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“Aye. Follow me.”
I take hold of the witch’s arm and urge her to my “wife’s” side.
In the room now lit by dawn, the older witch glances between us. “You spoke magical mating vows, right?”
“Last night.”
The woman’s blue gaze dances around me again, tracing my figure. “You merged with her. And yet…not wholly.”
Is she asking if I penetrated my mate yet failed to release my seed inside her? “Aye.”
This conversation is horrifying on every level.
“There’s your problem. She is an untransitioned witch, and it is unadvisable for anyone magical who has not yet attained their powers to mate. It creates a dependence that, unfulfilled, is sadly fatal. The fact you’re nonmagical…” Bram’s aunt shakes her head. “Despite how virile you look, she will likely require care beyond your abilities. It’s tragic, but best make her comfortable until… Well…”
I whip my glare to Bram. “Give me the nonmagical translation for your aunt’s prattling. Now.”
He raises a golden brow. “What’s in it for me?”
Mercenary varlet. “I might know something about that book you seek. But if this witch dies…”
“You two are mates. A vow was spoken and answered. Normally, consummating the union seals it and provides the energy exchange necessary to keep someone magical healthy and alive. She gave you her…pleasure, and you did not give her yours in return.”
I seethe. “And your aunt says that Morgana—”
“Her name is Olivia.”
“Olivia, then”—I huff—“will perish because of me?”
“That’s the simple translation, but yes.”
“Because I am cursed?” Resisting the ugly curse on the tip of my tongue, I take a menacing step toward Bram. “I will be damned before I stand idly by and let that happen.”
“You don’t have a choice. Magically speaking, Olivia gave you her power. Since you didn’t…return the favor, you failed to combine her energy with your own and give it back. That leaves Olivia with a power deficit, which makes her weaker by the moment.”
“So…you say that, because we are mated, I must bed her often to keep her alive?”
“Yes, and, um…complete the joining, as it were.” He cast a glance at his delicate aunt. “I should also point out that this”—he reaches for the bracelet with the laggagh stone about Olivia’s wrist—“saps her further because Merlin created it to drain a witch of Morgana’s immense, centuries-old power. Your mate hasn’t yet attained her magic. She shouldn’t for a couple of years.”
“So…the bracelet is hastening Olivia’s demise?”
“I’m guessing a bit since no one has used it in centuries. But yeah. Do you have the whole picture now?” Bram drops his voice. “Because you haven’t orgasmed inside Olivia, her body perceives that you haven’t given her your vitality, only taken hers. Because you two are mated, she is now dependent on you for her energy. She hasn’t transitioned into a full-fledged witch, so she’ll need even more of your…um, vigor. Without exchanging energy often, she will lose power until she loses her life.”
I lunge at Bram with a growl. “If I fail to spill my seed inside her—something I have not achieved with any woman in fifteen centuries—she will die?”
Chapter Twenty
“Yes. You are now the battery that powers her existence.”
“Skin-to-skin contact will briefly provide your lovely mate a boost, dear,” Millie adds. “But a rousing romp in the hay to mutual satisfaction will revive her for hours, perhaps days, depending on the pleasurable energy exchanged.”
I stagger against the nearest wall. My mate is doomed.
While I sought Morgana’s downfall for centuries, the thought of this woman’s death fills me with panic. I know her not. We have fucked but once.
And if she is not Morgana, she will pay the ultimate penance for uttering a few words and sharing my bed. Even if she dies not by my hand, I will carry the albatross of guilt for killing her.
Bram leans closer. “No guarantees, mind you, but magical matings have been known to break a curse or two. Maybe, in addition to the sex, some remorse on your part for spurning Morgana centuries ago might help.”
