Chapter 5
JOSIE
Idon’t remember returning to my room at the Hotel Elysian. After finishing the meeting with Lilian and the Moon Witches, Finn scooped me into his arms and began running. The rhythmic cadence of his footfalls and the security of being caged against his chest gave me the peace I needed to let my exhaustion take hold.
I woke briefly a couple of times, but in the end, I slept the day and following night away. It’s nearly dawn when I wake fully and the events of the past two days wash over me.
Adelaide is dead.
Lilian Beauchamp is alive.
Egan is after the two witchstones.
I’m pacing alone in my suite, my thoughts spinning in until I’m dizzy.
I’ve grown used to Finn and Rune filling my time, but with everything that happened at my family crypt, they need to tend to the fallout and assess what the aftereffects will be.
I collapse backward over the edge of my bed with a groan, gazing up at the gaudy canopy draped above me. It would be such a blessing if the hours of sleep had overtaken me and shut off the world.
No chance of that.
Stupid Sebastian.
I don’t know how, but this is entirely his fault.
Okay, maybe I’m so used to placing the blame on him, I’m using him as a scapegoat to offload my anger—anger that should be directed at Egan and Adelaide.
What if Lilian and the Moon Witches are right? What if the bonds between witches, vampires, and werewolves can be broken? What would that mean to me? Would I go back to Europe and forget everything about the nightmare of New Orleans?
The idea of never feeling the connection to my ancestral magic again pierces me with a stabbing ache. And even if I could give that up, what about my mates?
Wait. Mates?
When did I start thinking of them like that?
Images of Finn and Rune fill my mind and the idea of leaving them steals my breath. Is that real or simply the influence of the unity bond?
And then there’s Sebastian.
If the unity bond includes the Bastard King, how can I reconcile myself with wanting the other two? Not that Sebastian has shown any interest in completing his end of the bond…
I’m hoping if neither of us wants it and we don’t act on it, it will fade.
“Is that even how it works?”
I groan. I have no idea.
I don’t know how any of this works.
And what am I supposed to do with all my anger and hatred toward Sebastian now that I know he didn’t kill my parents? He told me that a dozen times, but I refused to believe him.
I think, somewhere deep inside me, I wanted it to be him, so I had someone I could direct my hatred and anguish toward.
But it wasn’t him.
Everything I thought I knew, I don’t. My head is a jumbled mess of things I grew up believing versus what I’m learning is real.
This entire mess—witches being exploited and dying—was caused by Grand-Mère and her friends.
I’m so angry about that, I don’t know how to process my emotions. My entire life she raised me to believe the vampires were the root of all evil, but in truth—beyond the violence of the war they were trying to end—it was the witches and wolves behind it all.
My gut twists with equal parts betrayal and guilt over that. I’ve been taking my lifetime of hostility and grief out on the wrong people.
Vampires don’t deserve my fury. And, if I’m being wholly objective, Sebastian was wronged as much, if not more, than me.
The woman he was bound to was murdered and from what Fintan says, that is from where his madness stems.
Something broke in him when his Unity Witch was murdered. Am I the remedy to his suffering? Can I bring him back from the dark place he resides? Do I care enough to try?
If this were about Finn or Rune, the answer would be yes. I see the ruthless vampire side of them, but I also see the men behind the fangs.
When I look into Sebastian’s eyes, all I see is a black, empty void of chilling hatred and violence.
Fucking Adelaide.
All this because she wanted to be the High Priestess of the Sun Witches of New Orleans? She plotted with Egan to wipe out the Dumonts. For what? Did that make her a better witch? Did Mother Gaia reward her for her treachery?
Thoughts of Mother Gaia fill me with anger and shame. How could tethering witches to be used, degraded, and slaughtered by other supernaturals be her will? That is not the loving Earth Mother Grand-Mère taught me about.
But if it’s not her will, why hasn’t she stepped in to help them?
And if her will truly is all, what happened back at the cemetery? Why would she grant me the power to raise the dead? Am I being punished?
When Lilian Beauchamp and her Moon Witches teleported me out of the Dumont mausoleum, I was unleashing a side of my powers I had never tapped into.
It sickens me.
