AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She may have come here to help us defeat Steph’s evil father and twin sister before they destroyed the relative peace between vampires and witches, but that doesn’t mean she wants her niece getting involved with one of them.
“I’ve been up for hours,” Bernadette says, pulling my attention from Erik and the world of hurt he may or may not be walking into, “calling historians in every coven, and it’s just as I expected. No one has any information regarding a heretofore unknown Grundelier heir.”
“Did you tell any of them why you were researching the coven?” Jesse asks, concern lacing his deep voice.
“Of course, not,” Bernadette huffs, then meets my gaze. “I would never divulge your personal information without permission, Eden.”
“I know,” I say softly.
It doesn’t matter what’s happened or how much I’ve changed, Bernadette cares about me. She wouldn’t do anything to hurt me. If for no other reason than it would hurt Steph, too.
And telling a bunch of witches about my bloodline and the fact that I’ve been turned into a vampire could have dire consequences. If the covens saw me as a threat, they would want to remove that threat by any means necessary.
“Maybe I should just let it go,” I mumble, my shoulders drooping.
I want to know who my parents are and why I was left on the steps of a church with my magic so tightly bound, but do I need to know? Will it really change anything?
I have everything I need to be happy. A new existence with the love of my life, my eternal mate, Jesse. Anonymity from witches and vampires alike, neither group knowing I’m a member of both races save for the few trusted souls inside the manor. I can live out the next couple of centuries in relative peace, now that the threat of war was ended by snuffing out Malediction Prescott, Steph’s twin Shannon, and his band of cohorts. Oh, and I can’t forget Jasmine, Jesse’s vampire sister who betrayed everyone here.
They’re all gone. Dead. No longer a threat.
But…
I’ve always been one to trust my gut, and I’ve recently learned my strong intuition is part of my witchy nature. And right now, my gut is telling me that I need to learn my history. I need to find answers to my questions.
There’s something bigger going on here, something more than having parents who didn’t want a kid and just deserted me. No, there has to be a reason Bethany Grundelier hid her pregnancy from the entire witch community. And a reason why the offspring of that child continued to hide, generation after generation, until I was born.
My parent––whichever one bears Grundelier blood––must’ve known who and what they are. How else would they know to bind an infant’s power before dumping them at a church and leaving them all alone in the world?
I look at Bernadette. “You said it had to be a very powerful witch who bound my powers so completely, right?”
“Yes,” she says, giving me a firm nod. “The binding spell made your inherent magic completely imperceptible for nearly three decades. Not even your vampire could detect the truth.”
“So it must’ve been one of my parents. The one with Grundelier blood.”
“I believe so,” she says. “I have no knowledge of another coven that could create such a powerful spell.”
“There must be a reason,” I say, thinking out loud as I begin to pace back and forth. “A reason to cast the spell and a reason to leave me behind. Why wouldn’t they just bind my powers and raise me, themselves? Was there some threat I should know about now that I have access to my powers? Am I in danger now? Can my magic be traced, leading the threat here and putting everyone in the manor in danger, too?”
“That’s a lot of ifs, Eden,” Steph says softly.
“I would never let anything happen to you,” Jesse adds. “You’re safe here.”
I look at Bernadette. “What do you think?”
She stares at me for a long moment. “I think there must’ve been a very good reason for your binding and abandonment. I’m going to keep researching until I find the answers you seek.”
“Thank you,” I say, my voice cracking a bit on the words.
She nods and swoops from the room, dragging Steph with her. I don’t miss the stern look she gives Erik when Steph waggles her fingers at him flirtatiously, and I almost smile. Almost.
Jesse takes my hand, and with a nod to Erik, pulls me from the room and back up the stairs. When we get to the room we share, he strides right through the space and into the bathroom, closing the door behind us so we have some privacy.
He releases my hand and faces me, crossing his arms over his chest. “You need to keep looking. You won’t be able to rest until you have the answers you seek. Where do you want to start? I can charter a private plane to take us anywhere.”
Gratitude for his understanding and acceptance well up inside me even as I shake my head. “You just became king. I can’t ask you to leave before you’ve even been coronated. Wait. Is that even a thing? Is there some ceremony you have to go through to accept the mantle, or something?”
Jesse shoots me a warm, yet somewhat sad smile. “There’s nothing like that. No hoops to jump through. My father is gone, so as his appointed heir, I am king.”
