Page 65 of Curse of Ancients

The three of them gazed beyond Bayu, and he turned to see what they were looking at. Juni and Gemi strolled toward them, hand-in-hand. Juni jerked free of Gemi and ran as fast as he could to Hariz. “Up, Abah.”

Hariz lifted Juni into his arms and twirled the boy. Wahida sheathed her sword and bowed before joining her husband and daughter. Laughter filled the air for a moment as Kiki and their mother joined in hugging Juni. When the cub was once again on his feet, he returned to Gemi, and the two came to stand beside Bayu.

“We love you, Bayu. Until we are together again, know that we are with you always.”

Bayu couldn’t tell who said it as the words were a mixture of all three voices. It didn’t matter. He placed a hand over his heart and told them, “I love you all too.”

His parents’ and sister’s likenesses evaporated. He stood staring after they were gone until a little hand took one of Bayu’s and a feminine one took the other. He expected it to be Gemi, but it was Carleigh. She was leaning over him, her brow furrowed.

“Bad dream?” she asked.

It was then that Bayu realized he was now awake. His face was wet, and Carleigh brushed the tears off with her thumbs.

“No. It was… I’ll tell you about it in the morning.”

Juni snuggled into Bayu’s side, Harry tucked against his chest. He let out a cub-sized sigh and closed his eyes. Carleigh pressed against his other side and wrapped her arm around both of them. He kissed her hair and closed his eyes. Bayu’s heart was heavy having lost his parents and sister, but recalling those moments he had with them to say goodbye helped. He thanked Baekyo for the gift and promised to live up to the trust his god placed in him.

When Bayu woke next, he was alone. He stretched his arms overhead, then turned on his side. It was after ten. He couldn’t remember ever sleeping that late.

The witches are here.

Thank you, Tiger.

Bayu rolled off the bed and pulled the bedding up, setting the pillows on top of the comforter. His stomach rumbled, but he didn’t rush downstairs to eat. Bayu took a shower and dressed, not bothering to fix his hair. Most likely, he would end up in the swimming pool with Juni. When he reached the living room, it was filled with his aunt, three witches, and one anxious mate.

Bayu bowed slightly. “Ladies. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting.”

Lilly approached, and as per usual, she placed her hands on his shoulders. He now knew she was sending positive energy to him, which he appreciated. “We’ve only just arrived. Are you hungry? We can wait to do the spell until after you’ve eaten.”

“I would like some tea first, but I will wait on food.”

“I’ll get it,” Gemi offered, turning for the kitchen.

“Is Juni swimming already?”

Carleigh sidled closer to Bayu while keeping an eye on Violet who was seated in one of the armchairs. “Yes, he’s out there with my parents and Dominic. Juniper had an errand to run.”

Gemi handed Bayu a cup of tea, already steeped and fixed the way he liked it. Carleigh must have informed her he was awake. “Thank you, Auntie.” He then took a seat on the sofa, gesturing for Carleigh to sit next to him. When she did, he turned to Violet. “How are you doing?”

“Uh, okay, I guess. Lilly and Dominic have offered to give me a place to live until I’m eighteen.”

Lilly sat on the ottoman at the teen’s feet. “No, we have offered our home until you are ready to live on your own, whether that’s when you turn eighteen or you need to wait longer.”

Violet blushed. “Sorry. It’s hard to believe you’d do that for a stranger.”

Bayu took a sip of tea, studying the girl. “You will find that this family is unlike most. They go above and beyond for those in need.”

Violet met Bayu’s eyes. “I gave Dominic and Julian all the passwords I could remember, and I’m going to start writing down everything I know about the Black Lotus. It might not be much, but I want to help you take them down. They don’t care who they hurt, and they also don’t care if humans find out about shifters.”

Bayu inclined his head. “All assistance will be appreciated. If you don’t mind, I would like to begin.”

Luna waved Violet off. “We’ve already prepared the potion. All I need is one drop of your blood, then you drink it. No incantation is needed for this one.”

Bayu stood and gestured toward the kitchen. “Shall we?”

Blocking his whereabouts was much easier than removing the curse. Lilly once again lit Luna’s knife, which she called an athame, and when she blew out the flame, Bayu held out his hand. She pricked his finger, capturing the drop of blood into the small bottle. She replaced the cork stopper, shook it, then handed it over. “Bottoms up.”

Bayu removed the cork and drank it down in one go. Instead of it being nasty as expected, it tasted like lavender. He replaced the cork and set the vial on the island. “How will we know it worked?”