Bitter Thorns (The Entwined Book 1)

by Chrissy Jaye

  Instead of a shower, Vian helped draw me a bath and then asked if I wanted him to stay or go. I’d opted for him to go and to take Flynn with him. I needed a minute, or thirty.

  I wasn’t sure whose bathroom this was, but it was nice. It had the same layout as Brooke’s, but instead of purple walls, they were light grey. A two-sink counter ran along one wall until it hugged a walk-in shower. On the other end were two doors. One went to the room we’d entered through. The other probably led to someone else’s bedroom. The tub could easily hold three large people comfortably, which had me questioning again just how much money these people had.

  I sat back on a grooved seat, water up to my chin with bubbles that were starting to thin out. While I soaked, I could hear Vian and who I thought might be Flynn talking in low voices through the door. I was surprised they’d allowed me this much privacy, but I guess I’d earned it somehow.

  Yay. Get violated and earn some freedom. I snorted at the absurdity of my own thoughts. After my initial reaction though, I found myself angrier than anything else I was feeling. The real problem was that I couldn’t remember. Something like that? There’s no way I would have forgotten.

  I was so deep in thought, trying to sort through the probabilities, that when the door banged open, I screamed. A nice high girly scream that echoed. Ick.

  Brooke stood in the doorway looking like a wild ball of rage. Her eyes settled on me and softened just a fraction. “Sorry,” she muttered before shutting the door behind her. She started stripping as she headed toward the tub. Then she climbed in and claimed one of the other reclining spots.

  Seriously, the tub was like a mini hot tub, complete with jets.

  “Whose bathroom is this?” I asked. I wasn’t going to ask her why she was in here. It was obvious she needed to relax. That was, assuming she was up to speed on the new developments regarding me. Also, she was the only other chick in the house. The guys had probably sent her in to check on me.

  “Lucien and Kieran’s.” She waved a hand around the room. “They have the best tub because this room sits in a corner of the house. I mean, my tub’s okay, but it only fits two people.” She paused to grab a rolled-up towel that sat on a shelf just within reach and put it behind her neck. “You know, we didn’t know why Emma wanted to leave early. When she called me with the change, I didn’t think… Now I know I shouldn’t be mad at her for throwing her life away.”

  I stared at her, stunned by her confession. “You think she knew what had been done to me?”

  “Probably.” She sniffed and I could see her struggling to control herself. I totally got that. “I won’t tell you I’m sorry. Or make it anything more or less than it is. Bad shit happens to good people all the time. Look at your parents. Your past. Even Liam and Lucien. Two of the sweetest people I’ve ever met. You have to take that and make it yours. Make yourself stronger. That’s how you survive. But I think you know that. You’re just going about it the wrong way.”

  “What do you mean by that?” I asked. My breathing sped up as her small speech marinated in my head.

  “I mean that you bottle it all up. I know you think it’s for the best and I don’t blame you at all, all things considered, but I think if you owned your past and funneled all that anger in the right place, nothing in the world would ever topple you again. People are always going to hurt you, Olivia. It’s up to you to decide how much.”

  Unbidden, tears surged forward and slipped down my cheeks. Who knew I was such a crier? I swallowed past the lump of emotion in my throat. “You’re sort of smart, you know that?” I choked out. She opened her eyes and winked at me. Now if only I could figure out how to do what she said…

  Chapter 13

  I shifted uncomfortably on the couch and looked around the room. Every eye was on me. No one had spoken since I entered the room. We sat in this uncomfortable silence, where I sort of felt like they were waiting for me to crack apart. They could wait for it, but it wasn’t going to happen.

  I refused to be a victim. I still had the words of Brooke’s speech fresh in my thoughts and wanted to be what she described. Someone who took control of how they felt and gave it direction. I don’t know when I’d stopped fighting for myself, but I missed that girl who was full of fire. Not this broken shell I’d been functioning as for the past few years.

  “Olive,” Vian started but I waved him away.

  “I want to start learning magic. Now. Today,” I stated.

