Page 15 of The Powerless Witch
My blood turned to ice, and horror squeezed my chest. I reached for the part inside me that was connected to her, to the bond that tied our hearts and minds, and almost sighed with relief as I felt it hung loosely between us.
But what did that mean? Was she unconscious? Was she dying? What had they done to her?
I was moving before my brain could catch up. I needed to see her, make sure she was breathing, and that she was still there. If she died…we hadn’t been connected for long, but I was sure that if she died now, I wouldn’t survive either.
I didn’t stop when Alice called my name or when the witch shouted for me to wait. I had memorized the way we had come from, and I could pick up my own scent as I ran through the corridors. I had left her in the care of the witches after Alice reminded me that they were her best chance, but now…now I regretted ever abandoning her side. If they had done something worse to her…
I found the double doors closed. I could hear voices on the other side, smell her sweet scent calling me in, drawing me to her. I threw my shoulder at the wood, ignoring the pain that surged through it, and forced my way in.
I had barely taken two steps when I realized something was wrong. There were four witches in the room, two standing by the table where I had let Celeste’s body rest, the other two fussing by one of the shelves, putting back crystals and jars with herbs.
But it was the fifth woman who grabbed my attention. Standing nude in the middle of the room, she stared at me with wide eyes while she struggled to raise her arms so she could put on the dress she held. I choked on the breath that I had been holding as I took in Celeste in all her nakedness, the old scars marring her skin the only sign she had ever been hurt. There wasn’t a single bruise or cut on her, her perfect form beautiful and healthy, like she was at the peak of her power. So what did that witch mean?
Hurried steps halted behind me and a whiff of a familiar scent told me Alice had caught up. Another pair of feet was running through the corridor, and considering how slow they were, it was probably the witch. I ignored them both.
“You are alive,” I whispered, and Celeste turned away from me, pulling the dress over her head with a grunt. Before I could ask what happened, something hit me on the back of my head and I turned with a snarl, only to find myself face to face with a furious Alice.
“Are you out of your mind?” She ground her teeth. “Mate or not, you can’t just barge into a room as you please! You will remember your manners or I swear to the Moon Goddess, two hundred pounds or not, I will whoop your ass!”
I opened my mouth to apologize when Celeste’s icy voice cut through the charged air between us. “Did you just saymate?”
Her voice was hoarse and quiet, but it held so much brewing panic that we both turned to her, forgetting our argument. I opened my mouth to explain, remembering she had been unconscious when I claimed her, but she was already reaching for her neck. Her face blanched when she ran her fingers over the mark that would never heal. A moment later, the panic drained from her eyes, replaced by white-hot rage.
“What have you done?” she snarled, taking a step toward me. I expected her to send me flying across the room, or choke me to death, but she just pushed my chest with her hands. There was so little strength in that movement that I didn’t even stagger. That only seemed to infuriate her more. She raised her hand as if to slap me when Alice caught her wrist.
“Don’t,” she warned, and Celeste glared at her. “The spell in this place will hurt you if you attack him. You know that.”
Celeste hissed, snatching her hand away and looking at me with so much venom that I took a startled step back. I wasn’t used to seeing her so angry—even when I tried to kill her or hurt her familiar she hadn’t been this enraged.
“I had no choice. You were dying,” I muttered, feeling my chest tighten as the anger passed through the bond, the hurt and betrayal she refused to show on her face squeezing my heart. “I…I didn’t want to do it. Not like this. I tried…but Roman…he said it will be fine as long as you are alive and…”
She scoffed, shaking her head in disbelief.
“You two…I swear, I will murder you both!” she screamed, and the walls answered in reply, the magic in the stone rising up and forward, toward her. She glared at the spell, then took a deep breath and slowly released it. The ward quieted. “You had no choice, so you took away mine, is that it? Well, congratulations. I hope you are happy to know you have so much in common with a dead, possessive vampire who will let the world burn along with everyone in it if it means keeping me alive.” My stomach hollowed when her words sunk in, eyes lowering to the mark that was peeking over the hem of her dress.
Did he also mark her without her consent? Was that why he sounded so sure she’d forgive me? If I had known…
Celeste glowered at me one more time, then turned away. Her eyes paused on Alice, who was looking between the two of us with an open mouth.
“Get him out of my sight or I won’t be responsible for what happens next. Magic or no magic.”
In a single heartbeat, Alice was by my side, pushing me toward the door. I dug my heels in, but then she grabbed the front of my shirt, yanking me down until our noses were touching.
“You will leave this room and give her space or I will have you removed from the Coven’s grounds.” There was so much disapproval in her eyes that before I knew it, I was walking backward, allowing her to drag me out of the chamber. Once outside, the sharpness on her face lessened, but her voice was just as cold when she spoke again. “You better pray she is the forgiving type because if it were me, I would have torn your dick off.”
Chapter 6
Samara
Iblew out an annoyed puff as I rose, hoisting the laundry basket on the top of the dryer. Thanks to Mathias, both to what he was and the asshole he could be, we couldn’t keep any help around. The humans Regina had hired over the years either left screaming or ended up missing without a trace. Not wanting the attention, she had stopped trying to find new ones.
And the witches…well, having them find out about Mathias’ existence would have been a disaster. For all of us, but for Regina mostly, since she was the one who broke the oldest rule in the magical community and kept it a secret for decades.
Mathias wasn’t supposed to exist. Every breath he took was a threat to us all and a temptation to fate. If it wasn’t for Regina’s spell binding him to her…
I shuddered as I propped the basket on my hip, stepping out of the laundry room. I had already done the rest of my chores—without servants, there was no one else to do them, and the fact that I was the Head Witch’s Second meant nothing when there were dirty clothes to be washed.
Climbing the stairs to the second floor, I headed to my room first, leaving a small pile of neatly folded linen on the bed. I’d put them away later when I was done with everything.