XXI

S tella landed on top of him in a breathless heap as he ripped her hand away from his soulmark. His bloody soulmark .

The euphoric pleasure faded rapidly from his body without her touch anchored to that stupid mark. He'd always assumed it was just another rune won. Nothing more or less, not a—

Raphael let out a roar and shoved Stella off. He rolled out of bed, hands running straight into his hair only to clutch at the base of his horns. He whirled around to face Stella, who was pale-faced, but without an ounce of regret etched upon her lovely features.

"What did you do?" He released his horns and thrust his arms out toward her as if to grab her. Instead, they merely shook in the air before him with rage. "What did you do?!"

Stella shrank back, her breathing still labored. "You said to give in," she explained calmly.

"I didn't mean it like that!"

Her lips set themselves in a grim line. "What's done is done."

"What's done is—" Raphael couldn't comprehend her words. His brain was short-circuiting. She… she sealed them. "What's done is done?" Raphael's voice reached a new decibel. "Undo it. Now."

The snarled command had the opposite effect. Stella slid off her side of the bed; her entire expression going flat.

"I can't. What's done is done . Don't you know anything about soulmarks?"

"You cannot—we cannot—" Raphael began to pace the short length of her bed. "You have no idea what you've done."

His mission.

His sister.

Ruined.

Anger and hatred scoured all remnants of electricity and affection from his body as he lanced Stella with his glare. She swallowed thickly under his regard, but otherwise kept her unaffected expression well in place.

"You knew."

She made no move to correct him.

"You bloody knew ."

Stella held his gaze without flinching. "I must have been hallucinating. Perhaps you shouldn't have been so heavy-handed with the rhodiola."

Raphael had no words. None. What had he been thinking?

She was a fucking wolf in sheep's clothing, and she would pay. Oh , she would pay.

And Raphael intended to enjoy every second of her demise at his hands.

"This is far from over," Raphael growled. Some emotion finally cracked through Stella's stoic facade. Regret.

"I know."

He felt her eyes on his back all the way out her door.

There was an itch writhing underneath Raphael's skin. It pulsed and pulled at his center of gravity in one direction.

Stella.

It was an effort for Raphael to choke back his snarl at the mere thought of the conniving little bitch. He'd been up the rest of the evening and nearly all the following day working out her clever little plan to trap him. To think he'd thought her so innocent and naive. The entire time she'd been playing him.

Playing him !

Raphael clenched his jaw as a tide of fury swept through him. He breathed deeply through his nose, struggling to keep his expression far away from the anger and despair he felt. It would be nearly impossible for him to complete his mission with the damnable soulmark now in play.

In truth, he knew little of soulmarks. He'd certainly never known of a demon to possess one, considering their souls belonged to their Lord. A groan simmered somewhere in the back of his throat.

Now he was forced to hope . Hope that there was some way to still win. Hope that Irial wouldn't rescind his most recent order to kill Stella. Otherwise…

His lungs constricted. Raphael couldn't allow himself to dwell on the worst outcome. It was too distracting. He took another deep breath and then another until the pressure in his chest loosened.

All was not lost. Not yet at least. Raphael pinned his gaze on Jax. They were on the uppermost floor of the Vranas' royal apartment suites, in a large room with sparse furnishings. Irina, Jakob, and Ruby presented a serious front to Jax's patient explanation of the siphon he created.

His gaze flicked between Irina and Jakob. Raphael sat straighter in the wingback chair he'd been relegated to.

At one point, didn't Jax make something for Irina to suppress her soulmark connection with Jakob? Raphael was almost certain of it. The story had been shared over a late-night drink weeks and weeks ago. The meager flames of hope in his chest flared.

He would bring it up later. Now was not the time.

Raphael sank back into his seat, nervous energy making his foot tap the ground in impatient strokes. Ruby caught his eye and sent him a withering glare.

Raphael rolled his eyes and turned his gaze in a different direction. He couldn't afford any missteps. Especially not with her . Ruby was like a dog with a bone when it came to discrediting him in front of Jax and the others.

"Irina, if you'll just step inside the circle. I'll join you in a moment." Jax gestured to the circle of salt he'd laid in the middle of the room before striding over to Raphael. He shot him a tight grin. Raphael returned it as he stood and offered Jax a velvet necklace box.

"Ready?"

Jax gave a short nod and let out a rush of breath. He glanced over his shoulder at his family, giving them the same strained grin. "Ready as I'll ever be."

Raphael patted his arm, then pushed the jewelry box into Jax's limp grip. "You've got this, mate. Don't sweat it." Raphael gave his arm another slap, significantly harder than the last. It eased some of the tension off Jax's face as he rolled his eye. "Greatest sorcerer of your age, yeah?"

"Yeah."

