And my mates needed to hold back until Isadora made the first move—something clear enough that either their lives or mine were undeniably in danger, enough to justify unleashing their shadows.
Icouldjust let her have the house. Sit back and watch the absolute carnage Creep would wreak once the conch’s compulsion wore off. And judging by the way the house creaked in fury at being called a shack, yeah, that would be entertaining.
With no better option in sight, the only thing I could do was keep her talking long enough for one of us to come up with a plan.
Chapter 30. Ambrose
My eyes were glued to Priscilla, the welt on her cheek already swelling, her right eye darkening into a sickly purple. My heart clenched for her—she’d only just seemed to heal from the last black eye her mother had given her.
Her mask of disinterest was firmly in place, her posture loose, her expression bored. Only her eyes betrayed her, locked onto mine with an intensity that felt deliberate. As if she were trying to tell me something without daring to move her lips.
I reached out with my senses.
They recoiled the instant they brushed against the vilethingshe had for a mother. Isadora’s scent clung to the air like oily rot, and it took all my effort to push past it. But when I did, what I found beneath it was not fear.
It was steely resolve.
Unfortunately for Priscilla, while I couldsenseemotions, I had never been particularly good at interpreting them.
What did that resolve mean?
That she had a plan?
Or that she was bracing herself for something far worse?
Fear began to roil in my stomach. Every instinct I had screamed to unleash my shadows and tear Isadora limb from limb.
The only things holding me back were the promise I’d made to Priscilla—to give her time to learn what had become of her father—and the pulse of hesitation radiating from Caitlyn. For reasons I couldn’t yet grasp, she was doing everything she could to keep us from attacking.
Had Caitlyn realized something I hadn’t?
I glanced at Blaise, who met my gaze with the same tight knot of confusion pulling at his brows, concern etched across his face.He wouldn’t strike either. Not until we understood what had Caitlyn holding us back.
“Why are you doing this, Isadora?” Caitlyn asked.
The question seemed to catch Isadora off guard. Her carefully drawn brows lifted as she crossed her arms, a red heel tapping into the grass in irritation. “You have no idea what it feels like not to belong,” she seethed. “To be a creature of the sea and yet unable to summon scales or a tail. To be a witch without a calling. No one on this earth understands the lament that tears my soul apart—traveling from coven to coven, trying and failing to find my place in this world.”
It spoke volumes about Isadora’s disassociation that her own daughter stood beside her, having faced the same struggles of not belonging, and yet Isadora saw only herself.
“And what does that have to do with us?” Caitlyn asked, folding her arms and tapping her Converse against the ground, mirroring Isadora.
Isadora’s face twisted with disdain.
“Oh, come on, Isadora,” Caitlyn said lightly. “You’ve already had my mate under your compulsion for over a week, and now you’re about to try to steal my house. The very least you can do is tell mewhy.”
“I owe you nothing,” Isadora snapped, but her scent shifted, turning rotten and floral, the unmistakable tell that she couldn’t resist an audience. “But if youmustknow, being exiled by Briar Coven was my last straw.” She straightened, chin lifting. “I finally found a coven that promised me everything I wanted. An easy life. A mate I could summon—one bound to show me pleasures thatthis one’sfather”—she jerked her head toward Priscilla—“could never provide, no matter how thoroughly I compelled him.”
Her lips curled. “And a house that would pander to my every whim. But even when thatidiotLily Cole let me join out ofpity for a single, soon-to-be mother, the magic never accepted me. No incubus mate for Isadora Raisin. No sentient house to help raise the brat I’d been saddled with. A brat so useless she couldn’t even befriend a few children and invite them home for me to compel,” Isadora continued, eyes glittering with crocodile tears. “Do you haveanyidea how easy it would’ve been to get you all to run home, dig through jewelry boxes and safes, and bring everything back to me?”
She shot Priscilla a withering glare, then turned back to Caitlyn with a dramatic pout.
“And no matter how hard I tried, even using my siren song, I couldn’t seduce a single male in that cursed coven. Couldn’t convince asinglehouse to make me a cup of tea, let alone accept me as its owner.”
Caitlyn wore a look of genuine bafflement. “So...what? You think that just because youwantsomething, you can just take it?”
“You have no idea how hard I tried to forsake my siren side, little girl,” Isadora hissed. “The pain of being a siren who didn’t belong to the sea. Forsaken by my own kind.” Her voice wavered, then sharpened. “And when I tried to fully embrace my witch side, I wasn’t accepted by them either.So what? Briar Coven took me in. Themagicnever did. It never embraced my witch side. And none of you witches ever accepted me. I mean, none of you even tried to get to know me.”
She scoffed. “Sowhatif I tried to steal an incubus of my own. Sowhatif I tried to steal a house. Sowhatif I tried to become head of the coven, hoping that finally the magic might accept me.” She jabbed a finger toward Caitlyn. “I may not be a full-blooded witch, but I’m still part witch! Don’tIdeserve all the things you got just because you wereborninto the coven? Don’tIdeserve to feel the touch of an incubus? Don’tIdeserve a house that will look after me?”
