Azure Mania (The Sacred Seven #2)

Chapter 1

Yvonne

My hands thread through my hair, braiding the soft strands into a singular Dutch braid. I hum a soft tune, looking at myself in the mirror. The morning sun shines through the thick curtains, the velvety feel against my skin making me smile.

Today is a good day.

Although I always prefer autumn, there’s something about this spring day that makes my heart race. Something is coming, and soon. The braid falls down my shoulder, held together at the ends with a satin ribbon that I tie into a bow. My stomach flips, but I can’t tell if it’s anxiety or excitement.

Sometimes, I welcome them both. I love keeping myself on my toes.

A locket hangs off my neck, the only silver piece of jewelry I wear, a stark contrast to the gold that’s decorating the rest of my body.

It’s not mine.

The locket I stole from Lucifer, after I put him to sleep. The only regret I have is not snatching it while he was awake, to see his reaction. But, at the time, I was too angry, too deep into my negative emotions to think straight.

It’s not that big of a deal. He’ll come for it, soon. The curse should have been lifted by now, and soon enough, the man will appear before me. He’ll be wrapped in the fury I invoked, lathered in the scent of hatred that runs through his veins. And once he does, I’ll kill him.

That’s the vow I made to myself.

The memory still burns behind my eyes. Every time I go to sleep, all I see are the faces of the witches of my coven.

Every time I breathe in, I remember that too long ago, they stopped breathing.

And every day that I use magic, I know that it’s because in their last, dying moments, they sent all their magic into me.

They’re the reason I’m standing here, so many years later, and they’re the reason the power I have, seems to grow with each passing day.

It’s fueled by pure, deeply rooted abhorrence toward Lucifer D’Achille, and the rest of his life-forsaken family.

The locket is enchanted.

I put the bastard to sleep by poisoning him, before casting a curse.

It worked like a charm. With the poison flowing through his blood, I took some and coated the inside of the locket.

That way, the locket is bound to him, to his blood.

When Lucifer wakes up, I will be the first to know, as the blood inside will turn into ash.

I never intended to put him to sleep permanently. However, since I had never used a curse before that, I might’ve gone a bit overboard. The original plan was for him to sleep for a year, or two.

Yet, here we are, two hundred years later, and the bastards still asleep.

Now that Faith is inside of the D’Achille castle, I have someone on my side. She likely won’t tell me anything of her own accord, but she does owe me quite a few favors. If it weren’t for me, she never would’ve met the woman she’s now so deeply in love with.

My eyes snap to the door, the thoughts drifting away. Not even two seconds later, Octavia emerges, her body hidden underneath a dark, long cloak. It’s her sickly-sweet perfume that I recognize, and immediately sigh in relief, plopping down into a chair.

“What brings you here, Octavia?”

“It’s been a while, Yvonne,” she takes the hood off, her soft eyes glancing all over me. She’s worried that I’m going to do something reckless and get myself killed. Just because I’m immortal, and regular things can’t kill me, it doesn’t mean there aren’t ways for me to die. “How have you been?”

“Well enough,” I motion with my head, toward the chair across from me. “Sit. I’m assuming this isn’t a social call.”

She chuckles, but takes a seat, nonetheless. “Can’t I just visit a friend?”

I roll my eyes so far back, that I’m surprised I don’t catch a glimpse of my brain. “You can, but you never do.”

“I’m worried about you, Yvonne,” she admits, reaching for the cookies on the table between us.

Baking has always been a hobby of mine. After being alive for more years than I am willing to count, I’ve learned pretty much everything there is to learn.

Well, except for playing any musical instruments. I do not possess any musical talent.

“There’s nothing to be worried about,” I lift an amused brow, watching as she stuffs her mouth with the cookies, a small crumb falling onto her lap. “I’m not a child. I can take care of myself.”

“I don’t doubt that,” she wipes the corners of her mouth with the sleeve of her cloak, and I wince. That’s so… unsightly. “But everyone needs help from time to time, even the oldest witch alive.”

“Are you calling me old?”

“You are,” she points out. “But that’s not the point. Are you sure you’re okay?”

I suck in a sharp breath. “Well, you definitely came with an agenda. What is it, Octavia? Did you need something from me?”

She pauses, her hand hovering over the plate of cookies.

Hesitantly, she pulls it back, placing both hands in her lap.

The softness in her eyes is still there, but something far more serious appears and makes me pause.

