Chapter 43
ISAAC
An hour later, I was back at the mansion, healing Drake’s bandaged leg. Then I healed the bruises on my brother’s head, took some time out on his bed to rest beside him, and rambled my apologies, sobbing away.
Darn these tears!
“I’m so sorry for what happened, and it wasn’t me who punched you, that fucker was using me and I couldn’t stop him and, and, and, and…” The needle got stuck.
“Breathe, Isaac,” Riley said.
I got to my feet, wiping my eyes. “This is such a mess.”
Riley stood too, Drake standing over the by door—where he’d been since I’d healed him.
My little brother threw his arm around me. “You’re still not breathing.”
I took several deep and calming breaths, encouraged by his touch.
“Thanks,” I said, tears drying up. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” He rubbed my back. “It’s all okay.”
Far from it actually, but I enjoyed his positivity.
“It wasn’t you,” Drake chimed in warmly. “And Tony will get his, don’t you worry.” His dark eyes narrowed. “No one hurts my sexypie or his brother.”
Riley giggled and I laughed.
“Thanks, Mr. Parish,” I returned to the scrying witch.
“You’re very welcome.”
Riley sniffled. “I can’t believe he tried to kill you.”
And Ollie healed me. Okay, that whole thing was inside a box I wasn’t opening yet. Later. I wanted Riley time first. Anyway, Ollie wanted to keep it between us for now, and to be the one to tell everybody.
“I can believe it,” I answered. “Once a fuckhead, always a fuckhead.”
Drake nodded. “He’s hiding from me.”
A lot of our enemies were managing to hide from his magic lately. The guy needed some sort of enhancement to pull back the curtains.
“I’ll give you two some time to talk.” Drake came over to kiss his love and patted me on the arm. “See you in a bit.”
Once we were alone, I grabbed Riley’s hand. “I’m really, really, really sorry.”
He pulled me into a hug. “Stop now.”
I hugged him so hard it became a crush.
“Can’t breathe!” he wheezed.
“Sorry.” I broke off, ruffling his hair. “How are you holding up?”
He dipped his head. “Struggling with the Dad thing.”
My chest clenched. “I know. I’m sorry we haven’t discussed this yet.”
We climbed onto the bed, sitting side by side again. He looked up at the window, the curtains drawn against the night, another downpour coming down hard.
“Drake still can’t find him,” he said, lifting his legs up, resting his chin on his knees. “And the Kingwoods have vanished off the radar again, back in their hovel.”
“Just another day in the land of bullshit,” I responded.
If Daniel, the Kingwoods, and Preston were all missing, that meant the shadow witches might have our father locked up somewhere. Unless he was biding his time in the hideout, ready to strike.
Why does he care so much? I thought.
There were some daddy issues ready to be dealt with. I wanted to talk to him too, to ask him why he chose to keep Riley but not me and Preston.
Oh, and kick the shit out of him for killing my little brother.
I wriggled my spine against the pillow, sitting up straighter with my legs crossed.
“I love him so much, even if he did kill me,” Riley said.
That hit me hard in the heart with an iron fist.
“I just want to talk to him,” he added.
“Oh, honey.”
He titled his head to face me, his left cheek now resting on his knees. “How are you feeling about everything?”
“Confused as fuck.”
Daniel had helped me with Tony, which did count for something, I guess. But Hecate only knew how he’d found me when Drake couldn’t break through Tony’s magic initially.
There were answers to get, along with all the others still hidden in a murky pond.
Ugh.
Tony. Tony. Tony. Loved me, did he? I supposed he did. Gutting me like that could be considered a crime of passion. And I was passionate about committing many crimes on him.
Just fucking wait…
I wasn’t sure what would happen with Blood House now. I’d told Erin, and she said she would deal with it.
I couldn’t deal with it. The speed of the massacre, the dust, the way my face would have been the last thing they saw, sat stagnate inside me. Toxic, ready to drown me in grief.
Even though technically I hadn’t killed them, that didn’t matter. My body and magic still played their parts.
Riley’s sigh came as a welcome distraction.
His eyes regarded me with his usual softness, fanned by his long lashes. “There’s more.”
“Of course there is.”
“My parents were behind the attack on The Coral,” he said.
Oh, goody gum drops. Another anvil of darkness. “What?”
“I don’t know the details yet, but the High Coven have been flooded with calls and emails from Team Kingwood pinning the blame on rebels led by…” He hesitated. “By my mum and stepdad.”
Emily and Peter? Seriously? Just when I thought they couldn’t get any scummier after the whole thing with cursing Daniel. Now they wanted to join the ever-growing hate train?
Riley broke down and I held him through it. As much as the goddess gave us, she always loved to toss those spanners our way.
All part of being us, I guess.
Riley calmed down sniffling. “Have you seen the email?”
“What email?” I asked, rubbing his left bicep.
“From Erin. She’s sent two now, actually.”
He showed me the first one about the shimmer witches and Winter Palace.
“Let’s hope they get burned for real,” I seethed, clutching his phone tightly in my hand. “Then I’m going to smear that man’s brains across whatever wall I kill him next to.”
Aurora darkness, power up. Fuck it. Tony and his cronies fucked me over, therefore they were marked for death. Only, I needed to rein my anger in. I’d behaved recklessly on the street, getting myself stabbed.
I had to be better.
I had to be smarter.
The most infuriating thing was this sense of powerlessness. Like we were always one step behind, not as strong as we could be with Preston. Limping into battle, often getting our arses handed to us.
We had to turn those darn tables in our favor.
The second email said that the mansion was now under a serious lockdown. Stefan wasn’t allowing anyone in or out now that the protections were restored and the sleeping bodies cleared.
Apparently, the High Coven hit the chaos Tony triggered at the mansion with a massive sleeping spell. Ironically, Riley woke up from being punched at that exact moment, the magic not affecting him.
I wasn’t going to let go of the guilt over that anytime soon.
After things got sleepy, a fresh batch of witchcops moved in, removing the sleepers, using potions on the right people to wake them up—like Drake, Erin, Jake, Dean, and the Brambles.
Erin also instructed us to avoid the news and social media unless we hear otherwise. The situation was bad, our names not under the most positive of spotlights.
We were to meet at breakfast for further discussion, the fact that both Piper and Tony were using Hecate Crystals to steal essences, create magic, and generally come at us a massive concern.
Fine by me to wait until morning. I couldn’t handle it tonight.
Changing the subject, Riley showed me his new Moon marks. “Always adjusting to these threats,” he said. “Do you think we’ll get new powers to fight Tony’s new magic?”
“Fingers crossed, honey.”
He nodded. “Can we go eat something?”
My belly rumbled a yes. “I’ll meet you at the kitchen in fifteen minutes. I just need to do something first.”
“Okay.”
I hugged him goodbye and headed for the gym, hovering outside the door, too nervous to face Ollie, but I sure as shit wasn’t turning back.
He wasn’t a vampire, no purple aura on him. So what was he? Another new variety of witch like Tony and his crystal shit?
I had to speak to him or I wouldn’t sleep a wink.
Still, my nerves weren’t making it easy.
Will he hate me?
Will he think this is all my fault?
Ugh. Darn brain making me think the worst.
Please don’t hate me.
I beg you.