I’m here. Someone just walked in. Hold on.
I heard what I thought was a light switch and more illumination flooded the room. I squinted my eyes and held in an upset cry as I saw Chilli standing there.
She walked further into the room, which I could now see was more of a windowless bedroom, most likely in a basement. The place was sparsely furnished except for the bed, a desk and a chair near the door, which she sat down in, facing me.
I’d like to say I was surprised she was there, but after that display in the coven meeting, it became very apparent to me that she was desperate to have her way with my personal life decision.
“You’re awake,” she stated, crossing her legs. “I didn’t think it would be that quick, but you are powerful. I can’t forget that.”
What’s going on? Ty asked.
I could feel the panic in his voice and it both scared and touched me.
Chilli’s here. I’m pretty sure she’s behind this.
Are you at her house?
I don’t know. I’ve never been in this room, but that’s a start for you guys to look.
I jumped up, heading to the door. I knew I wouldn’t make it, but I was going to try my best to get to a window. As expected, I slammed up against an invisible ward at the doorway that felt like brick. I spun back to Chilli, pissed. “Where am I?”
She tsk-tsked, an amused look on her face. “Now you didn’t think I would tell you that, honey.”
No, I didn’t, but if you couldn’t tell, a girl liked to try. “So, why am I here?”
“Now that, I can answer.” She waved her hand back to the bed, implying I should sit down.
I made a production of huffing and stomping back to the bed. The arrogance and audacity to think she could kidnap me and even send demons after me was insane.
“You seem to misunderstand your place in this world,” she began. “In some countries, children of powerful, wealthy people must marry those of equal yoke. For the good of the family, corporation. The dynasty that is being built. In olden days, such arrangements ended wars. You are the daughter of two powerful parents. Who you are bonded to can have a wide-reaching effect. The east coast covens are the most powerful covens on the continent. My coven is one of the top three covens in the world. The coven you belong to, whether you want to fight it or not.”
I rolled my eyes. What was she getting at? “Our coven isn’t a business. Who I am with has no bearing on how the coven prospers. I’ll still be a member.”
She leaned forward, eyes narrowed. “You silly little girl. You know that there is a threat to our power. You know that our people have been attacked by dark mages. The only way we can move about in this world and resist being ruled by other magic users is to become undefeatable. The head of all of us needs your support. The only way to do that is to build up our coven with powerful people. And who you align yourself with only adds to that strength. Your father, as wise as he was, seemed to have forgotten that. He focused on your compatibility romance-wise and not power-wise. The pack that Anil now has are members with powerful connections that will support us in this fight against that terrorist group. Your father picked a pack that got their last omega killed and has a sordid history of crime. They would bring no prestige or honor to us.”
I bristled every time she mentioned my father in a negative tone. I was itching to use my magic on her, but I honestly didn’t believe I was strong enough to defeat her. She was a ruling member for a reason.
What’s going on?Ty shouted in my head. I lifted my shoulders in surprise, momentarily forgetting we were connected.
Still talking to Chilli. She’s trying to justify her actions. How’s the progress?
We’re on the move.
I wanted to ask how and to where but I didn’t need Chilli getting suspicious. She was already narrowing her eyes at me.
“My guys may not be as high-ranking as you’d like, but they are powerful, and they’ve moved on from their past. Daniel is—”
Chilli waved her hand in front of her face as if swatting a gnat. “I know what they do, child. They aren’t good enough.”
She was really pissing me off. “I don’t care what you think. I don’t live for you. And my dad may have arranged it so I would be with them, but I ultimately made the decision from the time I spent with them. I met Anil. I didn’t like him from the start. And if you had any faith, you would have known that my guys have connections, too. They could have helped us become stronger. But now, I don’t want to be a part of a coven that conjures demons to hurt and kidnap people. I don’t want to be under someone who practices dark magic. What kind of hell did you have to raise to be able to summon demons like you do? Did my father know?”
She smirked, rising out of her seat. “I had to do what needed to be done.”
She was sounding crazy now. What good did she think any of this would do? I wasn’t going to change my mind simply because she stuck me in a room. “How did you think kidnapping me was going to work? I’m here, and I still don’t want Anil and his pack. You can’t force me to bond with them.”
As soon as I said it and saw the confident look in her eyes, I knew that that was exactly what she meant to do. My stomach felt like it had dropped. How could she even think like that? Who was this woman? “You would have a man force himself on me and claim me? That’s everything I hate. I would never allow it. I would never stay part of this coven after that.”
Chilli gave me an icy look that stabbed at my spine. “We all must sacrifice for the greater good.”
