15. Chapter Fifteen

Asoft knock at my door pulled me from my drowsiness. Torsten’s arm gripped my waist tighter and he muffled something about skinning the intruder alive if they didn’t leave. He was so stinking cute when he was half asleep. The lines of his face were softer, and the harshness of his life fell away as he gave into the vulnerability only to be found when sleeping.

The knock came again, but louder and definitely more insistent.

“Lori!” Cassian growled through the door, “I don’t care if you’re riding that demon, I will break down this damn door if you don’t open in the next three seconds.”

“I see absence hasn’t made him fonder,” Torsten mumbled.

I slapped his shoulder and pulled my sore limbs from the bed.

“Three…”

“I’m coming!”

“Two…”

I pulled the door wide open and came face to face with my grumpy dragon.

“Do you usually answer the door naked?” he snarled, a frown sinking deeper over his ice blue eyes.

“Only when there’s a dragon threatening to knock it down.”

His nostrils flared and his pupils started to lengthen into reptilian slits as his gaze caressed my curves.

“You need to get dressed.”

“Why?” I asked, drawing out the syllable just to piss him off.

He took a step forward and the temperature dropped as his dragon came closer to the surface. Goosebumps erupted along my skin and my nipples pebbled in the frigid air.

“Because you’re needed downstairs, and I’d hate to piss Alec off now that he’s got his heart back.”

Dammit, the guy had a point. Even if it was fun to torment him just a little.

“Fine,” I grumbled and went to head back into the room.

Cassian’s hand shot out and grabbed the back of my neck. He pressed his lips against my cheek in a soft caress. “It’s good to see you. And when we’re alone later, I’ll punish you for this.”

A shiver ran up my spine at his words. He trailed his finger across my bottom lip and a sinful smirk graced his mouth. “Maybe I’ll shut this mouth up, give it something else fill it with other than sass.”

I swallowed, my mouth watering at the images his words conjured.

“Or maybe I’ll gag you. Then I can fuck this pussy and all you’ll be able to do is cry for me.” His fingers brushed against the juncture of my thighs, and my legs quivered, suddenly struggling to hold me up. Then he took a step back and smiled wickedly. “But you’ll have to wait for that. The witch is awake, and Alec wants everyone downstairs immediately.”

I blinked, my mind slowly coming back into focus until the full force of his words hit me. “Witch? What witch?”

“Get dressed and come find out,” Cassian said as he turned around and walked away, his deep chuckle rumbling down the hallway behind him.

I closed the door and looked to Torsten who just watched me with mischief brewing in his eyes.

“What the hell am I going to wear now?” I asked as I eyed the remnants of my outfit scattered across the floor.

Torsten sat up, his shadows rippling over his skin as he moved. “How about this?” he asked, as his eyes glowed and he flicked his wrist, sending some of his shadows towards me. The cool wisps wrapped around my limbs until they settled around me in a toga-esque dress. It was gorgeous, shimmering in the light and making me look like some dark Greek goddess.

“Beautiful,” he said as he stood, wrapping his own shadows around himself until he was also fully clothed. “Come on. Let’s see what we’ve missed.”

The rest of the group were gathered in front of the huge fireplace and as soon as Rae saw me, she screeched and ran towards me, enveloping me in a giant hug.

“My god, girl. Where have you been? Are you okay?” she said in a rush.

I laughed. “I’m fine. Well, as fine as I can be, considering the circumstances. What about you? What’s this about a witch?”

Her face paled a little and she took a step to the side. It was only then that I noticed another woman sat on the sofa behind Rae.

“This is Flora, a Brackley Hollow witch.”

The woman was clearly terrified, flinching at every noise and her brown eyes were flitting between all the people in the room.

“Hi,” I said softly, as I knelt down in front of her. “I’m Lori.”

Flora’s eyes blew wide. “It’s you!”

“What?”

“The one from the prophecy,” Flora whispered. “I saw you.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s a seer,” Rae said helpfully. “She has visions.”

“You saw me?” I asked, worry creeping in. Whatever Flora had seen had fear lurking in her eyes and whatever had put that there, couldn’t be good.

Flora nodded. “Yes. The world burned and you stood there and laughed. There were crows, and red eyes and so much pain.”

The room was silent behind me, and I could feel everyone’s eyes brushing against my skin as the witch shared her vision. It couldn’t be true, could it?

Flora pulled away from me and I could tell I was making her uncomfortable. I stood and took a few steps backward until a hand wrapped around my waist, holding me steady.

“What’s happening to the witches?” Alec asked, his voice soft by my ear.

“I don’t know,” Flora muttered. “It’s like they’re just vanishing.”

“We already know that,” Cassian growled.

“No,” Flora shouted. “That’s not what I mean. The connection is gone. There’s just silence.”

“Connection?” Saskia asked, stepping closer to the witch.

“All witches are connected by their magic, almost like a link. Some feel it more than others, and it depends on the coven. The stronger the coven, the stronger the link,” Rae explained.

“Does that mean you can feel Selene?” I asked.

“No,” Flora replied. “We can’t tell if it’s a specific person, just that it’s someone with magic.”