  Brooke snickered. “It’s not magic. We don’t break the fundamentals of nature, we evolved into this. Witches use magic. Steal it actually.”

  “I agree you should start learning Arts,” Ben stated, “but there’s something more pressing that we need to deal with.” He eyed Flynn across the room and raised an eyebrow. When he nodded, Ben continued. “According to the report Renee gave us, the spells placed on you were done by a medical professional and you’re going to have to purge a spell or two. The one stunting your growth is almost completely faded, but there’s a tracking spell in your bloodstream and another that’s in place to make you forget things when it’s triggered.”

  My head spun as I tried to wrap my mind around what he told me. “What do you mean a medical professional?”

  “Only that they implanted you with a spelled object.” His ears turned bright red as he talked, clearly uncomfortable even thinking about it. “There was minimal scarring. Anyone with the know-how could have done it, but it wasn’t sloppy like we normally see with captives in the witch community.

  “So, it couldn’t have been Evan?” I asked quietly. “It doesn’t make sense. It had to be him. I’ve only seen a doctor twice in the last two years.” My hands trembled as I struggled to focus my mind. Whether it was Evan or some nameless doctor, it was still an invasion.

  Ben paused and scrutinized my face. “You’ve seen one every three months since you were sixteen.”

  “I think we can figure out what the memory spell was for,” Kieran said dryly.

  I closed my eyes briefly, questions flying through my head. “How is that possible?” I breathed before waving my hand, staving off any possible answers. Speculating didn’t help me right now. If I wanted the truth, I’d have to go hunting for it. When my eyes opened, I pushed it all aside and focused on the rest of what Ben had said. “Okay. What about this purging thing you mentioned? Cause I’m pretty sure I’ve puked enough today.” I shook my head in disgust. Puking was seriously not my thing. I was tiny enough. No reason to get rid of what little nutrition I needed to stay alive.

  “It’s not that sort of purging,” Brooke rushed to answer. I noticed how she scooted closer to my brother and narrowed my eyes. A small smile crossed her lips that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

  “Yes, it’s more like a detox through water purification and sweat,” Lucien continued to explain. “Basically, you get to drink about a gallon of saltwater and a few herbs and then sit in the sauna.”

  That didn’t sound too bad. Well, the saltwater didn’t sound fun, but I could sit in a sauna for a couple of minutes. No sweat… or lots of sweat? So not the time to be witty. “The one stunting my growth, does that mean I’m finally going to grow into a real woman?”

  No one laughed at my vague Pinocchio joke. Not even Ben.

  “Unfortunately, some of it isn’t reversible. You’ll probably start aging, but you won’t grow taller,” Ben said quietly, looking down at his hands. “We’re just lucky they got it wrong. I’m pretty sure it was meant to stunt your resonance growth which would have rendered your place in our Circle useless.”

  “What does that mean? Everyone keeps mentioning resonance. Demaric kind of explained things but I still really don’t have a clue what it all means!” I really wanted to understand all of this. I’d never been good at science. I was more of a literature nerd than anything else.

  “The human body is made up of electromagnetic pulses. Think of a computer, except organic. Everything that makes you, you, is determined by these waves of electricity,” B
en explained. I was with him so far. Electricity, human computer. Easy. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Lucien giggle quietly behind his hand and glared at him quickly. “With Entwined, our bodies can absorb outside energy, which everything is made of. Over time, we developed the ability to use it. Because of that, all of us have a specific energy signature. Circles are made up of people who resonate together, at the same frequency.”

  I shook my head and blew out a breath. “So, in short, we’re energy conductors and we’re a Circle because we have similar signatures?” I tried to summarize, unsure if I had it correct or not.

  Kieran sat forward. “Basically—”

  “Hold on, Sweet,” Brooke said sharply. She sat forward and pointed a finger at Lucien. “Sugar, if you don’t stop that, I’m gonna ask Olivia to smack the shit out of you.”

  “What?” he exclaimed with wide eyes.

  “I would happily,” I deadpanned. “I don’t know why you think it’s funny to laugh at Ben, but it’s kinda dickish.”

