Chapter 11 Sebastian #3
I’d meant them as a genuine offer, but I really would do anything for Kayla. If I needed to offer her parents a permanent guard so they could visit, I’d do it in a heartbeat.
But Kayla waved her hand. “No.” Her voice was a quiet, almost a whisper. “They’ve had enough of other supernaturals, of this city, and they’re happy now.” She shrugged. “The politics here got really hard to deal with.”
I nodded. I could only imagine. Whatever Kayla had navigated had led to her signing Francois’s contract and dabbling ever deeper in darker arts. She offered me a tired smile as she popped a fry into her mouth, and I changed the subject away from something that seemed to make her a little sad.
“Who did you get your powers from?”
She tilted her head as she finished chewing.
“Maybe both of them, I guess? I have an affinity for plants and herbs… any spells or incantations that include nature like that. That might be from Mom. But I definitely get my spell work ability from Dad. There’s something almost scientific about constructing a good spell.
It’s the difference between cooking and baking, perhaps, and understanding the way the instructions and method matters.
If magic is the art, the spell is the science, and I enjoy both sides.
Even if it occasionally leads me in a darker direction than most of my peers would like.
Maybe even darker than I’d like most days. ”
She looked away and swallowed then peeked over her shoulder like she was checking that we were alone.
“I’ve tried to never push myself too far, though.
” She shuddered. “I’ve seen other witches lose themselves completely in the shadows and I like my humanity too much.
I stay in the gray area.” She chuckled softly.
“At least I hope I do. It all comes back to consequences. Every action has one, right?”
My pause lasted a beat too long after she finished talking, but I’d been lost in the sound of her voice. “I… What did you do for Francois?” I fumbled the start of the question but smoothed it out and hoped she didn’t notice.
Around her, I was pretty much reduced to a schoolboy much of the time. I forgot all the sensible words in my head no matter how much I wanted to impress her.
She was quiet for longer this time, and I held my breath. Maybe that had been a question too far?
“I guess I can trust you, right?” She smiled wryly as she pushed her plate away and leaned back in the cracked vinyl booth that creaked when she moved. “Vampires are unlikely to kill anyone they think is their mate?”
My chest contracted at the brief uncertainty in her voice, and I took her hand in mine. “I will protect your life with my own. Always.” I nodded along with the words, trying to underscore how much I meant them.
She drew a deep breath and blew a shaky one out. “I did some necromancy for him to start with, but I don’t like to talk about that.” She shuddered and her face paled.
I didn’t push. We’d all seen Francois’s garden, and I could only imagine how much more Kayla had seen during her time serving him.
“Then I was supposed to be making the spells to cure the madness from the dead man’s blood.
” She shook her head, her mouth a tight line of sudden fury.
“But I wouldn’t have spat on Francois if he was on fire.
I gave him small doses of a potion that I’d created that helped alleviate the symptoms, but only slightly.
So he didn’t suspect I wasn’t curing him, and he needed to keep me close to keep feeling better.
” She shrugged, the movement delicate. “Maybe it wasn’t Francois’s fault, but émile killed my sister a long time ago.
I don’t even remember her. That’s part of the reason my parents eventually left and why they won’t return.
They’d be horrified if they knew I signed a contract with the Ricards.
I’m glad they didn’t see it, but I… I made a mistake.
” She drew her fingertips across the table surface like she was finding patterns in the fake grain.
“I thought I’d found understanding at first, but then understanding turned to threats and then I just needed protection, I guess.
” She choked the words out before looking at me, vulnerability bringing a fresh light to her eyes.
“But I was fighting the system with the potion. It was all I could do.”
“I... I was sent here as punishment.” I blurted my confession before I even thought about saying the words, and her eyes widened.
“Nic exiled me here because I betrayed him in one of the worst possible ways.” This time, I was the one checking behind me for eavesdroppers before I continued.
“There was a time when Leia asked me to turn her into a vampire.”
I met Kayla’s gaze so she understood this was the important part.
“And even though Leia was Nic’s mate, I would have done it.
I would have stolen that moment from my brother because I was blind to what it meant.
It would have been a theft from both of them ultimately.
” I sucked in a breath. “But I know now. I’ve learned so much more now that I’ve found you.
I can see all the mistakes I nearly made, the ones I did make, and I know why they’re wrong.
I know how I must have made Nic feel… How merciful my brother truly is.
“The thing is, my exile, the punishment I’m supposed to be enduring here so I can seek my redemption… It doesn’t feel like a punishment anymore. I feel like everything was meant to be. I came to New Orleans, and I met you. My mate. I can’t regret the events that led me here.”