AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No one needs to die,” I say, then tack on “yet. They haven’t hurt her and she doesn’t even look frightened. We’ll figure out a way to get her back, then we’ll leave this place and never return.”
Jesse’s head snaps toward me, and I meet his eyes for a moment. I know what he’s thinking. This place is my one connection to my past, and if we leave, I may never find out the truth of what happened when I was born, how I came to live with my parents, and why they lied to me about it.
But none of that matters now. All that matters is Steph and keeping her safe.
“You can’t give them your magic,” Jesse says softly after returning his eyes to the road.
“Yes, I can. I don’t need it. They can have it.”
“No, Eden,” he replies, his tone still gentle. “It’s not about you, but about what they plan to do with it. Bernadette told us Brimmwise deals in the dark arts. That they are the most dangerous coven in the area. And that’s just with their own power. What will happen if they gain access to Grundelier magic? What will they do with it, and what will become of every other coven in the country? In the world?”
“You think they’re planning total world domination?” I ask, fear trickling down my spine.
Jesse shrugs. “Possibly. We can’t rule it out. There’s a reason they’ve resorted to kidnapping a witch and angering three powerful vampires. That reason has to be important to them.”
He’s right. And though Steph is worth everything to me, I can’t just think of her or myself. I have to consider the full ramifications before I blithely hand over my power to them.
“So, what are we going to do?”
“I don’t know,” he whispers, then louder, adds, “but we’re not going to go in there and kill them all. We need a better plan.”
Erik grunts, but doesn’t argue. I don’t know if he’s seeing Jesse’s point or submitting to his king’s decree, but either way, he’ll follow our lead. For now.
When we get back to the hotel, Erik and Leif follow us into our room. I close my eyes and focus while the guys search the space, but nothing looks or feels out of place, and there’s no trace of Brimmwise magic.
“We should be safe to talk here,” Jesse says. “It doesn’t appear to be bugged by electronic means or magical ones.”
I open my mouth to respond, but my phone rings, cutting me off. I pull it from my pocket, and fresh dread floods through me as I look up at Jesse.
“It’s Bernadette.”
“Answer it,” he says, his voice resigned.
“Hello,” I say as I accept the call and put it on speaker, my voice cracking on the word.
“Eden. What’s happened? I know something is off. I can feel it, but Stephanie isn’t answering her phone.”
“They took her,” I say, and even though I’m trying to remain calm, the sentence comes out on a wail.
“What? Who took her?” she demands.
“Brimmwise asked to meet us,” Jesse says, taking over the explanation when I can’t seem to form coherent words. “Eden and Steph performed an invisibility spell to try to get a lay of the land first, but they anticipated it. They came in completely cloaked and took her without any of us realizing it. Then they texted us from her phone saying they won’t hurt her if Eden hands over her magic to them. We have until midnight tomorrow to decide.”
The line remains silent for several beats, and I wonder if the call got disconnected, saying, “Bernadette?”
“I’m here,” she breathes. “I’m getting on a plane now.”
“What?” I blurt.
“I knew something was wrong. I could feel it. I drove straight to Atlanta and bought a ticket. My plane lands at eleven-forty. Can one of you come pick me up?”
“Of course,” Jesse says, shooting a look at Leif, who nods.
“In the meantime,” she goes on, “you need to contact the other two covens to ask for help.”
“They won’t help us,” I say, but she cuts me off.
“They will. If Brimmwise gains control of the Grundelier magic, they will be all-powerful. Windmere and Sabledown will band together to stop that from happening, even if it means working together with vampires. Find them. Tell them what’s happening. I’ll see you soon.”
