Chapter 39
39
ROMAN
P lumes of smoke darken the sky well before we reach Bram’s place. Like me, he lives in one of the villas on the Grand Mystic Resort. While I consider my place somewhere to keep my clothes and sleep, it’s not a home. I’ve never changed the wall color to suit my own tastes, and I don’t have a ton of personal stuff there.
Bram’s house is different. It’s a haven for him. Not only has he turned it into a place where he can escape the world, but anything of his mother’s that he still has is in that house.
“Fuck.” Bram slams on the gas, and the huge SUV fishtails in the still-snowy streets of Mystic Hollows.
We pass the main lodge and speed down the one-lane road to the villas. The flashing lights of fire trucks and emergency vehicles break through the pristine white of the snowy woods.
After speeding through town, it’s like seeing his burning house breaks my brother. Bram pulls the SUV to a stop, slowly shifting the gear lever into park. He leans forward and stares out the window, watching his home disappear in flames. His magic is so volatile that I feel the darkness seething under his skin. His curse is pulling him under.
The flames reflect in his eyes. Even from inside the car, I feel the heat from the fire. Bram grips the steering wheel and then gets out of the car. I follow behind him, feeling helpless. Even with my ability to use fire magic, I can’t snuff out something this big.
We stay clear of the firefighters, but the mists from their spray float to us on the air.
“Do you feel that?” Bram scans the scene, his head moving slowly from side to side.
“Feel what?” Right now, the odd combination of the fire, mists from the hoses, and cold from the night air overwhelm my senses. As if the Triad are testing us, snow begins falling, just to add one more thing to overstimulate our senses.
“There’s magic,” he murmurs, glaring at the fire.
I focus, searching for any magic, and get a lingering tang in the air. “Someone did this on purpose.”
Bram doesn’t reply. We both face forward and watch his house burn down.
The firefighters work to douse the flames, but the fire is fighting back. We’ve been pushed farther away from the house, and Bram is shivering in just a sweatshirt.
“I’m going to get another coat from my place,” I inform my brother after he refuses to sit in the car. He’s going to stand out here all night until the place is nothing more than ashes. “I’ll be back in five minutes.” I throw my jacket at him and take off down the road to grab another for myself.
Snow crunches under my boots as I jog up my porch and open the door to my house. I’m already inside before it registers that I didn’t have to unlock the door. There’s a lamp on in the living room, and I stop short when I see what else is in there.
Anastasia Lexington is sitting on my couch, waiting for me. She’s wearing a low cut sweater and a pair of tight jeans. She’s posed herself in the corner, her chest out and legs crossed.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m waiting for you.” She runs a hand down her throat and over her exposed collarbone.
“How did you get a key?” I don’t have time for this, and I definitely don’t have the energy to deal with this spoiled bitch right now.
“Really, Roman. Use your imagination. A beautiful woman asks for a key to the boss’s place. Do you really think anyone would question that?”
Someone is going to get fucking fired. Who the hell would think that’s acceptable? It doesn’t matter right now. I need to get back to Bram.
“Get the fuck out of my house.” I storm to my bedroom to grab another coat. When I walk back out of my closet, Anastasia is standing near my bed, rubbing her hand down the post at the footboard.
“Is it that Delvaux girl?” Anastasia sneers, and then collects herself like she didn’t mean to let the anger show.
I’m standing with a coat clutched in my hand, a frown creasing my brow. It takes a moment for my mind to fully register what she just said. How does she know about Josephine? I launch into a series of scenarios. None of them are good. My friends wouldn’t have told this woman about Josephine. Outside of the head of the Lumen coven who saw us when we stole the grimoire, no one else knows. Did she really say something to my coven? Why would they share that information with Tenebris witches? We’re supposedly mortal enemies.
“What is it you think you know of the Delvaux girl?” My lip sneers at her term for Josephine. As if her name’s not worth learning. Anastasia should be so lucky to have someone like her in their life.
“What kind of world do we live in where you betray your coven with the very enemy we’ve fought against our entire lives?” Anastasia shakes her head in disappointment, her fingernail rasping down the wood of the bedpost. Her hand moves down her side and around her hip, dipping into her back pocket.
“Fought.” I laugh. “You make it sound like war. We avoid their side of the river and talk shit about them at coven gatherings, but we’ve never battled against them. Not in a magical way. Not in any way, really.”
Anastasia takes a step forward, her head angled to the side. “You seem to think you’re above it all. That you don’t have to play by the same rules as the rest of us. But you and your family owe me.”
“Owe you what? You need to get out of my house and forget the name Delvaux. I don’t ever want to hear it from your lips again.”
Anastasia launches herself at me, her hand slapping against my cheek.
“Are you fucking insane? What the hell is wrong with you?” There are many things as far as I can tell.
Her chin tips back and there’s a satisfied smirk on her face. My face tingles where her palm connected. I blink as the sensation spreads. For a second, I wonder if I can feel her touch. The idea repulses me. I’d rather cut my dick off than stick it in her, even if she was the one person I could fuck. No, it’s not her touch that I’m feeling. It’s something else.
“What did you do?” My words are slurred. The numbness inches over my face and moves down my shoulders.
“I’m doing what needs to be done. I’ll light this whole town on fire if we have to.” Anastasia steps back in front of me, grunting as my legs give out and I fall into her.
“You burned down Bram’s house?” My eyelids are so heavy they close without my permission. “You poisoned me?”
“Of course not.” Her voice wavers, or maybe it’s my consciousness. “It’s just a little spell. You’ll be fine.”
Except I won’t. Bram definitely won’t be okay.
“Fuck you.”
I barely hear Anastasia’s cooing response before I pass out.