43. Ambrose
Chapter 43
Ambrose
“ I s she here?” I ask Emeric as I leave the bedroom where Lumi is sound asleep.
“Yes,” Emeric says, looking me up and down like he’s afraid I’m going to collapse again at any second.
I listen carefully, trying to discern where she is, but my powers are drained. I need rest, but there is no time, not until I talk to the seer.
“She’s in your office,” Emeric says.
“Protect Lumi with your life.” I don’t need his promise, but I hear it as I walk away.
“I will.”
The door to my office is cracked open, and finally, I can hear the seer witch as I approach. Her heartbeat is slow and rhythmic, and so is her breathing. She’s not afraid to be here.
“Are you going to come in or keep spying on me out there, wasting my time?” she snaps.
I open the door and step inside, not used to being disrespected like this, but I don’t say anything. I need her. I can’t piss her off.
My eyes widen when I see her. She’s not at all what I expected. For one, she can’t be more than twenty years old, standing before me in jeans and a cream-colored sweater. Her long red hair frizzes at the edges, and freckles splatter across her nose and cheeks. Her green eyes narrow in on me.
She’s not like any of the other witches from around here who prefer to live in the woods and wear flowing gowns, reminding them of their ancestors and their otherworldliness. This woman looks human in every way possible.
Did Emeric get it right? Or is she just a human he unwittingly kidnapped?
“Stop looking so surprised. You are the one who summoned me after all,” she sits in my chair and props her feet up on my desk.
“I don’t know who I summoned, but I’m sure it wasn’t you.”
She shakes her head. “Always so arrogant. It will get you killed someday if you don’t change.”
“Is that a prophecy?”
“No, just a premonition.”
“How is that different?”
She tilts her head as she stares at me. “Are you going to get on with it and ask your question? I have a calculus test to take soon.”
“A calculus test? Are you sure you’re a seer? Are you even a witch?”
“Unlike most of my coven, I prefer to live my life among the humans. I don’t see them as less than. I find them fascinating. And as male humans are our only choices to procreate with, I prefer actually spending time with them instead of just randomly spelling a man into my bed. College is a great way to scope out an intelligent, good-looking man to become my sperm donor.”
“Who are you?” I stand over her, looking as intimidating as possible. I don’t trust her. I don’t know who she is, but I’m convinced Emeric got it wrong.
She rolls her eyes, and with a nonchalant wave of her hand, she launches me into the corner office chair.
“I’m Thalia, the most powerful seer in the world. But if you don’t believe me or want my help, I’ll be on my way.”
My body shakes with the power she just blasted at me. Even if I was at my full strength, I’ve never seen a power like hers, and she knows it.
“Will Lumi survive if we try to break the curse tonight? Does she have to shift into her wolf form to survive the marking ceremony?”
Her lips curl in a vicious smile. “A snow wolf will be marked by the moonlight. Once marked, the curse can be broken. But the marking will awaken a great darkness that will threaten you both.”
“How do I prevent her from dying? Does she need to shift into her wolf form? The Moonfire coven’s seer said she needed to shift into her wolf form.”
“That’s another question.”
I growl. “It’s a follow-up to your vague prophecy. Don’t you want the curse broken? Lumi is the only one who can break the curse. You just said so yourself—she’s the snow wolf. Help us break the curse.”
She looks up at me slyly. “Who said I wanted to break the curse?”
“All creatures want to break the curse.”
She shakes her head solemnly. “The Moonfire seer said, if she doesn’t learn to shift, she’ll die. Lumi has learned to shift. The Moonfire seer never said that she had to shift during the marking ceremony to survive.
“But someone will die tonight. There is always a great price to pay when magic is involved, and breaking the curse will involve tremendous magic.”
“Who? Will Lumi die?”
“Shifting could keep her alive, but so could staying in her human form.”
“So she’ll live?”
“As long as you don’t fall in love with her, then yes, she’ll live.”
Fuck, I can do that. My heart pounds in my chest, calling me a liar.
“You said once marked, the curse can be broken. Can —does that mean it will be? What does can mean?”
“I can’t answer that.”
I grind my teeth together, and my claws spring from my fingertips as I stand, towering over her.
“It’s not because I refuse to give you an answer but because I can’t see anything beyond the marking ceremony. The snow wolf’s future is blurred.”
I frown, retracting my claws. “Then how do you know that she’ll break the curse?”
“I don’t. I just know she has the ability to.”
“Why? Why her?”
“Now, that’s a good question, isn’t it?” She rises from behind the desk.
“But not one you’re going to answer,” I snap.
“It’s not a question you need the answer to yet.”
“You’re wrong. We need all the answers when it comes to breaking the curse. There are too many lives at stake. Try—try again to see more.”
Thalia shakes her head. “I’m cursed, the same as you. The curse prevents me from seeing more of the prophecy. I’m sorry.”
“So am I.” I turn and walk out the door without a goodbye or a thank you. Her answers weren’t nearly enough, but I did get the one answer to the question I care most about. Lumi will live if we try to complete the marking ceremony tonight as long as I don’t fall in love with her.
“You love her,” Rowena says.
I freeze, not realizing that Rowena had been standing outside my office listening in.
“Don’t—don’t do this,” I say, closing my eyes tightly. My heart is beating out of my chest, trying to find the strength to deny my feelings once again.
“You do; I can see it. Tell me it’s true, I need to know. It’s not fair to Lumi to put her through tonight if you don’t love her.”
I open my eyes, my stare boring into Rowena’s soul, begging her to stop this line of questioning. Rowena could be the one to prevent the curse from being broken. With one question, she could end Lumi’s life.
I hear footsteps, and I know what I must do.
“I don’t,” I say with as much truth in my voice as I can muster.
Rowena searches my eyes. “Liar.”
My heart thrums fast, a warmth sinking into my chest, and I know I’m seconds away from killing her. I have to stop this. I have to, no matter the cost. I have to prevent Lumi’s death.
I grab Rowena’s waist, clearing my mind completely as I pull her hard to me and press my lips against hers, kissing her with everything I have. Rowena tries to pull away for a split second, but I press my tongue against the seam of her lips, and she opens, allowing me access.
I don’t think as my tongue sweeps in her mouth, eliciting a soft, shocked moan.
Her hands push hard against my chest, breaking the kiss as quickly as it started, and Rowena looks wide-eyed at the person behind me.
“Lumi,” Rowena says in one breathless word.