Naomi had to agree. It was as if her body and senses had been primed for magic, like a dormant muscle eager to be used.
"Can you train me to use more advanced spells?" Naomi asked.
"Not yet. I don't want to addle you with too much information at once."
Irritation pierced her. As they spoke, Alaric and the others were tracking down a man—a group—who wanted to kill her. There was no time for kid steps. She'd overcome her initial mental barrier; she needed to learn more.
"You can already protect yourself when your—or someone else’s—life is in danger," Madalena said, as if reading her mind. "Magic is a delicate art, even if it is a part of who you are. To overload you in a few days’ time with a lifetime of magic lessons—“
"We don't have much time. The Order's not going to take their time coming after me," Naomi protested.
"I'm very aware of that. We'll work on more advanced magic tomorrow, after you've had some rest."
"Will you at least train me on the defensive magic I've already used?" Naomi pressed. "Like what I did in Athens?And here? Making the walls shake?"
"I won't be able to train you how to do that. And not for the reasons you're thinking. There isn't a spell for what you did in Athens. At least, not one I'm aware of."
"What?"
"Only Descendants can perform magic of that magnitude. I'm strong, yes. But not that strong."
Naomi sank down onto an armchair, shaken. She had made an entire building shake—and even Madalena didn't know how she did it?
"This is why I'm training you in increments," Madalena said, squatting down in front of her. "As for your defensive magic . . . I would try to remember what you were feeling in that moment. I can't emphasize enough how magic is strongly connected to emotions."
Her words didn't bring Naomi any assurance. In Athens, all she could remember was the staggering sense of fear. When she'd first arrived here, she'd just felt overwhelmed. Hell, she still felt overwhelmed, and she wasn't making any buildings shake.
"Try and get some rest," Madalena said, "I'll be in my room if you need me. I doubt I'll get much sleep."
Naomi sat alone for some time in the study. The thought of magic being boiled down to mere spells and incantations comforted her; it gave the complex realm of magic some order. That she was capable of performing magic that her mentor wasn't boggled her mind.
Fatigue settled over her, though she was reluctant to give in to it. She didn't want to sleep until she knew Alaric was safe . . . well, as safe as he could be. But she couldn't resist the pull of sleep, and made her way to her room.
Entering her room, she made a beeline for the bed. She was too exhausted to even discard her clothes.
But she halted in her tracks. She heard something.
A whisper.
It reminded her of the whispers she'd heard from the Stone in Athens. Only they were closer now. Much closer.
She turned to face the windows. Right outside the windows, a man hovered. He was . . . floating.
He was tall and slender but well built, with dark blonde hair that framed his angular face, and wolfish grey eyes that were settled on her. With the long dark coat he wore that rustled in the night time air, he had the look of a dark angel. Somehow, he was speaking to her, but his lips weren't moving. His words were in her mind.
You belong with us. His voice was seductive, wrapping her in a cocoon of warmth. We are the ones who can help hone your magic. Come with me, my lovely.
He extended his hand. Naomi's feet propelled her towards the window, though something inside her screamed that this man was dangerous, that she needed to flee. But her feet continued to propel her towards him. He smiled, and the glass of the window shattered.
The night breeze filled the room, whipping Naomi's hair around her face as she continued towards him. The man extended his arm. Come. You are the Honored One. The Beloved Descendant. You belong with us.
Naomi ignored the part of her that shouted in protest as she extended her hand. She reached the open window, and he reached out to grip her hand, his smile turning feral. As he tugged her towards him, the door to her bedroom crashed open.
"RAPHAEL!" Alaric's voice snarled from behind her. "Take your hands off of her!"
Chapter 15
It all began with Raphael's ring.
Alaric had been sitting on the tarmac at Heathrow in Madalena's private plane, rolling around Raphael's ring in his palm. As he studied it, a sudden thought occurred to him.
"Don't witches enchant objects of value like this? Especially heirlooms?" he asked Casimir.
