Shit.
“There’s nothing to worry about.”
“Did you get help from Sev?” Her green eyes spark with fury. “He has powers. God objects—I’m sure of it.”
I keep my mouth shut because there’s nothing else I can do. I’m bound to silence.
But Mor doesn’t need my words.
“I’m right, aren’t I? He used some kind of powerful object to enchant them. To drive off my parents in exchange for … what?”She looks not quite at me, but more around me. Reading my emotional aura. “Gods, Bo, what did he demand from you? Is he forcing you to do something?”
“I was never forced,” I hurry to assure her. “Trust me, I can’t say a bad thing about him.”
Once the words trip off my lips, I fight a cringe. They are too revealing. Too literal. Even if I wanted to curse Sev’s name through all the dimensions, I couldn’t. I am bound to him now more than before. Not only must I keep the secrets of the past, but I am another tool in his arsenal.
Another object in his collection.
Still, I would make the deal again without hesitation. Anything to keep the elder Shellys out of the home Mor has built here for herself and her siblings.
“Bo.” Mor’s voice is low, ragged.
I pull her into my chest, holding her lush body tight against me.
“Search my aura if you need to. Whatever choices I made, I am at peace with them. I’m happy. With you. And I know that you and your siblings are safe. That is all that matters.”
“It’s not.” Her fingers dig into the muscles of my back. “You matter too, Bo.”
My chest expands with the warmth of affection. Of belonging. “Show me then,” I murmur, voice deepening with need. “Show me how much I matter to you.”
Mor huffs, and then she digs her feet in and pushes me backward until my shoulders connect with the wall. Pinned, I loosen my arms so she can press up on her toes and claim my mouth in a searing kiss.
“This isn’t over,” she warns, the words hot against my lips.
“Leave it,” I murmur back. “I’m happy. We’re happy.”
Cradling her head with my palms, I tilt her chin at the exact right angle.
Our tongues clash, breaths melding, and I’ve never known this level of joy.
Mine. All mine.
We spend the day together in the library, and she doesn’t say another word about her parents other than to assure her siblings that Helena and Alistair are gone for good.
I’m grateful she’s let it go, and I spend the evening using every bit of energy in my body to worship my witch.
When I fall into a deep sleep, I don’t notice the touch of magic that holds me there. Only a small instinct, too quiet at the moment for me to discern, warns me that my witch has slipped away.
45
Mor
“Why doeseveryone insist on visiting me in the middle of the night? I’m not a nocturnal creature. I, too, need sleep.” Sev smirks at me from where he leans against his doorjamb, arms crossed over his bare chest. He looks paler than the last time I saw him, but maybe that’s just the dim lighting of his porch.
“I want to make a deal,” I say, guessing they’re the magic words for this monster.
He rolls his eyes. “You and everyone else.” He flicks his fingers in acome on thengesture as he saunters down a towering hallway into what must be the largest home on this lake. “You’re lucky I’m curious by nature.”
The house is oddly quiet once the door shuts behind me. Almost like I’m in a museum after hours.
