“We’ve gone over this. No one in the close circle of Overmaster Descallia and Lucianna believe you to be a traitor. And the rest of the world, they simply do not matter, at least while they sputter the nonsense they want to believe. And those shadow books? Sure, they may give us a few clues about what the witches thought, but remember who wrote the damn books? I spent the better part of last night rehashing a few pertinent chapters of the Vade Mecum, and I’d bet many of my dollars that it would refute whatever is said in the shadow books.”
My face falls. “You don’t believe I’ll find the answers I’m looking for, do you?”
Corvinus kisses my lips gently. “I believe the truth is going to be somewhere in the middle of our myths and theirs, just like it usually is in any dispute. Something you find may help us discover the secrets, but I’m just saying don’t put all of your heart in something that isn’t written by us.”
I pull him to me and hug his neck. “Thank you. I needed to hear that.”
His dark eyes sear with heat. “Is that all you needed, love?”
I shake my head. “No, you seem to have covered everything with flare and efficiency, my lord,” I say, bowing while trying not to topple from my stool.
He smirks. “We better get out there before we raise more eyebrows than I’ve already noticed. I have a feeling Lucianna and Raven are very much aware.”
I grin. “News flash, vampire. Raven and Romano could hear us banging the headboard in their home. She said Romano would never say a word, it’s not his style and of course she wouldn’t. But Lucianna and I, we have that connection. We have never been able to keep our thoughts from each other, even when we tried. We’ve been the greatest of friends throughout the most troubling of times. I don’t know how she wouldn’t be onto us. She’s very insightful.”
If Isala and Lucas are back, it basically means that her biggest rival and mine are back at the same time. She and I were talking about it, and it would explain the hit that got put out on both of us. You know that’s why we were turned, literally at the same time. What if the rogues just intended us to die, left gunned down? How did they know we would have caught the eyes of two vampires who wanted us turned?”
Corvinus exhales a deep breath. “It’s not out of the realm of possibility, which is why you, my love, are not going to be out of my sight unless you’re protected by someone I trust, clear?”
I huff, hopping off the stool. “You’re not the boss of me, vampire.”
He places a finger underneath my chin and tilts my eyes to meet his. “I am most definitely the boss of you, for at least a year, but we both know it’s going to be much longer than that. Because now that I’ve captured you, I’m never letting you go.”
I don’t want to be the one to bring up the fact that while he may want me, the vampires in charge may absolutely forbid it. Raven walks in and we pull apart but she’s far more observant than Descallia. “Those are the snacks Descallia said you were getting ready? It looks like you’ve been busy with everything but our snacks, and we are still absolutely famished.”
Raven slides a hand into her skirt pocket and pulls out a little wand, says a little chant and smiles with satisfaction at the large circular platter full of meat, cheese, and crackers. Her brows knit and she waves her wand again, and another platter of sandwiches appear. “There, that’s a little more like it.”
Corvinus arches an eyebrow at my resourceful and sassy friend. Raven grins and tosses her black pixie hair while her bright green eyes dance with delight. “We’ve already devoured the first plate. Besides, I’m supposed to hurry you up and get more food at the same time. Lucianna believes she found something about the two of you. She wants you to be there when she explains it.”
Lucianna is sipping a glass of Descallia Red when we join the group. Her eyes meet mine, turn to Corvinus, and then back to the shadow books. “I was reading a passage, and it brought on a vision that seemed pretty real but I wanted to get your thoughts on the matter.” I slide in on the sofa next to my friend, and Corvinus takes the seat next to us, all of us eager to hear what she has to say.
“See this passage, read it…” Lucianna says.
My eyes glide over it and my heart begins to race with a vision of my own. The very same one I saw while in the Mystic Forest. Too afraid to say too much but always leading to the doubt in my mind about perhaps being a witch myself.
The vision of my gramma talking with Devora and a group of witches from the academy becomes almost crystal clear in my mind. She’s not upset with them; she’s consorting with them. Then Gramma goes into the academy, and I lose the thread of my vision altogether. I exhale a deep breath of frustration. “I saw Gramma consorting with the witches and then entering the academy?”
Lucianna’s eyes are glowing bright now. “Now see the baubles around Raven, Willow, and Madria’s necks? They are guides, that have guided them in the right direction for absolutely centuries. Remember how they helped us with so many things, even finding you?”
I nod, trying to put together what Lucianna is trying to help me see. “And they’re not glowing?”
She smiles brightly. “Not at all!” She grasps the Vade Mecum, the vampire bible, from the table in front of Descallia. “Now look at this.” She runs a finger along a passage that sends a tingle of electricity and heat down the length of my spine.Two powerful forces will rise from death, intent on one thing, the pureblooded vampires’ demise.A sinister feeling causes my hand to tremble as the vision of Isala and Lucas larger than life come to mind. “Isala and Lucas?” I ask, trying my best to keep my voice from cracking.
Corvinus tenses beside me. I know if we were anywhere but in a group who would forbid him and me to have a relationship that he’d have his arm around me or hand in mine, but instead his mind connects with mine.Breathe, love. The bastard will never hurt you again. You are mine.
Chapter 4
Corvinus
Embry doesn’t turn or say a word to her friends, she just fucking disappears, again. I run a hand through my hair as Descallia’s eyes turn toward me. If he sees my concern, there’s not one fucking thing I can do about that. “All of you, go. I’ll head out after Embry.” I am not about to mention that she better be somewhere in this estate and not out in the dangers beyond the safety that keeps the witches out. That she better not have left after I explicitly told her she was going to be protected at all times.
Lucianna pulls me aside as Descallia gets his coat. “Please text us when you find her? Let me know she’s okay. It’s a shock for all of us, but bigger for her. She went through so much.”
“I will do that.” Descallia slips her coat over her shoulders and they follow the others out the door so I can find my disappearing little mate.
I close the door behind me and transport upstairs, following the scent that permeates my hall until I find the vampire who makes me want to annihilate anyone who causes her any harm at all standing in the middle of my bedroom.
Embry shifts, causing my eyes to drift to her mini skirt and the bare skin around it. I close the distance as she strokes the little jewel dangling from her navel piercing. I slip my hands beneath her hair, drawing her to me, cradling her face against my stomach. She doesn’t have to say a word. I know what she’s thinking and I’m not letting her worry herself sick about something that’s not going to happen.