"Yeah. But Madalena didn't detect any enchantments on the ring," Casimir replied, not looking up from his laptop.
Alaric looked back down at the ring. He was still troubled by the fact that James left it behind. As much as he tried to rationalize the reasons he would have done that, none had satisfied him.
Why didn't you take this valuable ring, James? he mused. And as soon as he asked the question, the answer hit him with the force of a freight train.
He unbuckled his seatbelt, leaping to his feet.
"Alaric, what are you—“ Elias began.
"We have to get off this plane," Alaric said, darting to the cockpit door and knocking. "Evans left the ring behind because there's a tracking spell on it," he said, turning to face Elias and Casimir, "I may not know much about magic, but I know that Tracking spells can be undetectable. James must have known the Order was out to kill him, and he must have known the ring could be tracked. That's the only reason he'd have left something so valuable behind."
"Holy shit," Elias whispered, "that means—“
"We took the ring back to the penthouse. Back to Naomi," Alaric finished, panic spiraling through him.
The pilot opened the door, frowning in confusion. Alaric told him to let them off the plane, they wouldn't be going to Paris.
"There's a Cloaking spell on Madalena's building," Casimir said, his voice strained as they drove away from Heathrow moments later. "Maybe—“
"Madalena's father was friendly with the Ibano family. The Cloaking spell won't affect Raphael. He'll be able to find the penthouse," Elias interrupted.
"Call them," Alaric snapped, pressing his foot down on the accelerator. Once they were close enough, Casimir could apparate them into the penthouse. For now, they'd have to rely on human technology.
"No one's picking up. Someone's tampered with the communications at the penthouse," Casimir said, looking down at his phone, his face ashen.
Hold on, Naomi, Alaric pleaded. Raphael could be at the penthouse right now.
As soon as they were back in London, they left the car in a side street. Casimir reached out to clutch their hands, and with a whoosh of wind, the street around them faded away as they apparated.
When they arrived in the penthouse foyer, Alaric knew that Raphael was here. Raphael and other witches. He could smell multiple strange scents.
They turned as two witches scrambled towards them from the end of the hall. Casimir raised his am, and they both flew back. Alaric scented Naomi in her room, paired with an unfamiliar male scent. Raphael.
He darted to her room, tearing the door off its hinges and racing inside. She stood by the open window, her hand extended towards Raphael, who floated outside the window.
A primal rage coiled through his body at the sight.
"RAPHAEL!" he snarled. "Take your hands off her!"
Raphael's handsome features contorted with rage as he entered the room. Alaric sped forward to grab Naomi as Elias entered behind him. Raphael leapt into the room, raising his hand and sending Elias crashing into the far wall. Before Alaric could leave the room with Naomi, Raphael again raised his hand, and Alaric's body froze.
But Raphael careened back out of the window. Alaric crashed to the floor, still holding on to the dazed Naomi. He looked up as Madalena entered, her face tight with fury.
"Get her out of here!" she shouted to Alaric, as Raphael leapt back into the room.
"You need to leave," he said, looking down into Naomi's stricken eyes. His words seemed to shake her out of her daze.
"I can’t—my aunt is—“
"Naomi!"
Casimir and Kat appeared in front of them in a flash of movement. Kat reached out to embrace Naomi.
"Oh, thank God, " Kat gasped, holding her niece tight.
"We're not out of the woods yet," Alaric said. He could hear the grunts and snarls of Elias and Madalena as they fought Raphael. "Casimir, you need to get them out of here. Do you know where to go?"
The group had long ago decided that they would flee to Alaric's estate in northern England if they were ambushed here.
Casimir nodded. Naomi's eyes met his, she opened her mouth to say something, but Casimir wrapped his arms around her and Kat, and they vanished. He felt strangely bereft as he stared at the blank space where she'd just stood.
He shook himself out of it, turning to race back to Naomi's guest bedroom. Madalena lay sprawled on the floor, with Raphael crouched above her. Her eyes were going blank as Raphael muttered a spell beneath his breath.