Raphael's brows pulled together at the lackluster confirmation. He clapped his hand around the back of Jax's neck and locked their gazes.

"You are. Act like it." Raphael jabbed him in the chest with a finger and kept his voice low. "This time is going to be different. I feel it in my gut." Jax let his eye close as Raphael tightened the grip on the back of his neck briefly. "You've got this."

"I got this," Jax repeated. His hazel eye was ablaze with determination when it opened. Jax rolled back his shoulders. The movement shrugged off Raphael's gloved hand. "Celebratory drinks after?"

Raphael snorted. "Of course, and don't think I'll forget about those." Raphael drew his gaze pointedly to the borrowed pair of black leather gloves on Jax's hands. "I'm known for my exceeding charm, devilish good looks, and gloves. You're known for that horrendous eye patch and gaudy cane. No need to confuse everyone at court."

The grin that stretched across Jax's face was boyish and buoyant. "Prick," he chuckled. When he moved back to Irina and the others, there was a bounce to his gait. "Shall we?"

Jax's optimism and eagerness were contagious. Tentative excitement lit up Irina's face as she smiled at Jax.

"Yes."

The moment Jax entered the circle with her, the five stocky candles placed around the perimeter roared to life.

"Don't pay attention to them," Jax instructed Irina. "They're only there for an added bit of protection and healing energy."

Irina nodded in understanding. "How long do I have to wear the necklace?"

"It's unclear, I'm afraid."

The tentative excitement waned from Irina's face. "But it will only target the other part of me, correct?"

"Correct. I imbued the siphon with a sample of blood from your vampyré line and lycan line, thanks to Jakob and your niece. So, it won't seek out those parts of you—only the other."

"Okay." Irina's stare dropped to the jewelry box. "I'm ready."

"It will hurt."

Irina huffed. "I know . That's the fifth time you've warned me. I can handle it."

Jax looked as if he wanted to say more on the matter but refrained. "Then let's put an end to this curse."

Raphael watched anxiously from the sidelines as Jax removed the necklace and set the case on the ground. The room collectively held their breath as Jax approached Irina with the delicate golden necklace. The thin chain glinted as the flat amulet on its end swayed.

He followed its path with avid focus, unbothered if the Vranas thought his intensity strange. This moment was everything . All the months he'd spent cultivating their relationship, building up Jax's ego, and meticulously weakening his bond with the Vranas…

If his meddling the other night wasn't enough to sabotage Jax's siphon, it would all be for naught. Raphael knew Jax.

He knew the importance he'd put on this exact moment to prove himself to his family. Regardless if Jakob and Irina forgave him for failing, Jax would pull away from them. But if he succeeded? Raphael didn't know how he would pivot. Those bonds he'd worked so diligently to ruin would forge anew.

An anguished snarl ripped from Irina as soon as the necklace was upon her. Jakob rushed forward, his own pained gasp slipping from his mouth, but Jax was ready. He flung out his hands in either direction. The salt barrier rose, stopping Jakob in his tracks outside the circle. Irina dropped to a knee, and then her other.

"You cannot interfere, Jakob," Jax reminded. His voice was like stone, toneless and unforgiving.

Irina made a strangled noise as she bowed forward. Her hands groped at the ground as her body contorted, back arching, and her shoulders pulling in opposite directions.

"This is more than you said it would hurt, Jax. Take it off her," Jakob demanded, his voice coated with pain as he fought to stay upright.

"It is working. I told you—I told you both it would hurt." Raphael watched Jax's jaw tick as he gave his response. His arms began to wobble. "This is how the siphon works."

A damning silence followed, enunciated by the palpable doubt coming from Ruby and Jakob. If it was noticeable to Raphael, then Jax was feeling it times ten .

"Stop it," Jakob ordered. "That's enough, Jax. Take it off her. Now."

Raphael flinched as Irina threw her head back and unleashed a strangled howl. Jakob fell to his knees at the edge of the salt circle. Pain rippled over his features. Raphael watched the indecision play out on Jax's face; his gaze shifting between the soulmarks.

"Jax! Do what he says. It's not working. You're hurting them both." Ruby circled the perimeter until she stood facing Jax. "That's enough, Jax." Her expression was the embodiment of thunder graced with the poisonous edges of disappointment.

Jax faltered under it. "Just a little longer," he reasoned. "It's supposed to—"

Irina locked eyes on him. Eyes that were… unnatural. A shiver stormed over Raphael's body as he watched a swirl of black attack the shining gold of Irina's irises. Tears of blood streamed down her face. Jax's arms dropped to his side, and with it, the salt ward.

Ruby was at Irina's side in an instant, ripping off the necklace with a sharp cry. Irina went limp and Jakob collapsed to his hands with a groan.

