Chapter 41
Raven
For as long as I could remember, Adam had been my rock. Memories of my mother had faded with time, but I recalled how much she loved him. Seeing Adam with Alaric’s mother felt wrong. It left me with a nasty taste in my mouth.
Even though part of me recognized he deserved to meet someone new, did that new love really have to be Alaric’s fucking mother?
I mean, as much as I enjoyed the stepbrother trope in books, I was not pleased at re-enacting it in real life. Not that Alaric was here. For all I knew, he’d dumped my ass and swanned off to the fae realm to discover himself.
A bit like Glynda, who I was now certain had ended up in the clutches of a predatory rake called Farris.
Shoving down murderous thoughts about Farris the fucking fae because none of us needed a replay of how demonic shadow magic worked when I got pissed, I faced Adam with a smile.
“What brings you to our, um, humble abode?” Zane snorted, but I ignored him. “And also, how did you find us?” Maverick hadn’t told Adam where we were going because he said it was safer if nobody knew.
“I cast a location spell using your hair, Raven.” He moved to hug me, but I stepped back, and he sighed. “I’m sorry, my dear, that I didn’t realize how uncomfortable you were seeing me with Nula.”
“I’m not uncomfortable,” I lied. “Just surprised, that’s all.” Nula regarded me with a soft look in her pretty green eyes. Now that she’d fully recovered from the effects of wearing a spelled collar for years, her aura was brighter and more vibrant.
How anyone hadn’t figured out that Brianna, the queen witch bitch herself, was not Alaric’s mother beggared belief. Were they blind?
“My son is very lucky.” She smiled and then moved to Adam’s side, curling into him when he wrapped an arm around her slim waist.
Yeah…no.
Maverick folded his arms across his broad chest. “I hope you covered your tracks coming here.”
“Of course. I’m not stupid.” Adam scowled at my bear.
“I came because I heard that my brother plans to arrest Raven and put her on trial for crimes against magicals. We can’t let that happen.
If he gets hold of her now that her necromancer magic has been unlocked, he’ll use it to raise an undead army and overpower both the human and magical worlds. ”
Everyone froze. Including me.
“Um, Kenji? Can I raise an undead army using my freaky new powers?”
“Possibly,” he replied. “The last necromancer witch tried using her powers to raise the dead.”
“And what happened?”
“The vampires killed her.”
“Oh. I’m not sure I like that fate for myself. I was hoping for a future that involved a low-stress job and lots of chocolate.”
“I’m praying to the goddess for that too. Then perhaps I can have a moment’s peace.”
“So Kenji says I could do that, which is a concern.” I chewed my lip while not meeting anyone’s eye. “While I believe I have leadership abilities, I am less confident about commanding a zombie army.”
I pictured hordes of undead warriors moldering under the sun. Eww. They’d smell horrific. No amount of scented candles and burning sage would help.
“Anyway,” I continued. “If we kill Tiberius, problem solved, right?”
“I love the way you think, pet,” Zane said once he’d finished snorting at my internal monologue.
“Unfortunately, killing my brother is no longer an option,” Adam said with a deep sigh. “He’s Nula’s soul-bonded mate, so if he dies, she dies.”
“And?” Zane shrugged dismissively.
Fiery embers jumped from Adam’s fingers, leaving scorch marks in the faded rug between us. I hoped it wasn’t a priceless antique.
“You’d countenance the death of an innocent female who’s endured years of torture at her mate’s hands?”
“If it saves my pet, yes.”
Maverick pinched his nose and muttered something I didn’t catch before speaking.
“Zane, be quiet. You’re not helping.” He turned to Adam. “Nobody wants harm to come to Nula, but I’m struggling to think of a way to keep Raven safe without killing Tiberius.”
“Brianna is the key,” Adam replied. “My brother acts like he’s the most powerful mage in the country, but he is mediocre at best. I was always the stronger one of us. Nula would have enhanced his magic, but once he met Brianna, his bond with Nula became too damaged.”
“I don’t understand,” I interjected, scrunching my nose at Nula. “Why would he choose Brianna over you?” Alaric’s mother drooped, her eyes full of pain.
“The minute he met her, it was as if I didn’t exist. She has some kind of hold over him.”
“Maybe she used dark magic?” From what I knew about dark magic, anything was possible. Especially when the goal was as twisted as corrupting a soul-bond.
“He certainly changed when Brianna came along,” Adam agreed. “She rose to power after Ellora disappeared.”
“My mother?”
“Yes. Brianna took over the Nightshade Coven when Nymon stole your mother away. The coven sealed the portal not long after, to prevent more demons from crossing into our realm.”
“So let me get this straight. Brianna abandoned my mother to an unknown fate and stepped into her shoes?” Wow, what a cuntosaurus.
“That’s what your mother thought happened, but nobody truly knows. Nightshade witches are sworn to secrecy regarding coven matters. They take a blood oath when they join. Only death ends the blood oath.”
“He’s right,” Rasmus said. “It’s common practice in the older, more traditional covens.”
“How convenient,” I muttered. “So if Brianna is the powerful one in their fucked-up relationship, does that mean killing the queen bitch herself will neuter Tiberius?”
“Not entirely, but it will certainly make it much harder for him to remain in power,” Adam admitted.
“I’ll find out what Vane’s plans are, and then we can figure out a way to get close to Brianna.”
“My cousins and I can bypass all the dark witch’s protection spells,” Kenji confirmed.
I glanced over at Zane, who was busy scrolling on his phone. He caught me looking and winked.
“Sparky’s daddy has just announced he’ll be attending a gala dinner in two nights, here in the city. Looks like he wants to smooth things over with the human president after all the bad press lately. Oh, and Brianna will be there.”
“Then that’s our chance to nail the bitch,” I announced, excited about the prospect of exacting revenge on the witch who’d hurt my storm mage mate.
Yes, Alaric had abandoned me, but I didn’t hold that against him. The storm mage seemed to think he needed to protect me from his father. Well, the joke was on him because I had special magic now.
Magic that could suck the life out of a nasty piece like Tiberius Vane. Literally.
“It could work,” Adam said cautiously.
“Great!” I jumped up, eager for a break from the suffocating atmosphere. “I’m off to bed. Good night.” Without waiting for a response, I left. The guys could play host.
Once in my room, I threw myself onto the bed, fully expecting Zane to join me because of all my mates, he was the least likely to role-play a polite host.
But instead of my incubus, it was Maverick who appeared a few minutes later.
“Little mate, are you okay?” I was not, in fact, okay, but I forced a smile.
“Yeah, I’ll live.”
My bear grumbled unhappily. “That’s not the answer I want or need. Would you prefer it if I tossed the mage out?”
I snorted despite myself, and then huffed out a sigh. “No, it’s okay. I…I just hate seeing him with her. It feels wrong, you know?”
Rasmus pushed past Maverick and lay down next to me, easing me onto his chest and stroking my hair comfortingly.
“Where are they now?”
“I showed them to a guest bedroom in the east wing, mea amica. It’s far enough away that you won’t hear them.” The subtext being I wouldn’t have to listen to any sexy time. Thank the goddess. No daughter needed to hear that. Not that I was Adam’s daughter. But still.
Eww.