60. Anna

60

Anna

The sun rose over the horizon, and I stood by the window and stared at it. Jax's promise to fuck me all night long fizzled after he brought up food. We ate, and he'd held me, but when he asked me to talk to him, I hadn't known what to say. So I pretended to sleep.

And he pretended the same.

He walked out of the bathroom fully dressed. It would still be several hours before the alphas departed, but it was our last chance to talk to Cam, assuming Maeve's guards would even let her. Saul had already texted to complain that they almost didn't let him in to his own infirmary.

I was planning on going alone, but Jax had immediately vetoed it. He wasn't even letting me call Amelia or Finn.

Something weird was going on with him.

"You could get more sleep, and I could talk to Cam."

"Really?" I turned and cocked my head. "Okay."

I sat back on the bed and watched as he looked at the door, the window, back at me, and frowned. "You know what, we should go together. Then you can get some sleep."

Right. So he really wasn't going to leave me alone. Slowly, I stood. "All right."

When he held his hand out to me, I stared at it. Really? We were going to do the handholding now? Did he want to put on a show for the others?

For Emerson?

With a frown, I took it and let him pull me to his side. It didn't feel like a possessive move.

It felt like…

I didn't want to think about what it felt like.

He drove us to the infirmary alone. No guards. "Worried about what Cam will say and don't want anyone else to hear?"

"Kenzi's comment about seeing a ghost worried me. I don't want to cause panic until I know exactly what is going on."

"And she couldn't be more specific about the ghost?"

"No. She was upset and a little frightened. She wasn't specific about the ghost. I sent her home to rest."

Ghost. Witch.

Dead witch.

Fumbling for my phone, I picked it up and called Saul. "Yes?"

"Amaya. The dead witch. She's still in the infirmary, right?"

"Alpha has not made arrangements for the body."

"Okay." I wrinkled my nose. "I know this is going to sound strange, but when was the last time you saw the body?"

Jax shot me a sharp look, and Saul was quiet. "Okay, I'm not crazy. Or maybe I am, but can you just humor me?"

"I saw the body yesterday morning, but I can check on it now if it would make you feel at ease."

"Yes, please. Thank you."

Nervously, I tapped my finger on my knee. Jax, I noticed, pressed on the acceleration a little harder.

After what felt like an eternity, Saul returned. "I am looking at the witch's body now. There doesn't seem to be anything amiss. Is there something in particular I should be looking for?"

"She's still in the same position? Still has her autopsy scar? Still…um…still appears dead?"

"Yes, Anna. She is very dead. As dead as she should be."

"Great. Okay, we're on our way to talk to Cam."

Saul paused again, and my stomach started to cramp. "Saul?"

"Cam is not here, Anna."

"Did Maeve take her?"

Saul cleared her throat. "According to her guards, you did."

"What? No." I tried not to panic. "Saul, I did not take Cam. I've been with Jax all night."

"I believe you, Anna, but I was not here. I only have the word of Maeve's guards. The strange thing is that they are still here."

"No reason to be there to guard an infirmary with no witch unless you're there to tell a lie.

Thanks, Saul." I hung up and turned to Jax. "I think we need to go to Irene's. Cam is no longer at the infirmary, and Maeve's guards, who are still there, say that I'm the one who took her out."

"This is not going to end well," Jax said darkly as he turned around.

"Where are you going?"

"Call Irene. We need to find Cam and fast."

It took a few seconds before Irene answered. Her voice was husky from sleep. "Anna?"

"Hi, I'm sorry. I know it's early. Is anyone with you right now?"

"What? No, Jenson stepped out a few minutes ago."

I paused. "Jenson stepped out? Like…from your bed?"

"What? Oh, no. Um…Anna. Sorry, still sleepy. What was the question?"

I would table the Jenson conversation for another day. "Are there any witches with you?

Like, Cam perhaps? Or Lunessa?"

"No, I'm alone. What's going on?"

"There's a witch glamouring themselves as me, and they took Cam."

Instantly, Irene was awake. "I still have some of her blood. I can use it to track her. Meet me at the cottage."

I hung up and relayed the message to Jax whose features darkened. "Track her with that magic she didn't want to tell me about?"

"Not the time."

We made it to Irene's cottage in record time, and she was already at the door. She was holding a cloth with blood on it and chanting. She barely glanced at us before she threw the cloth in the air. It started to float.

"Hurry. Follow it."

Jax opened his mouth, but I touched his arm and shook my head. His questions for Irene were going to have to wait. "If Cam is dead…" I murmured.

"It doesn't matter. Maeve is not going to touch you," Jax growled.

"Why Cam? She herself insists that she doesn't have all that much power." I kept going over and over it in my head, but I couldn't figure it out. "Irene, is she hiding magic?"

"No. Her father was a powerful witch, but Cam doesn't have nearly as much power. She also doesn't have much training. Her father was very dismissive of her. She is not the ideal target for anyone who wants more power."

"But she is an ideal target for anyone who wants to enrage Maeve. None of this makes any sense. It can't be Emerson or any of the other alphas. It has to be a witch, but why?"

"Because you're a null." Irene stopped short. "Oh, I'm so blind. Jax, I will find Cam.

You need to get Anna to safety. She can't be killed by magic. If a witch wants her dead, what's the best way to do it?"

"Sic a wolf on her," Jax finish grimly and turned around. "We're leaving. Now."

I shook my head. "Absolutely not. Irene said so herself. I can't be killed by magic, but you can. Assuming we don't find any wolves standing over Cam, I'm going to be fine."

"Anna, don't argue with me."

I opened my mouth, but there was another scream. One we all recognized well. "Cam. Irene, can you make that tracker fly any faster?"

"NO!"

A voice thundered through the woods, loud enough to uproot trees and shake the ground.

"I don't think we're going to be able to hide Lunessa any longer," I said grimly as I broke into a run. Irene and Jax were right behind me. The tracker flew faster, and Irene grew paler the more we ran. Then, with a grunt, she stumbled and fell.

"Irene." I turned and ran to her. The fabric fluttered and fell.

Another earthquake shook the ground. I looked over at Jax. "She's weakening, Jax."

Irene smiled weakly at Jax. "I'm sorry. I didn't want you to know about my magic until I was back to full power, which it looks may be never. I'm no good to you right now. Go. We must be close."

"I can't leave you here. There's a killer witch somewhere in these woods."

"I am not without protection." Irene pulled out a blade. "Go. Save Cam, if you can."

Hoping it wasn't the last time I saw Irene, I turned and joined Jax. Lunessa's magic rumbled again, and we broke into the clear and stopped short.

Lunessa was facing off with a witch. And a ghost.

Amaya.

Between them, Cam Lee lay in the leaves, stilled.

"You're dead," I said as I grabbed Jax's shirt. "She's dead. Am I hallucinating?"

"A ghost," Jax breathed.

"Not a ghost," Amaya said gleefully as she rose in the air.

Lunessa ran toward us. "Amaya has a twin."

"And you're avenging her death?" I asked cautiously. "We didn't kill her."

"No, of course not. I did. How else could I get on this land? She is my connection to combat your witch's little spell. Where is she, by the way? I would have assumed she'd come to her friend's aid."

Irene. I couldn't let her get to him. "I wouldn't call her and Cam that close of friends.

Lunessa, are you all right?"

"Oh, the fair maiden? Second best in this fight, I'm afraid. For while Lunessa is restricted by the rules of white magic and her coven, I am not!"

Flinging her hand out toward Lunessa, she started chanting, and Lunessa gasped and started rising into the air, chest first.

"Time for you to die, Maiden."