Patricia poured another drink. “But you will.”
“You know that for certain?”
She leveled a flat look on Audrey. “The future is never certain. I see many possibilities and I make my best guess.”
“Your best guess?” Her tone dripped with disdain.
“I’m a very good guesser. And it doesn’t take an Oracle to see that Corvin has fallen for you.”
Audrey’s eyes went as wide as saucers and she nearly choked on a sip of whiskey.
“Please. You can’t be that surprised.” Patricia narrowed her eyes. “Wasn’t that your intention?”
Audrey stared at her as if she’d grown two heads.
Patricia leaned back, swirling her glass. If it was an act, it was a very convincing one. “So now you understand the full implications of your actions. If you are not initiated, not only will he lose you but his position as well.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Is that supposed to make me just fall into line?”
Patricia gave her a tight smile. “Only if you care about him.”
“You’ve got a lot of nerve, lady.”
She finished the last sip of her whiskey and set it aside. “I think I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“It wasn’t. Regardless of what you think of me, I do care about your son. More than you do, apparently. If you take everything he cares about away from him, that’s on you. I have nothing to do with your family drama. And if you want to convince me to stay and be a well-behaved tool, you’ll need more than a guilt trip. They don’t work on me.” She slammed her empty glass down on the table and marched to the door.
“Audrey,” Patricia said before the girl walked out.
She paused and turned with an irritated sigh.
Patricia allowed the mantle of her second sight to settle over her vision. The present swirled a milky white as she gazed into the future. When she spoke, her voice was faraway and came from all directions. “If you walk your path alone, you will live in a prison of your own making. Love is not a cage, it is the greatest adventure.”
By the time she blinked back to her normal vision, the girl was gone.
Two cigarettes later, Roderic returned through the secret bookcase passage connected to the kitchen and armory. The smell of sweet bread and coffee wafted toward her as he set them on the windowsill. Tendrils of dawn crept over the fog lacing the treetops, and rain spattered the cut-glass windows with a soothing percussion.
His large, warm hands slid up and down her arms.
She sighed and allowed herself to lean back against his sturdy chest. “How is he?”
Roderic pulled her into a rare and intimate embrace. Firm lips pressed to the back of her head before he spoke. “The healers gave him a fortifying potion and a milder sleeping draft so he can rest. Are you certain you were not too harsh with him?”
“I’m certain.” She sighed. Her family had given up everything for the Legacy—generations of souls. She’d sacrificed her heart and happiness to uphold what they had built. Now she faced the cost of losing her only child as well. She had never meant to alienate him so much. Somewhere in her efforts to keep him safe under her watch, to protect him from what he was and the consequences of her own impetuous choices, she’d driven him away. Perhaps forever. But she never doubted she’d done what was best. The other paths would have had worse outcomes.
Roderic stroked her shoulders. “What about Audrey?”
She took a sip of coffee and shook her head. The heat of his body slid away, so she wrapped her hands around the mug—a meager replacement. “Too many choices lay ahead of her still. But I can see why he likes her. She certainly has fire.”
A deep chuckle answered her from the sofa. “Told you off, did she?”
She turned with a faint smile. “Quite succinctly.” She joined him, sitting much closer than usual.
He leaned back and stretched one arm along the back, an unspoken invitation. “He cares for her deeply.”
She nodded. “She is either the key to his destiny, or his undoing. I cannot be certain which.” She set her cup down before easing into his side.
Roderic tensed with surprise, but quickly relaxed and wrapped his arm around her as she laid her head on his chest. “They are often one and the same, when a man falls in love.”
The intoxicating scents of cinnamon and pine, his body and magic—the demon and the wolf—filled her senses with bittersweet comfort. “Roderic?”
“Yes?”
“Is he very much like me?”
He stroked her hair, and she could hear the smile in his voice. “Oh, yes. More than one would expect.”
“Not too much, I hope.” She hoped he had more sense. She had tried to challenge her duty to the Legacy and it had cost her. “If I could go back…”
I don’t spend much time thinking about the past, she’d said. But that was a lie. She had many regrets. Especially when it came to her son.
Or his father.
She often wondered why Roderic stayed. His sentence had been paid off years ago. He was no longer magically bound to this place or his post, and she wasn’t naïve enough to think he truly believed in the Synod’s cause—he was an immortal. Was it honor or love that kept him by her side? She never had the courage to ask.
Roderic’s sigh carried the weight of decades of things left unsaid and undone. “There is always the future.”
Patricia fell deeper into the comfort of her most devoted friend and confidant…the only man she’d ever loved.
Even though it was forbidden.
“Yes, there is always the future.”
If only she hadn’t spent her entire life living in fear of it.
Chapter Nineteen
Audrey limped down the main corridor as fast as she could. She’d been ordered to go to the dormitory, but she needed the healers too. And though she had no idea if he would forgive her, she owed Corvin an explanation at least. She’d never wanted to hurt him. She wasn’t supposed to stay so long. She hadn’t meant to let things get so far between them.
What if he really loves me?