Alec’s hand tightened around my waist. “So, what do you mean by ‘silence’?”

“Just that magic is disappearing. We can feel another witch until they die, their essence is tied to the magic. When a witch dies, the magic returns to the coven. These witches that are disappearing, are just gone. No witch. No magic. It’s like they, and the magic, never existed.”

“My King made it impossible to make magic just disappear,” Torsten said from the shadows, making everyone jump. Sometimes, he just disappeared into them without telling anyone, and then we’d all forget he was there and then boom. Sneak attack.

“Fucking Hell, Torsten,” Alec chided. “What have we told you about lurking?”

“Sorry,” Torsten said with a smirk. The guy didn’t look sorry at all. “I will go to Lucifer and see if he knows anything.”

“Okay,” I said as he stepped out of the shadows. “Be safe.”

“Always.” He kissed the top of my head then dissipated into the darkness, taking a sliver of my heart with him.

“What happens if a whole coven is destroyed?” I asked. “Where does the magic go then?”

Flora turned her wide eyes on me. “Back to the Witch Queen.”

“The sacrifice of a few…” Alec mumbled. Was Violette, the Witch Queen, really sacrificing her own witches for more power? I knew she was unhinged and dangerous, but surely, she couldn’t murder her own people?

Again, silence descended. What the hell was happening here? When Camael had attacked at the Yule Ball, the witches had been controlling mages, seemingly on his orders. Camael was a Warrior Angel, a guardian and protector of the Upper Realm. He worked for the Divine and he was a self-righteous prick, if you asked me. We’d assumed he was using witches to control mages as they had the power to destroy Lucifer’s creations and even Lucifer himself. We’d learnt that Lucifer couldn’t be killed by one of his creations, so neither a vampire, a witch, nor a demon could kill him. We just couldn’t figure out why the Divine was involved at all. Was it really to destroy Lucifer and me?

“How did you end up covered in blood?” Saskia asked Rae, pulling me from my thoughts.

“You were covered in blood?” I gasped. “When?”

“When I rescued Flora. There were a group of mages trying to kidnap her, but I wouldn’t let them take her. The blood wasn’t mine,” Rae said with a wicked gleam in her eyes.

I looked up at Alec and his honey-coloured eyes met mine. “Have you been back to the house?”

“Not yet,” he replied, “we weren’t sure where it was since both Flora and Rae have been unconscious since they arrived.”

“Well, let’s go then. They might have left a clue or something.” I grabbed his hand and started to pull him towards the door.

“Lori, wait. We don’t know if they’re still there. Or what we might find. I’ll send a team, but you’re not going.”

“What?” I hissed. “Alec, you can’t be serious.”

“He’s right,” Fenris said as he stepped forwards. He’d been so quiet that I had almost forgotten he was in the room. Not completely, though. There was still a sense of unease lingering in the air between the two of us and that feeling never seemed to be far away when he was around.

“You can’t keep me here,” I said, determination lacing my words.

“Don’t make me put you back in that cell, Lori.” Alec folded his arms across his broad chest.

“Whether you like it or not, I’m going.” I spun to face Rae. “What was the address?”

Her eyes crinkled with concern. “I don’t know, Lori. I agree with Alec.”

“What?”

She grabbed my arm and pulled me to one side, not that it would really make a difference since the others pretty much all had supernatural hearing.

“Lori, I love you, but you’ve just been turned into a vamp. No one knows how you’re going to react out there. What if you go feral? What if you turn on one of the team?”

“I wouldn’t!” How could she even think that?”

“I know you think that, but you’ve only just come back to us. Can you fault them for wanting to make sure you stay safe?” Rae pinned me with a look that I knew very well. It was her don’t-mess-with-me-asshole look, and she’d used it on guys who’d kept asking for her number when we had worked the bar together. How much had changed since those simpler times when the highlight of my day was inventing a new cocktail and laughing with my best friend. Now look at me. I was wearing shadows, wondering about when I might have to feed on blood, and trying to decide if I could persuade a Hell Hound to let me go to a crime scene. Oh, and potentially be responsible for destroying the world.

I sighed and my shoulders dropped. “Fine. But I don’t like it.”

“I know,” Rae said as she squeezed my shoulder. “But maybe you can learn something more from Flora.”

“She’s right,” Alec said as he stepped beside me. “Flora will need settling and you need to keep an eye on Iver. Besides, Edwin is still here and he’s keen to spend some time with you.”

I knew they were trying to make me feel better about leaving me behind, and I knew it was for my own good, but it still fucking stung.

Alec pressed his lips against my temple in a soft kiss. “Thank you. I know this isn’t easy and I know you feel like we’re excluding you, but that is furthest from my intentions.”

I took a deep breath and melted a little in his embrace. “I know. I’ll look after Flora and make sure she’s taken care of. Just come back to me, okay?”

He smiled warmly down at me, and I melted even more. “Of course, cupcake.”

Then, with another press of his lips against my forehead, he left the room with everyone following in his wake leaving me with a frightened witch who’d had a vision of me at the end of the world.

Fan-fucking-tastic.