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Chapter Twenty-Nine
Rowan
We walk in silence the rest of the way to the house. My lips are pressed into a firm line, holding in the scream that burns in my belly. I thought Xander was past his issues. He’d saved me from the horned beast and its master. He’d said he didn’t know what he would’ve done if I’d been harmed… he seemed to genuinely care. Hell, he even admitted he did. But, apparently, he’s willing to throw away the crazy connection growing between us because of some centuries-old promise he made.
It might be sexy if it didn’t break my heart. A man who truly believes in oaths and honor… a man who can be trusted completely. I appreciate the hell out of that. I’m just on the wrong side of his oath.
It makes sense now that I know Xander is hundreds of years old. He’s not like any man I’ve ever been with. Strong. Confident—and not false bravado, either. Respectful. Disciplined. A dragon who served in the Revolutionary War. Who would’ve thought? I’d love to ask him about his past, but it’s pointless now. We’re going to vanquish this demon once and for all, and then we’re over, too.
As we get closer to Raven Manor, I feel a wave of gratitude that I don’t have any neighbors. What would they think, seeing two stark-naked people come strolling up from the woods covered in soot and dirt? Of course, I’d had quite a few house guests the night before… but it’s midafternoon now, and I notice when I reach the edge of the yard that my car is the only one there. It looks like everyone had cleared out from the ceremony last night, and Ven must be at work.
I realize I don’t have my key, so I go around the side of the house to find the spare we have hidden. When I open the front door, all three cats are right there. They sit back on their haunches and look up at me, letting out meows almost in unison. Then they turn and streak for the library.
“What on earth?” I give Xander a sidelong glance and he shrugs.
“I’m not sure that there’s any clothing for men here,” I say unapologetically. If he has to face the demon in a dress, that’s his problem. “But feel free to check the closets on the second floor.”
I head for the stairs and as I begin to ascend them, I can feel the weight of Xander’s gaze on my bare ass. Eat your heart out, dragon.
A few minutes later I’m clothed again, wearing a pair of clean jeans and a lavender button-up cotton blouse. I’d taken a quick moment to wash the soot off my face, too. I head back down to the library to see what the cats were having a fit about. Xander is already there, peering at my grimoire. I don’t remember bringing it down here, but that thing just does what it wants. At least it hasn’t let him open it. It’s loyal, even if a bit mischievous. And apparently, he had found clothes: he’s wearing jeans and a T-shirt that fit him astonishingly well.
He looks up when I enter the room and his golden gaze rakes over me, taking in the sight of my cascading hair and fresh skin. I pointedly ignore him and go to stand on the other side of the desk, then raise my hand above the grimoire and call on my magic. The pages flutter open and come to rest on the copies of the police report.
“Feel free to look through it,” I say. “I’m going to go make some food. I’m starved.”
I don’t ask if he wants anything, though I’m not enough of a bitch to make myself food and not offer him any. I make a quick pile of sandwiches and then take them back to the library with me. Xander is staring at one of the pages of the police report, a scowl on his face.
“What is it?” I ask.
“I know what this symbol is,” he says, his voice so menacing I take a step back.
I wait for him to continue. He stares at the page a moment longer, then looks up at me. Raw emotion runs wild in his eyes. His dragon is right below the surface, his eyes bright gold.
“When I was young, my father and I were members of an order of knights. An order comprised only of fellow dragon shifters. The Order of Nobilis Draco.”
His eyes travel back down to the grimoire and my chest tightens.
“This was our mark.”
The pain on his face is so intense that my anger washes away, and I walk around the desk and slide my fingers into his. He leans into me and squeezes my fingers so tightly I nearly wince. He shakes his head in apparent confusion. Even though I’m still mad as hell, my heart hurts for him.
“I don’t understand why it’s here. What this means.” He sucks in an unsteady breath. “Tell me everything about what happened, from the moment you were taken from the police station until I got there. Every detail you remember.”
“I couldn’t see the cloaked man’s face,” I say. “It was shrouded by magic, just darkness and fog where his face should have been.” I shiver, and Xander pulls me closer. “His voice was unfamiliar. He said that he needed five witches. That he was making a pentagram—the devil’s shape, he called it.”
Xander nods. “I saw the shape from above this morning, when I was flying and spotted the smoke, and then found the third and fourth bodies. Before the sheriff made very hasty decisions and threw me in jail. Though I guess that was fortunate, because that’s how I knew you’d been taken. And how I figured out where you’d be.”
I look up at Xander. “It gets worse… he said that once he completes the pentagram, it will curse every witch inside its borders, and everyone in their bloodline. We’ll lose our magic and die within the year.” Now I’m the one squeezing Xander’s fingers too hard. “It will decimate the Raven Society.” I pause. “Are any of the members of your Order capable of something like that?”
“There were others, like me, who had no love for witches,” he says, slowly, as if mulling it over. “But murder goes against everything the Order stood for. I think we’re looking at an imposter.”
“Okay, then. So how do we find him and finish this?” I ask, the heat of determination spiking through my veins. I’m ready to end this bastard.
“Well, we know he has to go back to somewhere very close to the place he had you, in order to complete the pentagram,” Xander says. “He may try to grab another witch while there are still so many in town for the funeral.”
“No doubt that’s part of the plan. He needs to complete whatever spell he’s performing while everyone is still here, so then the exponential effect finishes the rest.” I worry my lower lip beneath my teeth.
“The problem is that the coward keeps running. We need a vanquishing spell for the horned beast. Killing his body won’t be enough, as you learned when it ambushed you.”
