Page 109 of The Slayer Seduction

“Let me leave with my books in peace and I won’t decimate the entire coven sitting outside right now,” Celeste threatens, her own wand in her hand. “You do not know the power I possess.”

I shake my head with a small laugh that pisses her off.

“It must really hurt, being the head of a coven, and none of them wanted you a part of it. You don’t get it, do you? The power of a coven always prevails.”

She raises her wand, ready to strike me with some type of offensive magic, but just as she does, Balam wraps his arms around her and the whole plan goes out of the fucking window, as another witch portals into the space.

My eyes widen as seeing her familiar face shocks me.

“You thought I’d come alone?” Celeste cackles.

Standing before me is Violet’s grandmother, our old High Priestess. The one who lied, hurt, schemed, and kept our coven in the dark ages. We removed her memories of being a witch and shunned her from the coven, her punishment to live out her life as an ordinary human.

Somehow she looks younger than I remember, her white-blonde hair full and lively, her previously wrinkled fair skin now smooth and shiny, yet she looks absolutely furious.

But as she stands next to Celeste, I realize the powerful witch has given her back everything she’s had taken away. She stands before me, pissed off and ready for vengeance. She hits Balam with a curse and he goes crumpling to the ground, likely dead.

“Tell me, are my infernal daughter and granddaughter outside? I’m assuming the rest of my ungrateful coven as well.”

My heart feels like it’s going to beat out of my chest. This changes things. It’s no longer us against a witch that we don’t know who’s done unspeakable things, now it’s personal.

I go to open my mouth to say some retort, but the Slayer transports us out of the building.

“What are you doing?” I shout at him as our feet land in the courtyard.

“It got too dangerous. We needed to leave.”

“She’s going to get away, after everything she did to us, everything she did to my mother.”

“She won’t,” he promises, and I just shake my head, knowing that we’ve missed our opportunity.

The magic around us gets thicker, and I know it’s a containment spell.

We’re trapped here with the enemy and I’m not sure if we’re going to make it out.

Chapter 48

The Slayer

Iris looks at me like I’ve betrayed her, but I saw the fear in her gaze and the way those witches were ready to impart damage to my Iris. I needed to protect her more than I needed the spell books or to get revenge.

But it seems like I didn’t get us far enough.

A green bubble circles around where we are. The shifters and vampires are on the outside. I can see Silas and the disgusting vampire banging on the barrier, attempting to get to their mates.

Meanwhile, the witches look stunned at the level of magic surrounding them.

Balam is likely dead and there's guilt there, but maybe he got out. That, or Celeste needs him enough to keep him alive this cycle.

Celeste and the newcomer witch land in front of us and the hush that comes over the coven is unbelievable. Violet and the High Priestess seem the most shocked and I place all the pieces together.

It’s thirty witches to two, yet somehow our odds feel low. Celeste has lived longer than all the witches here combined, the souls she collects fuel her power. The magic she uses is dark and sinister, while the Celestial coven is of gentler magic.

“Mother?” the High Priestess asks and all the witches hold their wands high.

“Yes, well, you all should have been wiser and killed me. Shows what a weak leader you are. Now there will be no coven to speak of. It’s best this way, really. None of you appreciated what I handed you,” the new witch says.

“Vampire souls are like a little snack. Collecting all these magical souls should last me for centuries,” Celeste says, and my heart plummets.