One of the age-old tenets of Wiccan magic is do no harm. Spending so much time with the vampires has ignited a proclivity for violence in me that I have never experienced before.
I don’t like it, this new side of me.
I rise from the too-soft mattress and walk to the window, as if I can put distance between myself and my morbid, revenge-centered thoughts.
Resting my forehead against the cool glass, I stare out the blackened window and watch the city come to life until my eyes lose focus, and my breath fogs the view.
I huff a sigh and my face scrunches up in disgust at the stale morning breath.
“Okay, that is seriously foul.”
When was the last time I brushed my teeth? Or washed my face?
I can’t remember, but a scalding hot shower to wash away the last forty-eight hours is so enticing I leave a trail of my borrowed clothes behind me in my rush to get the water going.
I lose track of time standing under the spray of hot water. The jet setting pummels the knots out of sore muscles, and I allow my mind to wander until the entire bathroom is thick with steam.
When I start to overheat, I shut my thoughts off and then the water. Cracking the glass door of the shower open does nothing to dissipate the cloying heat. The room is so thick with steam that as I wrap a thick towel around myself, I’m a blurry blob in the fogged-up mirror.
That’s likely for the best. I don’t think I could look myself in the eye right now. Not even a long, hot shower can wash away the horror of what my magic became at the mausoleum.
My stomach revolts against the atrocity of it all. The way spirits shambled from their graves, slowly coming to life after years of peace, all to answer my call.
In that moment, I felt invincible. All powerful.
The acidic burn of bile overrides the minty freshness of my toothpaste.
What kind of witch abuses her magic to raise the dead to do her bidding for her? The immoral, dishonorable kind that has no respect for the souls of the departed.
Technically, they’re necromancers, but that isn’t a title I want. Not in the slightest.
Being Grand-Mère’s apprentice, both as a blossoming witch and a mortician, she taught me the sanctity of the cycle of life.
In the blink, I’m transported back to when I was eight and found a dead starling in our yard. It had fallen prey to one of the local cats and I tried to bring it back.
I can still hear the horror in her voice as she scolded me for what I’d tried to do.
With tears flowing down my cheeks, I had called to access my magic, but couldn’t. I begged my grandmother to help it—to heal its wound and bring it back.
She had yanked me away from its broken body and left its little corpse sprawled in the grass of our front yard. “Magic is a great and powerful gift from Mother Gaia, but it has limitations—limits that no being, witch or otherwise, can or should bend. Death is one of those things, cher.”
Later, when we laid the poor bird to rest, Grand-Mère smoothed gentle fingers through my hair. “We never interfere with the balance of life and death. Never.”
If there was a physical witch’s rulebook, that would be written in bold.
And I’ve broken that rule.
I sigh as my face comes into view. After standing in front of the bathroom mirror so long, the overhead fan has sucked all the steam away. My body has practically air-dried, dripping onto the plush purple bathmat.
My brain is broken. I’m overtired. I’ve hit that point of exhaustion that brings a second wind of energy and makes you feel invincible…and a little loopy.
Maybe I’m in shock.
“Pull yourself together, Josie,” I grumble to my reflection. My voice sounds completely strange.
It’s been one hell of a day. We may have found the moonstone amulet, but now we must find the sunstone dagger. Each time we solve a problem, another immediately takes its place.
It’s too much.
Wrapping a fresh, dry towel around myself, I step out of the bathroom and into my bedroom. A shiver overtakes me as the sudden change in temperature chills my bare flesh.
Movement from the corner of my eye startles me, drawing my gaze to the small seating area where a man sits with his back to me, dirty blond waves loose from their braids.
“Bloody fucking hell, Rune.” His presence catches me off guard, and I clutch the towel tighter. “What are you doing in my room?”
The sun rose over an hour ago. He should be amid his daysleep. Has he been sitting here waiting the entire time?
“I came to ensure you’re all right.” He is suddenly standing right in front of me, his chest in my face so close I have to tilt my head back to look up into the hazel depths of his concerned gaze.
That catches me even more by surprise.
“You were wiped out yesterday. Finn and I checked on you off and on, but you were down for the count.”
I don’t remember that, but it doesn’t surprise me. Despite my annoyance with the whole situation, Finn and Rune are trying.
