Chapter 10
Felix pulled up to where the wrought iron gates of the manor had been, his car scraping against something as he parked at the side of the desolate county road.
He winced at the squeal of metal and cut the engine, still attempting to process even a small fraction of what’d just gone down at the house.
Whatever that’d been, it’d been intense.
He’d never seen Liam so rattled or emotional, and it’d ignited an urge to protect him that Felix wasn’t entirely comfortable with.
Normally he wouldn’t be considering manslaughter, but if Pete stepped in front of Felix’s car right now, he’d be gassing it. The only hesitation involved would be when he had to stop to put it in reverse so he could run over that miserable excuse for a human again.
Liam’s divorce be damned, if Pete was even half as bad as what Cruze had said, he needed to be locked up. All the doomsday shit he spouted on a regular basis was weird enough, but the other stuff she said that was going on…
Felix ran a hand over his face, trying to center himself and purge any murderous inclinations he might have before the next pending clusterfuck.
The last thing he needed was to manifest murder.
He buzzed his lips and stared at the dark space shimmering faintly between stone walls; the ward Jena had set on Samhain was still active.
He frowned, dreading the frigid hike up to the tor, but it looked like most, if not all, of the coven members were already here.
Damn it, guess he couldn’t sit here and wait for a buddy to show up.
He was gonna have to hoof it alone. He powered on his phone’s flashlight and got out of his car, icy gravel crunching beneath his loafers.
Probably not the best choice in footwear, but he was already running late.
Stopping for a wardrobe change hadn’t struck him as wise, no matter how much it was warranted.
The ward protecting against anyone with ill-intent from entering the property tingled across his skin as he crossed through the gap in the stone wall.
Shit. It had definitely been strengthened in preparation for the working.
If the coven had already gotten that far, they were going to be pissed he wasn’t there yet.
He hurried down the treacherous drive, trying not to break his neck.
Chase may have graded it, but it hadn’t been plowed, and swaths had been washed out by the last storm they’d had.
A single set of tire tracks scored down the drive.
By the skid marks, the driver hadn’t had an easy time of it.
One of the narrow ruts had been further broken up by the footsteps of everyone who had gotten there before him, and it was only marginally easier to navigate than the unbroken expanses at its sides.
Around him, the forest was silent save for icy branches tinkling in the random gusts of wind.
Felix flicked up the hood of his coat, muttering as he crossed the second ward.
There were a total of seven, each of them raised to contain and protect the magical node at its center.
Since he’d been there on Samhain, they’d all been repaired and strengthened. Jena had been busy.
Felix scowled, annoyed he hadn’t already known that.
Between Chase, her pregnancy, and all the stuff Felix had going on, they hadn’t been spending nearly enough time hanging out.
They really needed a night out to catch up.
He swapped the hand he was holding his phone with and shoved the other into his armpit.
God, it was freezing, and despite the clear sky, it smelled like snow was imminent.
He didn’t quite sob when he spotted Chase’s truck parked ahead. Almost there. The drive came to an abrupt end, and the tor loomed up from the center of a field before him. The jagged ruins at its peak were outlined by the light of a waxing crescent moon.
A glow came from beyond.
Shit. They’d already lit the fire at the center of the standing stones. Not that Felix could blame them, but he needed to hurry.
Easier said than done. The hike up the hill was even more miserable now than it’d been in the pouring rain.
He seriously hoped Chase had plans to extend the drive.
This climb was absolutely ridiculous, and the fact that he was going to have to do it again in another couple of days for Yule was even less exciting.
After one or two slips and a fall that had left him spread eagle staring at the stars for several breaths, he made it to the top—murderous intent definitely at the forefront of his thoughts.
The trip around the ruins to the garden in the back was marginally easier, but only because it was flat.
Up here, the wind was brutal. He shivered as he traversed the garden’s canted pavers and past overgrown trees.
It seemed like forever before the statue of Hecate marked his passage over the bridge and into the garden’s heart.
The radiant glow from the fire at the center of the standing stones grew bright enough for him to kill the light on his phone, and he pocketed it, unable to feel his fingers anymore.
The last coil of the spiral path ran around a six-foot brick wall.
Violet light domed above it, and God help him if it wasn’t climate controlled.
