cautiously.
“I’ve been waiting for you to stop pacing, so we could go train. I think you need to work out what’s going on in your head.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but he stopped me.
“Rowan, I know you.” Indigo led the way to the basement gym, and I followed.
A restless coil of unease stirred in my gut and encapsulated my mind. When we were kids, he was always there with me, ready to take off on any asinine adventure I’d chosen to do. Warmth slowly replaced the cold that had settled into my bones since learning the status of our two victims. It wasn’t fear for myself but fear for my brother and those who also had to suffer with the title of Curse Breaker.
My parents had warned me and Abel all our lives that because of what we were, our lives would never be easy. And for Mystics who already had to fight a little harder than the day-to-day human, our odds were even worse.
The further we walked down to the gym, the more the words wanted to explode out of me. What would he do if I pestered him about the case? The Indigo I knew from our shared childhood caved to most of my whims, but even then, every time he got scolded by his father, I was wracked with guilt.
“I don’t know that I ever apologized for all the times I got you in trouble,” I offered almost shyly.
“You don’t have to apologize, Rowan. I chose to do those things, and I accepted the consequences.”
Pressing my lips together, I realized how mature my best friend was and how he allowed me to do everything I did. I thought about the date I promised to Balthazar, knowing that if it kept my family safe, I’d gladly accept the consequences.
“Why did you do it?” I asked curiously.
“Because you asked.”
A flush most definitely didn’t creep up my neck, nor did my heart flutter a little. First love never really died. It grew and formed into something new and different and gave you a diverse perspective. Even so, sometimes it settled into you like a trained reaction.
We entered the gym, and Indigo positioned himself on the sparring mats. “Come on.”
My eyebrows raised into my hairline. “Why sparring tonight?”
“Why not? You have pent-up energy you need to release, and this way, I get to touch you.” His eyes burned brightly, and I wondered if he meant to say that out loud. When we were kids, he had complete control, but his wolf was never like the other pups.
“Well, I guess we begin.” I stepped forward to get into a defensive crouch, and he whipped his arm out, trapping me against his chest in the blink of an eye. “Hey! I wasn’t ready.”
“Are you going to tell that to the person who tries to abduct you?”
“Probably, then I’d follow up with this,” I grunted, moving to knee him in the groin. When you wanted to escape, there was no time for clean play. I’d fight as dirty and gritty as needed. However, Indigo already had his hand out and instead of connecting with his groin, my knee hit his palm.
“Your usual tricks are expected.” His voice was full of criticism.
Changing tactics, I released the tension in my body and lay against him, my arms draping over his shoulders and one hand toying with his hair. Indigo narrowed his gaze but didn’t drop his guard. The problem with me was that I liked to win. Especially when I had a few losses under my belt. And they were hanging heavily around my neck. With the loss of the ghost, followed closely by Abel’s blatant dismissal of me, coupled with the knowledge of two Curse Breakers dead. All of it.
At least that was the reasoning I gave myself as I leaned flush against his chest. With my chest pressed snugly against his, my breaths slowed to something a little heady. His breath fanned against my lips, soft as a summer breeze, but as shocking as a winter morning. Unexpectedly, my heart stammered in my chest at my body’s visceral reaction to his. Blinking twice, I dragged my eyes up to his and met his gaze. The draw I’d noticed as a teen was still there, enticing as ever.
Breathing in that same scent, the one that drew me in and entangled me, I filled my lungs. Every memory I had of a stolen kiss or secret glances we shared as we lagged behind Abel, taking a half-step shorter than him until we were alone, filled my head. My heart ached to go back to a time of innocence, secure in the unrealistic love we shared. The knowledge of how it all ended didn’t stop me from wanting it again, not even for a second.
Leaning a little closer, Indigo’s eyes burned brightly. “Mine,” he whispered before his grip grew taut and brought me impossibly closer. My lids fluttered shut as I allowed him to comb his fingers in my hair. He brought me down, closing the space between us. “Say it.”
Even with my heartbeat in my throat, the words wouldn’t come. The love and trust I’d once placed in the boy I loved didn’t shine through to the man before me.
Instead, I used the leverage of my arms on his shoulders and sacrificed the threat of getting my hair pulled out to step on the hand he was still using to protect his most sensitive region. Using as much force as I could muster, I pushed back and broke free of his hold.
“Rowan.” Indigo’s voice had an edge to it that I recognized in many of the other werewolves around him. Especially lately, since they were getting to the age when they started to hunt for a mate. While wolves lived a long damn time, the mating instinct hit hard in their earlier years.
“Don’t run. I know.”
“Leave.” The growled tone brooked no argument.
I slowly backed out of the gym. Maybe I poked the beast when I shouldn’t have, and maybe I should have stayed to face the consequences of my actions. But something else nagged at the back of my head.
I knew if I stayed, I may never leave.
Chapter 10
Apparently, “dressed appropriately” didn’t mean jeans and a hoodie, even if I wore my best of each. Balthazar gave me a death glare coupled with a heavy sigh before opening the door to the town car he rented for the evening. Or so he told me. If it was meant to impress, it did the opposite.
“Where we off to?” I asked as I slid into the supple leather seat.
“Dinner. I plan to properly court you, since you will not willingly abide by our original contract.” Shutting the passenger door with a click, he walked around the car and got in on the driver’s side.
“Don’t you want to get out of this contract?” My curiosity tugged as insatiably as a toddler needing to show off; an unstoppable force of nature. I remembered the feeling well, since I used to babysit for my nephew.
He looked over at me with an incredulous expression. “Why would I want to do that? By pairing myself with you, I simultaneously establish my place in our coven and please my Master. You speak so passionately of your family, but soon you will come to think of our coven as your family and will understand my place.”
“But why me? I have to be your less-than-ideal choice.”
“Whether you choose to believe it or not, you are not unappealing, Rowan. Rough around the edges, perhaps, but you make up for it with your tal
ents, and dare I say it, your wit.”
Balthazar had an unwavering gaze that tracked my every fidget, and it bothered me. He saw too much. Using deflection as my shield, I replied, “Ah, my wit is what brought all the boys to the yard.”
“At least it was not your milkshakes.”
I raised a brow, glancing over at the stuffy vampire as he smoothly pulled the car away from the curb.
“I may be old school in your eyes, but I am not dead.”
Raising my other brow as slowly as I could manage, my lip twitched upward.
“Poor choice of words,” he amended.
“Or was my wit rubbing off on you?”
“Hardly,” he said with a small smile of his own.
For a brief moment, he didn’t seem like the enemy, and that was a very dangerous thought. Refocusing, I turned to look out the window to observe the city I was slowly falling in love with as landmarks sped past. When I first arrived here, the expansiveness was too overwhelming, especially when my only goal was to find a single person amid this bustling metropolis.
“Why do you reject the contract? Why risk the safety of your family with careless actions?” Balthazar asked, as if sensing I was pulling away.
Selfish as it was, I wanted my freedom for the first time in my life. My childhood belonged to the shadows and the confining rules my parents placed upon me and Abel. While I understood their reasons, it didn’t change the fact that my life had always belonged to someone else.
“Is it because of your murderous mutt?”
Before I could express my outrage or ask him what he meant, the car stopped, and he moved quickly to open my door. Placing his hand in front of me so I couldn’t ignore it, I slipped my hand into his and stepped out of the car. His skin was smooth. So different from the calloused, warm hands of Indigo.
We headed to the restaurant, he dressed in freshly pressed black slacks and a crisp button-down shirt, and me in my jeans and hoodie. I snorted to myself. It took a lot to embarrass me, but I had a feeling he wouldn’t be too pleased walking in there with me on his arm.
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