"I—I don't know why it did that. It's supposed to hurt to an extent, but not like that." Jax backed away from them until he was completely out of the circle. "I double-checked everything to make sure it was perfect."

Ruby stared at him blank-faced, voice stoked with cold fury. "How could you not know? You made it Jax."

Raphael shifted sideways, ebbing closer to Jax's side. Tension fell upon them all like a live wire. Raphael swallowed. He hadn't predicted this outcome. He'd hoped for failure, yes, but the backlash he imagined would be Jax's anger. Not the Vranas.

Discomfort pulled taut at his insides as Jax visibly floundered before his family.

This is what you wanted. Better than what you wanted. Raphael tried to reason with himself. Yet if that was the case, then why did he feel like such an utter piece of shit?

"I would never put Irina's life in jeopardy knowingly. Something must have happened. The candles, perhaps."

"You said the candles didn't matter," Ruby argued.

Red splotches bloomed on Jax's cheeks. "That's true, but the siphon. It worked as it should." Jax paused as Jakob crawled into the circle and pulled Irina into his arms. "The siphon… it was always supposed to hurt to a certain degree. It's the nature of its magic."

"What degree was that, Jax? Ripping her apart from the inside out?" The sardonic retort snapped something in Jax. Raphael spotted the shift in energy immediately and stood straighter.

Jax took a single step forward. " Yes . What of my earlier explanation passed by your attention? Was it on my third or fifth reiteration? The siphon removes and absorbs the magical energy from the wearer. Like it or not, there's nothing to shield from that kind of pain because it's literally taking a part of you away."

Ruby's jaw hinged open. "What on earth made you think to put Irina through that kind of pain? How could you think she would survive it?"

"Because I did!" Jax roared taking another step forward. Ruby's eyes widened as her mouth slipped shut. "There's no time left to take into account whether ridding Irina of this curse will be comfortable or not. Don't you understand? Ten nights. That's all we have."

Silence, raw and brittle, leveled the room.

Raphael kept impossibly still. The last thing he wanted was for the focus to shift onto him. Although…

"You went through that ? When?" Irina's hoarse voice and vibrantly clear bronze eyes stared at Jax in horror. "When?"

Jax rolled his shoulders back. "The war I fought on your family's behalf."

"On our family's behalf," Jakob corrected softly, his solemn gaze joining those that nailed Jax to the spot.

As Raphael adjusted his posture, the floor beneath him gave an exaggerated groan. He grimaced as the eyes of the room zeroed in on him. Raphael cleared his throat and said to Jax, "We'll go over your notes you kept on making the siphon—see where it needs improvement. There's still time."

"It doesn't need improvement," Jax bit back. Raphael ducked his head at the lash of anger directed his way and muttered a quick apology. Jax sighed and walked over to him. He placed a hand on his shoulder, and Raphael raised his head. "Don't apologize. It wasn't a bad idea, just an unnecessary one. The siphon worked as it was meant to."

"If it wasn't the siphon, then what was it? Should I have worn it longer?" Irina questioned as she, Jakob, and Ruby rose from the floor.

"Absolutely not," Jakob answered. "You're never putting that vile necklace on again."

Jax stiffened. "I'm running out of ideas, Jakob."

"... running out, but not out yet?"

Raphael's gaze swung to Jakob. He'd never heard or seen such vulnerability from the patriarch. Jakob kept Irina tucked close to his side. The skin around his eyes bunched as if he sought the cure for her ailment hiding on Jax in plain sight. Raphael's throat tightened as Irina leaned into Jakob's support and buried her face into his side.

He'd never seen Irina so weak .

"Not out yet," Jax confirmed and twisted to face his family. His hand slipped from Raphael's shoulder. "There is one avenue I've yet to explore fully. One that shows much promise."

Jakob's entire body tensed as understanding quickly dawned on him. "No," he growled. "We've been over this. You will not go dabbling in dark magic."

"It's clearly the solution!" Jax's vehemence made the air around him warm. "To undo what has been done, all components of the curse need to be addressed appropriately. Dark magic must be—"

"I said no , Jax. You may possess a rare amount of talent because of your time spent—" Jakob stopped himself, "—because of the mirror , but even the most powerful of sorcerers and sorceresses cannot resist the allure of dark magic."

Jax stared at Jakob mouth agape.

"The mirror?" Jax sputtered before forcing the strictest calm across his body.

The hair on the back of Raphael's neck stood on end as his body reacted to the storm brewing before him. His horns tingled as if struck by a thousand needles. Every instinct told him to move away and out of the danger zone quickly spreading from Jax.

He stayed.

"You don't know what I'm capable of."

Ruby slipped forward, partially blocking Irina from the wrath building around Jax. The protective stance hit Jax like a blow. He took a step back, only for Raphael to step forward in a mirror of what Ruby had done. Jax sent him a grateful glance.

