Witches Be Burned: A Magic & Mayhem Novel

by Stacey Kennedy

  His gut tightened as his mind kept spiraling into a place where something about all this felt wrong. Nothing made sense, and that worried him far more than anything else. He turned, glancing at Nexi. It grated on his last nerve that his thoughts always went straight to her. He had no reason to believe she was in danger, and she had proven she could fight her battles, but tonight he experienced soul-crippling concern for her that went beyond anything he’d felt before.

  Nexi’s snappy voice yanked him out of his thoughts. “You better shut that little fluffy face of yours or you’ll be sleeping in the woods.” She glared at Willow, sitting by her feet. “You think I’m mistreating you now, just wait until I don’t brush you and your hair is matted.”

  Willow snorted, sounding much like a hiss, and then she curled up on the ground.

  Kyden studied Nexi’s aggravated mood. Her voice had been curt—short, even—since she’d left Ellery’s house. And he noticed she had trouble holding his eye contact. Her hair curtained Kyden’s view of her face, and he went to brush her locks over her shoulder, but Nexi moved away from his touch. A frown pulled at his mouth, as that one move was so unlike her. “What is the rat’s problem now?”

  “Princess Willow is hungry,” Nexi grumbled, briefly looking at him. “The cat food I bought her is disgusting and she had to catch a rodent for dinner because I wasn’t here to feed her.”

  Kyden shook his head at the cat, still having no idea why Willow had attached herself to Nexi. So far she hadn’t done anything impressive to help Nexi and, in fact, caused her more distress. The familiar better show her worth soon, or she’d be sleeping out in the woods.

  Pushing his thoughts back to the matter at hand, he turned his focus to the Council as Talon said, “From what Alazar has indicated after their surveillance, the vampires are mainly on the lower floor of the lodge.”

  “How many vamps?” Finn asked, with Haven next to him. Both appeared eager to fight, postures tense, at the ready.

  Before Talon could reply, a soft voice behind Kyden said, “The vampires shouldn’t concern you; we will be there to help, too.”

  Kyden glanced over his shoulder, finding Thalia approaching. Dressed in tight black pants, a black shirt, and leather boots, she had never looked so fierce. Beside her, Maddox looked equally lethal in clothing better suited for a SWAT officer.

  Nexi leaned up and whispered to Kyden, “Why would she help us?”

  He shrugged at her, having no answer to give. In fact, the shock of her appearance reflected on every face in the room.

  Thalia settled in beside Nexi, giving her her typical sweet smile. “I’m here because I thought you could use an extra set of hands.”

  A glint of suspicion raced over Nexi’s face before she finally said, “Thank you, we appreciate it.”

  “See, all is well,” Thalia replied, waving out to Talon. “Please carry on.”

  Talon watched Thalia furtively, his brow furrowed over his intense eyes. “The Council is grateful for your help, Mistress Thalia.”

  She inclined her head.

  Talon turned to the blueprint Alazar had provided. “Here are the entry points of the lodge.” He pointed to the right side of the large square building. “Alazar, you and your team, plus the vampires and werewolves, will enter here.” Then he motioned to the side door on the left. “The witches, Thalia and Maddox, plus Zade and Holten, will go in here. The rest of the guardians will enter through the back. I will enter through the front with Kyden, Nexi, Finn, Haven, Zia, and Briar. Are we are clear on that?”

  “I’m not agreeable to such a plan,” Thalia snapped, crossing her arms. “I’m making up for my wrongdoing. I’m here to offer Nexi protection. I want her by my side when we invade the lodge.”

  Nexi narrowed her eyes at Thalia, and Kyden even sensed something was amiss. But knowing Thalia as he did, her word meant something—she wanted to protect Nexi. Kyden decided to go with it, not minding the added protection.

  Talon gave Thalia an exasperated look that spoke volumes to his annoyance. “If you and Maddox entered with us through the front, would that meet your approval?”

  “Perfectly, thank you,” she replied.

  Haven, who had remained quiet since learning of the fight ahead tonight, stepped out of Finn’s arms. “How can the witches help?”

