CHAPTER 31
Caster couldn’t get into the reason he had failed to tell Mark of this meeting.
A niggling moral part of himself knew why, but he couldn’t get his conscious mind to articulate it yet.
They were in Damien’s house, having teleported here when Mark stepped outside to speak with his brother.
He hated himself for it, but if Mark saw Bastian, there would be nothing to talk about.
Did that mean he had chosen his family over his soulmate?
The complications of their situation compounded by the minute, and although he was certain keeping this meeting from Mark had been the right call, he didn’t like it.
A restless Damien paced the length of his study with enough frantic energy to wear out the expensive carpet.
His cousin stopped as the sound of the front door opening, many hallways and rooms away, invaded the silence.
Julian and Kyle were the first line of defense, their instructions to keep anyone accompanying Bastian from entering the house.
The same caution and the lack of forethought on Bastian’s motives had also necessitated the small army of Born-Vampires surrounding Damien’s property.
Bastian’s footfalls were the only thing Caster allowed his mind to focus on.
If his young cousin tried to attack them in any way, there would be no saving him.
He nodded at Riley, whose casual stance hid all the power they would need to subdue the witch if she made an appearance.
But Bastian had assured his brother that he was coming alone.
It was nonsensical, and Caster didn’t like things that didn’t make sense.
The door to the study unlocked with a click, and Bastian walked in only to stop mid-stride when he saw Riley.
He glanced at Damien. “This wasn’t necessary. If I wanted to attack you, I would have brought an army.”
The thunder of his heartbeat, one that he couldn’t hide fast enough, spoke of his fear, a fear he tried to conceal with a smile.
“And we have an army, you know.” He nodded in Caster’s general direction. “Caster.”
Damien sighed. “What are you doing, Bas? This will not end well for you. You have to know that.”
Bastian shrugged, his confidence striking. Did he know something they didn’t, or was he simply counting on their familial connection to keep him safe? He walked further into the room, even disregarding the palpable threat that was Riley’s power. “I am here to accept your surrender.”
Damien’s sigh was a display of an exasperation that only appeared when the topic of discussion was his youngest brother. “Told you this was a fucking waste of time.”
Bastian stepped into his brother’s space, halting Damien’s determined stride towards the door. His voice dropped to a whisper. “I am not supposed to be here. But I don’t want you to die.” He glanced at Caster. “I don’t want either of you to die. This is beyond everyone’s control.”
“What are you talking about?” Caster couldn’t contain himself.
Bastian sighed, his blue eyes blazing with something Caster could only describe as regret. “Ahh fuck! Just listen to me and give her what she wants. It’s the only way.”
Damien grabbed his brother’s arm. “Bas, explain yourself, right now!”
He closed his eyes, took a breath, his confidence still sky-high even as he displayed his conflicting emotions.
“I shouldn’t…” He pulled his arm away from his brother’s tight grip with a snarl.
“Damn it.” He paced, balled his hands into fists, and stared at the door as if willing it to suck him out of the room.
“She will win.” He stopped, stared at them, and pointed at Riley. “You couldn’t stop her.”
“That was a momentary failure on my part. I can assure you it won’t happen again,” Riley said, his demeanor still too calm, despite the disruption of Bastian’s frantic energy.
Damien tried to reach for his brother again, but Bastian brushed him off. “No. You don’t get it…”
“Explain it to us, Bas.” Caster kept his tone gentle. It was clear his young cousin was conflicted. Perhaps this was their chance to bring him home. “You called for this meeting for a reason.”
Bastian stopped and stared at Caster for what seemed an eternity. “I didn’t think it would go this far when I started. I swear it.” He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter anyway. It is done. You have to hand him over, or she will kill us all.”
“Bas, you are not making sense.” The pain of betrayal was present in Damien’s tone, but he too tried to soothe the wounded animal in his brother, lest they lose him.
“Your wolf!” Bastian met Caster’s stare with direct intent, the challenge in his eyes unmistakable even with the enormity of the fear his heartbeat couldn’t conceal.
“She wants him.” He took a breath, some of his frantic energy dissipating with the exhale.
“She had a taste of what he could give her, and she is unstoppable now.”
He glanced at Riley, his demeanor shifting to almost sadness.
“I fear she is too powerful even for you, and that was just with…”
Caster advanced into his space, his need to protect Mark overwhelming his desire for more information. His cousin backed away, but he wasn’t fast enough. Caster had him by the throat, against the nearest wall in a split second. “Speak plainly, Bas, or I will kill you.”
His cousin’s eyes widened, and Caster squeezed. He was aware of Damien’s presence next to him, but he was clear in his conviction to fight the whole world to protect Mark.
Bastian was too slow to acknowledge the danger he was in, and Caster was not above reiterating the threat. He sank his claws into his cousin’s neck, the scent of his blood filling the space. Bastian glanced at his brother, his eyes pleading for assistance.
“I would tell him what he wants to know if I were you,” Damien said, his voice drowning in the roaring battle Caster waged against his anger.
Fine. Unable to communicate any other way, Bastian’s only option was telepathy. Fine, I’ll tell you.
A part of Caster that wouldn’t disobey his mother or break her heart won over his anger, and he released his hold, but he remained close enough to Bastian, his claws still extended.
Bastian coughed as his considerable injuries healed.
“She said he couldn’t go to the Underworld without intending to, but after that last battle he was somehow there and she went with him.”
He looked at Riley, shaking his head. “I don’t understand this magic stuff, but she is more powerful now. Too powerful.”
He reached for his abused neck. “I am not joking…”
A far-off screech interrupted Bastian, and his eyes widened.
He tried to move, but the screech grew louder before the stench of the witch’s power infiltrated Caster’s senses.
A shockwave of toxic dark power sailed through the space in the house, shattering the peace, breaking every glass, sending Bastian into Caster as they both crashed into a floor that was quickly disappearing.
The sound was otherworldly, like a storm within a storm.
The magical maelstrom picked up the house from its foundations and set it down with such force that Caster felt every bone crack.
The pain was unimaginable, but expedited healing meant he only felt its intensity for a second, a lingering dull ache replacing the sharp pain.
In the dust generated by the magical demolition, Caster tried to find his cousins, but couldn’t see past his own hand.
The noise of the storm, the house tearing to shreds, and the screeching howls of what could only be Ethel’s army was so loud he couldn’t hear himself think.
He took a breath, ready to gather the remainder of his strength to fight for his life, fight to stay alive for Mark, when the deafening sound of Ethel’s army faded into the eerie silence of nothing.
An unfamiliar out-of-body sensation brought unwanted panic into the mess of emotions he battled, and his claws itched, readying for the fight of his life, but when he opened his eyes, he was in Marcus’s study, Damien, Bastian, and Riley next to him.
The effect of the teleportation spell settled in his belly as he took in the familiar safety of his father’s house. A dull ache lingered as his broken bones knitted together too slowly for his liking. The last time he’d felt this much pain, he’d been stuck in that void with the demon Pierce.