Keeping his focus was going to be hard enough without worrying what bits of him were about to turn black and fall off.
A break in the wall came into view ahead, and the murmur of the coven’s nattering and Sweets’s booming laugh grew louder.
“What do you mean Lucinda’s not going to be here?” Matilda groused. “This kind of working requires a full coven to anchor it. You’re just asking for it to rebound and fry all of us.”
“Oh, have some faith. Felix can stand in for his mother and still be the focus,” Kressida Pao tsked. “You know very well she would’ve been here if her aunt hadn’t broken nearly every bone in her body.”
“The only faith I have is in something going wrong. And I heard it was only a hip. Serves her right mixing cats and ladders,” Matilda muttered. “Next you’ll be telling me she was holding a mirror while she was at it.”
Matilda had a point. Felix steeled himself as he crossed into the sacred space with an apprehensive shiver.
The last time he’d been here wasn’t something he particularly wanted to think about.
His heart sped at the prickle of magic flitting across his skin.
The wind cut off, and warm air tingled against his cheeks.
Thankfully, any remnants from Samhain had been cleared away—physically and karmically.
A pentagram had been re-drawn in white chalk over the wide granite flagstones, with one of the tall stone pillars at each of its vertices.
At its center, a fire burned, and a cauldron was suspended over it.
That steamed and bubbled; basil, rosemary, sage, and cinnamon hanging heavy in the blessedly temperate air.
Seven witches, five warlocks, and Chase stood just beyond the pillars. He looked up, and sniffed, then nudged Jena, saying something to her as Felix came in.
She looked up and left the group to hurry over. “Chase says you smell stressed.”
“Huh.” Felix shrugged, flicking his hood back. “Can’t imagine why.”
Her brows furrowed. “I can. Tell me your parents didn’t really leave you alone with the urchins for two weeks.”
“I could, but I’d be lying.”
She glowered at him, her arms crossed under her breasts. “You owe me some serious updates, and you know I would’ve come to help. Why didn’t you call me? Do you have your car back?” Her glower faded into concern.
He winced. “Yes, but my phone got smashed, and things have been hectic, to say the least. Any idea how long this is going to take?”
“No.” She glanced back at the coven. “Who did you get to watch the urchins?”
“Ah.” Felix ran a hand through his curls. “Kelsey was busy so, um, Liam, is with them.”
A massive grin blossomed across Jena’s face. “Then you guys are…”
“Friends,” he said quickly, not wanting to get into any more detail until he figured out exactly what that meant.
What had passed between them in the kitchen, at his apartment, shit, at Jena’s last night…
all of it was far more than friendly. Which would’ve been fine, if he could’ve trusted himself to keep it casual.
Unfortunately, he’d gone down that road with Liam before, and Felix knew he couldn’t stay in his own lane.
He was totally going to crash and burn.
“Friends?” Jena repeated, cocking her brow.
“Yes, we’re going to trivia at Snaps tomorrow.” Felix chewed his lip, abruptly anxious about their not-date.
She rubbed a hand over her belly. “Lucky. I’d kill for a margarita.”
Hold up. A light bulb went on above his head. If Jena was there, it wouldn’t be half as weird hanging out with Liam solo. Having her and Chase there would totally take romance off the table. “You guys should come. Mocktails are a thing, you know.”
Her face brightened. “Like a double-date?”
“No.” He scowled. “Like I just paid almost two grand to get my car out of hock, and you owe me a round. I won’t say no to an order of nachos to go with it, either.”
“Don’t mind us,” Aggie called across the circle. “I’ve got nothing better to do than stand here all night with my thumb up my ass.”
Matilda snorted, and Sweets batted a hand at her shoulder. “What? Like we all weren’t thinking it,” the sour witch groused.
“I promise, you’ll get the full story tomorrow,” he said, going to join them.
Jena rolled her eyes. “With Liam and Chase there? Now who’s edging who?”
“Please, you know you love it, you kinky bitch.”
“Fair, but not from my bestie.” She laughed, then took a deep breath. “You ready for this?”
He glanced at her askance. “Not even a little.”
“If it makes you feel any better, Chase is super nervous, too. The coven asked him to help, since his bent is manifestation. He’s been helping me with little spells, but he’s never done a full working before.”