Chapter 34
I paced across the library like that would help me find the answers I needed. Not only was my heart racing because Roman, Aiden, and Dorian had been arrested, but now Blaise thought I had the ability to make a half-breed dragon shifter release his animal for the first time.
I had serious doubts.
So, while Blaise called every defense lawyer, prosecutor, and cop friend the men had, I’d retreated to this space to think.
Before leaving me in here alone, Blaise had yanked down a table’s worth of old tomes he thought might help me learn more about my demon blood and witch magic.
I’d told him that there was no way I could read through all these books right now, and he simply grunted his annoyance and stomped out of the room to make another call.
Peeking out one of the floor-to-ceiling windows that lined the exterior wall, I hid behind the curtain as I watched the news crews lining up along the street in the distance, hoping to get a glance at the abbey.
Blaise and his staff had scared them off after the arrests, but no one could stop them from parking on public property and harassing us as we left the sanctuary of our home.
Our home.
It still felt a little strange to think of this place as home…but that is what it was. A home where Grim and I didn’t have to be ashamed of our past actions and a place where I finally had a family.
And speaking of the oversized black dog of mine, Grim came trotting into the library with a rib bone hanging out of his mouth. It must have been from a cow because I could see both sides of the rib, even though Grim’s jowls were huge. “Hey, buddy. Bring me anything?”
He snorted his negative answer and plopped himself down in front of the bookshelves that hid a secret door. Grim just made sure that no one would be sneaking in here from the underground hallways that crisscrossed beneath the entire abbey.
While I was a little annoyed with my dog’s nonchalant attitude, I wouldn’t have been able to eat anything right now anyway.
This whole situation was so messed up. Murielle and her human contacts had royally fucked Roman, Dorian, and Aiden.
And what for? Because she wanted to control the supernatural population of New Orleans?
Because she was mad at me? Because she was a bitch?
Probably a bit of all three. She’d thrown me to the wolves, so to speak, only to demand I return to her when Roman didn’t kill me.
Why?
My brain was trying to connect the dots.
There was something off about the whole situation, yet I didn’t have enough answers to weave my story together.
Now that I knew my father was a half-demon and my mother came from a powerful line of witches, I would be a fool to think those tidbits of information weren’t a factor.
After I’d had my little dream visit from my grandmother, I’d been able to see and break through the coven’s spells.
And when I spent that next day in bed with the men, I thought I witnessed the energy passing between us.
Maybe that was the key to helping Blaise.
Maybe I needed to break the curse that kept his animal trapped inside.
“Find anything?” Blaise asked, and I let out a little scream.
“Jesus, you scared me.” Holding my heart in my chest, I walked toward the door to be closer to him.
It had only been two hours since the guys were arrested, but Blaise looked like he’d been fighting with the bureaucracy for weeks.
His usually tan complexion seemed muted against his black hair.
The black dress shirt and pants wrinkled like he’d been lying in them.
Dark circles had formed under his eyes, and his shoulders hunched forward, making him look six inches shorter.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, reaching for his hand.
He looked down at my touch and visibly shivered as he sucked in a deep breath. “The state didn’t want to offer bail, but we know a judge. Should be taken care of in a few hours.”
“Okay, so do we need to go down to the courthouse and—”
“No,” he said quickly. “We are staying here. The lawyers will take care of everything.”
Taken aback by his words, I pulled my hand away and walked over to Grim.
After kneeling beside my dog to give me strength and support, I looked back at Blaise.
He was hurting, and I needed to remember that.
Despite him usually being a big cranky ass, he actually had a real reason for acting this way today.
“Did you figure out how to help me?” he asked again, fingers running over the books strewn across the large mahogany desk.
I had several snarky responses in my head, but I simply said, “No.”
He sighed and opened one of the books. Angrily flipping through the pages, he swore under his breath a moment before he flung the ancient tome across the room with a roar.
The pages smacked against one of the windows, and I was surprised the leather-bound book didn’t go all the way through.
When it thumped to the ground, Blaise growled, rubbed his face, and fell backward onto one of the wingback leather chairs.
I felt like I’d let him down and I hated it.
“Blaise?” I asked, stalking closer to him.
“What?” His eyes were closed, but I saw every muscle in his face tense up when I spoke.
“I promise I’ll find a way to help you,” I whispered.
Rolling his head to the side so he could see me standing near the desk, he let out another giant breath. “The witches told me they could set my animal free.”
“What do you mean?”
“The day they took you, they’d stopped me with some type of spell that almost made my dragon come through.”
“Yes, you told me that,” I said quietly.
“But I didn’t tell you that they said they could do it.”
“Wait,” I sat on the arm of his chair and looked down at him. “A witch can release your dragon?”
A small smile passed over his face. “That’s what they said.”
“In all these years, have you never asked a witch about that?”
“I am now.”
“Blaise,” I huffed. “I am no more witch than you are dragon.” Immediately feeling bad for saying that, I placed my hand on his arm. “What I mean is, I have no training. My mother never told me what she was. And after she died, no one said anything about me having those genes.”
“Then we need to find someone to train you,” he stated.
“Um, in case you haven’t realized, the Crescent Coven is kind of kicking our asses right now. I doubt any of them would—”
“What about your grandmother? The succubus?”
“What about her?”
“She would have more knowledge than any of those coven whores could dream about. She could even help you master your succubus side.”
My succubus side. Jesus, sometimes I wondered if the words I was hearing could possibly be true. “I have no idea how to reach her.”
Blaise jumped to his feet so fast I nearly fell off the side of the chair.
He started looking at all the books on the desk, and when he didn’t find what he wanted, he let out a growl and began scrutinizing the shelves.
I sat down next to Grim, fearing that I wouldn’t like whatever he had brewing in his mind.
And when he reached up and pulled down a large, black book with no words written on the cover, my heart sank.
I swear darkness pulsed from the thick fabric covering the spine.
“Blaise?” I asked as he grinned and blew the dust off the cover.
“There you are,” he muttered to himself. Setting the book carefully on the desk, he began in the back and slowly flipped the pages in reverse. There was a tension in the air, and I suspected it was coming from that ancient, creepy book.
“Blaise?” I asked again, voice quivering.
He ignored me until he slapped his hand on a page and sighed. “I knew I still had it.”
“Had what?”
“The incantation.”
“Incantation for what?” I really didn’t like the way his face had contorted into a determined psychopath right now. He looked fucking scary and on the verge of losing control.
I didn’t like it one bit.
As if sensing my fear, he stood straighter and looked at me. “The incantation to summon a demon. Katarina, we’re going to bring your grandmother to us.”