  “I’m not laughing at him. I’m laughing at the look you get on your face whenever you’re confused. You sort of look like a fish, a cute fish, but still. Your mouth gets all round and your eyes go wide.”

  I pulled a face at him. “I do not do that.”

  “Actually…” Flynn said.

  “You do,” Vian piped up. “Always have.”

  I blinked several times and sat back and frowned. “Fine. Whatever, but stop laughing. Ben thinks you’re laughing at him.”

  “Not anymore I don’t,” Ben interjected.

  I gave him a look that said, ‘really dude?’

  “I give up,” I muttered. Then an idea struck me. “You know what, no. Fuck all of you. Stop calling me cute. Quit looking at me at all. Seriously.” I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at them before dropping my eyes to my lap. “It confuses me,” I tacked on in a whisper, feeling my cheeks heat but I didn’t think anyone heard me.

  “Come on,” Flynn said, standing up and motioning to Lucien. “Help me get things set up for a family purge.” Several people sat back groaning. Only Brooke didn’t. She smirked.

  “Usually when we have to purge, only your sibling has to do it with you. Four hours is a long time to sit by yourself.”

  I choked on whatever I was going to say. “Four hours?” I squeaked. How was I going to survive four hours in a sweat box? “Isn’t that dangerous?”

  “Not if we hydrate well,” Ben answered.

  “Is there anything else I need to know?” I asked, changing the subject. Yep, that was me. Ms. Avoidance.

  “Other than the fact that you’re extremely powerful and that you might never grow up, you mean?” Brooke quipped. I beamed at her. She knew exactly what I’d been asking for. She was growing on me so quick it wasn’t even funny. Or maybe it was.

  “Great. Okay. I want to call Payton. I think it’s time I talked to her. Vian, can I borrow your phone?” I asked. He got up and handed it to me. Before he could move away, I grabbed his wrist and pulled him down. I pierced him with a meaningful look. “You are so going to explain about you and Brooke later.”

  “Noticed that, huh?” he asked with a small grin.

  “Duh. I’m not blind.” I rolled my eyes and let him go. He stayed where he was for a few seconds, giving me a look. “What?” I finally asked.

  “It’s just good to see more spirit,” he said with a small smile. “I was worried for a bit that the girl I grew up with was gone and I’d missed the important changes.”

  I was struck dumb for a second. It hadn’t occurred to me that I might have changed just as much as him or that it would affect him in the same way. “Well, even if we’re both different, we have plenty of time to get to know each other now,” I stated firmly. “I’m gonna go make that call.”

  I got up and headed out of the room. When I passed by the kitchen, I spied Lucien and Flynn at the island with several large bottles of water. They were adding salt and dried flowers to each. Flynn spotted me before I could pass.

  “Where are you going, Princess?” he asked, making me pause.

  “To make a call. I’ll be right out front. And cut out the princess shit.”

  He threw me a roguish smile. “Nah. But please stay on the porch?”

  I waved, not saying whether I would or wouldn’t and headed outside and collapsed into a chair. I saw Flynn at the window with a stupid smirk on his face, so I flipped him off before searching for Payton’s number in Vian’s phone.

  I snorted when I found it. It was under Wicked Witch of the West. Seriously? I mean, I’d known he’d saved that for her, but now it had a whole new meaning. Let’s hope he was wrong. I hit call and waited as it rang. If I couldn’t get ahold of her, I’d leave a message. I wasn’t sure if I could trust her anymore, but I needed to know what she knew.

  It rang five times before someone picked up.

  “Well, well, well. What did you do with my prize, Octavian?” Evan’s voice rang out loud and clear over the speaker and my blood turned to ice in my veins.

  I sat in shock for a moment before a blinding rage took over. “Guess again, fucker,” I said sharply. Emma flashed in front of my eyes and I almost regretted not hanging up as she burst into ashes.

  “Oh good. No middleman. Not sure I like your tone though. You’ve only been gone a few days and they’ve already ruined all the work we put into you. Such a fucking waste. Though, I’m definitely going to enjoy breaking you again,” Evan said, his voice morphing into something coiling and sweet. Like he was talking to a lover and not someone he wanted to dominate.

