Page 143 of Filthy Rich Vampires: For Eternity

“And that is why you will master it,” she said fiercely, “and you will have help. Tell me. Was that Julian’s magic?”

I managed a quick nod. As if answering her, his magic wrapped itself in a soothing midnight caress around my heart. Guarding. Protecting. Alert but calm.

“Interesting. That is death magic. Your soul knows both the Song of Life and Death. That’s normal for a siren, but to harness death… May I ask a rather personal question?”

“You’ve seen the ugly side of my magic. You might as well.” I rubbed at the hollow lingering ache in my chest.

“Are you tethered to him?”

I nodded.

“Then you have free access to his magic.” She thought for a moment. “He might even be able to draw on yours if he will open his mind to it. Your tether allows for it.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, realizing my mistake. “We were tethered. When we died, it was broken. ”

Her head tilted. “Why would you believe that?”

“A tether is broken only by death,” I repeated what I’d been told.

“A tether is linked to the soul. If the soul lives…” She snorted, reaching for her teacup. It rattled slightly in its saucer as she brought it to her lips and sipped thoughtfully. “The tether a vampire fears is not a true tether—that is a leash. Vampires coopted the term, perverted it just like they did with our familiars. Most witches believe vampires are incapable of love, if you’ll excuse me for saying so. I’ve met many that made me believe it.”

“That’s not true of all vampires.” It wasn’t true of Julian.

“You’ve shown me that, but it’s important to understand that a tether is bonding magic. It’s some of the oldest magic that exists, so old that even the curse could not contain it entirely. Its entire existence centers on mates.”

I shook my head. “Julian’s sister was tethered to a terrible male who used it against her. They aren’t mates.”

“Not all mates love each other,” she warned me. “It’s a terrible thing, but perhaps the male was her mate.”

“No. I’ve…I’ve met her mate.”

She loosed a heavy sigh. “This is why the curse had to be broken. And magic slept while the world lay dying, cursed until it fed on darkness to survive.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“That is from our grimoire. Magic had to survive by any means necessary,” she explained.

“But why pervert the tether?” It sounded beautiful. My own bond with my mate proved it could be.

“Witches believe vampires are responsible for the curse. Perhaps, that was magic’s revenge for their attempts to control it.”

I swallowed. Could vampires really have been the ones to put magic to sleep? If that was true wouldn’t Sabine know, or Dominic? They’d been alive for thousands of years, alive when the curse took hold. They were powerful and respected. Wouldn’t they know?

“Our tether changed after we died.”

“Magic is awake. Everything is different. My family’s grimoire speaks of the tether between mates, the true tether that existed before the curse.”

“How old is your grimoire?” I blurted out. If it existed before the curse...

“Old.” Another snort.

“You told me there was a spell in it to find your true mate.”

“You remember.” Approval rang in her voice. “A mate is a true gift. One that has been long forgotten and dismissed. And that bond—that tether—doesn’t simply anchor you. It balances you. A true partnership. It will help you learn to use your magic. It will help you learn how not to fear it.”

Could it? I thought of the beating dark magic, of the male that commanded it. Yes, yes, it could.

“You cannot fear your magic to wield it, but you must respect it,” Diana told me.

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