Alaric leapt onto him, pinning him to the ground. He wrapped his hand around his throat, baring his fangs. He ached to kill him.
"You desire what you can never have," Raphael snarled, glaring up at him. "Naomi belongs with her kind."
A hot burst of rage coursed through Alaric at his words, and he reared down to rip out the witch's heart with his fangs. But in a flurry of movement, Raphael vanished from Alaric's grasp. Alaric looked up with a growl. Raphael was now on the opposite side of the room.
"You can't keep her from us forever. We will find her," Raphael hissed.
Alaric scrambled towards him, but Raphael disappeared. He cursed, racing to the window to look out, but he knew it was no use. Raphael was gone.
Elias and Casimir had killed the other two witches Raphael brought with him, but they didn't want to risk remaining in the penthouse. After making sure that all of their electronic equipment was wiped clean, Madalena, who had quickly recovered from Raphael's attack, apparated them out of penthouse to a lonely road on the outskirts of the city where a car waited for them on the side of the road.
"Naomi's on her way to my estate. Are you certain it's not on the Order's radar?" Alaric asked, as they slid into the car. He pressed the gas pedal to the floor, accelerating on to the road away from London.
Madalena nodded. "Yes. But in the small chance it is, Casimir will surround it with a Cloaking spell."
Her words didn't ease Alaric's anxiety. A Cloaking spell had surrounded the penthouse, but Raphael had still entered. He'd almost lost Naomi. The Alliance almost lost her, he corrected himself.
Anger coursed through him as he looked at Madalena.
"Your plan didn't work," he snapped.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You wanted the Order to come to the penthouse, remember? You thought Naomi would be the best way to track them down. Just like in Athens. And just like in Athens, they almost—“
"With the Cloaking spell, I would've been able to detect intruders. I thought Raphael was an ally, which is why I wasn't able to detect him. I never wanted them to get so close to her!"
"Are you certain?" Alaric barked. "I'm starting to think she's just a tool for you to—“
"Watch your words very carefully," Madalena said, her eyes cold, though he saw a brief flicker of hurt in their depths. "That's not the first time you've implied that Naomi's safety isn't my priority, and I won't stand for it!"
Alaric took a moment to calm himself. Deep down, he knew Madalena didn't want to put Naomi in any danger. But he needed to direct his anger and frustration somewhere.
"Raphael and the Order are one step ahead of us," Alaric muttered, "he played us like puppets. We did exactly what he wanted us to, and led him right to Naomi."
He slammed his hand against the steering wheel, letting out a snarl of fury.
"Look," Elias spoke up from the back seat, "we can play the blame game forever or we can focus on what's next. We now know for sure that Raphael's a part of the Order. He'll keep coming for Naomi."
Alaric's hands tightened on the steering wheel. Elias was right. What if Raphael somehow knew about his estate? The man had endless resources. He pressed his foot down on the accelerator, dread filling him at the thought of Naomi arriving to a possible ambush.
"We need to find Raphael and kill him," Alaric said, pleasure filling him at the thought, "if he's a leader of the Order, it'll be like cutting off the head of a snake."
"I'll talk to another member of the Ibano family," Madalena said, after a long pause. Her voice was low, and she was looking at the road. He could tell she was still angry with him. "Find out what they know."
"What they know? There's no way they weren't aware of Raphael's involvement. This is what I've long suspected. Old snobbish families of witches becoming involved with the Order."
"I'm a part of a 'snobbish' old witch family," Madalena snapped, "and my father was one of the first to step up to stop them. Don't make broad assumptions. It's what they want—for us all to turn on each other."
"Well, I agree with Alaric. I don't think you should arrange for a friendly chat with the Ibano family," Elias said, "He was using family funds, for crying out loud. Their whole neutrality thing could have just been a ploy. We can have Casimir track their movements. That could help lead us to Raphael."
"They've already thought of that," Madalena protested, "we were already fooled into thinking Raphael was in Paris."
"Then we outsmart them. We figure out how they threw us off."