“You seem agitated,” he says, reading my expression. “Is everything all right?”
“I’ve got a lot on my mind.” I meet his concern and try not to squirm under his watchful eye.
“That’s to be expected.” Rune’s gaze becomes intense, like he’s contemplating something.
“Why aren’t you tucked in for the day?”
Rune doesn’t answer right away, which is unlike him. Usually, he blurts without thought, so his contemplation makes me wary.
“Fintan was able to find you in the bayou because he has your blood in his system. I was thinking about that and figure it would be good for me to have the same advantage.”
The intensity in his hazel eyes is both alluring and unsettling, and I’m torn between caution and a strange sense of fascination. “So, this is solely about being able to find me and keep me safe?”
He fidgets under the weight of my question. “Not solely, no.”
Seeing such a massive beast of a warrior rendered unsure pulls me in. Who am I kidding? Everything about Rune pulls me in.
Even as his fangs extend and poke out from his full lips, I lean forward involuntarily, as if the tether of the unity bond is shortening and drawing us closer. “Could you also be a bit jealous that Finn has fed from me, and you haven’t?”
The fury of Rune’s tantrum by the pool comes to mind and while my moment with Finn was wonderful, I didn’t mean to hurt Rune or make him feel left behind.
“Fintan is charming and calming, I get that,” he says, taking a step back. “But just because he can express himself better doesn’t mean that I’m not right there—that I don’t want you too.”
His admission inspires something hot and languid to curl in the pit of my belly. It would be so easy to give in to what he wants—what we both want. I long to feel the sharp sting of Rune’s fangs fade to euphoric bliss. It’s carnal. It’s undeniable. And as crazy as it seems, it’s natural.
He is my unity mate.
A shiver runs through my towel-wrapped body as I remember how it felt to have Finn drink from me. I didn’t expect a vampire feeding on me to be so…sexual.
I had expected pain and panic. In reality, it was intimate and lit me up from the inside out. It was everything, and I want that again.
I swallow hard, forcing myself to take a step back as a pang of unease courses through me. If Rune wants to complete our unity bond, he could just take what he wants, regardless of my answer.
But he hasn’t. He’s asking.
“How will strengthening the bond between us affect Finn? Has there ever been a unity bond between more than a single witch and a single vampire or werewolf?”
“Not that I’m aware of,” he says, his gaze narrowing in on the rapid pulse now hammering through my jugular.
“What if you completing our connection severs the one I have with Finn?”
His gaze hardens. “What if it does?”
Is he asking me to choose between them? Do I want to risk that? Finn warned me that his brothers may not give me a say in the matter when they claimed me.
“Are you afraid of me, Josie?”
I want to deny it, but he would sense the lie. Just his low, rumbling voice is enough to raise the hairs on my arms. “There are moments…when I feel vulnerable. You are a vampire—an old and powerful one at that.”
He shakes his head. “If you feel vulnerable, it’s even more reason for us to move forward. Your blood made Finn stronger, and he made you stronger in return. What you did at the crypt was the power of the unity bond.”
Was it? Is that where my sudden necromancy power came from? If so, I’m even more hesitant to complete the bond with another vampire.
Cool fingers brush down my cheek and send tendrils of pleasure straight into my soul. “Josie, I ache for us to complete the bond, but if I’m being honest, I ache for you too, cher. Not because you’re a witch or because you’ll make me stronger. I want you—Josephine Dumont.”
Rune is saying all the right things, but the truth is, I don’t believe him. Sure, he wants me, but he wants what my blood could do for him more. That’s the difference between him and Fintan.
Finn sees me. He wants me. He cares for me.
Rune has moments, but he’s still calculating the advantage of completing the bond with me.
“Rune, don’t.” I raise my hand and step back to put some distance between us.
A sly smirk spreads across his face. “Are you telling me you don’t want the opportunity to heighten your magic? Can you just turn that down and walk away?”
I sigh. “Why does everything have to be about attaining as much power as possible? You, Egan—even Adelaide was corrupted by the pursuit for more power. That isn’t what the unity bonds are supposed to be about.”
Rune’s lips curve into a half-smile, his gaze unwavering, locking me in place. “Aren’t they?”