  Zia scanned the blueprint before turning to the crowd. “We all need to come at Astoria hard and cannot allow her to get away.” She scanned over the Otherworld witches standing near the throne chairs. “Use your magic to burn, create air, and send the earth moving. Do anything to keep her contained, so Briar and I can destroy her. If a vampire comes at any of you, do what you need to do, but if you do not need to defend yourselves, leave the vampires for the others. We will need all of the witches focused on Astoria as she is our biggest threat.”

  While Zia sounded confident, and that should’ve brought comfort, it made Kyden realize Astoria’s strength. He didn’t like the thought of Nexi going up against her. Perhaps he was glad she was guardian at times. He knew she loved to fight with her sword and fists, and he hoped she’d fight the vampires instead of the black witch.

  “The key to our success,” Talon said, dragging Kyden’s focus to his father, “is to act without haste and to kill effectively. Do not hesitate.”

  Every head nodded.

  With the looming fight hanging over Kyden, he reached for Nexi’s hand and squeezed it tight, drawing her eyes to him. Though she looked self-assured, a hint of worry wrinkled her forehead. Kyden understood—when it came to Nexi, the unknown fucking terrified him.

  Talon continued, his deep voice carrying through the room. “Once you get into the lodge, fan out. Don’t stick together. If we allow the vamps to circle around us it will be more difficult to defeat them.” He scanned the crowd. “If you have concerns, state them now.”

  Silence.

  Talon gave a firm nod, the lack of questions a firm affirmation that everyone was ready to fight.

  Kyden reached for Nexi’s other hand, tugging her toward him. He pondered his next steps, knowing she responded terribly when he told her what to do. For his own peace of mind, and maybe he was learning how to deal with her, he tried another approach. “Stay behind me tonight, all right?” Posing it as a question, he was hoping she would be more accepting of his direction.

  He reached up to smooth the lines in her forehead, realizing she did not appreciate what he asked of her. “I’m not saying you cannot fight. I’m saying your place is behind me, so I know where you are.” A hot flare of pure possession warmed his veins, yet he tamped it down, keeping his voice soft. “I need to know that you are safe.” Her lips parted, but he clamped them shut with a pinch of his fingers. “Please, do not argue with me on this, and do me this one favor. That is all I ask.”

  She watched him for a long while, until her features relaxed. “Okay, Kyden, I’ll stay behind you.”

  Pleased that the new approach worked, he sighed happily. Perhaps he was getting the hang of how humans talked things over and discussed things. It was a start. “Good, that’s settled.”

  “I’ll stay beside her,” Thalia said.

  Kyden nodded. “Even better.”

  Nexi eyed Thalia with a suspicion so rich Kyden could almost taste it. Of course she wouldn’t trust Thalia. The Mistress Vampire had lied to her, and Nexi’s history with vampires was not good. But Kyden did trust Thalia. She would never hurt Nexi or put her in danger—of that he was sure.

  Thalia batted her lashes and said in her sweet voice, “I want you to think of me as a friend. I know earlier I broke that trust. Now I’m going to repair it.”

  “I hope that’s true,” Nexi replied, sounding equally innocent, “because if you’re lying to me your head will become a wall ornament in my apartment.”

  Thalia laughed.

  Nexi snorted, flicking her hair over her shoulder.

  Kyden almost chuckled along with Nexi’s threat, until he zeroed in on her neck and the broken skin there
. Skin that she had been purposely hiding from him. Dried blood layered the side of her neck, with two clear fang marks. He lurched forward, grasping her face as fury invaded him. “Explain that.”

  Nexi attempted to pull away, yet Kyden held her face firmly as Thalia snapped, “That bitch got to you first.”

  Nexi blew out a loud breath, glaring. “Really? Best buddies, are we?”

  “I mean to say that is awful,” Thalia muttered sheepishly, then she zeroed in on the fang marks. “I scented old blood when I entered the room, but I thought it might have been coming from Zade.”

  Clearly hearing the conversation from afar, Zade was quick to approach and settled in front of Nexi, eyeing the wounds. “I wasn’t sure where the scent was coming from considering the supernaturals in attendance tonight.” The Master of Vampires frowned at the marks on Nexi’s neck. “Who did this to you?”