"From what Jax has explained of spells and curses alike, knowing all the components of the original spell or curse is essential to making its counter." Jax gave a short nod to Raphael's explanation. "If dark magic was used—"

Ruby scoffed. "Of course, you would be behind the push for Jax to use dark magic."

Gods, does her voice always have to sound like nails on a chalkboard?

Raphael strove to steer himself away from Ruby's obvious bait, but he couldn't. Not with all that had happened in the past twenty-four hours. It was impossible to keep his pent-up anger under control any longer.

"Let me guess, it's because I'm a demon?" He scoffed right back at her and let a sneer lift his upper lip. "How original," he spat, "coming from you, but I'll have you know, I'm going to support whatever means Jax feels is necessary, dark magic or otherwise, because it would kill him not to save her." He jabbed a finger at Irina who seemed clocked out of the entire exchange. "If he thinks dark magic is the key to unlocking Irina's curse then so be it. Let him explore and study it. Hell, he might even learn a way to take that stick out of your—"

Ruby rushed him. He expected it, but his expectation did nothing to soften the blow as her hand clamped around his neck in a bruising grip. Despite her short stature, with her far superior strength, she lifted him onto his toes.

"Don't think I don't know your game, boy ." Ruby's eyes bled red as she choked the life from him.

"Ruby, don't," Jax demanded. He placed a hand on her arm and pulled. "Release him."

Ruby laughed bitterly as she shook off Jax and his protests.

"You're leading him down a dark path. Don't think we haven't noticed. If you were a true advocate of Jax's efforts, you might give him a sample of your blood. Let him eliminate all possible—"

"He has, Ruby," Jax barked. Ruby froze, her fingers relaxing just enough for Raphael to take in a scarce bit of air. "Let him go."

Jax's command sheathed itself in unspoken power. For a stilted moment, the two held each other's hardened stare. In the next, Raphael was released. He dropped to the floor, coughing and gasping for breath.

A hand entered his field of vision. "Thanks," Raphael wheezed, clamping onto Jax's wrist to be hauled to his feet. Jax ran a concerned eye over him as he wobbled some. "Don't worry about me, mate. This is just like the Beatrix incident, only less blood, so it's better actually."

Jax's expression didn't crack at Raphael's attempt to lighten the mood. A small part of him was glad, as it meant the pivotal shift between the Vranas and Jax had been accomplished. Guilt contaminated the rest of him. Raphael squeezed Jax's wrist.

"I'm fine." The scratchy quality of his reassurance was the final nail in the Vranas' coffin.

With a deadly calm, Jax raised his hand. His walking cane flew into his waiting palm.

"Jax—"

"Ruby," Jax drawled, voice cold.

She bristled. "Did you really test his blood?"

"Months ago. It failed my test spectacularly. Now, if you'll excuse Raphael and me, we need to scrounge up a miracle since everyone in this family is determined to hold me back from my potential." The room drew colder with each articulation of Jax's bottled resentment unleashed.

Ruby glanced back at Jakob. His expression was pained, but Raphael couldn't determine whether it was due to Jax's reaction or Irina's fatigued state still sunken into his side. From a quick study of Jax, it seemed neither could he. His friend's lips smothered themselves into a thin line.

"I'll come with and help," Ruby offered.

"No."

"You know I can help," Ruby softly insisted. "I can read more languages than you. There's access to resources I have that you don't, and with the sorcerer edict still in place..." Ruby stopped herself short, reading the growing apathy on Jax's face correctly. "Please, Jax. Nine nights. That's it. You need all the help you can get trying to find the cure."

"Not yours," Jax replied. "All you'll do is hold me back."

Hurt flashed over Ruby's features as she responded defensively, "All I've ever done is support and protect you."

"Support and protect me? Protect me from what?"

"From yourself!" Ruby realized the mistake of her outburst instantly as a visible tremor went through Jax. The subtle whine of Jax's leather glove strangling his walking cane seemed to echo throughout the room.

Jax leaned forward. "You're not my mother. Save your babying for someone else."

Ruby shrank back as if slapped. Raphael held his breath as regret washed over Jax's face and posture. He crossed a line with her and knew it. Unfortunately for Jax, Raphael couldn't allow him to take it back.

Clapping a hand gently against Jax's shoulder—as if he was doing Jax a favor by providing him the out—Raphael said carefully, "We're losing moonlight, mate. Irina's miracle won't find itself."

Jax's throat bobbed as he gave Raphael a terse nod. Then, an even jerkier nod to Jakob, who watched the entire scene play out in grave silence—silence that Raphael could use to his advantage. And let's face it, I need every advantage I can get.

"I'll find a way," Jax told Jakob and then departed swiftly from the room with Raphael hot on his heels.