  I repressed a shudder, before steeling myself. I needed to be stronger, like Brooke said. “Where’s Payton?” I demanded.

  “Busy fixing the mess you left her in. You’re a terrible friend, you know. Just left her here to deal with your foster parents. They reported you two missing, did you know that?”

  My rage sputtered out for a second at the mention of my foster parents and I had to push it aside with effort. “Fuck you,” I snarled. I refused to give him power over me.

  “Oh, most definitely babe. You can count on that once I find you. I’m getting pretty close. Somewhere out at sea. Won’t be much longer and you can fulfil that promise.”

  The phone was snatched out of my hand before I could answer. I looked up in shock to find Lucien looming over me as he pressed it to his ear.

  “Who is this?” he demanded. His brown eyes practically glowed as he inspected my face. After a few seconds, he pulled the phone away from his face and then leaned down until our noses were only inches apart. “They hung up. Who was it, Dollface?” His voice was hard, angry, completely unlike the guy I’d been slowly getting to know. He seemed to realize it at the same time I did, his stare softened. He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against mine. “Sorry. Please tell me?”

  “It was Evan,” I whispered. “I was calling Payton, but he answered. I wanted to ask her what she knew. You scared the shit out of me.”

  “I’m sorry, Doll. I really am. You just looked so…I don’t even know, and I freaked out.” He pulled back enough so he could look me in the eye.

  “It’s okay. I wasn’t prepared for him and…”

  “What did he say to you?” he asked, collecting my hands in his and kneading my fingers with his own.

  “That he was looking for me and I’d see him soon.” My skin crawled just saying it and I cringed.

  “Well don’t worry about that. We’ve got your detox ready. Better start it now rather than wait,” he said quickly.

  “He knows we’re on an island, I think.”

  “There’s no way he’ll find us here. Our people have been here a long time. Only a few witches have ever been allowed here, and that was only because they promised to share their knowledge with us. You are perfectly safe with us, I promise.” He stood abruptly and helped pull me to a stand before tucking me into a hug.

  “Didn’t stop someone from trying to hex me earlier,” I said, testing
his statement.

  He pinched the bridge of his nose for a second. “We’re working on that. Kieran knows more but I don’t want you to worry about it,” he promised.

  So many things were happening at once and it was hard to prioritize where my focus should be. My thoughts strayed back to Evan and grief took me. “He killed her,” I whispered, staring up into Lucien’s brown eyes. I don’t know why I felt the need to remind him or any of them that Evan had taken Emma away from us. I doubted they had forgotten so quickly.

  “We’ll deal with that once we’re all stronger. But come on, one problem at a time. Let’s go get naked and sweaty.”

  Unbidden, I let out a silly laugh and I put my worries in the back of my mind. It was hard to stay troubled when Lucien was determined to keep me steady. Plus, there was no way any of them were getting me naked. I’d wear my dress in. Let them try and stop me.

  Chapter 14

  I wavered from side to side, feeling a bit full after chugging down a gallon of saltwater. Well, chugging might be a bit of an overstatement. There was a lot of gagging involved, no actual vomiting thankfully. Apparently, that’s what the dried jasmine and violets were for. Lucien had patiently explained what was in it when I’d stared at the jug with distrust. It was only after he finished that I had grudgingly started to drink it.

  “Why do I feel so weird?” I asked Brooke. I felt buzzed, fuzzy, and not entirely all there. I kept dazing out, only to jerk back into full alert. This feeling, it was similar to being drunk and I didn’t like it. There was no way I could protect myself if something happened while I was like this.

  She giggled, stumbling as she threw on a long white robe. I had one of those too, in green, but she still insisted I needed to undress. I was… procrastinating on that.

  “Probably the Morning Glory.” She giggled again. “It’s to help us relax. Doesn’t seem to be working on you though.”

  “Is that why you’re like that?” I waved an arm in her general direction. I’d never seen her so giddy before and it was weird. Not in a bad way, just… not herself. Or maybe she was? Didn’t drugs bring out a person's nature?