She shook her head, which was still throbbing from the giant rock that had clipped her. She couldn’t allow herself to entertain that possibility. First, it made no sense. Corvin liked her, and they’d had some mind-blowing sex, but he barely knew anything about her. Second, it wasn’t like his mother really knew him that well. She shouldn’t read any more into it.
But why would Patricia say that? It could be a trap—one Audrey would hate herself for falling into. If it was, that was a really convincing act, with the whole Oracle bit. What bothered her most was the way her heart had fluttered when she heard it, the tightness in her belly now as she went in search of him, and the way her thoughts kept circling back to every look, every touch, making her wonder if it had been there all along and she’d somehow been blind to it.
It’s not like you really know what love looks like anyway.
She was nearly at the stairwell when she sensed a distinct tingle on the back of her neck. She whirled on her heel and glared into the shadows behind her. “I can feel you, leach. Show yourself.”
The Hohlwen materialized from the shadows of a nearby alcove. “I thought I told you we do not like that word.”
When she saw his face, a snarl twisted her lip, and suddenly she had a channel for all of her mixed-up emotions. “I thought I made it clear I don’t give a fuck.”
His cool smile was infuriating. “Perhaps if you listened better, you would not find yourself in such a predicament,” he said, gesturing to her swollen face and the abrasions on her arms.
“Actually, it’s listening to you that got me in this mess.” She squared off with him as he took a step closer, and reflexively summoned an energy ball. But, nothing happened. “You bastard! You tricked me!”
He tsked. “So childlike to shirk the blame. I gave you clues; you drew the wrong conclusion all by yourself. Whatever made you think you could get away on foot?”
Grit
ting her teeth made her temple throb harder, so she forced her jaw to relax. “Why don’t you just leave me alone?”
“I find you amusing.”
“And I find you irritating.”
He shrugged. “I thought perhaps you would be ready to strike a deal, but if not, I have no need for this.” He tossed a bag at her feet—her bag, the one she’d dropped down the mountainside. “I’ll be keeping the diamonds, of course. Finders, keepers.” He held the pouch out in front of her and jangled it.
He pulled it away before she could grab it, tucking it in his black flowing tunic. Rage lit through her. “You son of a bitch! You sent the wolves after me so you could get them, didn’t you?”
“I did no such thing. I was following you, but you got yourself caught—what was the term you used?—fair and square.”
“Those are mine! Give them back!”
He walked a slow circle around her, forcing her to pivot to keep her guard up. “Everything comes at a cost, Audrey. These are worth quite a bit. What will I get in return?”
She glared daggers at him and crossed her arms over her chest. “You know I don’t have anything.”
“But you do,” he said, stepping into her personal bubble.
Her instincts were screaming at her to run away, but she held her ground and stared up into his black, fathomless eyes.
His hand lifted as if to cup her face, but he hovered it just above her skin, not touching. “You have life and magic. You are a facet of power a thousand times brighter than any diamond.”
She huffed, pain and hunger and impatience warring with her curiosity. “I’m too tired for riddles. Tell me what you want or leave me alone.”
He smiled and dropped his hand. “Finally, you are asking the right question. I will give you the diamonds, and I will help you leave the Arcanum. I ask only one thing in return.”
“What?” It sounded too good to be true, and things usually were in that case.
“Seal yourself to me.”
Audrey scowled. “What does that mean?”
Glittering stars filled the void of his eyes, making him look even crazier than he sounded. “It is an agreement between us. A contract of sorts. You agree to share energy with me when I have need of it.”
She barked out a laugh. “You mean you want to feed off me? No way. Don’t you get enough from…soaking it in around here and kidnapping innocent bystanders? Plus, now you have all my diamonds. What do you need my energy for?”
“They have a finite number of uses.” His tone went from velvety-soft seduction to cold steel. “And you are not the only one who would like to be free of the Synod’s control.”
“Yeah, exactly. I don’t want them to take my magic. What makes you think I would share it with you?”
“You have not heard what you get in return.”
“I thought you said the diamonds and a ride.”
“As well as protection from all others of my kind. If we are sealed, they will not be able to siphon your energy.”
She did the math in her head. If—no, when—she finally got out of here, immunity from other Hohlwen would be a huge plus. None of them could ever grab her and drag her back to the Synod again. But she couldn’t let him know how appealing it was. “That’s it?”
“Obviously, I need you alive to be of use to me, so that protection extends to other mortal threats.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t need a guard dog. I wouldn’t want you hanging around all the time.”
“When we are sealed, I can draw power from you from afar.” He dematerialized and appeared on her other side. “Most of the time, you would not notice. You would never see me, unless you had need.”
Now she was really curious. “How would you know I needed you?”
A tiny smile curled the edges of his perfect, bow-shaped lips. “It is part of the sealing. All you have to do is whisper my name into the dark, and I will appear.”
That could come in handy, but…
“There has to be a catch.”
“Of course. The Synod forbids any magical bond between witches and immortals. Am I mistaken in thinking that is of little concern to you?”
“No, you’ve got that part right.”
“Even if the penalty is death?”