She’s never the one to worry. In fact, she’s the most easy-going person I have ever met, and that’s saying something, considering how long I’ve been alive.

Octavia’s eyes search mine, almost like she’s desperately trying to read into my soul.

My heart skips a beat, and I don’t like the sensation that’s building in the pit of my stomach.

The last time I felt anxiety like this was when my coven was murdered, when I was left waiting for them to return, and they never did.

“You know how sometimes… I can simply feel things, and can’t really explain them?”

“Yes,” I nod. “Your intuition is extremely strong, and it’s never been wrong. What are you feeling, Octavia?”

Her eyes close briefly, hands fisting on her lap. She swallows, before opening eyes, and looking straight at me. Something about the way she’s looking at me, makes my stomach churn and for a moment, I could swear time stops.

Her eyes drop lower.

“That locket,” she pauses, looking back at me. “The curse you put on that D’Achille vampire… it was wrong.”

I blink. “Wrong?”

“Well, it did what it was supposed to do. But someone managed to clear his blood… and that means that the blood inside of that locket doesn’t match the one in his body… so…”

“What are you trying to say, Octavia?” I straighten up, eyes narrowing. My shoulders go rigid, my heart hammering against my ribcage, all but leaping straight out. “Is the bastard awake?”

Octavia swallows, then nods.

“He’s been awake for quite some time. I saw him a couple of days ago. It’s only after I was able to confirm it was him, that I came to you.”

“Fucking hell,” I stand up abruptly, pacing back and forth, biting the nail of my thumb. “Who would do something like that?”

“I don’t know,” Octavia responds. “The only reason I even looked in his direction was because I could smell your power off him. Your magic has a unique smell, Yvonne. But since this was a curse, it was at least seven times stronger. That’s how I connected the dots.”

“Fuck,” I breathe out, closing my eyes for a moment. “Where did you see him, Octavia?”

“New York,” she says.

“So, he’s no longer in Transylvania,” I look outside of the window.

The land I bought many, many years ago is beautiful. The cottage is rather small, but it has everything I need. The rest of the land is filled with flowers, a small lake, and even a forest to match. The sun is high in the sky, the soft wind blowing through the trees.

I saw Lucifer when I went to see Faith. Well, I went to see him, and met up with her, too. I knew then that the curse was going lift soon, the magic had started to fade. I only thought I’d have more time, to prepare for what came next.

The potion is nearly done — all I need is to find a sacrifice.

Once I force-feed him the potion, every person who shares his blood will die.

That means that six out of seven, oldest vampires of all time, will die at once.

The seventh one isn’t blood related to them, but she’s the easiest target, anyway. The weakest link, too.

I pull the curtains shut, darkness falling inside of the cottage. Then, I turn to look at Octavia, as serious as ever.

“If you saw him a few days ago, that means that he’s close. He’ll be tracing my smell since it’s likely still on him. I did leave him a message of where to find me, though. I just thought it’d be in a few years’ time.”

Octavia jolts, standing up, eyes widening. “You gave him your location?! Have you lost your mind, Yvonne?! That man is dangerous! You might as well have put up a sign saying, ‘Hey, I’m here, kill me!’”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” I roll my eyes, sitting back down. “Sure, it all happened a little earlier than I anticipated, but it doesn’t mean I’m not prepared. I’ll stall, buy myself some time until the potion is ready.”

“You are insane,” Octavia laughs — the nervous, disbelieving type. “Do you honestly believe there’s a way for you to stay alive, without that potion in his presence?!”

“Yes, of course I do,” I blink. “He’ll want to return the favor, so he’ll likely torture me. He won’t outright kill me, and I have another ace up my sleeve.”

Octavia pauses, eyes narrowing at me skeptically. “Dare I ask?”

I chuckle. “Do you know how his wife died?”

A frown etches onto her face. “Uh, she accidentally cut herself, and he went berserk?”

“Sure, that happened,” I shrug. “But she didn’t cut herself accidentally. I may or may not have been involved.”

All color drains from Octavia’s face, and she’s silent for a couple of moments. Nothing but the birds chirping outside to be heard, that and the steady beating of my heart. The anxiety is still there, but the excitement is slowly becoming more prominent.

“You used magic on her? You forced her to cut herself?”

I wave her off. “Not really, I just made her hand slip, and well… the rest is as you know — he lost control of himself, drank her blood until he killed her.”