Alaric sped up the car even more. He just wanted to get to his estate and make sure Naomi was safe. Madalena didn't want to use their phones in case they were being tracked to contact Casimir.
"Casimir is a strong witch," Elias said from the back seat, reading his mind. "He can keep her safe until we arrive."
Alaric nodded, though he still felt uneasy. Perhaps if he hadn't been so preoccupied with his desire for Naomi, he would have focused on his job of protecting her. Maybe he would have picked up on the ring's true purpose earlier and gotten them the hell out of London.
Keeping her safe was the priority, regardless of his feelings. It's what he would focus on going forward.
Chapter 16
Naomi sat next to Kat in the backseat of Casimir's sedan. Casimir's hands were white-knuckled as he gripped the steering wheel, periodically scanning the rear and side view mirrors. Anytime another car got too close, he murmured something under his breath; Naomi surmised it was a spell.
She was still reeling after Casimir had apparated them from the penthouse to a lonely road just outside the city, where an unoccupied car waited for them. Madalena had explained apparition to her; it was the ability to vanish from one location and reappear in another. The experience was dizzying; she'd felt as if a tornado had sucked her body into its vortex. It took her a moment to gather her bearings when they arrived on the side of the road; Kat assured her she'd get used to apparating. Just the millionth thing I'll have to get used to, Naomi thought warily.
They'd been on the road for at least three hours; Casimir told them he was taking them to a safe place in the countryside and given them no further details. During the entire drive, frantic thoughts had raced through her mind. How had that witch been able to get into her mind? How had he persuaded her to come to him? Was Alaric safe? Had he and the others been able to hold their own against Raphael?
She glanced over at Kat, whose shoulders were rigid as she focused on the passing road outside the car windows. The incident at the penthouse proved how dangerous it was for Kat to be here. Once they got to their destination, she'd have to persuade her to go back to the States.
"That witch. Raphael," Naomi said, when she couldn't bear the silence any longer, ”I could hear him. In my mind. Just like with the Stone. It was like . . . he wa
s beckoning me. I couldn't stop myself from going to him, even though I sensed he was dangerous."
Kat stiffened. Casimir's troubled silver eyes met hers in the rearview mirror.
"You need to tell Madalena," he said, after a tense pause. "She'll have some insight."
"Should we have left the others behind to face him?" Naomi asked, anxious.
"They can hold their own. The priority was getting you to safety," Casimir replied, giving her a firm look.
"Your priority should always be your own safety," Kat added, squeezing her hand. "The Order is after you and you alone. Never forget that."
But that didn't stop worry from plaguing her as they continued to drive in silence. Alaric will be fine, she tried to assure herself. He was a vampire after all. Casimir and Kat were right. She should be concerned for her own safety. But he remained on her mind.
It was dawn by the time they pulled up to a massive estate in the northern English countryside. She blinked in astonishment as they pulled into a circular driveway.
"This is Alaric's estate," Casimir said, pulling to a stop. "Sorry I couldn't tell you earlier. I wanted to make absolutely sure we got here without interference."
"Alaric lives . . . here?" Naomi asked in a daze, stepping out of the car.
"Well, not for awhile. At least, not since he's been working for the Alliance, which means it's not logged anywhere. Perfect for a safe house."
Naomi took in the estate, awestruck. It seemed to stretch endlessly in front of her. The rising sun highlighted its gleaming brick facade, multiple turreted chimneys dotted its roofs. Fragrant and well tended gardens dotted the surrounding grounds.
It looked like the home of someone from the nobility. Astonishment flowed through her at the thought. Alaric was born in 1607. Had he been some nobleman?
She trailed Kat and Casimir to the large front door. A woman opened the door. She looked to be in her mid twenties, with flame red hair, bright green eyes and delicate features. Her pale skin was almost translucent. From her otherworldly looks, Naomi suspected that this woman was a vampire. She studied her, a jolt of jealousy shooting through her. What was this woman doing in Alaric's home?
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