She shrugged a shoulder. Taking her powers and memories was a death sentence anyway. “But what if I need my magic and you take too much?”
“How much trouble do you expect to get into? Unless it is your plan to be running and fighting for the rest of your life, you will have little use for large amounts of magic on a regular basis.”
Point for the immortal. If she had the diamonds and a one-way ticket out of here, she had more than enough power to get by. He was handing her everything she wanted on a gilded platter. Which was exactly why she didn’t trust it. “Can the seal ever be removed?”
He dematerialized to her other side again, and she realized it was a tell that he was getting excited. “Only if I agree to it.”
She shook her head and shuffled another step. “I have no reason to trust you.”
He materialized right in front of the stairwell, blocking her exit. “I swear to you that the magic demands full disclosure on my part. It also will compel silence from you—you will never be able to speak of it to anyone.” He hesitated, then said, “There is one other thing.”
Since she had no other choice, she waited to hear it.
“As long as you are sealed to me, you cannot bear new life.”
She felt like he’d dropped a fifty-pound stone in her gut. She’d never wanted children. The possibility had always seemed preposterous. She didn’t do the family thing, and she didn’t want to be tied down to the responsibility. But now…a vision of a little rosy-cheeked baby with Corvin’s black ringlets and her blue eyes popped into her head.
When had that changed?
She stared at the immortal being in front of her—his unearthly perfect face, white porcelain skin, fathomless eyes narrowed in calculation.
Door number one: her freedom, his protection, and more money than she could ever ask for.
Door number two: a future with Corvin she didn’t even know was possible.
It shouldn’t be a hard decision given the current status of their relationship. Even if he had been falling in love with her, she’d ruined it.
“I see I misjudged you on this matter. I would apologize, but I admit I’m disappointed.” He began to fade into the shadows. Door number one closing forever… her freedom evaporating in a cloud of dark smoke.
“Wait.” She closed her eyes and exhaled. When she opened them, he was staring at her intently, those unnatural eyes glittering like a gem cave. “I’ll do it.”
He showed no reaction, remaining absolutely still.
“On one other condition.”
“I’m listening.”
“You remove the seal for a time if I ever want to have children. You can put it back after, but I’m not going to give that up. That’s my final offer.”
“What’s to hold you to agreeing to put the seal back?”
“What’s to hold you to removing it?”
He looked at her thoughtfully.
“You’re asking me to sign my whole life away. I know it’s not much when you have eternity, but it’s all I have.”
He sucked in a breath and made a big show of thinking it over before he finally said, “Agreed,” and held out his hand.
She looked over her shoulder to check that the hallway was still empty. “What, we just shake on it?”
He smirked. “It only takes a moment. I promise it won’t hurt. Much.”
With her heart pounding in her throat, she laid her hand atop his. There was a zap of electric current where they touched, and a subtle trickle of energy passed through her skin, leaving it chilled, but it was nothing like the biting cold the last time she’d been siphoned. He turned her hand over and gave her that Cheshire-cat grin as he yanked her against him and wrapped her in a tight embrace.
She willed herself to still, her heartbeat to calm.
“Look into my eyes,” he said.
Her whole body was cooling and warming, and she realized he was drawing and replacing to mingle their energies. It wasn’t actually unpleasant. She stared into the starry black depths—really stared—and up close, she saw there were not just stars, but entire galaxies there. An eternity of them.
“What is my name?” he said, his voice seeming to come from all around and inside her own head at once.
“I… I don’t know.”
He squeezed her tighter, and a pulse of energy eddied through her, heating her blood. Her heart started pounding, a distant drumbeat, but it wasn’t just a beat. There was a rhythm to it, a form. Almost like a song, repeating one word over and over.
Sephrael. Sephrael. Sephrael…
“Sephrael,” she whispered, and before she closed her mouth, his lips sealed over hers. For a moment she was sucked into that endless abyss, stars spinning around her in a vortex as the he enveloped her in dark wings. It was peaceful and eternal—an empty void. She could no longer feel her body, where she ended and he began, as if she’d melted into him. They were one breath, one body, one thought.
And then he released her, and she crumpled to the floor, unfamiliar with her limbs, the rapid beat in her chest foreign as her breath sawed in and out. Salty tracks drenched her face as she shivered uncontrollably. He dropped the pouch of diamonds on the floor beside her, and melted into the shadows.
“When you have need of me, you know what to do.”
Audrey clutched the pouch to her chest and climbed to her feet. Feeling punch-drunk, she made her way down the stairs toward the healer’s ward.
What did I just do?
Had she just traded one prison sentence for shackles of another kind? Or was she now just playing the game at their level? It felt like she had an ace up her sleeve now. She’d always been a little reckless. But that was in the mundane world, where the worst someone could do was physically hurt you and where she always fought harder and dirtier. And she’d never had much to lose. She had no idea what lengths an immortal or an archaic council of witches would go to.
To Tame A Wild Heart: A Zyne Witch Urban Fantasy Romance (Zyne Legacy Romance Book 1) Page 17