Page 121 of Treasured
Once again, I was surprised by what I found.
For an angry werewolf, Jehanne seemed to really like the rainbow. She’d donned a long amber gown that fell to the floor. She was in the middle of tying a white belt around her middle as I closed the door behind me. Azure carpets covered the wooden floors, a coral throw was over the back of the only armchair in the space, and colorful mosaics hung in frames on the walls. The tiny cottage was filled with so much joy that for a moment, I forgot we were in Eleyta.
Then the fire crackled, the loud pop like an explosion, and I remembered exactly where I was. Moving away from the hearth, I kept my back to the wall.
Noticing my trepidation, Jehanne snorted. “Relax, vampire. I didn’t bring you all this way just to kill you.”
“Relaxing isn’t in my repertoire,” I replied before I could stop myself. I really needed to get my tongue under control.
“Fine, have it your way.” The werewolf shrugged and gestured to the small wooden table, where an empty teacup sat next to a closed book. “Sit, and I’ll get ready.” She placed her hands on her hips. “I assume you’re wanting to hear from the stars?”
First, I was talking to a goddess. Now, we were trying to hear from the stars. What was next, speaking to a creature of legends? The scientist in me had trouble reconciling these situations with reality, but I’d have to deal with that another day. We had enough on our plates.
Sebastian nodded, leading me to one of the chairs. He pulled it out, and I sat, keeping my wings out.
“We’ve been told there is a time in the near future that would work best for our plans,” he told the werewolf. “We’re hoping the stars can lend us further direction.”
His chosen vocabulary implied we had a plan, which wasn’t exactly true. We had a desire: to kill the queen. Other than that, we didn’t quite have the rest of it sorted out yet. To be fair, we had been rather preoccupied between breaking the queen’s bond and waking Marius. But hopefully, we’d have something more… solid before we returned to Castle Sanguis.
Why didn’t Sebastian tell Jehanne about the red moon, though? I supposed it would make sense to keep it a secret to see if her reading matched what had been prophesied, but it still seemed like an odd choice.
I hoped we would not be waiting for too long. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could stand living on the run. If anything, the past few weeks had taught me that being Made into a vampire did not automatically mean one was suddenly amazing at all facets of life. I did not enjoy the outside life, nor was I equipped for it.
Books were not readily available in the wild, we were dependent on others for shelter, and it was cold. Did I think Castle Sanguis’ temperature was unpleasant? It was nothing compared to the elements we had braved since Queen Marguerite tried to kill us during her tournament.
Perhaps when this was over, I would get a cat. They seemed to enjoy being inside, and I could mirror my life after them. Maybe more than one. How many would Sebastian let me get before he put his foot down? Probably a lot. Maybe I could have an entire cat colony. One for each room in our home, wherever that would be.
Caught up in my plans to acquire a cat (or a dozen) to cuddle while reading, I missed Jehanne’s rummaging through a closet.
A loud thud pulled me out of my feline-infested daydreams as a heavy crystal ball landed on the table in front of me.
I thought she’s an astronomer, I said to Sebastian.
He claimed the third and final seat while Jehanne sat across from me. She is, he replied. An astronomer and a mystic. Jehanne studies the stars, the moon, and the planets scientifically, but they also… speak to her.
Fascinating.
The werewolf cleared her throat. “So, what exactly are you looking for?”
“Anything that will give us direction on the best time to act,” Sebastian replied.
Jehanne cracked her knuckles. “Get comfortable,” she said. “We might be here a while.”
Only One Will Survive
SEBASTIAN
My shadows pulsed a low, steady tune as we sat across from Jehanne, waiting for her predictions. Everything was coming to a head; I could feel it. My shoulder had healed during the run to the cabin. In the grand scheme of recent events, another injury was a small price to pay for information on the Blood Moon.
Jehanne slowly spread her fingers and held them over the crystal ball. Her eyes slipped shut. Her lips moved, her silent chants adding an eeriness to the small cottage that hadn’t been there before.
Luna sucked in a breath, and worry flickered through the bond.
I squeezed her hand. I’m here, I whispered. I won’t let anything happen to you.
I would never have brought Luna to this place if I thought Jehanne would harm her.
A red light flashed in the crystal ball, flickering like lightning during a thunderstorm. My heart tried to escape my chest, my palms dampened, and the air seemed to hold its breath.