“The unity bonds are a gift from Mother Gaia.” Even as the words leave my mouth, I don’t believe them. “That isn’t something to be taken lightly.”
“No, it isn’t. But imagine the strength we could possess—you and me. You said it already—this connection between us is literally a gift from the gods. Why should we walk away from that?”
I look away before he traps me in his thrall. My mind is racing with conflicting thoughts and emotions. My heart hammers wildly behind my ribcage, but it isn’t entirely fear.
Rune won’t hurt me.
At least, I don’t think he will.
“Think about it, Josie. A boost in power might just be the key to achieving your revenge.”
What?
He chuckles and takes a prowling step forward. “Don’t deny it. I’m no stranger to the pursuit of exacting revenge against those who have done me wrong. It’s only natural that you want to avenge your parents.”
I’m too stunned to even deny it.
“Why not take advantage of the opportunity given to you—to us?”
When he says it like that, it’s easier to clear my mind. “No. I don’t want you to drink my blood—at least not for those reasons. Not now. Not like this. You’ll have to give me time.”
“I can’t do that, Josie,” he says, still advancing. “You could’ve been killed tonight. Finn found you, and we were lucky it was the Moon Witches who took you. What happens next time when it’s the wolves or another faction?”
Finn will find me.
Of course, I can’t say that without driving a wedge between the two of them and making this a pissing match.
“Josie, it’s time to seal this bond between the two of us. You feel it—the faint whisper of me in your head. It’ll be so much stronger once I feed off you. We’ll be stronger to face what comes next.”
I don’t disagree. Being stronger certainly has its appeal, but am I ready for more vampire in my life? Whether it’s now or later, it’s going to happen. I have no illusions about that.
So, why not now?
I force myself to stand still and hold my ground as Rune’s chest fills my vision. I tip my head back and meet his gaze. “If I agree, I want something in return.”
Being a frightened nobody witch has gotten me nowhere in the last twenty-nine years. If this is going to happen, it will be on my terms.
My Viking raises a brow at me, amused. “Are you giving me an ultimatum?”
I force myself to keep eye contact—not much of a hardship when the view is so pretty. “If I’m going to be the personal charging station for you to be uber powerful, I want something out of this partnership as well.”
He arches a brow. “Go on. I’m listening.”
I straighten my shoulders and attempt to look as stern as I can—hard to achieve wearing nothing but a towel. “You will teach me how to fight.”
By the look on Rune’s face, that is not at all what he expected. “Witches don’t fight. Why don’t you ask one of your witch friends to help you with magical defense? Elara, or maybe Zana would take you on as an apprentice if you ask nicely.”
“I don’t want to learn defensive magic. I need to learn how to defend myself without the help of magic.”
Rune frowns. “You have magic. Use it.”
“I’m not saying I won’t. But if being kidnapped by Egan and Sebastian has taught me anything, it’s how easily I can be stripped of my magic. Then I’m left with nothing. I need a Plan B to fall back on.”
A shiver wracks through me as I recall the cold bleakness of being cut off from the power of Mother Gaia. It’s not something I’m eager to relive but if that happens again, I want to make it out alive.
“You’re an exceptionally strong witch, Josie, but without your magic, there is no fighting a foe as fast as a vampire or as ruthless as a werewolf. Without magic, witches are no stronger than a run-of-the-mill human.”
That’s just plain insulting.
“I’ve survived this far.”
Rune snorts. “By dumb luck and determination. It wasn’t skill of any measure and it could’ve gone the other way so easily. You’d be better off screaming for help and praying Finn, Bas, or I hear it in time and can rescue you.”
So fucking dismissive.
“Seriously? Does it even register in your thick skull when you’re being a total Neanderthal douche? All four of us went up against Adelaide and Egan in the mausoleum, and you wouldn’t have made it out alive if it wasn’t for me. I’m not run-of-the-mill anything—with or without magic.”
Rune turns on his heel without a word. “Fine. If you want to learn how to defend yourself, it’s time for your first lesson.”
I blink at him. “What? Now?”
Rune pegs me with a look, and this time I force myself still and pretend it doesn’t affect me. “Yes, now. Get dressed. I’ll wait in the hall.”