  “Well…” Nexi hesitated and then groaned. “You see, Ellery…”

  Kyden couldn’t remove his hands from her face, his muscles seemingly seized together. His mind raced in confusion—one second wondering what had transpired where Ellery drank from a member of the Council’s Guard, and the next second thinking Ellery had dug herself a grave. He was going to kill her.

  Zia settled beside Zade, a frown marring her face. “Did Ellery assault you?”

  “Um…” Nexi glanced from face to face and then she lifted her chin. “I allowed Ellery to drink from me.”

  Kyden slowly dropped his hands from her face, cold shock bursting into him. “You allowed her to drink you?”

  “Ah, yeah,” was Nexi’s reply.

  “Why would you do that?” Zia exclaimed, alarmed.

  Nexi clasped her hands in front of her, shifting unsteady on her feet. “Ellery knew where the vampires were located, so we made a deal—a drink from me for the information.”

  Silence settled in, and Kyden could not wrap his head around what Nexi had agreed to. He couldn’t believe that Nexi—a supernatural who nearly died for the magic in her blood—had allowed a vampire to drink from her. Only pissing him off further, there was nothing he could do about it.

  Nexi had given Ellery permission.

  Under his glare, Nexi played with the scabbard resting over her shoulder. “Ellery wouldn’t tell me their location otherwise.” Silence surrounded them, and she frowned. “Would you all stop looking at me like that?”

  Zade’s normally collected voice wavered, shaky. “You offered your blood for information?” His mouth twitched and then he burst out laughing. “That is classic.”

  Kyden glared at Zade, his nostrils flaring. His annoyance intensified as he looked at Zia, finding her lips pinched together as she clearly fought her smile. Even Talon chuckled under his breath.

  Haven asked in a cheery voice, “What was it like? I hear it’s pleasurable.”

  Kyden’s glare swept to Haven.

  “Yikes! Maybe tell me later.” Haven slowly stepped back into Finn’s arms.

  Kyden’s entire body vibrated as Nexi asked, “Can we please just move on? I’d rather not relive it.” Zade ignored her request, laughing so loud that Nexi’s eyes narrowed on him. “And it’s not funny.”

  “Oh…but…it is.” Zade grasped his middle. “You—a member of the elite Council’s Guard—allowed a vampire to feed on you for information. It’s both brilliant and completely foolish.”

  She crossed her arms, planting her feet wide. “For cripes’ sake, if I have this yummy blood I might as well use it to my advantage.” She scowled at everyone surrounding her. “And now I know the type of thank-you I’ll get for getting important information that we never would have received without my help!”

  “Of course, we thank you.” Zia gave Nexi a hug, though she was still smiling from ear to ear. “Seeing that your blood appears to have qualities vampires enjoy, I’m proud that you used the leverage you had over her.”

  Talon added, “An odd exchange, but yes, nonetheless a job well done.”

  Their approval didn’t satisfy Kyden. He couldn’t believe Nexi had allowed another supernatural to touch her. Ellery had put her mouth on Nexi’s body, and she had a part of Nexi now inside of her.

  Kyden fisted his hands.

  Zade’s laughter eventually faded, even if his smile didn’t, as he closed the distance between him and Nexi. His dark eyes twinkled, but when he looked to Kyden he firmed his expression. “Might I touch her to fix the wounds?”

  Kyden knew what needed to be done, and he nodded Zade on. The Master of Vampires settled in front of Nexi, piercing his finger with his thumb, and spread his blood over Nexi’s neck.

  Then in nearly that same second his finger touched Nexi’s skin, and with vampire speed, Zade rushed to the other side of the hall. He stayed far away from Nexi, since the glow in his eyes suggested that simply touching Nexi’s exposed blood tested his control. Kyden thought the move was a smart one, since his fists clenched eager to deck the Master of Vampires for considering it.

  Kyden’s jaw clenched. He didn’t like the distance Zade had to keep, proving how intoxicating Nexi’s blood was. As if he needed another thing to worry about with her. His heart banged against the walls of his chest and a cold sweat covered his body.

  This hell he lived in needed to stop.

  Nexi continued to avoid Kyden’s gaze and said to Zade, “Thanks for healing the wounds.”

