Vampires may be able to transport through walls, but with those pesky witches who knows what material they’ve concocted with their bothersome spells. After all, it belongs to the witches, and their intent is to keep us out or maybe even to keep us in. Either way, I’m staying planted here.
Embry turns and takes in my guarded stance, one foot firmly between us and the door. Raven doesn’t pay it any attention and has already left, taking up guard near the stairs to make sure no one comes down and catches us in the act of snooping in the very place we should not be.
A witches’ academy, full of hexes, potions, and spells that can send our kind back to the dark ages. It makes me more guarded, more vigilant, but Embry turns back to her task, entranced with the large hardcover books with deep golden raised lettering on the covers and sprayed glittered edges that lie on the shelves. She touches one, stroking a finger over the raised lettering before opening it. “Some of the shadow books,” she exclaims on a whispered breath.
Her head tilts to the side, those majestic eyes ablaze, exposing her beautiful cascading mane of purple hair and creamy neck. The same shade of color as those magnificent eyes that captured my attention not so very long ago and have held me completely fucking entranced since that time. She’s utterly enthralled with what she’s found as she caresses the covers.
Embry reads the words written in front of her, appearing strong and confident, but I hear every beat of her heart, the one gifted to her from a pureblood vampire, the one she gave her heart to until he turned traitor. Her mouth and eyes pop open at the same time. “Corvinus, look at this!” she exclaims, half whispering.
“Bring it to me,” I demand.
Her eyes narrow as it dawns on her that I’m not leaving the door. “Surely you trust Raven?”
My eyebrow arches. “I trust Raven, but she is Devora’s niece, and Devora has been known to swing hot and cold, and her I do not trust at all.”
A loud cackle fills the entire lower level and a bright green bubble with Devora’s image riding a large wicker broom loomsas large as life. “You dare to break into the academy. Thieves, lousy thieves! You dare to go where no vampire belongs. I will put a spell on every single one of you intruders, one that will send you all back to hell where you belong!” she yells.
“Aunt Devora!” Raven cries. “Embry is not here to steal anything. She’s just trying to find out about her gramma. Her gramma led her here. Instead of all this secrecy, just tell her what she wants to know!”
Embry looks to Raven who’s walked past me to enter the room. The little witch glares up at her aunt who’s still floating around in the air. But her aunt doesn’t give her a chance to say anything else. “You dare to defy me, my own niece, side with those bloodsuckers, time and time again. I’ve had it with the whole lot of you. The only reason I don’t …” Her voice wanes and she sucks in a deep breath. “Just go!” she yells, surprising the hell out of every single one of us.
I grab Embry’s hand, and she puts her arm around Raven as we prepare to quickly leave. We don’t waste any time transporting back next door, the sound of Devora’s fury still ringing in my ears even as we reach the safety of Master Romano’s estate.
Master Romano’s jaw is set as we walk into the room. He clearly knows or has heard the upheaval without us saying a word. This fucking night is just turning into a total shit show.
Raven starts to say something to her mate, but Romano stops her with a stern look. “I’ve already heard from your dear auntie herself. Seems you three are making friends wherever you go.” He glares at me. “You’re just lucky Raven was there, and that Devora didn’t turn you all into toads or something far worse. She is madder than I’ve ever seen her and that’s saying a lot. This is not exactly what I would call keeping the peace.”
I intervene. “You knew there was the risk of us getting caught, Romano. We got caught. Maybe it’s for the best. Ravenexplained to her why we were there, and instead of antagonizing her more, it seemed to calm her somewhat, and she let us go without a fight, right? I was envisioning her turning us to stone or holding us prisoner in a room that we couldn’t transport from, or something. But surprisingly, she did nothing. Just fumed and let us go. What I want to know is why?”
Romano nods thoughtfully, but we’re both thinking the same fucking thing now. She let us go way too fucking easy after catching us dead to rights snooping and breaking into the academy.
Embry’s eyes are flaming purple. The pulse on the side of her neck is beating fast. “Raven, you asked her why she didn’t just tell us what we want to know. Tell us what?”
6
EMBRY
My chest tightens as one of my closest friends closes her eyes, deeply inhaling. Raven doesn’t have to say a word. Just another person who doesn’t trust me with the truth, doesn’t think I deserve to know exactly what is going on. Why my gramma brought me here to find sanctuary with the witches. And looking at Raven, I already know, whatever the secret is, she knew all the time. I’m just not worth the price it will cost to give me the truth.
Romano is paid to keep the peace, and I’m sure she helps him do just that. I didn’t mean to bring trouble to their door, but I’ve managed to do it just the same. No matter what I do, what my intentions are, they’re just not ever quite good enough. No matter where I go.
All the years I wanted to be a vampire, thirsted for any and every story my grandmother could ever tell. I know in my heart she was dedicated to the vampires until her very dying breath. She breathed that love of our kind into me from early childhood. What secret can be so bad that Raven wants to keep it from me, would keep a witch’s evil little game protected over telling her friend?
Everyone is looking at me and Raven, gauging what’s going to happen. Corvinus certainly wants her to tell us to help the vampires, while Romano is looking at her with nothing but loving support in his eyes. I can see it.Tell them if you wantis written all over his face. Everyone must know but me.
I should walk away, away from all of it. The vampires don’t want me anymore. Sure they send Corvinus and pretend that they do, but will they really want me after all that has transpired now? I’m just more trouble, stirring things up, when what they were trying to do was keep the peace, let the vampires have a rest from battle, especially without the warriors and special ops team in place. But I just couldn’t leave well enough alone. When it’s clear now that’s what everyone else was trying to do…
And as much as I know it’s true, I still can’t just walk away. In my heart, I know that Gramma brought me here for a reason, a profound reason and whatever the secret, I simply need to know. I look Raven in the eye. “What aren’t you telling me, Raven?”
7
CORVINUS
Embry’s wide purple eyes are hurt as she fixes them on her dark-haired friend. “What aren’t you telling me, Raven? You were willing to bring me to the books, knowing they held a clue that could put the pieces that I’m looking for together, but not tell me when you already know yourself? I thought we were truly friends.”
Raven crosses the distance in the air, without so much as a wave of her magic wand. She simply floats right into Embry’s face. Every protective instinct I have is on guard. It’s always been this way between the witches and the vampires. Why I thought it would be any different is beyond me but something in Raven’s eyes calms my ire. Her heart is pure, and she’s not going to hurt Embry.
She takes Embry’s hand and pulls her to the couch. “It’s not my story to tell, but I’ll not let you think that I’ve been anything but honest. I just wanted you to learn for yourself. I always feel so caught in the middle. I didn’t want to tell you what wasn’t mine to tell, but I did want you to learn about your past, which is why I offered to take you to the books.” Raven shrugs. “My way of leading you to the source of truth without actually spilling it from my lips. Forgive me, Embry.”