  “No need to thank me,” Zade replied, with a soft smile. “Regardless of how amusing that was, you’ve done right by the Council tonight.” He shoved his hands into his pockets, settled in next to Holten, and regarded her. “Although I will add that even I feel quite the draw to your blood—it’s nothing I have ever experienced before. At some point, we should explore the reasons behind what makes you so different and see if there is a way to make you not as”—he hesitated, as if choosing his words carefully—“appealing.”

  “Great. Perfect. Terrific,” Nexi grumbled.

  Kyden looked at her flushed cheeks, then he glanced to her neck, noticing the fang marks were gone. Ellery should have healed her after the bite—obviously, she wanted everyone to know. His attention fell to Thalia and he spotted her fierce scowl—and remembered she said bitch got to you first. Kyden wondered if the unhealed wounds were for Thalia.

  “If we are finished with this, we need to continue planning,” Talon interjected, turning to the blueprint as if the interruption never happened. “We know there are forty vampires…”

  Kyden heard nothing else, so drawn into himself and his wrath that he could barely see straight. Nexi finally glanced up at him, shame clouding her eyes. When she reached out to him, he was unable to uncross his arms in fear he’d explode. “Are you angry at the situation or angry with me?” she whispered.

  “I’m not fucking happy, that’s for sure.” She flinched at his curt voice and he brought his gaze in direct line with hers. “What you did was wrong, no matter the information you got. You do not offer any part of yourself to deal with the Devil. Not ever, Nexi.”

  She stared at him, and he noticed the sadness in the depths of her eyes: the horrific knowledge that she had to do what she did—and the cost that it was to her. “I’m sorry.”

  Kyden despised that pain inside her—that need to prove herself that made her put others before herself—almost as much as he hated the danger that always surrounded her. If Haven had done what Nexi had, he would’ve told Haven she’d done well. But this was Nexi, and he wanted to slaughter Ellery and anyone else who even thought of taking anything from her.

  He reminded himself that tonight they had a fierce battle ahead, and he needed Nexi strong and ready for the fight, not feeling regretful. Doing all he could to control the hot wrath inside, he shut his eyes, drawing in a long, settling breath. When the tightness in his chest eased, he reopened his eyes, finding tears in hers. Torn between his anger and his love for her, he slid his hands over his face. “Are you all right? Not hurt in any way?”

  “I’m grossed out! Like, shake-my-body-til
l-the-grossness-floats-away kind of grossed out.” She moved into him, nice and tight. “I never—ever—want to do that again.”

  He arched a brow. “So you shouldn’t, Álainn.” And after the fight he would remind her of that point.

  She stood on her tiptoes, and not caring who saw, he kissed her, hard. His fingers fisted in her hair and he tugged her close, stealing the kiss right out of her damn mouth, proving that his lips belonged on hers.

  When he broke the kiss, her molten eyes burned with heady emotion, and confliction, too. Each time Nexi gave something away, Kyden worried it would leave a lasting effect on her soul—and he wondered how many blows one soul could take before it broke. “Remember this, Nexi, and remember it well: You are mine to touch, to taste, to consume.” He brushed his thumbs over her cheeks, compelled to keep her right there, safe in his hold. “Only mine. Don’t forget it.”

  Chapter 12

  Evergreen trees shadowed Nexi as she drew in their sweet scent, bringing forth happy memories of Christmas candles her adoptive human mother, Gloria, used to burn. Oddly enough, the place they teleported to in Salt Lake City was one of pure relaxation, though their mission was anything but. Positioned a few feet away from the location, and nestled into a thick, thriving forest, Nexi spied the grand wooden lodge with the large clock tower atop the main structure.

  With the large picturesque mountains resting behind, the lodge would be a skier’s winter paradise. Now it appeared deserted, with only a dim light coming from the main entrance, but Nexi knew the vampires were in there…somewhere.

  One look at the group of werewolves next to her told her the vamps remained. Alazar’s posture was tense and his eyes were focused ahead, indicating that he could scent them, too. Nexi shivered, both determined for this fight ahead and unable to ignore the lingering fear—all the more reason to be cautious and aware.

  A squeeze on her hand had her looking up at Kyden. His features were tight, reflecting the concern Nexi experienced. Even if fighting was their job and they were damn good it at, one would be stupid not to worry of the pending danger they faced.